Maybe it's not the Gen 10 game that has the chance of using the Switch 2 at maximum, but it truly looks slick on the new hardware! Image quality and that sweet 60fps response is revealing for the franchise, elegant indeed. It will take some time for the next-gen Pokémon game, but this game is looking more like a sweet pleasure and a good way of welcoming the franchise to a new generation of hardware.
And Mega Dragonite looks cool too. It keeps most of its usual features but it has Dragonair feels on it, which aligns with what fans wanted I suppose. Judging from some trainers, seems Staryu and Scraggy have going on with them too.
"Ranked, Casual, or Private Battles" If this isn't the definitive replacement for competitive in the mainline games, then nothing will ever be. Can Pokémon hold items here? They'll need to modify HOME for that to be included.
I just wonder why it'll come out too late, maybe it's because they want to give traditional competitive a last hurrah for the next months? Still, I'm genuinelly excited, especially if it's free (maybe except anything related to those "V" coins)
But the visuals (once again) could be much better, where's the cinematism that the Stadium-like games had?
That's actually the same price Rocket League had before becoming free-to-play! Wonderful I guess. But we still have to see if its content will live up to what made Rocket League special when it first arrived, free updates or not.
The lack of local multiplayer could affect its chances of longetivity if its online services ever... no I will never think about that! I'm sure this game won't depend on server services to keep living, it'll likely be just like Rocket League and offer diverse options without relying on popularity and momentum to keep living.
This is the Global Testfire/Testpunch strategy equivalent to this game. The difference is, well... both previous events were held when their consoles didn't had paid online.
But they were clearly impressed. "Somewhat mixed" is kind of misleading. If it wasn't locked to Double-Buffer V-Sync the juddering wouldn't be so noticeable, especially that boss fight that somehow drops that hard. It makes for an interesting benchmark for potential overclocking though. But fundamentally, it's an admirable game that really looks current-gen in terms of how much it is achieving. It definitely needed a beefy CPU and RAM for that to happen. In some ways it looks like a PS5 game downscaled to Series S settings, which is frankly enough for me.
If this is just the beginning of what Nintendo can do with the hardware, then the future looks really exciting for its exclusive titles
I guess the reason many people (including me) wanted Hunter Schafer to play Zelda was because she looked perfect in case Zelda was based off her Twilight Princess incarnation. But the actual actress looks pretty well fitting too, more closely aligned with BoTW Zelda. Link looks fine too, but the plot is still a mystery.
If that's true, it would shift the paradigm of Nintendo Direct airtimes for a long time. No more September hype?
But in general I'm really looking forward for the next Nintendo Direct (the first one of the Switch 2 era), it has huge potential of anything really. What I really hope is for one to focus more than just games, like increasing the value of what the Switch 2 can offer terms of content. How to make the most of their currently avaliable content.
From upgrading the Switch 2 UI to increasing the value of Switch Online (again). They have so much Switch 1 games they could upgrade already, of all kinds... maybe it's time for a Game Pass-like service?
From the same guys who once sued them for the Kong character, how ironic!
It'd be nice to see a Donkey Kong movie actually, the latest game is becoming very different enough from the main Mario franchise to simply look like yet another IP spin-off.
But for the sake of balance, I'd also love to see them adapt another Nintendo franchise to the big screen. Ever thought about Star Fox?
It'll be the perfect portable version of the game, but it'll also serve as a proof-of-concept of how feasible Monster Hunter Wilds will be on the hardware. Taking things into perspective, both MHW and Wild Hearts run at 1080p max on Series S with a frame-rate target that usually plunges below 30fps (more usually on Wilds). The difference is, Wild Hearts was heavily compromised on Series S, which explains Koei Tecmo's effort to make this version more customized for the Switch 2 to the point of halving the original 70GB file size. Both run on very different engines though. While both Kunitsu-Gami and Street Fighter 6 prove RE Engine can run and look pretty well on the hardware, Wilds is a different beast. Hopefully, if it does arrive, won't look very different from Series S at least.
This game is looking very incredible and promising, and there's a huge Rare landmark here. Somehow as if it was from an alternate timeline where Rare's game formula evolved alongside Nintendo's, delivering similar but different (and in some ways improved) results.
It's amazing that mouse compatiblity can do wonders for a game like this. It makes me wish Sony would bring Dreams back one day and release it for more platforms. That game was definitely ahead of its time...
@Rooty Have you completed the game yet? Wouldn't you want to do more with the concept of capturing enemies and jumping anything open like a mad jumpman?
999 Power Moons may seem like a lot of content, many of them are obtained as a reward for exploring the most out of each kingdom. And some of them, well... let's just say they could've been bigger. They're similar to what previous 3D Mario games introduced (except Tostarena and The Moon, these are definitely more open-worldish), but with SMO's fluid gameplay style, it felt there could have been a bigger scope for every place, and that's not to mention the story itself, which many agreed felt a bit on the short-side, primparily due to the game's fast-paced nature. That same fast-paced nature asked for bigger words, if TLDR.
I've seen some thinking about the next 3D Mario game being an open-world, though personally I'd just wish they do something like TOKT and well, you can introduce the same Kingdoms but with different places, bigger scopes, longer things to do... heck, maybe a sequel to those stories themselves! DK Bananza is technically open with verticality, and the physics element has a lot of potential for BoTW-like longevity.
Just like Tears of the Kingdom, verticality is key to the game's structure. It's nice to see Nintendo embracing it more, it feels like a new kind of gameplay focus. The game is looking really promising. I feel the destruction element is key to differentiating DK from Mario, as with Mario you're simply keen to go through whatever obstacles are present while using different elements of gameplay. And visually, it wouldn't look out of place even on a PS5. It's going to be a interesting game to follow, but I wonder if it will be able to surpass expectations. Super Mario Odyssey was almost perfect, it only needed that longetivity element the two Zelda games did have...
Ah yes, Super Mario Odyssey, one of the most refined, polished and aesthetically pleasing games of all time, and a visual splendor even on Switch 1. Only held back by its short lenght... something I hope Bananza can help push much, much further. That's what its price tag suggest, right? And what this means for a potential Mario Odyssey sequel, well they're either not making it, or according to a rumour, a part of its team was also developing a new Mario game simultaneosuly. Nintendo themselves have teased a Mario platformer for the console, so it's a matter of time to see if it will eventually appear soon.
