The "current" in "Which current gaming hardware do you own?" is interesting, as it made me realise that I really don’t like any of the new consoles currently available. I still play games on ‘retro’ hardware, which are completely new to me. I feel sorry for the generations to come, that are not going to be able to dive into then old catalogues, once physical games are gone.
I have to admit that I was one of the suckers who fell for the hype and bought the first game, but ultimately didn't like it. I really tried hard and started over with month in- between again and again. I love the atmosphere, the sounds, the animation … but I simply hated the gameplay. So for me, there should be a ‘Never again’ option in the poll. I expected people to rave about how much better the sequel is than the original, but since no one is writing that, I'll stay clear of it. And I actually wonder if the comparatively ‘low’ price is to generate more sales up front before everyone either says ‘meh, more of the same’ or even ‘we waited this long and THIS is what we get?!’ I'm not saying this game is bad, nor that its predecessor was bad, but they're clearly not for everyone. On the positive side, it has taught me to pay attention to the hype-machine and look for demos whenever possible. Or at least discounts.
@Doctor-Moo Yes, you are right, I didn't think of that. I had a look at the screenshots in the eShop, and found the text easier on the eye than I expected, but for me it's still to small for 40 hours of reading.
@darkfenrir Fair, if that is important, the option is Steamdeck or Switch 2. Nintendo currently wins that, even with the the same games usually having higher prices. I don't think 150 million units are on the horizon from that alone, and I would be surprised if Nintendo would drop Switch 1 support before they have a low price option version of the 2 on the market.
I wonder if people like said “port specialist” know that Nintendo fans have learned over the last 8 years that there are great games on other consoles thanks to their work, and that maybe those fans are starting to realize that they can save a lot of money by getting one of those consoles instead?
A big thank you to all early adopters. I had already thought that Switch 2 might not be for me, and now I'm sure of it. At least for another year or so. So many people saying they use their handheld mainly docked …
Nintendo, with a market capitalization of 97 billion dollars, has turned our own devices into their billboards for free. And now, they want to collect our data for the privilege of watching their commercials. Remember, if the app is free, you are the product. Dystopian.
Nintendo Today! on the Apple App Store:
App Privacy
The developer, Nintendo Co., Ltd., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. […]
Data Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected and linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
Developer’s Advertising or Marketing Browsing History Usage Data Product Interaction
Analytics Browsing History Identifiers: User ID, Device ID(!) Usage Data
Product Personalization Browsing History Identifiers: User ID
Usage Data Product Interaction
App Functionality Contact Info: Physical Address, Email Address, Name (!!!) Browsing History Identifiers: User ID
Usage Data: Product Interaction, Other Usage Data(??)
Data Not Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected but is not linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes: Analytics Diagnostics: Crash Data, Performance Data
@Strawblaze Fully agree: if the user experience of contract customers is worse than that of illegal users, piracy will thrive and vice versa. e.g. Apple's iTunes Store has significantly reduced pirated music, Netflix has reduced pirated movies.
In view of the recent changes, I read the current contracts, took about an hour. Nintendo revokes licenses of purchased items in the event of account cancellation, whether they or we cancel, and for whatever reason. As a result, we don't "own" a single digital thing on Switch or Switch 2, they are lending it to us. I've spent thousands of dollars in their store, assuming that I can use those purchases for as long as my hardware works, similar to how it is on previous consoles. Now they are claiming the right to end my consumption at any time at their discretion.
It is important to realize that the real customers of a publicly traded company are the shareholders, not the consumers. They see their consumers as a commodity, a transactional necessity. With this in mind, it's easy to understand why they believe that we don't "own" anything they produce, not even the hardware. We "consume" it, and they want to be the ones to decide when an item has been consumed.
For me, it's only going to be physical games from now on until this has been tested in court and hopefully revoked by a judge.
@WiltonRoots I was thinking of the Wii period as better times, since that was when systems came with heaps of installed software that one could have fun with, and when online became a thing, free of charge.
I remember the controversies surrounding rentals in the 80s and 90s and wonder if the situation could have been better for consumers now if Nintendo had managed to ban rentals back then, at least for a period of time immediately after release. That might have created a stronger incentive for physical games, as there could have been a commercial interest in a high amount of copies sold at a set time after the initial release. Instead, they (like seemingly every other corp) are slowly transitioning to a subscription-based business model. I wouldn't have a problem with that if they weren't such poor stewards of their own intellectual property. Nintendo wants to be like Disney, and I mean that as an insult.
A note on modding: Nintendo won't maintain your hardware forever. The modding community makes it possible to play games on original hardware, hopefully for decades to come. To this day, I still buy games for the consoles I still use, and spare parts when something needs repairing. Nintendo is trying to ban this with legal scare tactics that are luckily illegal in some more civilized parts of the world. They'd rather make us pay again for games we own as emulations on their latest hardware, only to play them in significantly worse condition. They clearly have no interest in properly preserving their own legacy, and I'm starting to hate them for it.
