eSocrates

I’d be surprised if it’s revealed before the January 31st Christmas return window closes. Gotta lock in all those Switch 1 Christmas purchases.

I think their plan is March. Isn’t that when the DS Lite reveal was? Of course that was like 20 years ago and with all the leaks and whatnot their hand may be forced for on a reveal sooner than they’d like anyways.

@Peteykins I don’t game much anymore and don’t keep up with the emulation scene so it was news to me when reading here about the dev teams having YouTube channels and stuff showing new Zelda before launch and whatever.

That being said content creators go where there are eyeballs and even without the emulator devs involved people would be still be posting “ZELDA 4K DLSS i9 GeFORCE 4080ti emu v1.8.4236(beta)” or “Zelda on Switch vs $1000 phone w/controller grip<—affiliate link below” to YouTube.

And probably 90% of the viewers probably never bother pirating the game. They’re too busy pixel peeping YouTube videos to care about actually playing games (basically me 10-15 yrs ago but replace YouTube with emulation websites/forums)

At this point I much prefer Microsoft’s “platform” with their unprecedented backward compatibility and easier better online and more consumer friendly posture. I’m reasonably sure that sharing games between a portable Xbox and a console Xbox would be smoother, less restrictive experience than sharing digital games with my family between the three Switch’s that we own. I’d love a world where a full fledged portable Xbox exists.

What the Vita got wrong (and Switch got right) was that they were console LEVEL games on a portable, instead of the ACTUAL console games you already own and play on your main system - on a portable. So you had to invest in a whole second platform. With impressive games from famous franchises. But often sidequels or “lesser” versions. That you had to buy separately. Plus, of course, the memory cards.

With people doing so much digital (along with Gamepass) Microsoft is free to be more like Switch. No “second platform”. Just a second Xbox. Which lots of people already buy anyways. Plus I’d bet it would include TV output. So for other people it could serve as their only Xbox. A market replacement for the Series S if they can keep the price low enough.

@HeadPirate
1. I’m right there with you in not being afraid to admit I don’t know about something. Eventually at least 😄.

2. The expert testimony point is interesting.

3. Yeah. But there are comments on here that read like they think Nintendo should get to decide what’s right or wrong. Or legal or illegal even.

And I’m not claiming Nintendo or any other company is just so powerful they get rulings in their favor that regular folks wouldn’t get. But there are bad judgements everyday that get overturned on appeal. There are likely bad judgements that never get appealed simply due to cost of further litigation for the defendant (or plaintiff). Also there are times when someone pointing a finger makes sure they’re in a specific courtroom when they’re doing the pointing because they know that specific judge is favorable to their reason for pointing. The court system isn’t perfect is all I’m saying.

But this is getting way OT. This was a settlement so no appeals here. We’ll have to wait to see how much this ends up affecting the rest of the emulation/modding ecosystem.

@HeadPirate I don’t think I said any of the companies are necessarily bad. I did call Nintendo a malevolent force but that mostly wasn’t about emulation but more the frustrating restrictions that come along with being a genuine paying customer. Friends Codes, accounts being tied to hardware, digital game sharing being painful compared to the way competitors do it. There’s PLENTY I don’t like about the current industry outside Nintendo too.

And I’m not trying to make Marxist arguments or claim people shouldn’t have to follow laws because they don’t like them. I only started posting because people who seem to know even less about all this than me were prescribing weird reasoning for Nintendo’s actions. And others basically claiming we shouldn’t be allowed to do anything that’s bad for a company they like, legal or not. And I was mainly trying to illustrate the contradictions to THEIR thinking on all this.

But I guess I got on a bit of a tangent with the imaginary xbox emulator thing. And I totally understand what you’re saying that it actually would be illegal. You’re right I didn’t know about the lockout key when I was writing it though I swear I’m not some naive Pollyanna. I’ve known about systems having lockout methods but not thought about how they apply after DMCA. Actually this is the first I’ve thought about DMCA in years.

I’m not sure the signed “confession” has any power to set precedent since it was a settlement not a judgement but I’m definitely not a lawyer and frankly we should probably move this lovefest to some Reddit sub on case law if we want go further into all that, lol.