Well, at first I was worried it would be a late port, but then I realized WWE 2K entries tend to come earlier in the year than other sports series, so this is coming just 4 months after the other versions.
Hopefully its debut won't be botched this time, and a good hint of that effort is the fact The Island mode, only avaliable on current-gen, will indeed be avaliable on this version.
And even if it runs better than what 2K18 ran on the Switch 1, it'll be interesting to compare it with the other versions!
Also, what about the musical datamine found in the game's code? Does it still hint at some currently unavaliable functionality for the console?
It's not very likely but I feel the recommended price tag should be 29.99 if it truly won't offer much more beyond what was announced. Even with free updates, that's how much Rocket League costed before becoming free-to-play I think. The controls are at least very intuitive, but I worry this will be overshadowed easily by what could also be coming to the hardware the next months.
@SalvorHardin Asset streaming issues, even with Nanite and fast SSD? Haven't seen those cases yet, but the only thing I know about UE is that it's becoming a popular choice for games to look that shiny and fancy. Even the Switch made decent use of them with Pikmin 4 and SMT V. It may not be perfect, but it also depends on how the developer makes use of it. GF could simply make use of Unreal 4 if they can't handle UE5. Maybe it depends on how Beast of Reincarnation runs and how scalable it could be.
Considering how bad the original game tendend to drop, these small hitches seem to be related to asset streaming or anything related to the engine. Considering Game Freak will seemingly use Unreal Engine for Beast of Reincarnation, I kinda hope they switch to that for Gen 10 too.
I don't know, image quality docked seemss too high to be just 1080p, it was seemingly stated because that's the same resolution as the Series S while running at a stable 60fps. Any comparison point? Also, portable mode could be 1080p as well, if it still struggles while running it so low at 720p
But yeah, maybe a performance/quality mode could help with those instabilities. The first game was a benchmark for the PS4/Xbox One, that's interesting.
Are you kidding me? Do you realize this is exactly the kind of buzzword that damaged Wii U's reputation from third-parties in the first place? The "Nintendo gamers only buy Nintendo games" stigma was practically done thanks to the Switch's portability, it should have disappeared already.
This is very worrisome and deserves an insight. Maybe it was the first week and of course players were more interested on the first-party games. And the game-key card worries are nothing compared to supporting these big games on Nintendo's console. They need to be decently succesful on Switch 2 at least, especially the worthwhile ones. I mean, why else would Cyberpunk appear on the first places on UK charts? Portability, that's the reason you would get it on Switch 2.
How could I put it on simple personal words? I loved it! It brought me faith again on standalone Directs, this is Peak Nintendo and one of the best uses of current-gen hardware. The only concern I have is if all these content teased won't matter if it's going to be as short as Mario Odyssey, which was it's only and biggest flaw. Please make that higher price worthwhile, I hope it's truly packed with content.
This truly looks more like a Rare game the more I see it, those transformations and designs are just so creative! I just hope the bosses have more screentime than the Broodals. Besides, there's still some mystery from why some enemies look like Crocodiles.. And the Zebras themselves, they look like they're gonna sound like Chris Rock at any moment lol.
How funny. I just remembered how even the 3DS Chibi-Robo platformer had the best kind of amiibo support where you train a character up to higher levels of RPG-like stats. Fortunately the game is looking exciting enough to consider this a bump. I hope there is some way to build up things with anything you have in the overworld.
Hold on, I thought this was Mario's anniversary, yet Donkey Kong is already set to steal his spotlight! lol
But honestly, not even MKW has something quite like this, it's a perfect usage of a console's new features, and also made me realize I want Media Molecule's Dreams to come to Switch 2. Mouse Mode would be perfect for it.
When a 'Direct' is just 15 minutes long, you know it's just an extended overview trailer, like Mario Kart World... But hey, at least this one had new information! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0m_uNaSres
In general, the noticeable lack of Switch 2 announcement during recent summer events reflects how recent the console is and how much devs actually had dev kits not long until recently. My guess is they're working on a COD game for Switch 2, but they won't reveal it right now.
Just, since this is a yearly franchise, please don't bring a late port for the same price just to announce a new entry months after. If this game doesn't come to Switch 2 at launch, then give it a window of at least 1 month and a half to release it or not to release it.
Interesting announcement that definitely has a lot of people talking abot hardware capabilities and positioning..
The base Xbox Rog Ally seems to have specs more inline with Steam Deck (maybe even higher), but with noticeable more memory. The Rog Xbox Ally X on the other hand... that surely sounds like a portable powerhouse. 24GB sound exaggerating though, who knows how much of it will be actually directed to games, but it'll surely make it very future-proof.
In comparison, an optimised Switch 2 game has results similar to the original Rog Ally in terms of resolution and framerate, but on handheld mode that has a big price on battery life. The battery on the Switch 2 itself is..not that big and that has already resulted on the reported lower battery runtime.
Thing is, the Switch 2 is $450 in comparison (and likely $400 had not been for the dock), it's a more console-like prospoition, and a bigger battery would've likely make the product more expensive, and that is non doubt the main advantage of Nintendo's hybrid. It's like comparing a console to a PC, these beefier rigs will always be more expensive and less accesible to the general audience, especially when we're still waiting for this gen's consoles to recieve a general price cut. Nintendo's good positioned in that respect, they're essentially selling current-gen to the mainstream if the sales are an indicator.
Who knows what kind of revisions we could see ahead the generation, but right now they want to future-proof the most they can without making it too niche.
Digital Foundry once said that the Steam Deck was "closer to Xbox Series S than what the Switch was compared to PS4 and Xbox One". That should be enough buzzword.
The first PS4 comparison was made when the console was just revealed. Now it's good to hear that from the devs themselves, and it's better that way to be honest.
Basically... PS4/XOne - PS4 Pro/Series S - /One X --- Series X/PS5.
Where does the Switch 2 find in-between? Probably between PS4 and Series S, but it does have some inner tech like DLSS that makes scalability easier, which means it should find itself closer to the middle. Considering how compromised current-gen games can look on Series S it's definitely something to consider.