I'm on my third Wii now, and its the first one I've ever modded. My first Wii was replaced by Nintendo because of a faulty GPU. The second one I wanted to send in because of a dead drive. They told me they couldn't repair it, as they didn't have any replacement parts left. I bought the third Wii (in unopened original packaging and therefore an expensive collector's item) and sent it in with the defective one. They transferred all the data, games, settings, safe files and most importantly the keys needed to authenticate downloaded content. When I got my new brain transplanted Wii back, I hacked it with the incredible tools provided by the modding comunity, and ripped my entire library. I still continue to do so with my new purchases. The idea is to use the drive as little as possible to extend its life.
I realize that the Wii was a golden age for Nintendo and its customers. I remember not only Nintendo's better days, but also the bad days before. I'm not giving up on them, but I'll ride this out until they get better again. And if I lose interest in Nintendo's new developements completely in the meantime, I haven't lost anything.
@WiltonRoots The hearts below the swansongs seem to indicate that some people do care. Some people who grew up with a better, kinder Nintendo seriously loved them. The betrayal hurts, and people are comforted to see they're not alone, others also remember these better times and feel the same way. And of course you will see us posting here in the future. We will not throw away our hardware, and we will follow future developments and comment on them.
Nintendo lost me as a loyal customer about two or three years ago; their rent-a-bad-emulation service was the final straw. And yet I wanted to give them a fair chance for the Switch 2. If they sweeten the deal in a couple of years, I might return, but I think till this happens I'm a "retro" gamer on the systems I already own. I really hate where the industry as a whole is going.
Paraphrased: "If you're a stingy loser, of course we can sell you the trash we touted as great last time until we run out." Over the last 19 years, their selling point was fun over horsepower. Their systems were more affordable and more user centric at the same time. They no longer want to sell the most affordable console, but still want you to be okay with having the weakest one. This is getting worse by the day.
Nintendo is behaving like politicians here, ignoring the real issues and instead talking about something no one cared about just to deliver their talking point once again: Switch 2 is about using the paid online service.
We've made it 8 years on the Switch without chat, nobody needs it now, and the video feature is so incredibly irrelevant. They're trying to create hype around the C button for chat, when the real hype is C for cost. Anyone remember all the fun applications that previous systems came with? And the free online features? Maybe Nintendo should go back to giving a little more before charging for everything.
The Switch feels dead compared to previous systems, cold and impersonal, the only bit of personality is the loading animation for the shop. Go figure. And now they've removed the last ounce of quirkiness by making the Switch 2 almost completely colorless. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the first thing that appears on the screen after switching the 2 on is “Select your payment option”.
And another reason to delay buying the Switch 2 by 1 to 3 years. The first reports of there being a common problem with the Joy-Cons came as early as 2017, but it took Nintendo until 2020 to even acknowledge that the drift was real.
@the_beaver Oh, it will run well, Witcher 3 showed it can be done. But will it look good? I'm not that interested in the graphical fidelity of games, I still prefer Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii to the look of the Switch port. But I can't help but notice that all the ports announced for Switch 2 so far still look significantly worse than they did on other systems years ago.
@the_beaver Yes, the game requires powerful hardware. Weird that Nintendo would put something like that on the floor when the selling point for the new system is its performance boost. It's as if they're saying, "Look, it's so powerful that it can run this flagship game almost well".
There's no way I'm going to pay that much for a graphics update. I might reconsider when there's a decent library of Switch 2 exclusives. Watered down ports of old games from other systems, paid "upgrades" of games I have already played, and a chat function I would never use are not convincing to me. I think I'll sit this one out again, like I skipped the GamCube and Wii U.
The performance is shameful. I hope Nintendo hires some of the hackers they've been going after lately, these people know how to analyze and optimize for a given hardware and all its iterations. It's unbelievable that a Japanese company has so little sense of pride and honor. Every game Nintendo release for their own hardware should highlight the capabilities of the hardware and absolutely outshine any third party title!
Poking fun at a dead show on a dying platform using screenshots from a dead platform. That's meta, and I love it. Bonus: I keep reading RedPoop, and I refuse to correct myself.
@Chlocean The photographer has a right to be compensated for the use of their work, if the artwork is PD or not, and the picture agency is going to demand their share. Leaving the watermark in is basically an IOU inviting the lawyers to come collect.
Classy of Nintendo not to put the old games on sale right now. I bet many who never even considered this franchise would get them at 50% off right now that they are in the news.
"Interestingly, Kirby 64 appears to have the least amount of patches and hacks that I’ve seen so far for this emulator. There are the usual renderer settings adjustments present, but there are no CPU instruction patches or hooks."
Yesterday: That's because Kirby is PeRfEcT!
