themightyant

@sanderev true windows runs slow off a micro SD but that is a niche case. A few games too, but most are within touching distance of internal SSD. It isn’t the massive advantage many thought it would be.

@sanderev MicroSD is only a little slower than NVME on Steam Deck when playing games as the APU bottle necks the lanes. The nvme runs much slower in reality than on spec sheets.

The only times it has a really noticeable advantage (i.e. without using a stop watch) is when transferring files across or in a few specific games. In most game load times are within around 20% of each other.

@Serpenterror the only problem with using full SSD is if games are designed around that speed then additional storage gets expensive if you need a 2230 m.2 nvme.

Unless they deliberately run it slower (/bottle neck) like in Steam Deck so high speed Micro SD cards can compete. UHS is up to 624MB/s

EDIT e.g. According to Valve, “the 64GB eMMC loads games 12.5% slower compared to the 512GB NVMe SSD*. For boot speeds, the former is 25% slower than the latter”. Third party testing shows Micro SD is somewhere in the middle and the difference is usually negligible

@MeloMan Standard rule of storage buying is find the largest capacity you want to pay for/think you will need and at least double it. Time will thank you!

@sanderev m.2 SSD would make it much larger and more expensive to upgrade than Micro SD. And the m.2 on the Steam Deck is virtually the same speed as the Micro SD slot. Granted it's faster on things like ROG ally.

Depends on the system resolution and how much storage a game takes up. Even TotK was only around 19GB and that was large. But around 128/256gb minimum + a micro SD slot.

You can buy a high quality 256GB Micro SD for £15.

Personally I liked it, FAR better than the usual ignoring of luminaries long service. Seems they can’t win

Sounds right up my alley. But I have to get to Case of the Golden Idol first.

Honestly I expected this to be more... Considering P5 has been released across 3 console generations on almost every platform available, with a handful of spin-offs, and across around 20+ separate releases. Still great numbers, just thought it might be higher.

What a year it has been for Nintendo! New games for Zelda, Mario, Pikmin, Fire Emblem, Bayonetta, etc. Remasters/remakes for Metroid, Mario RPG and Advance Wars. DLC for Pokemon, Mario Kart, Xenoblade Chronicles and Splatoon. Plus the Mario movie breaking records. Console sales continuning to compete with next-gen despite it's age/power, and hitting 130+ million units. Incredible.

EDIT: As for most played... TotK with a staggering 305 hours.

@Rykdrew Yes our side matters. But I'd argue that a strong Nintendo IS good for us gamers. I'm not sure Game Pass will help them. Short term maybe it's good for Nintendo only players, but is it good long term? I'm not so sure.

Choice is generally good. But I don't think having Game Pass on Switch will do Nintendo any favours, i'd expect it to cannibalise some sales. Despite all the grief it seems to be getting above it's a good service, that will likely only get better with all their recent acquisitions regardless of whether you like it or not.

Considering how pedantic Digital Foundry can be, making mountains out of molehills, this sounds great!

@burninmylight I don't think it would be JUST to beat PS5 but it would give their own studios more time to have games ready and build up more of a stockpile of consoles (there are always shortages at launch).

It was heavily rumoured Switch was delayed for example, which is why it launched in March not before xmas the bussiest time of year. Whether that was to launch alongside Zelda or for parts to become available so they could have enough at launch was never clear.

Anyone think they may delay to 2025 and aim for PS2s 155 million?

@Munchlax @romanista @-wc- I think most of us have been in this position before with games, it's usually a sign of burn-out. Concentrate on your other hobbies for a while and the love of games usually comes back stronger. Worked for me and many friends anyway.

Any idea when the review embargo is up?

Metroidvania crossed with Celeste. Colour me impressed!

Nintendo's digital pricing is just disgusting and they almost NEVER go on sale. At least with physical copies and second hand titles there is a small CHANCE to get the games at a reasonable price if you don't like them enough to want to pay full price.

There's plenty of games i'm on the fence about and a £60/£70 with no chance of refund or resale would make me make safer bets and play a narrow selection of games.

LOL on the last 100% poll.

Been looking forward to this but there’s just too much to play right now. On the backlog

Looks amazing. Though, based on the trailer, i'm not loving the voice acting as much as the first run. Richard Armitage absolutely nailed it as Trevor Belmont. Wonder if James Callis and Graham McTavish will be back as Alucard and Dracula respectively... no spoilers please.

So many happy memories of SoM but my first was that wonderful title screen. At the time I couldn’t play the piano at all but I would try and get the melody down from memory, trying different notes one at a time and then memorising it. It was my first introduction to playing music and was one of the main reasons I started to play, badly at first but over time I got better and I still play to this day.

@Croctopus Agreed. Staggered they didn't mention Mario Kart 9 considering the last one MK8 released over 9 years ago on the Wii U!

Aside from that 3D Mario is the obvious choice and Metroid Prime 4 surely has to be coming soon.