Wild Hearts for example, was severly compromised on Series S, to the point I thought they just couldn't optimise it properly, especially for the shading. The Switch 2 version has seemingly modified the lighting system to allow for more contrast between shadow and lighting, which will probably make it better-looking than the Series S version in some moments. Not to mention Hyrule Warriors will seemingly run at 60fps with high-quality graphics, which looks promising.
But anyway, the PS4 is still very surprisingly powerful in terms of numbers. It obviously got outclassed by current-gen, but more specifically, for the more expensive higher-end consoles. The Series S was made to be more accessible and it honestly does a good job at that. Thing is, with Rog Xbox Ally recently announced and probably promising outright Series S-level performance (maybe something a bit more with overclocking), the Switch 2 needs to find itself with a price advantage yet comparable performance when docked at least.
But to be honest I still have to see Dragon's Dogma 2 running on it. Games devs made specifically for the PS5 can sometimes look very compromised on Series S without much scalability offered by the majority, so how say, Final Fantasy XVI could run on Switch 2 is a good question.
Interesting to see the first ever Splatoon spin-off game.. and the fact this could've been a perfect announcement to kick off a Nintendo Direct implies there won't be the need to see one... or at least not one with first-party games. Well maybe excluding Bananza and Drag X Drive since both are coming soon. Not to mention, had it been a Direct, our research man Nogami-san would've been the one diving us into the game. Oh well....
But yeah this looks very slick both artistically and technically, heck maybe it looks even higher quality than Splatoon 3's free update! What is a mystery though is the gameplay, it's not very clear what genres it will explore, but maybe it could involve exploration and island survival.
Nice to see this game still showing life on Switch 2, maybe we could even get new Splatfests thereafter like the the second entry. I'll be interesting to see how it'll compare to Switch 1, and it looks slick and nice enough to finally be comparable to those high-quality screenshots they showed ever since Splatoon 2
I see this version has the 30fps on World Tour cap during fihts too, a drawback from last-gen. Instead of optimizing it further to make it reach 60fps, they decided to hold on that target and implement a motion blur effect that at least makes it more acceptable for some. Well except for those who dislike the effect... But what matters more is that this great game is now avaliable on Switch 2, and even includes some unique features, apart from the amiibo of course
With Mario Kart World (currently) not showing much interest on introducing non-Mario characters, something tells me SEGA is seeing this as a chance to turn this into the Smash Bros of Kart Racing games, they even got Steve there too!
They've already done this before on the All-Star games with Banjo & Kazooie and Wreck-It Ralph, but this sounds like a chance to turn it up to 11. Interesting!
To be honest, it's a nice upgrade, but not a revelation for this game. Not that it's not enough, it's just the fact this is one of the most refined and polished first-party game on Switch, the rendering features are PS4-level and how it achieved 60fps with so many visual splendour was impressive back then (and even gave the impression the Switch was more powerful than its specs suggested). The only drawback was that it was a bit blurry, and even with that improved the 60fps feeling is simply immersive no matter where or how you play it
I just can't wait for the next 3D Mario game that hopefully won't be a tough act to follow compared to Odyssey, just keeping the concept and make it bigger and longer would be great.
No surprises for the first-party games. Well maybe except for Welcome Tour. Fast Fusion is still better value after all, right? Oh well, it does indeed make for a fine title that wants you to download it, but you know the buzzword.
In terms of third-party releases though, it's even more interesting. I'm guessing the biggest ones are being bought "physically" (aka Key Card) while the smaller-scale ones are being downloaded or simplicity sake.
Nintendo prepared a lot of genres for the launch. Want an open-world cyberpunk setting? Try Cyberpunk 2077. Want a fantasy adventure where you play as a wizard in the Harry Potter universe? Hogwarts Legacy is waiting. Wanna try Yakuza 0? It feels good to play! Or the trending fighting game? You gotta play SF6. And don't forget Split Fiction, a game that uses the most of the joy-cons
It's a smart strategy, though one I hope doesn't feel too overwhelming to negatively affect the relevance of some titles. That was after all one of the Wii U's first mistakes that affected its reputation among developers. Of its 22 launch titles, only 5 or so of them actually became profitable.
I once had a dream of playing Fortnite at 60fps on a Switch Pro on handheld mode. That dream once had to wait... until now, and even better than what I imagined! There's a question many are asking though, will ray-tracing be avaliable? I'm guessing likely not at launch, but it could arrive eventually. It works on 30fps on the Steam Deck and even higher on other PC Handhelds, and that's hardware-based to booth!
So, a 2015 chipset took 500 engineers, that's believable. But the Switch's X1 was only different on clock speeds and RAM. Its true advantage over the previous X1 was its custom API which allowed any console graphical feature to work on it, but the numbers were basically the same.
Howeve it was still indeed a revelation to see console-quality games on mobile (either something a little more impressive than an Xbox 360 game, or a compromised PS4/Xbox One-quality game), and it surely enjoyed some years with that fine reputation, at least until the Steam Deck came out. I think that was the moment when suddenly seeing a console-quality game ported to Switch became less impressive. Steam Deck felt like the generational leap Nintendo didn't deliver back then.
But now we're finally seeing Switch's successor arrive, and from either being a "technical marvel" or "the most advanced graphics ever in a mobile device". I wonder if that resonates with "most powerful mobile chipset ever build". Thing is, it's indeed impressive on its early days, but we'll have to see how it'll stack up on launch. It at least has a reasonable price for its value, so we'll see what would make handheld mode
so efficent when running anything on that 1080p screen.
The thing is, ultra low power yet incredible performance? If that's true, then what would happen if someone decided to overclock the hardware, especially docked with its special fan? Maybe that would be the equivalent of the 25-30W output modes on a PC Handheld.
Resolution actually seems to be dynamic with a common number being 1080p on the open-world, and maybe higher on moments like Tera Raid Battles, but with a very effective anti-aliasing method. Besides framerate, the biggest change stems on loading times. In fact, if online is cross-gen we could be seeing an advantage with Switch 2 players, it seems at least considering how quick it took to activate Terastalization.