Today: Nintendo will fix it in the next update …
@Itakiteacher from the quotations @Dragoduval put around “most,” I would assume the comment was questioning the statement
"most" Nintendo Switch Online users in North America have already upgraded to the Expansion Pack.
Nintendo has since released the actual Japanese, and an official English translation of the Q&A, and we know for a fact now VGC published a misleading translation.
As for:
If most players have it then logically most players would think it's worth it.
Disregarding the debunked “most” claim, the logic in this statement is flawed. One can't conclude that subscription customers are satisfied with the value they receive till they renew the subscription. Furukawa said, in the same Q&A, that “not all consumers renew their subscriptions after the expiration of their membership periods.“ Nintendo Switch Online is not worth it to every customer after their first year and/or a free trial, and there is currently no way to get the Expansion Pack without NSO.
Nintendo's NSO+EP customers are not able to make an informed decision, though reviews are helpful, as are discussions like the one we are having right now. Since we are on a website dedicated to Nintendo, frequented by Nintendo fans, I believe commentators criticising Nintendo's services want them to do better.
1. If NSO and the Expansion Pack were actually doing well, Nintendo would not withhold the numbers. 2. If N64 usage was significant, they would ramp up N64 controller production.
Robert Sephazon's translation:
"By region, the subscription rate is particularly high in the United States. Immediately following the service launch, most people upgraded to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack."
Nintendo's official translation:
"By region, the ratio is especially high in the United States. When we first started Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, the majority of subscribers were those who migrated from the original Nintendo Switch Online membership plans."
edit: To me that reads less like "Most North American NSO subscribers upgraded to + EP," but more like "We did not get new NSO subscribers because of EP when it launched."
edit 2: @AlanaHagues How about an update to the article pointing out the differences in translation?
From within the bubble of hardcore fandom, it's easy to demand a niche game. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo had a more realistic assessment of Mother 3's luster based on the NSO Earthbound data.
Overpricing is intentional; the sellers likely don't expect to sell for this price. Buyers are more likely to perceive $ 50 as fair, if they believe the product has a market value of $ 200+. Look up “decoy effect“.
No. Why is this even a question? As long as there is no 100% no-questions-asked-money-back policy from the stores (offline and online, e-stores included), and developers deliver broken trash and drag their feet for YEARS to repair their mess: NO PREORDERS!
Offtopic: This artwork is so bad! It looks like something a teenager painted, and I wonder if this was done intentionally to appeal to the targeted market.
@KateGray Reviews reflect one person's subjective opinion. Nothing wrong with that in general. The reviewer highlighted shortcomings and presented valid criticism, and still rated it as Excellent 9/10. I was initially interested in this game when I first saw it on the e-shop, but didn't buy it, because the trailer and screenshots did not support the advertised claims: "Freely dive into an expansive section of seafloor, from shimmering reefs to inky depths [...] Discover and catalogue species through observation, scanning, taking samples and interacting with alien life". The seemingly balanced review effectively lowered and corrected expectations created by the game's advertisement, so I bought it. After playing it, I can not agree with the review, especially not any of the listed "Joys": The "rich, dramatic atmosphere" is empty and boring, the "beautifully minimalist graphics" are generic and bland, the "superb electronic soundtrack" is uninspired at best, and worst of all the "compelling and well-written story" is campy and lifeless. None of the reviewers praise delivered, all of the shortcomings did, and then some. Looking at user ratings, it seems like most paying customers rate In Other Waters significantly lower than reviewers. To me, In Other Waters is a 4/10 for the content, and 1/10 for presentation on Switch.
This review made me buy In Other Waters for Switch. I was aware of the games shortcomings. I was fully aware that I was getting a text adventure with sound. That is what I wanted, that is what I got. Unfortunately, it is a pain to play, because of the ridiculously small text. I had to constantly zoom in. I should have been warned by the screenshots, the smallest text is 6 pixel high, main text is 10 pixel high. A text adventure with text under 1 mm height on Switch!
They better sell them quickly. Potential buyers are beginning to realise there is no value in the physical storage of digital entertainment. If anyone thinks there is always going to be a greater fool in the future: I have a garden full of tulips to sell!
There are already several big names in the gaming industry that I thought of as quality brands that have lost my trust for good, Square-Enix is damn close to be the next. I really don't like where the industry is going with in-game advertising, "micro"-transactions, NFT, cloud gaming and paid DLC. Corporate greed, I can think of no other explanation for what has been going on lately.
On the e-shop, it's 30 € for Bayonetta from 2009, 50 € for Bayonetta 2 from 2014, 60 € for both. Physical anything between 65 € and 200 € from resellers, and that is one as download, and two on the card … No, I think I'll wait for a decent sale. Or: „If I haven’t played the first and second games, I might as well skip the third.“
Seems like Second Life is going to get a second life. This is going to be great! Everyone is going to buy a VR set, and play emulated games on virtual arcade machines, paying for each credit with NFT bitcoins!