Edit/
This guy above me saying we can’t buy a car and fly it around.

This illustrates the main point I was trying to make. It’s the FAA (ie the government) that decides what is a safe vessel for flight. Not Toyota (a private entity). If someone can turn a Prius into a plane Toyota shouldn’t have any right to stop them. Even if they start making money doing it for other people. Even if it really screws up Toyota’s plans to start selling planes. Or Ford. Or Honda. Even your very favorite car manufacturer.

Unless it involves circumventing a digital key I guess 🤣

@HeadPirate you’re likely right about the DMCA being tested in the courts and this being a poor choice of a case to appeal to higher courts. Idk, maybe there’s an argument that there’s a societal value to DMCA and it’s narrowly tailored enough to be allowed despite the 1st Amendment. So it’s probably more proper to say that it’s time for like minded individuals organize a political movement to convince others of the damage the law is causing and eventually lobby lawmakers to change the law to better serve the interests of the people.

Either way stating that Nintendo makes their own emulators for all their systems that we can use if we pay them kind of proves my point about their intentions which is to maximize their business interests. Somehow I doubt Microsoft licensed Nintendo’s N64 emulator for Rare Replay. But sure N64 is old right?

Xbox series X is probably powerful enough to emulate Switch. Imagine if Microsoft built a Switch emulator for 3rd party developers to use to easily port their Switch games to Xbox. Ignoring that it would probably be easier for developers port the games the regular way. Is Microsoft’s switch emulator illegal just because they built it without Nintendo’s permission? Should it be?

Maybe Switch is designed so that any emulator requires copyrighted code to function. Maybe that’s what got these Yuzu guys in trouble. But it shouldn’t anything to do with them were earning money from it. What if Microsoft charged developers for the use of that made up switch emulator? Would that make it illegal? Should it? What if all Nintendo fans move to Xbox because they decide they don’t care about Mario and Zelda and just want the 3rd party games ported to Xbox in 4k and Nintendo has to get out of the console business. Would that make what Microsoft did illegal? Should it?

If their emulator included proprietary code that belongs to Nintendo it would and should be Illegal. If it doesn’t and all they did was create a superior product that damages Nintendo’s business interests that’s not illegality, that’s competition.

@HeadPirate Probably not. I’ll admit to not knowing the particulars of this case. I haven’t bothered with switch or 3ds emulation. I didn’t even really read most of the comments on here. I didn’t plan on spending way too much time on this conversation. But I stand by pointing out the absurdity of Nintendo’s stance on emulators. And I do hope that at least some people here will take what I said about companies not being the arbiter of what is and isn’t legal to heart.

Even the DMCA you referenced is an actual law, passed by the United States Congress and signed by the President. It’s not just some clause in a TOS or EULA. Not that that means it’s good law. There’s been some argument even before it was passed that it’s a heinous encroachment on our first Amendment rights. The fact that it passed unanimously in the Senate certainly makes me suspicious of its intentions.

It’s too bad because a case like this is what’s needed to test the constitutionality of the law but that would require a heck of a gofundme on the part the anti DMCA crowd to go up against Nintendo lawyers.

@LEGEND_MARIOID this is a civil case. Not criminal. No one was accused of a crime. Some people created a product that has not been determined to be illegal in a court of law. A publicly traded company whose leaders felt like that product is a threat to the value of their company (on the stock market) sued the makers of that product.

The makers of that product had the right to go to court and argue that what they did was within their rights whether it damaged Nintendo or not. But that is expensive could take years tied up in court and risks costing even more in a judgement if they lose the case.

So they settled before going to trial for millions of dollars in damages all without ever being accused by the State (it’s worth remembering that the government brings criminal chargers. Not companies. Seriously corporations are not the government. Their EULA are not law and their legality hasn’t been examined by the courts) of committing a crime.

@shaneoh Honestly I am deadly serious about the first paragraph in that a huge amount of the “legit” game industry (including Nintendo) uses this “evil” emulator technology that Nintendo is trying to destroy.

