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@DwaynesGames I disagree. It actually is a purely stylistic choice. The sharp drop off in sharpness at the edges is called a tilt-shift, for convenience I will quote the interwebs: "A miniature effect or tilt-shift, is a photography technique aimed at making the photography of, for instance, a landscape look like a scale model". The whole thing is to give it a toy-like appearance, that is also why they went for that shiny/plasticky look of the 3D models in both games.

That was kind of obvious, wasn't it?!

@WiltonRoots I'm just happy when it (S2) is out and people won't have to speculate themselves into a rage … but of course the'll find something else.

Really not much to go by, but this video shows a little bit of footage of Echoes of Wisdom running on Switch 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDhZbAQiugM&ab_channel=IGN

@ear_wig If the short footage of Echoes of Wisdom running on S2 in one of Nintendo's promotional videos is anything to go by, it will run smoothly. (Official GameChat Demo trailer)

@sanderev A cross-gen or even S2 exclusive remaster would explain why they held out on it for so long … replaying MP Echoes on Switch 2 would be fantastic!
Also underscores my first point: If I knew those were 100% coming and not too far out I might not have pre-ordered everything I did …
But yeah, a release date for MP4 will be overdue in June/July.

@sanderev Makes absolute sense as it would also give them the opportunity to have a segment on DK Bananza before its launch.

@Res462 Announcements for what is coming is right now mostly limited to what was announced during the S2 direct. And it makes sense. They will want to make the launch an all around success and not dilute focus by rolling out all updates/upgrades all at once or announcing too many titles yet to come and risk people holding out on the launch lineup.

Won‘t be using it much, but my niece and nephew live on the other side of the Atlantic. So meeting up for a couple of rounds of MKW every once in a while would be great.

I‘ll be out enjoying the sun! Watched some EVO matches but that‘s as close to gaming as it will get for me this weekend. Kinda just waiting for Switch 2 to come around. @Yalloo Have fun tomorrow, hope it‘s gonna be great!

In my professional opinion (as a graphic designer) and judging by these screenshots and also the billboards I have seen in the MKW videos: they were drawn not generated. I actually paid special attention to these as I marveled at the level of care and attention to detail in the game. There are telltale signs of AI generated assets, here I see none. People just like dumping on Nintendo right now …

Play it on Switch 2 and you won't miss your flight!

Played T2 on Amiga 500 and Gameboy and looking back on them today … oof. This new one though looks really promising, will keep an eye out for it.

@eltomo "the only games being played on those consoles once GTA6 comes out will be Fortnite, Fifa and GTA6" I love Nintendo!

Artistic sensibility is is always a plus when it comes to games.
But besides, does that mean more Nintendo plushies?

That list has me covered till sometime in September … after that better bring on MP4. And Kirby Air Riders around the holidays, pretty please!

@Princess_Lilly Absolutely and I don't say people can't tell the difference and you won't find me campaigning against it. Playing out stuff in games rather than real life can also be really cathartic. But as I said, violence in games moves on a spectrum. I personally would rather go for a Street Fighter than a Mortal Kombat nowadays. From a certain level of "graphicness" up (in terms of amount and visual fidelity) it just doesn't appeal to me any more. And placing myself in the life of a gangster or a sniper in a war is … well, that rather feels like an adolescent fantasy.

@Jhena Yes, I always wonder about the label "mature" on those games. Should rather read "immature". But I‘m not judging, played stuff like Motal Kombat when it came out back in the day. I just seem to have grown out of it and now stuff like GTA is really unappealing to me …

@citizenerased "Playing devil's advocate a bit, how is stomping goombas in Mario different from shooting rival gangs in GTA?" It‘s certainly on a spectrum, but rather on opposite ends. The difference should be rather obvious … If you stomp a Goomba, it goes "poof" and along comes another identical Goomba. That has a rather dream like quality. Your brain would really have to work hard to interpret death and violence into it. Just contrast that with GTAs "realism".

„the amount of realism“ … I‘ve you want that: look out of your window, it‘s free.

@FortniteJ At least for Mac I would recommend a software called BlockBlock to secure your camera (https://objective-see.org/products/blockblock.html). For Windows and Linux similar solutions should be available. On Nintendo‘s camera though only the shutter will help.

@Uncle_Franklin Thanks, I have it on the shelf, still unread though. Will move it up the reading list!

@LuigiBlood Thanks for the clarification! That sounds much more sensible. And yes, in terms of data/privacy protection Americans are pretty much f***ed.

Thanks for the article. That‘s what I really appreciate about Nintendo‘s games. They emphasize exploration, creativity, playfulness, community and an overall positive outlook on life. Gaming can become quite addictive though and always escaping from real life does not solve all your issues. But I think it can offer respite and provide a sense of agency. And according to studies games like Tetris can even be incorporated in treatments for PTSD (there‘s even a book about it, Superbetter by Jane McGonagal).

"All paying NSO customers" and limited orders should keep out most scalpers and give active users a chance to grab one.