Without knowing the contracts Nintendo has with composers: it is possible that Nintendo did not secure broadcasting rights for the music, and has to act like this since the music has been taken from products they published, else they would have to compensate composers.
@Spider-Kev “All companies answer to investors and not customers!“
The board has to answer to the owners, the shareholders, that’s correct. I used the word “cater” on purpose; the situation is comparable to a restaurant manager telling the owner his business is doing great, because patrons will return despite the rotten food they were served and charged for.
Take-Two’s business is selling content to consumers, on behalf of the owners. Strauss Zelnick is spinning reality to current and potential owners when he tells them that offending customers had no consequences. Take-Two got their return of investment, yes, but their reputation is harmed. The CEO wants to please his bosses instead of his customers.
The funny thing is, when the topic is piracy, publishers talk up potentially lost revenue. When they screw up, they ignore all the sales they lost …
@Old-Red If NFT could hold a secure key-code to access a game, that would be a great use. But, the very nature of NFT is public, so that won't work. Instead, for every access, the server would have to traverse the complete history of transactions to verify ownership of the requested access privilege. It is possible, but requires expensive computation and traffic, for a product that has been paid for already. Not worth it for the publisher, when a simple subscription service could generate income instead of costing money.
@gaga64 “So say I bought a physical copy of Immortals Fenyx Rising, and a bunch of DLC for it. Some time later I can then sell the cartridge AND THE DLC to someone else. Whereas previously the DLC would be stuck on my account, even if I no longer own the game, and whoever buys the cart would then have to buy the DLC themselves. So yeah, I’m renting a parking space in that garage, and then selling my ticket to the next driver when I’m done with it. And the garage owner only gets paid once (though I bet they charge a lot more for it for that very reason).“
Except that code in a NFT can and will enforce that the original seller (Ubisoft in this example) would get a percentage, and at the same time they can produce infinite parking spaces (DLC) at no cost, thereby controlling the market value of your NFT backed goods. It's a scam.
“We want to make sure that consumers always have a good experience every time they engage with our properties and losing money on a speculation is not a good experience“ Read: Better never ever pre-order our games!
Comments 116
Re: Nintendo Life Reader Survey 2025
The "current" in "Which current gaming hardware do you own?" is interesting, as it made me realise that I really don’t like any of the new consoles currently available. I still play games on ‘retro’ hardware, which are completely new to me. I feel sorry for the generations to come, that are not going to be able to dive into then old catalogues, once physical games are gone.
Re: First Impressions: Same But Different? - Our Initial Hours With Hollow Knight: Silksong
I have to admit that I was one of the suckers who fell for the hype and bought the first game, but ultimately didn't like it. I really tried hard and started over with month in- between again and again. I love the atmosphere, the sounds, the animation … but I simply hated the gameplay. So for me, there should be a ‘Never again’ option in the poll. I expected people to rave about how much better the sequel is than the original, but since no one is writing that, I'll stay clear of it. And I actually wonder if the comparatively ‘low’ price is to generate more sales up front before everyone either says ‘meh, more of the same’ or even ‘we waited this long and THIS is what we get?!’ I'm not saying this game is bad, nor that its predecessor was bad, but they're clearly not for everyone. On the positive side, it has taught me to pay attention to the hype-machine and look for demos whenever possible. Or at least discounts.
Re: Review: Roadwarden (Switch) - A Fascinating And Quite Special Text-Based RPG
@Doctor-Moo Yes, you are right, I didn't think of that. I had a look at the screenshots in the eShop, and found the text easier on the eye than I expected, but for me it's still to small for 40 hours of reading.
Re: Review: Roadwarden (Switch) - A Fascinating And Quite Special Text-Based RPG
12 pixel high text.
1,45 mm high on OLED (210 ppi)
1,29 mm on Switch (237 ppi)
1,14 mm on Lite (267 ppi)
1,09 mm on Switch 2 (279 ppi)
Please add this to the “Cons“. It's a BIG one! (Pun intended.)
Re: Switch Port Specialist Believes Switch 2 Can Surpass Its Predecessor's Success
@darkfenrir Fair, if that is important, the option is Steamdeck or Switch 2. Nintendo currently wins that, even with the the same games usually having higher prices. I don't think 150 million units are on the horizon from that alone, and I would be surprised if Nintendo would drop Switch 1 support before they have a low price option version of the 2 on the market.
Re: Switch Port Specialist Believes Switch 2 Can Surpass Its Predecessor's Success
I wonder if people like said “port specialist” know that Nintendo fans have learned over the last 8 years that there are great games on other consoles thanks to their work, and that maybe those fans are starting to realize that they can save a lot of money by getting one of those consoles instead?
Re: Talking Point: One Month On, How Did Nintendo's Switch 2 Launch Go?