If they were forced to actually go to court and argue their case then we could all learn what actual law says and “legit” companies would have to abide the same way these “evil” reverse engineers do.

So if we lose “bad scary internet” emulators we must also lose “good happy corporate” emulators that underpin 90% of classic game rereleases.

Hopefully they go after Microsoft next and finally get Rare Replay pulled from the market. After all that thing has like dozens of “Nintendo’s games” on it. And Nintendo worked really hard designing from scratch all the chips and other hardware of the systems those games were released on. What right does anyone else have designing a program that mimics all those chips to get those games running on a system Nintendo didn’t make.

EULAs are as good as laws and we should all have to abide by whatever they say even if they aim to stifle human creativity and freedom to an unprecedented degree. We should all be calling our legislators to beg them for more great laws like DMCA (USA) that protect corporations’s rights at all our expense.

Anyways Nintendo is not our friend and I will argue is actually a malevolent force in the history of video games. They make some great games and fun hardware but their business practices all the way back to the 80s… I’ll just say the industry is better off with Sony and MS as market leaders. And they’re not our friends either.

@ZapNCrap I had them on my modded OG Xbox. I believe it was a complete set including the greyscale games. Out of the small library of games there’s a couple Metal Slug games, a Sonic game, a few sports and puzzle games, and the rest all seem to be fighting games. Including the mega man game.

I know people liked the system back when it was competing with the game boy and in that context the games were probably impressive and fun to play on the go. But they are mostly fighting games which don’t interest me much.

@Bart_T exactly what I was gonna say. Rigging the usb c connector to spring into position either with the power button or even more ridiculously by pushing the cartridge slot down with the switch in it. There’s should be enough room in there to do it with a bare switch minus the joycons.

Disregarding all that though you guys missed an opportunity on the headline. “Modder Creates World’s Most Advanced NES Top-loader“
And for the sub heading “With HDMI and Support for Up to 8 Wireless Controllers”

I figured they’d have to use all the oldies in a holiday deal of some sort. And I’d prefer they sell them to people who want them rather than trashing them and creating a bunch of e waste.

But they should have priced them to SELL. A $200 Switch as door buster - no game in this example - even clearly advertised as the older model, would be a hot ticket item that everyone would go out looking for.

And if there’s only enough to put a few in each store even better. Make a bundle of the CURRENT model with a game everyone wants. Sell IT for $299. Then all those people who went in wanting “the $200 Switch” can be sold on the fact that “this bundle comes with a $60 game and double the battery life. Which is totally worth the $40 difference”.

That’s what I would tell people if I worked at GameStop or BB even with the theoretical $200 old model sitting there. Some people would appreciate the tip and spend the extra. The people trying to spend the least $$ would still get the old one.

Nintendo would offload old inventory to people who accepted the tradeoff while creating buzz about the switch during its third holiday season. And everyone ends up happy... Even the people who really wanted to spend $200 but missed out could get the Mini.

I'm gonna come out and say a Wii HDMI Edition might have actually sold better than Wii U. And I'm talking about still rendering the games in SD but upscaling the video output. Or maybe being like a DSi with slightly better specs that would support HD in new games but still treat the old games like a regular Wii.

I guess what I'm describing is basically a Wii U with the Wii interface and without the Gamepad. But even more important than that would be have been to have released it a couple years earlier than the Wii U released and make some big exciting games to go along with the launch. Much like how the Gameboy Pocket and Pokemon lead to a Gameboy Renaissance.

I doubt any resurgence would have been able to sustain itself as long as that one but it would have bought them more time instead of having to rush out Wii U because Wii sales fell off a cliff.

@zool This seems plausible. Maybe the Mini this holiday with Pokémon and the Refined full size next March with Animal Crossing. I just commented on the Dragon Quest bundle being released in September means the refined model isn’t coming this holiday season.

I mean they could maybe reveal it November for release after thanksgiving but I think a new limited edition of the existing model being released basically during the shopping season means they’re sticking with the current model for one more rodeo.

And March gives people 3 months to enjoy their Christmas purchase which is about the minimum amount of time for people to not feal like they were hosed when a new model is announced... barely.