Not everything's optimized though, and it seems the incredibly quick loading times also stem from the fact textures and assets look the same as before. The worst fiasco though, is that the shadow draw distances are still as bafflingly low as before, and the higher resolution only makes it more noticeable. That issue is definitely a drawback on the game's settings and needs to be patched too.
Still, it gives a positive outlook on what a Switch 2 only Pokémon RPG could look, and what Game Freak could achieve on Gen 10.
I imagine it would be very crazy if higher modes applied to the open world too, that would be an interesting test for the hardware's memory reading speed.
Besides resolution and framerate, the main improvements are hopefully draw distances and not needing a loading screen for Mesagoza. I wish they could've gone further and improved texture and shadow quality too, but maybe that would've required more time. I also just noticed the Terastal animation is quite different. Besides probably not skipping frames, the terastal symbol and the particle effects all look and animate a bit different. It suggest there will likely be some small improvements there and there. Can't wait to see all the upgrades in action soon
Processing optimisations right? Like the player prediction methods from Tears of the Kingdom... they weren't enough this time to deliver their vision. Welcome to what it feels porting a PS4 game to the original Switch, Nintendo
I truly makes sense to make it a launch title then. At first I thought the graphics were a little too unimpressive because the lighting was more subdued, but now that I'm looking at it at every angle, the image quality, the rendering pipeline, everything feels truly modern here. In fact, I think it wasn't until they recieved the later kits that they discovered they could upgrade the resolution to 1440p docked, and boy does that make a huge first impression, the clarity is simply new territory for the game franchise, even bigger than the HD leap that was NSMBU on the Wii U's launch.
On Switch 1 the game could've simply been 30fps with less visual splendour, since more things here are running in real-time, it would not have looked as good as Mario Kart 8, not to mention potential memory limitations, so as a first impression for the new console it's doing great! Who knows what they could achieve on the future...
For someone who lived through the whole Switch era, it's amusing to see we're now expecting improvements over PS4 games instead of compromises, I do see some lighting modifications but apart from that, even the textures look the same , and those were made for its original 512MB platform in mind
This game was originally made for the PS3, then upgraded to the PS4 where it used its capabilities to the maximum 1080p60fps it could achieve, so it's not surprising it can reach higher on Switch 2, it looks 4K indeed.
This game could even run on the original Switch, even if it decides between 1080p30 or 720p60. With that in mind, it truly feels like a generational leap to expect 1080p60 on handheld mode.
But I'm more interested in how it'll handle the more recent Like a Dragon games that are even avaliable on PS4, it first needs to be a decent sales success at least.
When I see games that even "non-Nintendo gamers will pick up later", I think of titles such as Wii Sports, or more recently Switch Sports. Not even Nintendo Land or 1-2 Switch were able to reach those milestones. I think it would've been nice to include a Switch 2 Sports or something as a budget launch title, especially to accompany the core games, which are indeed plenty of.
I guess most of them could also technically run at 120fps, if Metroid Prime 4 will, I mean, that game is indeed packing a higher visual punch than the majority of the selected titles. As time passes, hopefully MK8 Deluxe would be another great showcase for maximum settings.
I'll also be interested on seeing to how much extent the framerate will be improved on Scarlet and Violet. Though I would also hope they could improve draw distances and popping, as those were also the biggest visuals distractions originally.
It's pretty good to hear that. Thanks to the engine's scalability, they likely won't need to make many changes. Generally, it'll be interesting to see how Switch 2 will fare in current-gen games.
Lifestyle ads were key to the commercial successes of both the Wii and the Switch, showcasing general audiences and the mainstream rather than simply children or families. This time, factoring the Switch 2's exclusive games and unique capabilities are key, maybe also adding something like "the power in your hands" for the third-party games on handheld mode, that would've been nice.
Comments 1,603
Re: New Pokémon Legends: Z-A Trailer Finally Gives Dragonite The Love He Deserves
Maybe it's not the Gen 10 game that has the chance of using the Switch 2 at maximum, but it truly looks slick on the new hardware! Image quality and that sweet 60fps response is revealing for the franchise, elegant indeed. It will take some time for the next-gen Pokémon game, but this game is looking more like a sweet pleasure and a good way of welcoming the franchise to a new generation of hardware.
And Mega Dragonite looks cool too. It keeps most of its usual features but it has Dragonair feels on it, which aligns with what fans wanted I suppose. Judging from some trainers, seems Staryu and Scraggy have going on with them too.
Re: New Pokémon Champions Gameplay Trailer Reveals 2026 Launch Window
"Ranked, Casual, or Private Battles" If this isn't the definitive replacement for competitive in the mainline games, then nothing will ever be. Can Pokémon hold items here? They'll need to modify HOME for that to be included.
I just wonder why it'll come out too late, maybe it's because they want to give traditional competitive a last hurrah for the next months? Still, I'm genuinelly excited, especially if it's free (maybe except anything related to those "V" coins)
But the visuals (once again) could be much better, where's the cinematism that the Stadium-like games had?
Re: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Is Getting Its Very Own Switch 2 Bundle
A Pokémon home console bundle... very smart move from them. I wonder how much it will last though, considering the MKW bundle is "limited-quantities".
Re: Drag X Drive Switch 2 eShop Price Revealed
That's actually the same price Rocket League had before becoming free-to-play! Wonderful I guess.
But we still have to see if its content will live up to what made Rocket League special when it first arrived, free updates or not.
Re: Switch 2 Exclusive 'Drag x Drive' Won't Include Local Multiplayer Support
The lack of local multiplayer could affect its chances of longetivity if its online services ever... no I will never think about that!
I'm sure this game won't depend on server services to keep living, it'll likely be just like Rocket League and offer diverse options without relying on popularity and momentum to keep living.
Re: Nintendo Announces 'Global Jam' Demo Event For Switch 2 Online Members
This is the Global Testfire/Testpunch strategy equivalent to this game. The difference is, well... both previous events were held when their consoles didn't had paid online.
Re: "Somewhat Mixed" - Digital Foundry Delivers Its Technical Analysis Of Donkey Kong Bananza
But they were clearly impressed. "Somewhat mixed" is kind of misleading.
