ryan_nil

@Gennwolf No, but we don't live in that world anymore. While I would love to never have to download things to have a "complete" game, I'd rather have bug fixes and fun little add-ons like this.

I'm a software engineer who works on software that's significantly more simple than what modern games have to accomplish and bugs are inevitable, no matter the complexity of the codebase. I'd rather get patches than have to find workarounds to bugs that made it into the final product.

Nice timing for me as I just finished up the story last night and am now working toward 100%ing the map.

@Blueyesowl83 Thank you! I was primarily concerned about the option of a quality/performance mode. I'm still not sure if either really matter to me, considering the type of game this is but at least I can make a more informed decision.

I really want to know if there's a discernible difference between the Switch 1 and 2 versions playing on a Switch 2. I want the full (sans patches) game on the card, but if the Switch 2 version is noticeably better, I may give the game key card a try.

@Telcontyr For sure, which is why I'm a sucker for any arrangement albums that cover this soundtrack as well as the OST, which of course, I also have on CD.

I pre-ordered the CD directly from Square's site. Kind of expensive for a single disc, but I'm a sucker for these kinds of things, especially with this game's soundtrack.

@Polley001 Yeah, I would be surprised if any of the soundtracks that are on Nintendo Music that have official CD releases would have things not on the official soundtrack (not including the "sound selection" versions here for the games that have those).

@Not_Soos I haven't looked at the track names on the app, but the song count matches the count on the soundtrack CD set that was released in Japan, so if there are missing tracks, they were never released anywhere else, either.

@BrokenCiv Switch 2 runs Age of Calamity beautifully. I don't think they specifically patched it for Switch 2, but I played through part of the game on Switch 1 and then (much later) continued on Switch 2.

@TheExile285 She and Robbie were playable as a duo in Age of Calamity. I'd be surprised if they left her out of this one.

I am really hoping they do a full physical release for this and not a game key card. It's Koei, but obviously it's Nintendo's IP, so maybe they'll insist the game actually be on the card. I'm crossing my fingers.

I have been wishing for this for such a long time. Can't wait to dive in!

Issue 0 was really good. The lack of follow-up after that was a disappointment so I was happy to see that it looks like they're finally going for it. I made my pledge and hope they make their funding goal.

I believe it! It's probably the reason why I haven't been able to procure one so far. Sigh...

I have not been able to secure a preorder, but weirdly, I don't care. I got a Switch 1 very easily and had it on day 1, but this time, I'm content to wait until Nintendo calls my number or I happen to find one in the wild. It's not that I'm not excited to have one, but my backlog is long and so I can wait. Hopefully, by the time I'm able to get one, there won't be a price increase due to the volatile political situation here in the US, but whatever happens, happens.

Personally, I want these signs to say, "Out of stock. Please wait a while." or whatever it is they usually say when they tease news but won't have details until later.

I am very happy to hear that they opted to move it to the next system instead of going down to 30fps. Can't wait to play it when I get my hands on a Switch 2.

I 100% get what he's saying and fully agree with it. It's just a bit tone deaf. If FromSoft said that the (hypothetical at this point) price for Elden Ring 2 would be $80, as a fan, I'd still be there day one. But yeah, in this climate, that's not a good way to respond.

I guess you had to be awake at all hours of the night to get one because when I tried pre-ordering in the morning on any of the major sites that carried them, they were all out of stock. I keep hearing that people were able to get them throughout that day in the US, but I had zero luck in seeing anything in stock and have not bothered checking much since then. I want one, but I'm not going to stress out about it nearly as much as I did trying to get a PS5 during the launch window. It's not worth it.

Nintendo did send me a, "you're still in line to buy a Switch 2" email a few days ago, but I'm not holding my breath. I am hoping to procure one before any potential price increase, due to whatever our government decides to do about tariffs (which I am not following at all, so have no idea what's going on there).

@Duncanballs "Everything in life is a rental anyway."

I love this attitude and fully agree. In fact, I'm now rethinking whether or not I want to go all-digital for Switch 2 (when I can get my hands on one) because of your comment. I've been all digital on the Playstation platform for six years now but kept it physical for Nintendo, when available.

I'm still a fan of physical media however. I still buy CD when available and am mostly physical for films at this point (for the ones I care to collect) since a 4K Blu-ray results in a better picture than the streaming equivalent.

I love the vibe and the setting. I may give this a try at some point. The games I've been playing for the last year have largely been Soulslikes or other games where the world is in ruins, so I want to play some things with a little lighter setting for a while.

Great article! I had an SNES mouse but had no idea there were that many supported games. Other than Mario Paint (which really needs a new Switch 2 entry), I think I remember trying Jurassic Park but that's it.

I voted for Wart. If we can have Birdo, we can have Wart. But I also want Mouser, Tryclyde, Fryguy and the mask gate. How awesome would it be to race as a fire or swallow opponents as the mask gate?