A big thank you to all early adopters. I had already thought that Switch 2 might not be for me, and now I'm sure of it. At least for another year or so. So many people saying they use their handheld mainly docked …
Re: Nintendo Today! Update Prevents Users From Recording Promotional Videos
Nintendo, with a market capitalization of 97 billion dollars, has turned our own devices into their billboards for free. And now, they want to collect our data for the privilege of watching their commercials. Remember, if the app is free, you are the product. Dystopian.
Nintendo Today! on the Apple App Store:
App Privacy
The developer, Nintendo Co., Ltd., indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. […]
Data Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected and linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
Developer’s Advertising or Marketing
Browsing History
Usage Data
Product Interaction
Analytics
Browsing History
Identifiers: User ID, Device ID(!)
Usage Data
Product Personalization
Browsing History
Identifiers: User ID
Usage Data
Product Interaction
App Functionality
Contact Info: Physical Address, Email Address, Name (!!!)
Browsing History
Identifiers: User ID
Usage Data: Product Interaction, Other Usage Data(??)
Data Not Linked to You
The following data, which may be collected but is not linked to your identity, may be used for the following purposes:
Analytics
Diagnostics: Crash Data, Performance Data
Re: Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation
@Strawblaze Fully agree: if the user experience of contract customers is worse than that of illegal users, piracy will thrive and vice versa. e.g. Apple's iTunes Store has significantly reduced pirated music, Netflix has reduced pirated movies.
In view of the recent changes, I read the current contracts, took about an hour. Nintendo revokes licenses of purchased items in the event of account cancellation, whether they or we cancel, and for whatever reason. As a result, we don't "own" a single digital thing on Switch or Switch 2, they are lending it to us.
I've spent thousands of dollars in their store, assuming that I can use those purchases for as long as my hardware works, similar to how it is on previous consoles. Now they are claiming the right to end my consumption at any time at their discretion.
It is important to realize that the real customers of a publicly traded company are the shareholders, not the consumers. They see their consumers as a commodity, a transactional necessity. With this in mind, it's easy to understand why they believe that we don't "own" anything they produce, not even the hardware. We "consume" it, and they want to be the ones to decide when an item has been consumed.
For me, it's only going to be physical games from now on until this has been tested in court and hopefully revoked by a judge.
Re: Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation
@WiltonRoots I was thinking of the Wii period as better times, since that was when systems came with heaps of installed software that one could have fun with, and when online became a thing, free of charge.
I remember the controversies surrounding rentals in the 80s and 90s and wonder if the situation could have been better for consumers now if Nintendo had managed to ban rentals back then, at least for a period of time immediately after release. That might have created a stronger incentive for physical games, as there could have been a commercial interest in a high amount of copies sold at a set time after the initial release. Instead, they (like seemingly every other corp) are slowly transitioning to a subscription-based business model. I wouldn't have a problem with that if they weren't such poor stewards of their own intellectual property. Nintendo wants to be like Disney, and I mean that as an insult.
Re: Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation
A note on modding:
Nintendo won't maintain your hardware forever. The modding community makes it possible to play games on original hardware, hopefully for decades to come. To this day, I still buy games for the consoles I still use, and spare parts when something needs repairing. Nintendo is trying to ban this with legal scare tactics that are luckily illegal in some more civilized parts of the world. They'd rather make us pay again for games we own as emulations on their latest hardware, only to play them in significantly worse condition. They clearly have no interest in properly preserving their own legacy, and I'm starting to hate them for it.
I'm on my third Wii now, and its the first one I've ever modded. My first Wii was replaced by Nintendo because of a faulty GPU. The second one I wanted to send in because of a dead drive. They told me they couldn't repair it, as they didn't have any replacement parts left. I bought the third Wii (in unopened original packaging and therefore an expensive collector's item) and sent it in with the defective one. They transferred all the data, games, settings, safe files and most importantly the keys needed to authenticate downloaded content. When I got my new brain transplanted Wii back, I hacked it with the incredible tools provided by the modding comunity, and ripped my entire library. I still continue to do so with my new purchases. The idea is to use the drive as little as possible to extend its life.
I realize that the Wii was a golden age for Nintendo and its customers. I remember not only Nintendo's better days, but also the bad days before. I'm not giving up on them, but I'll ride this out until they get better again. And if I lose interest in Nintendo's new developements completely in the meantime, I haven't lost anything.
Re: Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation
@WiltonRoots The hearts below the swansongs seem to indicate that some people do care. Some people who grew up with a better, kinder Nintendo seriously loved them. The betrayal hurts, and people are comforted to see they're not alone, others also remember these better times and feel the same way. And of course you will see us posting here in the future. We will not throw away our hardware, and we will follow future developments and comment on them.