No new model Switch this year then. This doesn’t necessarily mean a Mini couldn’t still be revealed for this holiday season but definitely signals that there’s no refined full size model about to be revealed.

@Sinton I only saw the first one and I didn’t hate it but referring to them as “Michael Bay’s films inspired by Ninja Turtles” is a superior burn and for that I tip my hat good sir.

I always thought this way with Splatoon on Wii U where it shows the two current levels with a space underneath clearly designed for a third.

I figured along with everything else they did with that game to restrict it at first and then roll out over time that cycling between 3 levels would be a thing once they got the network infrastructure ironed out. And then it never happened. Was that third slot used in any of the other modes? I only ever played the normal splat zone or whatever.

My brothers broke the target mini game so hopefully they can make a version that is still fun but changes it enough so that their strategy no longer works. I mean they still have fun but it’s more like watching professional bowling vs a group of friends whip the ball down the lane. Or Pro Smash players. They’re playing the same game but on a whole other level and they can’t go back to how we played before.

Then I gave my kid’s friend an Xbox with SMB Deluxe on it they ended up playing with my brothers and now they try the same thing. Of course if it was “fixed” they’d probably say they ruined it and probably have no interest in playing it.

All that being said I’d buy an hd remaster of the first two in a heart beat. I never did play the other mini games much so I’d like to try those out more and it would make a great tabletop game when out and about. And it should look pretty nice in HD without much extra effort due to the clean design of the originals.

Interesting to hear that the portable model is still dockable, that is assuming these rumors are legit.

At first I thought that was a no brainer but there’s always the possibility that they would disable dock mode if this version is passively cooled and can’t sustain the higher clock speed without overheating or throttling. Or maybe it will still have a fan. After a couple of years they could have got the efficiency of the chips to the point of not needing one anymore.

Fall release makes sense with Pokémon and all that but I thought they might release it around now to maximize install base and avoid troubles with distributing a new SKU in stores in the middle of the holiday season.

@Roam85 yeah the point I was trying to make was that much like the Wii U would have been the perfect console for Pac-Man Vs, 3DS would have been perfect for re-releasing Virtual Boy games.

While I’m aware of Namco Museum for Switch, the Wii U is so perfect for Pac-Man Vs that I used to joke that as long as we got an updated version of it then I don’t care how poorly the system sells it will never be a failure in my eyes. And while I don’t buy games for it anymore if they announced Vs for Wii U tomorrow I’d buy it to break it out every time my brothers come over.

And while I’ll be glad if they finally give us a chance to play the Virtual Boy library with VR Labo I still wish they’d have released them on 3DS. I understand people who are underwhelmed by the 3D screen even though I think it’s great. But if these games ever came to the system I would always say “Sure. Maybe the 3D isn’t that big of a deal but at least they finally rereleased the VB games.”

I just want them to release all the Virtual Boy games. I’d have preferred they release them on 3DS and am frankly shocked they never at least remade certain ones like Wario that were supposed to be pretty good but stuck on a bad inaccessible platform. But then I saw this and now I think maybe it’s why they held them back.

I mean it’s closer to the original experience not that that’s necessarily a good thing in this instance.

Along those lines of them not releasing things when they have the perfect system for it I still can’t get over waiting for Pac-Man Vs to come out for Wii U just to have it be basically a launch title for Switch. Which unlike Wii U actually requires two separate systems to play.

@HalBailman Exactly the point I was gonna make about how this was very obviously going to happen at some point.

Something occurred to me after reading about the current lineup of Apple laptops which all have similar or in some instances the same CPUs in them. The thing is even though the chipsets are the same doesn’t mean that they are all equally powerful machines. The differences in thermal design for each model affects what they are actually capable of doing.

The current MacBook being passively cooled (sealed, with no fan) means that while it’s snappy for day to day tasks, when you do something strenuous and it begins to heat up, the CPU then has to throttle itself to keep from overheating. This is in contrast to the MacBook Air which has the same exact CPU but with active cooling (fan and vented like the current Switch) that kicks in to keep the temperature at safe levels allowing the CPU to continue operating at its full speed and accomplish tasks that just aren’t possible or at least much slower on the regular MacBook.