I've been working my way through Lords Of The Fallen. I just finished the game a second time last night and will be going through at least one more playthrough so I can see all three endings.

I signed up but no email yet. I'm kind of hoping I don't get one because I shouldn't spend the money. However, I know if I get the invitation, I will not be able to help myself.

I could write several articles about how I've used video games to cope with mental health issues over the last 30-40 years. Most recently, immersing myself in Elden Ring helped distract me from some unfortunate thoughts that might have kept me from being here today.

My earliest memory of using games to cope with anxiety came in the wake of the Oklahoma City terrorist attack in 1995, which happened a few miles from my house. In order to deal with my feelings about it, I would shut myself in my room and speedrun games. My favorite at that time was Super Metroid.

Off topic: I love the "reboot please" after Hexen. I would be so happy if they updated Heretic, Hexen and Hexen 2 they way they did the original Doom and Quake games. I wouldn't even mind waiting for an LRG version if that's what it took.

If I ever decide to play this, I'll probably go for the (likely superior) PS5 version. However, I am a fan of their attitude and commitment to having the whole thing on the cart. Ideally, most of the games being release for Switch 2 that were previously released elsewhere would come this way. I know that's not a possibility across the board, given the size of some of the games and the current limitation on cart size, but I would hope any release where this is possible would be done in that way.

My answer is mixed. I don't mind the $80 price point, if the value is there. With the new Mario Kart for example, the value is likely there if the previous entries are any indication. I would probably balk at a 10-hour game that cost $80, but with Mario Kart, I will likely spend dozens if not hundreds of hours playing. I'm a little more hesitant about the Switch 2 versions of the recent Zelda games because they're not new games. I subscribe to NSO, so I guess will get the upgrades for free. If there appears to be a speed benefit to having the new S2 carts, I might double dip for that.

As for the rest, I was already planning on being more judicious with the games I purchase anyway. At least half of the Switch games on my shelf are still sealed. A good chunk of the games on my PS5 Pro have yet to be played as well. That's not even including all of the retro games included with NSO that I want to play or replay (or the backlog from my 3DS that I just remembered).

I'm happy this will be able to be downloaded separately and is not tied to this edition. I'm sticking to the PS5 version and not buying on Switch 2.

I would love to see From put out the other two Souls games on Switch 2 (they would never have worked on OG Switch) for those who got into the first one but don't do cross-platform. Those games (and Bloodborne) got me to buy a PS4 after I fell in love with the remaster on Switch.

@Vectrex Budget does not necessarily equate to value. Take Mario Kart for example. I know I spent hundreds of hours on MK8 (Wii U version). Far more time than I spend on any given Mario or Zelda adventure. The dollars-to-hours-spent ratio is very much in my favor there. So for me, if I spend anywhere near that much time in MKW, then $80 is still a pretty good value.

@topher6490 My experience is similar. The number of unopened Switch games on my shelf is embarrassing. A higher cost of entry will hopefully trigger the, "Do I really want this game?" question more often. Certainly not a bad thing.

@Jester676 I'm not familiar with Cyberpunk 2077's size so can't comment there. The version of Elden Ring coming to Switch 2 is also coming to the other platforms, which contains the DLC on disc (in the case of the other platforms). So, because of S2's limitations, it kind of makes sense that they won't put anything on the card (from one perspective). However, I do think it would be nicer if the regular game was on the card and the DLC was, well, downloadable.

[Edited because I accidentally posted before finishing my comment]

@Jester676 Unless they can perform miracles with compression, there's no way the game + DLC could even fit on even the biggest available Switch 2 card. Last I checked, it's over 80GB on my PS5.

I don't mind fall damage as long as it's consistent within the game itself. For example, Elden Ring has (what I think is) inconsistent fall damage. I swear in some places, I can drop fairly far without so much as a scratch (not counting the semi-scripted drops to boss arenas), but in other places, I'll fall a shorter distance and it drops my health significantly.

Otherwise, I like the challenge it provides, especially in traversal-heavy adventure games, like the newest Zeldas and Soulslikes. I like the frustration of "how do I get down there?" and the satisfaction of finally finding my way down or giving up and finding myself at the bottom later on after some exploration. It scratches the same itch as figuring out the solution to a difficult coding problem, but in a different form.

I do hope that if the disclaimers are on the actual art insert, that the insert is reversible with the other side having just the original art. Or that the disclaimer is a sticker on the case or maybe printed on the plastic wrapping. That's a one-time message that doesn't need to remain visible after one has purchased the game. I'm a sucker for a pretty cover and all that text detracts from that.

@Wexter I think that would be intriguing, but I'd be surprised if the S2 carts were compatible with the original Switch. My question is: will the S1 cart + S2 graphics have the same/similar reduced loading times as the S2 cart? My money is on "no", but that all depends on if the speed of data coming off the cart and into memory is the bottleneck or if it is just the processor (and other differences in the hardware). If the answer is no, then I'm definitely upgrading to the new version.