Re: Nintendo Updates Its User Agreement To Crack Down On Emulation
Nintendo lost me as a loyal customer about two or three years ago; their rent-a-bad-emulation service was the final straw. And yet I wanted to give them a fair chance for the Switch 2. If they sweeten the deal in a couple of years, I might return, but I think till this happens I'm a "retro" gamer on the systems I already own. I really hate where the industry as a whole is going.
Re: Ex-PlayStation Boss Comments On Switch 2's "Hefty" Price Hikes
"… you want that content so bad …"
Yeah. No.
Re: Some Fans Are Drawing Unfavourable Comparisons Between Switch 2 And Xbox One
Paraphrased: "If you're a stingy loser, of course we can sell you the trash we touted as great last time until we run out."
Over the last 19 years, their selling point was fun over horsepower. Their systems were more affordable and more user centric at the same time. They no longer want to sell the most affordable console, but still want you to be okay with having the weakest one. This is getting worse by the day.
Re: Switch 2 GameChat Choppy Frame Rate Explained By Nintendo
Nintendo is behaving like politicians here, ignoring the real issues and instead talking about something no one cared about just to deliver their talking point once again: Switch 2 is about using the paid online service.
We've made it 8 years on the Switch without chat, nobody needs it now, and the video feature is so incredibly irrelevant. They're trying to create hype around the C button for chat, when the real hype is C for cost. Anyone remember all the fun applications that previous systems came with? And the free online features? Maybe Nintendo should go back to giving a little more before charging for everything.
The Switch feels dead compared to previous systems, cold and impersonal, the only bit of personality is the loading animation for the shop. Go figure. And now they've removed the last ounce of quirkiness by making the Switch 2 almost completely colorless. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the first thing that appears on the screen after switching the 2 on is “Select your payment option”.
Re: It's Official, Switch 2 Joy-Con Will Not Feature Hall Effect Sticks
And another reason to delay buying the Switch 2 by 1 to 3 years. The first reports of there being a common problem with the Joy-Cons came as early as 2017, but it took Nintendo until 2020 to even acknowledge that the drift was real.
Re: Hands On: Cyberpunk 2077 Might Pull A 'Witcher 3' On Switch 2
@the_beaver Oh, it will run well, Witcher 3 showed it can be done. But will it look good? I'm not that interested in the graphical fidelity of games, I still prefer Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii to the look of the Switch port. But I can't help but notice that all the ports announced for Switch 2 so far still look significantly worse than they did on other systems years ago.
Re: Hands On: Cyberpunk 2077 Might Pull A 'Witcher 3' On Switch 2
@the_beaver Yes, the game requires powerful hardware. Weird that Nintendo would put something like that on the floor when the selling point for the new system is its performance boost. It's as if they're saying, "Look, it's so powerful that it can run this flagship game almost well".
Re: Hands On: Cyberpunk 2077 Might Pull A 'Witcher 3' On Switch 2
It's mind-boggling that anyone could be happy with a five-year-old game being a poorer experience on the state-of-the-art Nintendo.
Re: Sale Predictions Remain Unchanged Despite Switch 2 Price Concerns
There's no way I'm going to pay that much for a graphics update. I might reconsider when there's a decent library of Switch 2 exclusives. Watered down ports of old games from other systems, paid "upgrades" of games I have already played, and a chat function I would never use are not convincing to me. I think I'll sit this one out again, like I skipped the GamCube and Wii U.
Re: Poll: Are You Bothered By The Frame Rate In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?
The performance is shameful. I hope Nintendo hires some of the hackers they've been going after lately, these people know how to analyze and optimize for a given hardware and all its iterations. It's unbelievable that a Japanese company has so little sense of pride and honor. Every game Nintendo release for their own hardware should highlight the capabilities of the hardware and absolutely outshine any third party title!
Re: Zelda Live-Action Movie Director Promises To Be "Ambitious"
Really looking forward to the main protagonist not speaking a single word throughout the movie!
Re: Random: Reggie Burns E3 With Miiverse Comparison
Poking fun at a dead show on a dying platform using screenshots from a dead platform. That's meta, and I love it. Bonus: I keep reading RedPoop, and I refuse to correct myself.
Re: Random: Getty Images Apparently Exists In The World Of Final Fantasy VII
@Chlocean The photographer has a right to be compensated for the use of their work, if the artwork is PD or not, and the picture agency is going to demand their share. Leaving the watermark in is basically an IOU inviting the lawyers to come collect.
Re: Random: Getty Images Apparently Exists In The World Of Final Fantasy VII
Please stop linking to twitter.
Re: Bayonetta's New Voice Actor Jennifer Hale Issues Statement About Bayonetta 3
Classy of Nintendo not to put the old games on sale right now. I bet many who never even considered this franchise would get them at 50% off right now that they are in the news.
Re: Game-Breaking Bug Reportedly Discovered In Switch Online Version Of Kirby 64
Yesterday: That's because Kirby is PeRfEcT!