This is all to say that I always assumed any mini Switch would still be dockable since it should still be USB-C. But if it turns out to be a fan less machine it may only be capable of running the games while they’re in their less strenuous “Portable Mode.” Meaning the limitation isn’t because they’re too cheap (they are) to include the proper video output hardware but because the system isn’t capable of running the games in their respective “Docked Mode”.

In theory they could probably have vents on the machine and include a fan on the dock but I expect something closer to a phone or tablet or all previous Nintendo portables that has its insides sealed away from pocket lint and other random debris.

Though maybe they’ve got to the point now where the chipset can run the games in their highest settings with passive cooling. And even if not maybe there’s nothing stopping them from just outputting to a tv while the game stays in “Portable Mode.” It wouldn’t be pretty but it would be better than nothing.

We’ll see I guess. I’d bet pretty soon taking history into account and the increasing frequency of these rumors.

For anyone who understands the nature of non-denial denials Reggie’s statement a few months back about their focus on Switch “as it currently exists, with removable joycon and all the other features” basically confirmed the existence of a model without those attributes. To me that sounds like a simpler and less costly to manufacture, more robust (vent/fan free, passively cooled?) device that will supplant the 3ds as Nintendo’s entry level device on the market.

As for the “Pro” I think it would actually be very wise to offer a higher spec device for those that want one. It might tick some people off but if it allows more of the newest games to come to the platform at least they have a device on the market so that people interested in those games don’t have to go to one of their competitors for them. And they would still have the value add of portability.

Even if they do nothing to upgrade the specs it should be obvious to anyone here who’s been around a while that the Switch was always going to get a redesign that makes us all wonder how anyone but it’s own mother thought it ever looked nice. I’m actually fond of the original DS Phat looks wise but at the time the Lite made it look like a beta product. And I’d actually say the Switch shares more in common with the E3 prototype DS’s than the phat anyways.

That’s rather harsh but it is rather obvious that they designed it to a pricepint while allowing for wiggle room to later release a sleak more refined design that keeps the same joycon rail and overall size for existing docks and accessories.

I mean probably the second or third time I looked at it I saw those bezels for what they were, room for a bigger screen in a “New” Switch. The kickstand that hopefully turns into something closer to whats Microsoft Surface has than a McDonald’s toy. Heck along those lines maybe even an aluminum shell. Again maybe a sealed design with passive cooling. This is probably only be possible if they stick to the current specs though. A glass screen.

The switch is a great product and my kid loves his but going off history we’re due for a Nintendo portable redesign and these rumors point to it probably happening sooner than later. The DS Lite I think was released around April...

How did I not hear about the n64 one? Are they still available cause for $20 a piece I’d probably buy four if they ended up being any good.

As for the Dreamcast I think I have 6 controllers for it unless I gave two extras to my brother. And I’ve always liked them well enough. Opening one up back in the day and seeing zero potentiometers under the joystick blew my mind back in the day too.

It would have been nice for them to include a second joystick on these new ones for first person games like Half Life that let you move with the face buttons and aim with the stick. I think they’d need a way to switch functions between the dpad and buttons but the analog could just mirror the functions of the first one like people who crammed a second slide pad into their PSP.

Wait a second. Half-Life was never on the Dreamcast...🤔

🤫

I thought you guys were gonna suggest Nintendo someday release a $50 Switch “stick” as a super low cost alternative form factor to try and reach mainstream consumers and broaden the customer base to near smartphone levels.

And I’d say that’s crazy enough to maybe even work. In Target earlier I saw the ad touting over 1000 games on the Switch. That reminds me of the “Over 100,000 apps available” from early smartphone days basically saying “there’s something for everyone on here. Check out our eShop.” Put Wii Sports on there for free so “those” people can finally get rid of their Wii.

For anyone who’s going to transfer to Wii U if your Wii is hacked and you make a NAND backup before doing the transfer you can then restore the backup to the Wii and have your games and saves on both systems.