If it wasn't locked to Double-Buffer V-Sync the juddering wouldn't be so noticeable, especially that boss fight that somehow drops that hard. It makes for an interesting benchmark for potential overclocking though.
But fundamentally, it's an admirable game that really looks current-gen in terms of how much it is achieving. It definitely needed a beefy CPU and RAM for that to happen. In some ways it looks like a PS5 game downscaled to Series S settings, which is frankly enough for me.
If this is just the beginning of what Nintendo can do with the hardware, then the future looks really exciting for its exclusive titles
Re: Nintendo Announces First Cast Members For The Legend Of Zelda Movie
I guess the reason many people (including me) wanted Hunter Schafer to play Zelda was because she looked perfect in case Zelda was based off her Twilight Princess incarnation. But the actual actress looks pretty well fitting too, more closely aligned with BoTW Zelda. Link looks fine too, but the plot is still a mystery.
Re: Rumour: A Nintendo Direct Is Set To Take Place Later This Month, It's Claimed
If that's true, it would shift the paradigm of Nintendo Direct airtimes for a long time. No more September hype?
But in general I'm really looking forward for the next Nintendo Direct (the first one of the Switch 2 era), it has huge potential of anything really. What I really hope is for one to focus more than just games, like increasing the value of what the Switch 2 can offer terms of content. How to make the most of their currently avaliable content.
From upgrading the Switch 2 UI to increasing the value of Switch Online (again). They have so much Switch 1 games they could upgrade already, of all kinds... maybe it's time for a Game Pass-like service?
Re: Donkey Kong Might Be Getting His Own Movie
From the same guys who once sued them for the Kong character, how ironic!
It'd be nice to see a Donkey Kong movie actually, the latest game is becoming very different enough from the main Mario franchise to simply look like yet another IP spin-off.
But for the sake of balance, I'd also love to see them adapt another Nintendo franchise to the big screen. Ever thought about Star Fox?
Re: Round Up: The First Reviews Are In For Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
It'll be very interesting to see how it compares between every single platform, from Switch 1 to PS5 Pro
Re: Koei Tecmo Releases New Switch 2 Demo For Wild Hearts S
It'll be the perfect portable version of the game, but it'll also serve as a proof-of-concept of how feasible Monster Hunter Wilds will be on the hardware.
Taking things into perspective, both MHW and Wild Hearts run at 1080p max on Series S with a frame-rate target that usually plunges below 30fps (more usually on Wilds). The difference is, Wild Hearts was heavily compromised on Series S, which explains Koei Tecmo's effort to make this version more customized for the Switch 2 to the point of halving the original 70GB file size.
Both run on very different engines though. While both Kunitsu-Gami and Street Fighter 6 prove RE Engine can run and look pretty well on the hardware, Wilds is a different beast. Hopefully, if it does arrive, won't look very different from Series S at least.
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Gets An Eight-Minute Overview Trailer
This game is looking very incredible and promising, and there's a huge Rare landmark here. Somehow as if it was from an alternate timeline where Rare's game formula evolved alongside Nintendo's, delivering similar but different (and in some ways improved) results.
Re: Game Builder Garage Fan-Made 'Direct' Reveals Multiple Amazing New Creations Alongside Switch 2 Update
It's amazing that mouse compatiblity can do wonders for a game like this. It makes me wish Sony would bring Dreams back one day and release it for more platforms. That game was definitely ahead of its time...
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Developer Has Been Revealed
@Rooty Have you completed the game yet? Wouldn't you want to do more with the concept of capturing enemies and jumping anything open like a mad jumpman?
999 Power Moons may seem like a lot of content, many of them are obtained as a reward for exploring the most out of each kingdom. And some of them, well... let's just say they could've been bigger. They're similar to what previous 3D Mario games introduced (except Tostarena and The Moon, these are definitely more open-worldish), but with SMO's fluid gameplay style, it felt there could have been a bigger scope for every place, and that's not to mention the story itself, which many agreed felt a bit on the short-side, primparily due to the game's fast-paced nature.
That same fast-paced nature asked for bigger words, if TLDR.
I've seen some thinking about the next 3D Mario game being an open-world, though personally I'd just wish they do something like TOKT and well, you can introduce the same Kingdoms but with different places, bigger scopes, longer things to do... heck, maybe a sequel to those stories themselves! DK Bananza is technically open with verticality, and the physics element has a lot of potential for BoTW-like longevity.
Re: Preview: Donkey Kong Bananza - DK's Getting His Own Odyssey, And It's A Helluva Trip
Just like Tears of the Kingdom, verticality is key to the game's structure. It's nice to see Nintendo embracing it more, it feels like a new kind of gameplay focus.
The game is looking really promising. I feel the destruction element is key to differentiating DK from Mario, as with Mario you're simply keen to go through whatever obstacles are present while using different elements of gameplay. And visually, it wouldn't look out of place even on a PS5. It's going to be a interesting game to follow, but I wonder if it will be able to surpass expectations. Super Mario Odyssey was almost perfect, it only needed that longetivity element the two Zelda games did have...
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Developer Has Been Revealed
Ah yes, Super Mario Odyssey, one of the most refined, polished and aesthetically pleasing games of all time, and a visual splendor even on Switch 1. Only held back by its short lenght... something I hope Bananza can help push much, much further. That's what its price tag suggest, right?
And what this means for a potential Mario Odyssey sequel, well they're either not making it, or according to a rumour, a part of its team was also developing a new Mario game simultaneosuly. Nintendo themselves have teased a Mario platformer for the console, so it's a matter of time to see if it will eventually appear soon.
Re: WWE 2K25 Is Finally Confirmed For Switch 2 Alongside Release Date
Well, at first I was worried it would be a late port, but then I realized WWE 2K entries tend to come earlier in the year than other sports series, so this is coming just 4 months after the other versions.
Hopefully its debut won't be botched this time, and a good hint of that effort is the fact The Island mode, only avaliable on current-gen, will indeed be avaliable on this version.
And even if it runs better than what 2K18 ran on the Switch 1, it'll be interesting to compare it with the other versions!
Also, what about the musical datamine found in the game's code? Does it still hint at some currently unavaliable functionality for the console?