Today: Nintendo will fix it in the next update …
Re: Nintendo Says The Ratio Of Switch Online Expansion Pack Users Is "Especially High" In The US
@Itakiteacher from the quotations @Dragoduval put around “most,” I would assume the comment was questioning the statement
Nintendo has since released the actual Japanese, and an official English translation of the Q&A, and we know for a fact now VGC published a misleading translation.
As for:
Disregarding the debunked “most” claim, the logic in this statement is flawed. One can't conclude that subscription customers are satisfied with the value they receive till they renew the subscription. Furukawa said, in the same Q&A, that “not all consumers renew their subscriptions after the expiration of their membership periods.“ Nintendo Switch Online is not worth it to every customer after their first year and/or a free trial, and there is currently no way to get the Expansion Pack without NSO.
Nintendo's NSO+EP customers are not able to make an informed decision, though reviews are helpful, as are discussions like the one we are having right now. Since we are on a website dedicated to Nintendo, frequented by Nintendo fans, I believe commentators criticising Nintendo's services want them to do better.
Re: Nintendo President Says "Most" North American Switch Online Users Have Upgraded To The Expansion Pack
1. If NSO and the Expansion Pack were actually doing well, Nintendo would not withhold the numbers.
2. If N64 usage was significant, they would ramp up N64 controller production.
Re: Nintendo President Says "Most" North American Switch Online Users Have Upgraded To The Expansion Pack
Robert Sephazon's translation:
"By region, the subscription rate is particularly high in the United States. Immediately following the service launch, most people upgraded to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack."
Nintendo's official translation:
"By region, the ratio is especially high in the United States. When we first started Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, the majority of subscribers were those who migrated from the original Nintendo Switch Online membership plans."
Source:
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2022/220511_2e.pdf
edit: To me that reads less like "Most North American NSO subscribers upgraded to + EP," but more like "We did not get new NSO subscribers because of EP when it launched."
edit 2: @AlanaHagues How about an update to the article pointing out the differences in translation?
Re: EA Reveals It's Working On An Unannounced Remake For 2023
Come on, 2023 has not even been released and they are already doing a remake? Think I'll skip.
Re: Poll: Does Nintendo Really Need To Release Mother 3 In The West Anymore?
From within the bubble of hardcore fandom, it's easy to demand a niche game. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo had a more realistic assessment of Mother 3's luster based on the NSO Earthbound data.
Re: Scalpers Set Their Sights On LEGO Star Wars Deluxe Edition 'Blue Milk Luke' Minifigure
Overpricing is intentional; the sellers likely don't expect to sell for this price. Buyers are more likely to perceive $ 50 as fair, if they believe the product has a market value of $ 200+. Look up “decoy effect“.
Re: Talking Point: Should We Still Be Pre-Ordering Games?
No. Why is this even a question? As long as there is no 100% no-questions-asked-money-back policy from the stores (offline and online, e-stores included), and developers deliver broken trash and drag their feet for YEARS to repair their mess: NO PREORDERS!
Re: Rumour Buster: No, The Original DOOM Doesn't Take Place In March 2022
Offtopic: This artwork is so bad! It looks like something a teenager painted, and I wonder if this was done intentionally to appeal to the targeted market.
Re: Feature: Switch Hidden Gem 'In Other Waters' Is Diving Into The World Of Tabletop RPGs
@KateGray Reviews reflect one person's subjective opinion. Nothing wrong with that in general. The reviewer highlighted shortcomings and presented valid criticism, and still rated it as Excellent 9/10. I was initially interested in this game when I first saw it on the e-shop, but didn't buy it, because the trailer and screenshots did not support the advertised claims: "Freely dive into an expansive section of seafloor, from shimmering reefs to inky depths [...] Discover and catalogue species through observation, scanning, taking samples and interacting with alien life". The seemingly balanced review effectively lowered and corrected expectations created by the game's advertisement, so I bought it. After playing it, I can not agree with the review, especially not any of the listed "Joys": The "rich, dramatic atmosphere" is empty and boring, the "beautifully minimalist graphics" are generic and bland, the "superb electronic soundtrack" is uninspired at best, and worst of all the "compelling and well-written story" is campy and lifeless. None of the reviewers praise delivered, all of the shortcomings did, and then some. Looking at user ratings, it seems like most paying customers rate In Other Waters significantly lower than reviewers. To me, In Other Waters is a 4/10 for the content, and 1/10 for presentation on Switch.
Re: Review: In Other Waters - A Chilled-Out Journey Of Discovery Quite Unlike Any Other On Switch
This review made me buy In Other Waters for Switch. I was aware of the games shortcomings. I was fully aware that I was getting a text adventure with sound. That is what I wanted, that is what I got. Unfortunately, it is a pain to play, because of the ridiculously small text. I had to constantly zoom in. I should have been warned by the screenshots, the smallest text is 6 pixel high, main text is 10 pixel high. A text adventure with text under 1 mm height on Switch!