The only issue that occurs is when you go onto the Wii Shop on the original system and it pings the Nintendo Servers it disables the games that were transferred to the Wii U since the license to play them is on there now. Obviously this will no longer be an issue when it’s no longer possible to sign into the Wii Shop Channel a couple weeks from now.

I’m going to do this so I can still play my N64 games with GameCube controllers on my Wii specifically 4 player Mario Party 2. That’s the whole reason I never made the transfer before and I still can’t believe they never enabled the Smash adapter to work with the VC games.

Interesting fact about the first one. It’s one of the few games that runs in 720p on the original Xbox. I don’t think the second one is on there but the two X Men Legends games that were actually the beginning of the franchise are. They’re both 480p though.

While I think it would be cool to bring the first two to Switch it could cause people to think they should play those first. Maybe they buy those and never get around to finishing and wait on buying this. For me at least that behavior is becoming more and more burdensome the farther we get from the beginning of some franchises and video games in general.

So I actually see some value in almost saying just start here. Especially if it’s been a while since the last release. But then if they’re gonna treat it like that should have dropped the “3” and just called it MUA: The Black Order.

Like I took my kid to watch The Muppets back in 2011. If they called it The Muppets Movie 6 I probably would have went looking for the 1-5 set on Blu-ray first watched one of two and been burnt out by the time the new one was in theaters.

@Yenkman I honestly doubt it with the redesign. I think it will be all about quality of life improvements. Better kickstand, bigger (OLED?)screen, better battery life. Over all sleeker design.

They’re already at 2 years now. That could probably get them another two. Maybe this gen they end at 5 years rather than trying to stretch it out like the Wii. They present a Switch 2 with a leap in specs rather than a GBC or DSi modest spec bump. Backward compatible and still portable/dockable which is something which obviously has wide appeal.

That’s what I see happening anyways. We’ll have to wait see I guess. Then track down this thread years in the future and take a giant victory lap all over the internet.

They could conceivably release the stripped down more portable version pretty soon after the holidays without peeving to many people since it’s not a wholly better device like the redesign that I imagine is coming later. An announcement anout 31 days after Christmas sounds about right. A release sometime around March would match historical patterns.

Then I bet that redesign is out for next Christmas. The current model is clearly the DS Phat of the Switch platform. I knew that as soon as I saw the janky Kickstand and later realized how the bezels will be a bigger screen in a new device of the same size.

The DS Phat was an awesome new form factor with plastic wrapped around it however they could manage do it at the price they needed to hit. I have a soft spot for it myself but it was basically a Kickstarter campaign to fund the design and production of the DS Lite.

That’s what the current switch is to the inevitable redesign whenever it arrives. At least I knew it going in this time so I won’t be bothered really.

@Rubbercookie that’s exactly right. Hopefully it still has TV capabilities. There’s no reason it shouldn’t. The thing that would set it apart from the Vita of course would be that they’d be the same games. One platform multiple form factors.

@The_Pixel_King That’s EXACTLY what I did. Seeing that no one grasped the magnitude of what was happening I took on the task of revealing the truth. It was painful and took way longer than it should have but I think I got the point across.

Now if the staff could take my comment come up with a clever headline and turn it into an article that would be great. And then of course mail the check my way before Christmas that’d be great too.

@ritouf he doesn’t. And he can’t. He’s the president of NOA but that might as well be the head of the party planning committee. All the decisions are made in Japan. Aside from his role in public relations which is where he got his start he’s probably basically the general manager of the Redmond office.

@sanderev That’s called a non-denial denial. I learned about them from All the Presidents Men reading about Nixon. Saying a lot while saying nothing is an art form and its always fun to spot it in the wild.

I do have to disagree though. I think he slipped up and he used a few more words than he would have liked.

@Rubbercookie While I think it’s obvious they’ll eventually release a souped up more powerful version of the Switch at some point, I think a careful reading of his language in this particular interview actually, accidentally, refers to a stripped down more portable, hopefully pocketable, revision.