Re: Nintendo Confirms The Release Date For Drag X Drive On Switch 2
It's not very likely but I feel the recommended price tag should be 29.99 if it truly won't offer much more beyond what was announced. Even with free updates, that's how much Rocket League costed before becoming free-to-play I think.
The controls are at least very intuitive, but I worry this will be overshadowed easily by what could also be coming to the hardware the next months.
Re: Digital Foundry Delivers Its Tech Review For Pokémon Scarlet & Violet On Switch 2
@SalvorHardin Asset streaming issues, even with Nanite and fast SSD? Haven't seen those cases yet, but the only thing I know about UE is that it's becoming a popular choice for games to look that shiny and fancy. Even the Switch made decent use of them with Pikmin 4 and SMT V.
It may not be perfect, but it also depends on how the developer makes use of it. GF could simply make use of Unreal 4 if they can't handle UE5. Maybe it depends on how Beast of Reincarnation runs and how scalable it could be.
Re: Digital Foundry Delivers Its Tech Review For Pokémon Scarlet & Violet On Switch 2
Considering how bad the original game tendend to drop, these small hitches seem to be related to asset streaming or anything related to the engine. Considering Game Freak will seemingly use Unreal Engine for Beast of Reincarnation, I kinda hope they switch to that for Gen 10 too.
Re: Review: Hitman World Of Assassination - Signature Edition (Switch 2) - Not Yet The Showstopping Port 47 Deserves
I don't know, image quality docked seemss too high to be just 1080p, it was seemingly stated because that's the same resolution as the Series S while running at a stable 60fps. Any comparison point? Also, portable mode could be 1080p as well, if it still struggles while running it so low at 720p
But yeah, maybe a performance/quality mode could help with those instabilities. The first game was a benchmark for the PS4/Xbox One, that's interesting.
Re: Third-Party Launch Games On Switch 2 Reportedly Sold "Very Low Numbers"
Are you kidding me? Do you realize this is exactly the kind of buzzword that damaged Wii U's reputation from third-parties in the first place? The "Nintendo gamers only buy Nintendo games" stigma was practically done thanks to the Switch's portability, it should have disappeared already.
This is very worrisome and deserves an insight. Maybe it was the first week and of course players were more interested on the first-party games. And the game-key card worries are nothing compared to supporting these big games on Nintendo's console. They need to be decently succesful on Switch 2 at least, especially the worthwhile ones. I mean, why else would Cyberpunk appear on the first places on UK charts? Portability, that's the reason you would get it on Switch 2.
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Features Two-Player Co-Op, And You Can Even GameShare To Switch 1
Considering how heavy this game is looking this is very impressive. I hope there's enough latency for it to work.
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Direct: Every Announcement - How Would You Rate It?
How could I put it on simple personal words? I loved it!
It brought me faith again on standalone Directs, this is Peak Nintendo and one of the best uses of current-gen hardware. The only concern I have is if all these content teased won't matter if it's going to be as short as Mario Odyssey, which was it's only and biggest flaw. Please make that higher price worthwhile, I hope it's truly packed with content.
Re: Check Out Donkey Kong Bananza's All-New Kong Cast Members & Animal Transformations
This truly looks more like a Rare game the more I see it, those transformations and designs are just so creative! I just hope the bosses have more screentime than the Broodals. Besides, there's still some mystery from why some enemies look like Crocodiles..
And the Zebras themselves, they look like they're gonna sound like Chris Rock at any moment lol.
Re: Say Hello To Pauline In Donkey Kong Bananza
This was a truly big surprise. I didn't expect a Donkey Kong game at all to have such an engaging story pitch. Now I'm really interested in the story.
Re: Donkey Kong Gets A New amiibo, Nintendo Details How They Work In DK Bananza
How funny. I just remembered how even the 3DS Chibi-Robo platformer had the best kind of amiibo support where you train a character up to higher levels of RPG-like stats.
Fortunately the game is looking exciting enough to consider this a bump. I hope there is some way to build up things with anything you have in the overworld.
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Channels Super Mario 64 Energy With Its 'DK Artist' Mode
Hold on, I thought this was Mario's anniversary, yet Donkey Kong is already set to steal his spotlight! lol
But honestly, not even MKW has something quite like this, it's a perfect usage of a console's new features, and also made me realize I want Media Molecule's Dreams to come to Switch 2. Mouse Mode would be perfect for it.
Re: Donkey Kong Bananza Direct Revealed For Wednesday, 18th June 2025
When a 'Direct' is just 15 minutes long, you know it's just an extended overview trailer, like Mario Kart World...
But hey, at least this one had new information!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0m_uNaSres
What I just hope here is probably something more akin to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKWBv-djiKk
Re: Yes, Call Of Duty Is Still On The Way To Nintendo Hardware
In general, the noticeable lack of Switch 2 announcement during recent summer events reflects how recent the console is and how much devs actually had dev kits not long until recently. My guess is they're working on a COD game for Switch 2, but they won't reveal it right now.
Just, since this is a yearly franchise, please don't bring a late port for the same price just to announce a new entry months after. If this game doesn't come to Switch 2 at launch, then give it a window of at least 1 month and a half to release it or not to release it.
Re: Xbox Officially Enters The Handheld Space, But Nintendo Won't Be Worried
Interesting announcement that definitely has a lot of people talking abot hardware capabilities and positioning..
The base Xbox Rog Ally seems to have specs more inline with Steam Deck (maybe even higher), but with noticeable more memory. The Rog Xbox Ally X on the other hand... that surely sounds like a portable powerhouse. 24GB sound exaggerating though, who knows how much of it will be actually directed to games, but it'll surely make it very future-proof.
In comparison, an optimised Switch 2 game has results similar to the original Rog Ally in terms of resolution and framerate, but on handheld mode that has a big price on battery life. The battery on the Switch 2 itself is..not that big and that has already resulted on the reported lower battery runtime.
Thing is, the Switch 2 is $450 in comparison (and likely $400 had not been for the dock), it's a more console-like prospoition, and a bigger battery would've likely make the product more expensive, and that is non doubt the main advantage of Nintendo's hybrid. It's like comparing a console to a PC, these beefier rigs will always be more expensive and less accesible to the general audience, especially when we're still waiting for this gen's consoles to recieve a general price cut. Nintendo's good positioned in that respect, they're essentially selling current-gen to the mainstream if the sales are an indicator.