Difficult/Impossibe(?) issue (safety vs privacy) to resolve in a comment thread and a highly contested one … Personally I guard my private data like a hawk, have read (and hopefully comprehended 😉) all the 1984s, Fahrenheits and other "not so SciFi anymore" dystopian masterworks as well as actively engage and to the best of my ability cut out companies that collect and sell my data for profit (of which I get none). That said, the current (social and else) media landscape is highly exploitative and especially puts minors at risk (Roblox anyone? or AI bots grooming children?). At the same time the complexity of all its fast moving parts makes it impossible for good meaning parents and people in positions of care to close all the loop holes. And Nintendo as a family oriented company … well, lets just say it's not cut and dry. Rather some kind of "trolley problem". But good that NL reports on it and raises awareness to the topic. Y'all read the fine print, draw your own conclusions and opt in or out accordingly.

They should take a design class at Nintendo …

While it's a much more closed system the safety aspect is really important though, given the problems you read about with things like Roblox … they are probably just securing their bases.

Edit: That said it should strictly apply to safety measures and exclude all other uses of the data obtained. Other human beings should only be allowed to actually look at it if there is a criminal investigation going on. On a gut level though, it feels really creepy giving someone the ability to peep into your living room … at least there is a shutter on the camera.

So can you still use the service when opting out of them recording it? That should be an option under European law, shouldn't it?

Including a map is very "Tolkien" of them. Though it's not my type of game and I don't like the character design too much, it's a very nice package and they obviously put a lot of work and care into it. Hope people will enjoy it!

Oddly therapeutic reading this comment section … I like it. For me gaming and therefore spending on it has been waxing and waning for the last 20 years or so. During N64, Gamecube days the going was slow due to limited funds (great times and games though). Fell off of gaming altogether after GC until I got my hands on PSVita, loved it for all the indie games … fell off again until two and a half years ago I got a Switch. Played tons on it and am now excited for Switch 2. However a sizable backlog has grown and I am planning to move ahead a little more selective of what I buy. Let‘s see how and for how long that goes.

Good move for all physical gamers/collectors (not me though, gone all digital ages ago). Will be appreciated by many and fully in line with Nintendo‘s 1st party offerings. They will certainly sell a ton, probably more than those skimping on it.

Came to Switch pretty late in the game, so almost everything was already pretty cheap to get … with a brand new console that changes of course. But as I mostly play Indies and 1st party games, have a lot of titles in my backlog, games to upgrade and can be pretty patient (on occasion), I think I‘ll be fine.

@-wc- Good one! 😂👍

Yes it's also on one of the presentation slides in an image under the Famitsu article: The Tarnished Edition includes Shadow of the Erdtree.

@Guitario What does the one have to do with the other? I will personally never buy a Keycard-Game but I still pre-ordered a Switch 2 … Still I hope you enjoy Metroid Prime 4 on Switch1 though, I expect it will be great either way!

@OorWullie Thanks! Will hopefully get the chance to go back to it after the first wave of Switch 2 games has washed through.

Switch 2 updates will always be welcome! Would compel me to give the game a second try as it didn't grab me immediately on the first attempt while something else pulled me away. I always loved the look of it and many here seem to really like it …

Super Man and the Flash seem really happy about it … 😂

Does anyone have experience pre-ordering from Nintendo directly? Do they ship so the package likely arrives on release day or do they dispatch on release? Can't wait!

@nuke13 Yes, I‘d be interested too. It often seems people value Nintendo games less because of the lack of photorealistic graphics and completely diregard the amount of work that has to go into gameplay polish, innovative mechanics and the like.

Yes, I‘m cueing up here. Saving my funds for Switch 2 …

@-wc- I‘m sorry, didn‘t mean to offend. "Luxury hobby" was meant tongue in cheeck after @sixrings mentioned a house and 7 TVs while discussing video game prices. I am well aware that every persons situation is different and overall price increases hit hard across the board.

@sixrings See, luxury hobby, luxury problems. ✌️😉

Geometry Wars 3 and Super Stardust Delta are the two main reasons I still come back to my PSVita … On Switch I love Devastator and as already mentioned above: Where is Assault Android Cactus on this list?

@nuke13 Yes, and while prices remained stagnant the size and scope of games increased to levels unthinkable back then. The often 2-3 hours it took to finish a game was only offset by it‘s difficulty. Prices for those games, mainly indies, are way down. I will stay with those, stuff like fast fusion and maybe 2 to 4 (if at all) brand new full price games a year.

I find it funny how often people conjure up images of dark rooms with video game execs sitting around a large oak table, smoking cigarettes and forging machiavellian plans of how to screw over and milk the gaming community … oh wait, now I did it myself.

In terms of Star Wars I decoupled my mind from anything but the original trilogy … is this a good game (?) will therefore be the most important question for me to consider it. I'm looking forward to reviews of the Switch 2 version.

@Jeronan Agree with your last comment. Switch2 is an impressive piece of kit and a lot of the negativity would probably have fallen by the wayside had Nintendo gotten their reveal out as planned.

@KociolekDoSyta … Genki de wa arimasen. I was just sued by Nintendo.