themightyant

@Leuke I think GOW: Ragnarok is more likely to slip. We've barely heard anything on that. Though like Bethesda, we rarely do from Santa Monica until they are ready to release.

But the rumour is that Starfield was playable last year and they had been given extra time to polish everything which was why they were so confident to give a precise launch date 11/11/22 over 18 months ahead of release.

Time will tell!

@TheRedComet Don't discount Starfield!

It's a proper monstrosity!

That music though! ♩♫♬♪♩

@Jumping_Dead You know things are BAD at MercurySteam when moving to Activision seems like a positive upgrade.

It’s promising, but a sample size of 1 means little.

Loads of people said LG TVs didn’t get burn in anymore yet I had an LG C7 that got it less than 2 years after purchase just from playing many games normally.

Once bitten twice shy.

@Krull “Maybe we just need to stop expecting or caring about ports” Perhaps. But to me at least that’s one of the greatest appeals of the system, especially for playing games like Ori, Witcher 3, Skyrim on the go. But we’ve got a point where the difficulty of porting these games is putting developers off, reducing the Switch’s game library.

”Switch is big enough as a platform to get bespoke software - and the bespoke software it does get is, generally, excellent, be it it first party or third party.” Again perhaps. There really aren’t that many third party exclusive games by comparison. I agree those that are there are often excellent but there really aren’t that many. I was looking for a definitive list of switch exclusives but couldn’t find one, but what I did find was best of lists that were 80-90% first party titles. Games like Astral Chain, Bayonetta 2, MH:Rise, Cadence of Hyrule are few and far between.

My only reticence here is IF developers stopped chasing ports would a few more consider Switch exclusives instead?

”I don’t pick up a 3DS and complain that it can’t run Dark Souls. Not really an apples to apples comparison. Switch is just as much a home console played on a TV as it is a handheld. (And it does play dark souls

”That said, as much as I’m being argumentative, I wouldn’t mind a Switch 2 by 2025. As long as it’s backwards compatible. I really don’t want a mid-generation upgrade, though. Should be like a DS to 3DS jump.” Agreed, though ideally I’d want it a little sooner. It HAS to be backwards compatible I feel - Nintendo has good history here on their handhelds at least.

TLDR: we’re coming from different angles here but ultimately what we all want is great games on the Switch. My concern is the lack of hardware will stifle that.

@Krull £1000? for a bleeding edge iPhone or Samsung, etc. yes. But there’s plenty of phones from Xiaomi, OnePlus or Hauwei that are about the price of a Switch. And several from Apple and Samusung and others in between.

But my point isn’t about the past, Switch was a good piece of hardware when it launched, it’s about the future and the Switch is being left behind. We are only just last year 1 or the new console generation and already many games don’t get a port, or get a bad one, or get a cloud version. This will only get worse without a hardware upgrade.

@Krull "Until the Steamdeck, no handheld was more powerful than the Switch" Reach into your pocket and you have the answer. Most phones released in the last few years have more graphical power than the Switch. That is the direct competition.

Look at games like Genshin Impact which simultaneously released on Mobile, PC and PS4 with feature parity. Switch version was cancelled as it couldn't handle it. Sadly we are seeing more and more Switch ports delayed, failing or not even attempted. Plus the dreaded Cloud versions.

@Medic_Alert Completely agree with your stance here. Simple fact is that we will see less and less ports to portable Nintendo platforms if the Switch doesn't get a successor soon. As someone who enjoys the freedom playing on the go brings that is a shame.

For Famitsu 35/40 is pretty average for a Square JRPG. All it tells us is it's not a stinker, which is enough.

It would be VERY Nintendo to release a Switch Pro at this late stage instead of a genuine successor (with full backwards compatibility) But i still think it's more likely to be the next gen system.

If it's by The Messenger's dev team they have my attention. Brilliant game.

The size and weight of this makes me realise again what a marvel the PS Vita was. Shame it wasn’t better supported. It’s still a great piece of hardware

@Erigen even if the sticks drift they’ve made them modular and very easily buyable and replaceable on SteamDeck. Though the tear down suggested they are far more similar to the Sticks in the Switch Pro Controller/Xbox/PlayStation than they are the Switch JoyCons

I love it. It’s really great localisation and imbues each character with unique personality. FAR far more interesting and unique than the usual cheeseball voices.

And sometimes it’s exceptional like Mr. Drippy being Welsh in Ni No Kuni, or Dragon Quest 8 or XI. Long may it reign.

I applaud this. Finding ways to make games work in spite of the less powerful hardware through optimisation and innovative solutions is brilliant and back to basics programming.

However it needs to be put in perspective. This is not a reasonable expectations for many teams or games. Having staff working for over 2 years on a port for a single platform just isn't realistic in most cases. It's only possible because Hello games made so much money initially on No Man's Sky they've been able to support it, and staff for years.

@westman98 That website is 100% Nintendo, big goofy smile on my face.
What a great share. Thank you.

@Pod AMAZING!!!

His grandson is named BANJO. Legend!
That is all I’ve taken from this.

This might come as a shock but i'm not looking for realism in my video games.