@Keman One of the interesting stats on console gaming is that the amount of consoles sold has only gone up relatively slowly in the last 30 years, whereas the number of games sold and amount spent has gone through the roof. More engagement.

@Olliemar28 Is that ALL Switch games, or just Nintendo ones? I kinda expected Minecraft to be in the mix TBH, it seems permanently in the charts more often than not for the past 6 years.

Regardless amazing sales for all these titles.

@Evantide_Island Loved this, what a fun article.

Always amused when I notice things in life that have video game connotations. My next door neighbour has a couple or red barrels in his garden, I think for compost, but I just want to see what happens if I shoot them... and then disappear into a daydream worthy of Apocalypse Now

Literally some of the lowest level gear in the game and in a game with permanent weapon damage. These are will last less than a minute in a fight. Pointless

Biggest new Nintendo exclusive for several years is most downloaded switch game in it's launch window... who would have guessed! /s

@Cordyceps Yeah some people love it, I find it hard to engage as much with super deformed Chibi characters.

@Cordyceps I still have my DS and IX. X has a fan made English translation for v1-4 through the DQX Clarity project. Though as you suggested Square-Enix have hinted at an official version. Though it's also Chibi, which i'm not a huge fan of, that combined with online always put me off.

More than I thought. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11S, Builders.

7 & Builders 2 still on my list to get to. Not sure about 9 & 10 as they are more Online I believe. Looking forward to the 3 remake too.

@Picola-Wicola @BoyfriendOfDeath Kass is VERY conspicuous by his absence. He is teased at the very end of the Lucky Clover Gazette quest lines where you help Penn to track Zelda sightings.

After this quest line Penn can be found at Washa’s Bluff, where Kass was, talking about a famous bard and saying we will likely team up again soon. Seems likely he will pop up in DLC imo.

Just imagine reaching a new area and hearing that accordion. Onion chopping activated.

Anyone else been underwhelmed by Deltarune?
I fell asleep twice during chapters 1&2.

Plot twist: you will have the same account but none of the games will be usable.

Nintendo: we didn’t lie 💀

Breaking news: biggest game of the year is streamed a lot on a game streaming service /s

I used to feel exactly the same way. Then during lockdown I started watching a few streamers. They are all different but it wasn't just about watching the game it was often more watching, and interacting, with the streamer and their style of play. They are just entertainers at the end of the day. Why do we watch sport, or go to the theatre, or watch a juggler on the street instead of doing these things ourselves? It’s the same thing. But I get that it SEEMS weird at first, truth is most things are until we try them a few times and sometimes we end up liking them.

FF6 and Chrono Trigger done properly and I can die happy.

But not half-hearted efforts like the Secret of Mana remake, if that was the case i'd rather you left well alone.

Finished the story last night. I have all shrines done, i'm just looking for some final quests and things I missed. But I need to move on simply because I need my life back!

Almost nothing. Learning and the eureka moments, then changing how you play is a key part of the game. However I had over 100 korok seeds before I found Hestu and couldn’t upgrade my inventory for ages, which is a pain with early weapon degradation, It’s the only think I specifically looked up online.

Wow! the things people come up with! LMAO

Pleasantly surprised to see that Shipping from China to the UK was only $1 (basically included in the price of the product already)

Tempted.

It's dinkily cute. But seems like a super weird set of conditions to set up.

That reminds me there's a wonderful moment in God of War Ragnarok where they reference Kratos' participation in All Stars Battle Royale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcb_w3By8lE

I am loving the game but I thought the intro, below hyrule castle, was ponderously slow and committed the sin of consistently taking control away, the absolute opposite of what this game is about! Then the opening sky Islands felt far more restrictive than the Great Plateau in BotW. Definitely not their best imho.

Everything since then has been almost perfect. (Except I missed Hestu, eventually looked it up once I had 70+ korok seeds. 125 and counting now)

+1 for Melia. Wonderfully voiced by the talented Jenna Coleman

Despite the fact he’s a bit of an ass it was Revali for me. Most interesting. The clincher is Revalis gale was by FAR the most useful skill

Like the look of this, and the price. As others have said echoes of Gato Roboto

I basically did everything on the WiiU at launch 120 shrines, full health etc. the only thing I didn’t do was get the golden poo for all 900 korok seeds. I think I hot about 500.

Then I did it all over again on the Switch. 120 shrines etc. DLC and more. Second time got exactly 700 korok seeds without a guide before calling it a day.

Lastly i started a faster Master mode run, but got pulled in and did all 120 shrines for a third time. Lol

@wiiware As you have physical can you let us know what is on pages 73-84 as these are missing on the PDF. (this is numbering on the PDF, may not correlate with the print. book)

So much negativity in the comments here. He’s not a millionaire YouTuber he’s a gamer who genuinely loves, and even helps develop, games. He lost his job at G4 last year.

This was a humongous effort and the plan was always to donate the console to a game preservation library.

Impossible to please some

@Ryan_Again STOP IT! I have a weak enough will at the best of times