Which I imagine they’d love to get out into the world so kids who need something sturdier and less expensive and adults who need something smaller and less conspicuous can both get the new Pokémon games.

My girlfriend wants the games cause she still plays and loves Pokémon Go but the system wouldn’t really be practical for her. She could play on our son’s but she probably wouldn’t for very long unlike if she had her own system she could keep in her purse like she does with her 3ds.

“So right now, the current execution of Nintendo Switch with the Joy-Con and all of the capabilities”

Guys, way to bury the lead! I’m no lawyer but I’d say this was a rare slip up on his part. He refers to the “current execution” of Nintendo Switch “with Joy-Con” and “all of the capabilities.” And again I’m not a lawyer but this seems to be confirming the existence of a “future execution” of Nintendo Switch “without Joy-Con” and “less of the capabilities.”

His language to my eyes seems to be coming from the vantage point of a person who in his mind thinks of Switch as a platform, a plural, rather than the singular device the rest of us identify when we hear Nintendo Switch.

Which to me would suggest that he’s probably seen the stripped down, less expensive, more portable “3ds replacement.” They’ve probably already been working on messaging and how to present the device to the public. Then he accidentally let this change in perspective show up a bit in this interview.

Maybe I’m old or maybe it’s the terrible menus with too much going on all over the screen but I still don’t know how that whole part of the game even works. Unlocking things, keys and boxes, etc. I’m sure it’s all pretty standard stuff now a days but I’m way behind the times and I really don’t have the attention span to sit and customize my car over and over.

That being said I’m glad it all seems to be cosmetics cause the game itself is a ton of fun and right up my alley for a few rounds when I occasionally get the urge to actually PLAY video games instead of read about them on my phone.

What I do think would have helped sell these was a holiday reveal and release. I think it has a lot of the qualities to have been the “IT! toy” this Christmas.

Even the price while expensive in March is about right for what people are willing to spend for Christmas on kids and grandkids if they think it’s whats hot this year. Tickle me Elmo was like $60 twenty years ago. They’d probably have even more leeway price wise since it’s “educational” so people would feel good about buying it for the kids that “spend too much time on the couch!”

But instead everyone who saw or shared that trailer on Facebook 6 months ago have probably long forgotten about it and even Nintendo has moved on to pushing Pokémon and Smash Ultimate.

That’s another thing. I think it would have been great counter programming to smash. No ones gonna pick these over that game but it would have been a reason for a different crowd to have the Switch on their mind.

I wish the special edition smash dock came with 4, or even better 8, GameCube ports along the front. I expect someone will make themselves a custom version in due time but it would have been a great reason to buy a special edition bundle for a lot of people and certainly more elegant than this thing sticking out of the side of the dock.

Of course front facing USB ports in the first place at least would have avoided some of the awkwardness.

But as I already have my Wii U adapter I’m just happy they let us use it for other games this time. I still have a full set of original controllers so this makes for cheap (and quite pleasant) 4 player MK8 Deluxe. And if n64 games ever come to the online service they’ll get even more use from me.

I wasn’t aware that these Pokémon Let’s Go games were considered mainline games. I was under the impression the ones coming out next year were that and these were a reimagining of the story and setting from the first gen into a new type of game for a different crowd. At least that’s what I took away from that first big reveal.

I picked up Metal Slug when it was on sale. I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t come “out of the box” with scanlines that worked on both TV and portable or the option to have different screen modes for each case.

I was able to find a setting that worked but I was under the impression it would be like the NES/SNES Classic where they had a “scanline mode” that I could activate and get to playing without spending the first hour tweaking the settings while “playing” through the first level over and over.

@justin233 I have the steam version and in setting up a computer for my son to use on our tv I tested this game running at 2560x1440 scaled down to 1080p to test out some super sampling. It looked amazing and ran flawlessly and my computer is pretty low end. I previously ran it on an Intel Atom based Tablet/laptop and it ran perfectly there too, obviously not at that resolution.

My point is the PC release seems to be properly ported so that it should run on just about anything. Which makes sense considering this is a Dreamcast game that’s locked to 30fps. Also it has full Xbox controller support.