Who knows what kind of revisions we could see ahead the generation, but right now they want to future-proof the most they can without making it too niche.
Re: Forget The PS4, Koei Tecmo Reckons Switch 2 Is Closer To Xbox Series S
Digital Foundry once said that the Steam Deck was "closer to Xbox Series S than what the Switch was compared to PS4 and Xbox One". That should be enough buzzword.
The first PS4 comparison was made when the console was just revealed. Now it's good to hear that from the devs themselves, and it's better that way to be honest.
Basically... PS4/XOne - PS4 Pro/Series S - /One X --- Series X/PS5.
Where does the Switch 2 find in-between? Probably between PS4 and Series S, but it does have some inner tech like DLSS that makes scalability easier, which means it should find itself closer to the middle. Considering how compromised current-gen games can look on Series S it's definitely something to consider.
Wild Hearts for example, was severly compromised on Series S, to the point I thought they just couldn't optimise it properly, especially for the shading. The Switch 2 version has seemingly modified the lighting system to allow for more contrast between shadow and lighting, which will probably make it better-looking than the Series S version in some moments. Not to mention Hyrule Warriors will seemingly run at 60fps with high-quality graphics, which looks promising.
But anyway, the PS4 is still very surprisingly powerful in terms of numbers. It obviously got outclassed by current-gen, but more specifically, for the more expensive higher-end consoles. The Series S was made to be more accessible and it honestly does a good job at that. Thing is, with Rog Xbox Ally recently announced and probably promising outright Series S-level performance (maybe something a bit more with overclocking), the Switch 2 needs to find itself with a price advantage yet comparable performance when docked at least.
But to be honest I still have to see Dragon's Dogma 2 running on it. Games devs made specifically for the PS5 can sometimes look very compromised on Series S without much scalability offered by the majority, so how say, Final Fantasy XVI could run on Switch 2 is a good question.
Re: Splatoon Raiders, A New Splatoon Spin-Off, Is Confirmed For Switch 2
Interesting to see the first ever Splatoon spin-off game.. and the fact this could've been a perfect announcement to kick off a Nintendo Direct implies there won't be the need to see one... or at least not one with first-party games. Well maybe excluding Bananza and Drag X Drive since both are coming soon. Not to mention, had it been a Direct, our research man Nogami-san would've been the one diving us into the game. Oh well....
But yeah this looks very slick both artistically and technically, heck maybe it looks even higher quality than Splatoon 3's free update! What is a mystery though is the gameplay, it's not very clear what genres it will explore, but maybe it could involve exploration and island survival.
Re: Splatoon 3 To Get Free Switch 2 Update Later This Week
Nice to see this game still showing life on Switch 2, maybe we could even get new Splatfests thereafter like the the second entry.
I'll be interesting to see how it'll compare to Switch 1, and it looks slick and nice enough to finally be comparable to those high-quality screenshots they showed ever since Splatoon 2
Re: Review: Street Fighter 6: Years 1-2 Fighters Edition (Switch 2) - Just One Caveat Holds Back Capcom's Finest
I see this version has the 30fps on World Tour cap during fihts too, a drawback from last-gen. Instead of optimizing it further to make it reach 60fps, they decided to hold on that target and implement a motion blur effect that at least makes it more acceptable for some. Well except for those who dislike the effect...
But what matters more is that this great game is now avaliable on Switch 2, and even includes some unique features, apart from the amiibo of course
Re: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Switch 2 Version Announced Alongside "Paid Upgrade" For Switch
With Mario Kart World (currently) not showing much interest on introducing non-Mario characters, something tells me SEGA is seeing this as a chance to turn this into the Smash Bros of Kart Racing games, they even got Steve there too!
They've already done this before on the All-Star games with Banjo & Kazooie and Wreck-It Ralph, but this sounds like a chance to turn it up to 11. Interesting!
Re: Video: Super Mario Odyssey Shines On Switch 2 In This Side-By-Side Graphics Comparison
To be honest, it's a nice upgrade, but not a revelation for this game. Not that it's not enough, it's just the fact this is one of the most refined and polished first-party game on Switch, the rendering features are PS4-level and how it achieved 60fps with so many visual splendour was impressive back then (and even gave the impression the Switch was more powerful than its specs suggested). The only drawback was that it was a bit blurry, and even with that improved the 60fps feeling is simply immersive no matter where or how you play it
I just can't wait for the next 3D Mario game that hopefully won't be a tough act to follow compared to Odyssey, just keeping the concept and make it bigger and longer would be great.
Re: Switch 2 eShop "Top-Selling" Games At Launch Revealed
No surprises for the first-party games. Well maybe except for Welcome Tour. Fast Fusion is still better value after all, right? Oh well, it does indeed make for a fine title that wants you to download it, but you know the buzzword.
In terms of third-party releases though, it's even more interesting. I'm guessing the biggest ones are being bought "physically" (aka Key Card) while the smaller-scale ones are being downloaded or simplicity sake.
Nintendo prepared a lot of genres for the launch. Want an open-world cyberpunk setting? Try Cyberpunk 2077. Want a fantasy adventure where you play as a wizard in the Harry Potter universe? Hogwarts Legacy is waiting. Wanna try Yakuza 0? It feels good to play! Or the trending fighting game? You gotta play SF6. And don't forget Split Fiction, a game that uses the most of the joy-cons
It's a smart strategy, though one I hope doesn't feel too overwhelming to negatively affect the relevance of some titles. That was after all one of the Wii U's first mistakes that affected its reputation among developers. Of its 22 launch titles, only 5 or so of them actually became profitable.
Re: 60FPS, Higher Resolution, Mouse Controls - Fortnite On Switch 2 Sounds Like A Big Step Up
I once had a dream of playing Fortnite at 60fps on a Switch Pro on handheld mode. That dream once had to wait... until now, and even better than what I imagined!
There's a question many are asking though, will ray-tracing be avaliable?
I'm guessing likely not at launch, but it could arrive eventually. It works on 30fps on the Steam Deck and even higher on other PC Handhelds, and that's hardware-based to booth!
Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Chip "Unlike Anything We've Ever Built Before" Says Nvidia CEO
So, a 2015 chipset took 500 engineers, that's believable. But the Switch's X1 was only different on clock speeds and RAM. Its true advantage over the previous X1 was its custom API which allowed any console graphical feature to work on it, but the numbers were basically the same.
Howeve it was still indeed a revelation to see console-quality games on mobile (either something a little more impressive than an Xbox 360 game, or a compromised PS4/Xbox One-quality game), and it surely enjoyed some years with that fine reputation, at least until the Steam Deck came out. I think that was the moment when suddenly seeing a console-quality game ported to Switch became less impressive. Steam Deck felt like the generational leap Nintendo didn't deliver back then.
But now we're finally seeing Switch's successor arrive, and from either being a "technical marvel" or "the most advanced graphics ever in a mobile device". I wonder if that resonates with "most powerful mobile chipset ever build". Thing is, it's indeed impressive on its early days, but we'll have to see how it'll stack up on launch. It at least has a reasonable price for its value, so we'll see what would make handheld mode
so efficent when running anything on that 1080p screen.
The thing is, ultra low power yet incredible performance? If that's true, then what would happen if someone decided to overclock the hardware, especially docked with its special fan? Maybe that would be the equivalent of the 25-30W output modes on a PC Handheld.
Re: Early Impressions Of Pokémon Scarlet And Violet On Switch 2 Are Very Positive
Resolution actually seems to be dynamic with a common number being 1080p on the open-world, and maybe higher on moments like Tera Raid Battles, but with a very effective anti-aliasing method. Besides framerate, the biggest change stems on loading times. In fact, if online is cross-gen we could be seeing an advantage with Switch 2 players, it seems at least considering how quick it took to activate Terastalization.
Not everything's optimized though, and it seems the incredibly quick loading times also stem from the fact textures and assets look the same as before. The worst fiasco though, is that the shadow draw distances are still as bafflingly low as before, and the higher resolution only makes it more noticeable. That issue is definitely a drawback on the game's settings and needs to be patched too.
Still, it gives a positive outlook on what a Switch 2 only Pokémon RPG could look, and what Game Freak could achieve on Gen 10.
Re: Mario Kart World Doesn't Include A 200cc Difficulty Mode
I imagine it would be very crazy if higher modes applied to the open world too, that would be an interesting test for the hardware's memory reading speed.
Re: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Footage Shows 60fps Gameplay For Switch 2
Besides resolution and framerate, the main improvements are hopefully draw distances and not needing a loading screen for Mesagoza. I wish they could've gone further and improved texture and shadow quality too, but maybe that would've required more time.
I also just noticed the Terastal animation is quite different. Besides probably not skipping frames, the terastal symbol and the particle effects all look and animate a bit different. It suggest there will likely be some small improvements there and there. Can't wait to see all the upgrades in action soon
Re: Mario Kart World Was Originally In Development For Switch 1
Processing optimisations right? Like the player prediction methods from Tears of the Kingdom... they weren't enough this time to deliver their vision. Welcome to what it feels porting a PS4 game to the original Switch, Nintendo
I truly makes sense to make it a launch title then. At first I thought the graphics were a little too unimpressive because the lighting was more subdued, but now that I'm looking at it at every angle, the image quality, the rendering pipeline, everything feels truly modern here. In fact, I think it wasn't until they recieved the later kits that they discovered they could upgrade the resolution to 1440p docked, and boy does that make a huge first impression, the clarity is simply new territory for the game franchise, even bigger than the HD leap that was NSMBU on the Wii U's launch.
On Switch 1 the game could've simply been 30fps with less visual splendour, since more things here are running in real-time, it would not have looked as good as Mario Kart 8, not to mention potential memory limitations, so as a first impression for the new console it's doing great! Who knows what they could achieve on the future...
Re: Yakuza 0 Comparison Video May Give Switch 2 The Edge Over PS4
For someone who lived through the whole Switch era, it's amusing to see we're now expecting improvements over PS4 games instead of compromises, I do see some lighting modifications but apart from that, even the textures look the same , and those were made for its original 512MB platform in mind
This game was originally made for the PS3, then upgraded to the PS4 where it used its capabilities to the maximum 1080p60fps it could achieve, so it's not surprising it can reach higher on Switch 2, it looks 4K indeed.
This game could even run on the original Switch, even if it decides between 1080p30 or 720p60. With that in mind, it truly feels like a generational leap to expect 1080p60 on handheld mode.
But I'm more interested in how it'll handle the more recent Like a Dragon games that are even avaliable on PS4, it first needs to be a decent sales success at least.
Re: Nintendo: "Appetite" For Mario Kart And Series' Accessibility Makes It Ideal For Switch 2's Launch
When I see games that even "non-Nintendo gamers will pick up later", I think of titles such as Wii Sports, or more recently Switch Sports. Not even Nintendo Land or 1-2 Switch were able to reach those milestones. I think it would've been nice to include a Switch 2 Sports or something as a budget launch title, especially to accompany the core games, which are indeed plenty of.
Re: Zelda Fans Are Concerned About The Free Switch 2 Updates, But Don't Worry
I guess most of them could also technically run at 120fps, if Metroid Prime 4 will, I mean, that game is indeed packing a higher visual punch than the majority of the selected titles. As time passes, hopefully MK8 Deluxe would be another great showcase for maximum settings.
I'll also be interested on seeing to how much extent the framerate will be improved on Scarlet and Violet. Though I would also hope they could improve draw distances and popping, as those were also the biggest visuals distractions originally.
Re: "It's Very Powerful" - Borderlands 4 Dev Hypes Up The "Perfect" Switch 2
It's pretty good to hear that. Thanks to the engine's scalability, they likely won't need to make many changes. Generally, it'll be interesting to see how Switch 2 will fare in current-gen games.
Re: Video: Nintendo Kicks-Off Switch 2's Marketing Campaign Down Under
Lifestyle ads were key to the commercial successes of both the Wii and the Switch, showcasing general audiences and the mainstream rather than simply children or families.
This time, factoring the Switch 2's exclusive games and unique capabilities are key, maybe also adding something like "the power in your hands" for the third-party games on handheld mode, that would've been nice.