Yes, Nintendo has played it safe here, but who could blame them? They were inching toward this form factor for a long time and they struck gold with Switch. Now if we end up with Switch 4 or 5, he might have a point, but even so, like others have said: it's about the games.

Regardless of the gimmick Nintendo has chosen for whatever generation, the hardware eventually fades into the background. The games are what matter. A good game is a good game, whether you're playing on an NES controller, waggling your Wiimote or poking at a screen embedded in the Wii U controller.

Ok, so then, these upgrades are actual Switch 2 carts (meaning, we get the benefit of faster carts), with all the upgrades on the cart. I guess my only question remains: with these being on S2 carts, will the loading times be faster for these compared to playing on the S1 carts (with the upgrade downloaded)?

@LastFootnote In all likelihood, I won't be buying these either. If a game is so big that it won't fit on any Switch 2 card, there's likely a better (and maybe less expensive) version of the game available on my PS5 Pro, so I'll go with that. Once Zelda and Mario games start coming to these types of cards, then I'll have to rethink my position.

@kuu_nousee Yeah, it does seem like we might be moving into an era where backwards compatibility (or system emulation) allows Nintendo, Sony, et. al. to keep these games available for redownload/play for much longer than before. That would be ideal and very consumer-friendly.

@LastFootnote To each his own. Fighting against reality is the fastest way to stress and anxiety. If you feel so strongly about it, then don't participate: don't buy a Switch 2, don't buy these game key cards. I personally don't care. I'm still in awe of the games that are being released nowadays (I remember Pitfall on Atari 2600 blowing my mind, if that gives you an idea of my age). If I want to enjoy the games that are being released now, I have to play by their rules.

I don't see any need to get fussed about this. If you absolutely have to have the entire game on the card, then good luck! We live in the days of day one patches and continual patching. For better or worse, that's the reality. For me, it's better than bugs never getting fixed, which was my reality growing up in the 80s and 90s.

I think these are a nice compromise. If game developers were forced to have the entire game on the card, then we would never get Elden Ring on Switch 2, which takes up 80+ GB on my PS5 with base game and DLC, since the cards are currently limited to 64GB. Some people's complaints about all digital should be assuaged here since you can lend the game out and sell it when you're done with it. Yes, it takes up space on the system, but again, that's the world we live in now.

My only real concern at this point is the same one that I've had forever around digital games is that what happens when the servers are eventually shuttered? If there was an officially sanctioned way to back up and restore your games, I think that would go a long way to addressing the problem.

@Ulysses Yeah, the use of AI in game development in this way is way less ethically problematic to me than using a general AI tool. Especially so if they use it more to cut down on repetitive tasks or get inspiration from past games (it would be especially cool if they trained it on released games as well as assets that were never used). I think older companies, like Nintendo, will have an advantage here, given the enormous amount of input they can feed it using only their own assets.

In general, I'm wary of the use of AI in creative endeavors. I am a software engineer myself (it's more creative than you might think) and was using it for about a year and turned all the programmer copilots off after getting the ethical "ick" for various reasons. The benefits are just not worth it at this point.

*Edited for clarity and grammar.

@RupeeClock If they ever do start using AI in any meaningful way, I would fully expect them to have model(s) trained on their own, internal resources. I would cringe if it ever got out that a character designer went to a general purpose image generator and asked for ideas on how to design the incarnation of Ganon or whatever.

I would also fully expect them to call their internal AI either Mother Brain or be a reference to R.O.B. =)

I was under the assumption (or delusion, if you will) that these would be S2 carts with the game and upgrade baked in. If so, I would have purchased them in order to have everything on the cart, even if it meant double dipping, in order to save space. Oh well. It saves me money, I guess.

I was a little disappointed when I didn't see any mention of VRR in the Direct but am very happy to hear that the hardware supports it. I'm really hoping that more games will be taking advantage of it and we just haven't heard those details yet. It would be really nice if Switch 2 had an option to apply it to games that don't explicitly support it (like PS5 has).

@KITG_GROUP This is brilliant and since it looks like the Switch 2 cases aren't transparent, there's no reason not to (other than cost, I guess).

They did not show nearly enough of this to convince me to spend my money. If I'm ever curious, I'll watch the inevitable gameplay videos on Youtube.

This does not bother me in the least. I'll be a bit more judicious with my game purchases (which I have been lately anyway), but for as much time as I'd spend on a new Mario Kart, is going to get? $80 is fine. If games in general are at the $70 price point, then whatever. Prices were going up across the board and Nintendo is not immune from the same factors that other game developers have to deal with.

I was a little surprised that Elden Ring made it to Switch 2 but I did not have "From Software exclusive" on my bingo card. I'm so excited!