I’d recommend the PC release to anyone who wants this game now. I think it was less than $10. It might be available DRM free from GOG too. You could play it “portable” on a laptop but that would be a great reason to buy the SWITCH version down the line if you like the game enough.

@Whalehome you should pick up one of the Mayflash Adapters that lets you use other controllers on the Switch. It lets us use a Wii U Pro controller which works great unless the game needs gyro. And actually the gyro on a PS4 controller does work with it. I just don’t have one.

The 8-Bit Do adapter apparently works great but I picked the Mayflash because it works with a few more controllers including wired ones. And it works on a PS3 which put it over the top for me personally.

@RupeeClock yeah the update includes multiplayer. Only 2 player though.

@Bunkerneath @RCGamer No! Bad! Altered Beast is a TERRIBLE game. Please don’t encourage them. They only made like ten Sega 3d Classics on 3DS and because of that “edgy” line that scared all our mothers back in the 90s it was one of them.

There are actual good games that they could have converted but they dedicated limited resources to converting this garbage because they knew it would sell. And it’s mostly because people our age keep its reputation alive.

I’m not innocent of such transgressions but after playing it again a plug-n-play a few years back and realizing how plainly bad it really is I have taken up the cause of shouting the truth wherever this game is mentioned.

A bit off topic but Nintendo did this with Zelda Four Swords 25th Anniversary release and it’s super frustrating that they never rereleased it. I don’t think it would diminish its value to people who got it as a free gift back then if people were allowed to purchase it now.

In my case I did get it back then but I’d like to get another copy so we can play it 3 player as a family. And I don’t think I’m alone in not seeing a problem with having more people to potentially play it with.

Since I doubt you can play against other owners of this dragon ball release it doesn’t have the same consequence of limiting multiplayer opportunities but I really just think no one who gets something for free has a problem with other people getting it later for money.

Make it $20 or something so the people who preordered feel good about getting such an expensive gift. Even if most scoff at the price those that didn’t preorder at least have the opportunity to buy it if they want.

@Prizm If Sony wants to not allow crossplay I think it’s lame but maybe it’s a good business decision for them. It makes ME not want a ps4 but I’ve started to realize my opinions on such matters rarely align with what the majority cares about.

And if that was the extent of it I doubt I’d care much at all. But the fact that once you link your account to the ps4 you can’t use it in Switch or Xbox and there’s no way to reverses it is truly scandalous and should not be allowed to stand.

Apparently it only when playing with friends that cross play is even enabled anyways which I misunderstood initially. I thought everyone was in one big matchmaking pool except ps4.

@Giygas_95 It may be neurotic but there’s something pleasing about the low res 240p screen with these types of games even with 3D turned off. Heck I kind of like the pixely goodness on stuff like MK7 also but I might be weird.

All that being said the 3D on Mutant Mudds is great. Though occasionally due to some ghosting it works better if you set it to the lowest level.

I encourage anyone who does buy mutant mudds on any console to turn off mid level checkpoints. This option is kind of hidden away in the start menu while on the level select screen.

I played half the game before the update added them in and wasn’t aware they could be shut off at first so I was rather peeved when the update came out. I’ve seen in previous discussions that some people found it kind of boring and I believe the checkpoints could be part of it. Only having to do half a level at a time WITH THREE HIT POINTS AND UNLIMITED LIVES you could probably brute force your way through most of the game even while collecting all the water sprites in each level.

I do wish they would have done sonic 3 plus knuckles on the 3ds before moving on from the 3D classics line of games. But I’m happy they’ll be in charge of bringing some classics to the switch. They always do an excellent job so if they release something I think my kid will enjoy I’ll buy it knowing it’s a great port.

Thank god. My kid wanted to buy this because of all the YouTube salespeople. I let him buy the escapists 2 because he saw them all playing it and played it for 2 days and has actually said himself it’s not very good.

I mean he’s definitely done the same with games that I have recommended or he’s wanted for other reasons. I think we all have. It is interesting how there are certain qualities to games that allow youtubers to make good videos with them but that don’t necessarily make them fun to actually play.