Re: Feature: Switch Hidden Gem 'In Other Waters' Is Diving Into The World Of Tabletop RPGs
In Other Waters on Switch is no gem at all, and it should stay as hidden as all the text it fails to present in a readable size.
Re: Thousands Of Dollars Of Rare Factory-Sealed SNES Games Unearthed After 27 Years In Storage
They better sell them quickly. Potential buyers are beginning to realise there is no value in the physical storage of digital entertainment. If anyone thinks there is always going to be a greater fool in the future: I have a garden full of tulips to sell!
Re: Square Enix Releases "Day 1 Patch" For Kingdom Hearts' Cloud Versions On Switch
There are already several big names in the gaming industry that I thought of as quality brands that have lost my trust for good, Square-Enix is damn close to be the next. I really don't like where the industry is going with in-game advertising, "micro"-transactions, NFT, cloud gaming and paid DLC. Corporate greed, I can think of no other explanation for what has been going on lately.
Re: Hideki Kamiya Would Like You To Play The First Two Bayonetta Games Before Trying The Third
On the e-shop, it's 30 € for Bayonetta from 2009, 50 € for Bayonetta 2 from 2014, 60 € for both. Physical anything between 65 € and 200 € from resellers, and that is one as download, and two on the card … No, I think I'll wait for a decent sale. Or: „If I haven’t played the first and second games, I might as well skip the third.“
Re: Bandai Namco To Spend $130 Million On Building An 'IP Metaverse'
Seems like Second Life is going to get a second life. This is going to be great! Everyone is going to buy a VR set, and play emulated games on virtual arcade machines, paying for each credit with NFT bitcoins!
Re: YouTube Confirms Copyright Claims On GilvaSunner's Channel Were From Nintendo
@Dr_Lugae You beat me to it. =)
Re: YouTube Confirms Copyright Claims On GilvaSunner's Channel Were From Nintendo
Without knowing the contracts Nintendo has with composers: it is possible that Nintendo did not secure broadcasting rights for the music, and has to act like this since the music has been taken from products they published, else they would have to compensate composers.
Re: Take-Two Says GTA Trilogy "Significantly Exceeded" Sales Expectations Despite "Quality Lapse"
@Spider-Kev “All companies answer to investors and not customers!“
The board has to answer to the owners, the shareholders, that’s correct. I used the word “cater” on purpose; the situation is comparable to a restaurant manager telling the owner his business is doing great, because patrons will return despite the rotten food they were served and charged for.
Take-Two’s business is selling content to consumers, on behalf of the owners. Strauss Zelnick is spinning reality to current and potential owners when he tells them that offending customers had no consequences. Take-Two got their return of investment, yes, but their reputation is harmed. The CEO wants to please his bosses instead of his customers.
The funny thing is, when the topic is piracy, publishers talk up potentially lost revenue. When they screw up, they ignore all the sales they lost …
Re: GTA Publisher Take-Two Thinks NFTs Are A Good "Fit" But Wants To "Stay Away From Speculation"
@Old-Red If NFT could hold a secure key-code to access a game, that would be a great use. But, the very nature of NFT is public, so that won't work. Instead, for every access, the server would have to traverse the complete history of transactions to verify ownership of the requested access privilege. It is possible, but requires expensive computation and traffic, for a product that has been paid for already. Not worth it for the publisher, when a simple subscription service could generate income instead of costing money.
Re: GTA Publisher Take-Two Thinks NFTs Are A Good "Fit" But Wants To "Stay Away From Speculation"
@gaga64 “So say I bought a physical copy of Immortals Fenyx Rising, and a bunch of DLC for it. Some time later I can then sell the cartridge AND THE DLC to someone else. Whereas previously the DLC would be stuck on my account, even if I no longer own the game, and whoever buys the cart would then have to buy the DLC themselves.
So yeah, I’m renting a parking space in that garage, and then selling my ticket to the next driver when I’m done with it. And the garage owner only gets paid once (though I bet they charge a lot more for it for that very reason).“
Except that code in a NFT can and will enforce that the original seller (Ubisoft in this example) would get a percentage, and at the same time they can produce infinite parking spaces (DLC) at no cost, thereby controlling the market value of your NFT backed goods. It's a scam.
Re: GTA Publisher Take-Two Thinks NFTs Are A Good "Fit" But Wants To "Stay Away From Speculation"
“We want to make sure that consumers always have a good experience every time they engage with our properties and losing money on a speculation is not a good experience“ Read: Better never ever pre-order our games!
Re: Take-Two Says GTA Trilogy "Significantly Exceeded" Sales Expectations Despite "Quality Lapse"
“During a call with investors […]“ Take-Two cater to investors and shareholders, not customers. I'm boycotting their products indefinitely.