Having been burnt on the Wii U. I was a complete skeptic.

1-2 Switch and Arms wasn't convincing me and BOTW played exactly the same on Wii U. They even gimped the Wii U version (no map on second screen) to give parity with the Switch.

But then 3rd party developers, especially indies, embraced it like a lost son. Between proper portability (unlike Wii U) and a lot of good - not just Nintendo - games coming out for it the Switch thrived.

Finally took the plunge for Mario Odyssey. I got very lucky selling my Zelda edition Wii U, effectively swapping it for a brand new Switch, and rebought and 100%ed BOTW... again.

Great to see Unpacking on there!

Graphics don't make a good game, but man does this LOOK bad. It's like a mish-mash between a mobile game and PS2 textures aiming for BOTW. Hopefully the all important gameplay is great.

@UltimateOtaku91 The line between Indie, AA or AAA is blurring.
Is a game still strictly 'Independent' if it has massive funding from a third party?

e.g. Kena (which is a wonderful, if slightly flawed, game) had a core team of 15 employees but hundreds more were outsourced for art and animation etc. funded by Sony.

These awards seem to keep things level by taking the spirit of Independence into account.

I’d love A FF6 or Chrono Trigger remake in this style

1. Chrono Trigger
2. Final Fantasy 6
3. Xenoblade Chronicles
4. Dragon Quest XI S
5. Final Fantasy 7
Can't go wrong with any of those

I have nightmares that start "hhhhellllo there lovely peeeeple"

@SwitchVogel Loop hero is free on the Epic game store today

Time enjoyed is not time wasted and all... but this seems a little extreme.

Still i've spent much longer playing video games and have nothing but happy, and a few sad, memories to show for it

It looks lovely. Will take a closer look. Awful name though!

Didn't they say that in 2020 and 2021?

Great to see Yuji not being down about Balan and instead throwing himself into something new and learning. Winning mentality. Massive respect!

@koffing When you didn't know you NEEDED something!!!
Wanna go into business? How long before Nintendo lawyers up?

5. There was very little that interested me this year and 2021 has mostly seen my Switch gather dust.

@nessisonett My head played the classic chest opening sound.

Rest in peace Legend. Gave so much joy to so many.

The real problem with the eshop is discovery. This doesn't really help at all.

No, not on their own. We’ve already had Nintendo exclusives on their own with the Wii U… it doesn’t end well.

But I assume they won’t be alone and will continue to get excellent third party support in which case they will continue to be strong

Of course it ******* should. If they had a launched a half competent and complete service to begin with this wouldn't even be as much of an issue. But as it stands we have half a service and how long until we get a full one. 2 years?

I've not played tri-force heroes or any of the four swords games. Played all the others. Worst, by a distance, were oracle or ages/seasons.

Almost regret selling my Wavebird, it was the best. But I was hardly using it at the time and sold it for £90 cash boxed. That and my Zelda Wii U basically paid for my Switch. Was a worthwhile trade.

@nkarafo Agreed but could do with a sequel too.

@SilentHunter382 That’s much better, it accurately describes the issue for SOME players. But let’s also not forget only a small number of players are as sensitive to these issues. The vast majority just get on with it and play. Every GTA has had an unstable frame rate yet millions play happily. Blissful ignorance

Though DF and others are so inconsistent. They rave about Retro games and yet didn’t call Ocarina (20fps, 17fps on PAL) or Goldeneye (10-15fps) “unplayable” back in the day.

@SalvorHardin FromSoftware games are a perfect example that validates my point though. I’ve played them all, and platinumed most of them when it’s not a needless grind. Calling them “unplayable” because they have uneven frame pacing is the sort of hyperbole that is unhelpful. Call it what it is.

I’ve become used to 60fps recently but can readjust quite quickly back to 30fps. However I struggle going back to below that.

However good games are still good games even with bad framerates. Digital Foundry, who I’m a fan of generally, and others use terms like “unplayable” when a game has an inconsistent frame rate. It’s total hyperbolic BS.

@Meteoroid Consoles are significantly more expensive in Greece compared to average wages. A mate of mine out there had a PS5 ordered and had to wait over 6 months for it to be delivered. They'd also taken his cash. He could have cancelled and asked for a refund but likely would have had to wait even longer.

Cheaper AND extended warranty... things must be rough!

Would prefer more luminaries from WITHIN the gaming space than these celebrities. I don't think they ever add anything. Financially we're the largest entertainment industry. Why does Geoff feel we need to keep validating ourselves with celebrities from other fields?

Do the Oscars or Grammy's get Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima or Todd Howard to present Best Director or Album awards? No. Why do we need Christoper Nolan or Simu Liu? What message does that send out?

Would also prefer more of a celebration of video game music, musicians and composers over getting in band's he likes.

I appreciate the one man army that Geoff is and everything he has done for gaming, yet I think we need to back our industry more.

Just buy a DS lite (or 2/3DS) if you don’t already have one.

Such a good game! DQ XI S reinvigorated my love of JRPGs that I thought was gone a decade hence. Hearing that wonderful music makes me want to play again.