Wonderful news. Though kinda weird that this was announced as September just 2 months ago and now that date is pulled forward two months.
Optimistically I hope that's because they realise their are less bugs to fix than expected.
Pessimistically I hope it's not for the wrong reasons and won't release with bugs that will be patched later just to hit an arbitrary date they set themselves.
Gameboy (1989) and SNES (1990) were the same era and wins in a landslide for me. Famicon/NES was 1983.
Gameboy Colour was part of the Gameboy Line not a separate generation. Altering history to fit neat boxes.
@KateGray Great idea! But unfortunately I'm already doing one of these on the forums of PureXbox and struggle to get through one extra game a month as it stands. But i'll keep an eye out here and see when I can jump in. Best of luck with the backlogs!
They’re not great are they. Though I for one like the minimalism of some of these. Subtle enough that it looks kinda cool to the average punter yet those who know know, but not so in your face that you are walking talking garish billboard. Just a shame they aren’t better.
“It's got so bad that blue milk Luke is now going for higher prices than a copy of the game”
Sadly this isn’t that uncommon with these collectors edition extras. Plenty of people buy them and sell the models and other bits for large profits due to scarcity
Looks like they’ve mostly just put the backgrounds through AI upsampling. The trouble with updating the models and text is they no longer all sit so cohesively together. Seems nearer to a minimum possible effort.
@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.
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.
@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Comments 539
Re: New Genesis / Mega Drive Games Could Be Coming To Switch Online This Week
So many good games to choose from... please don't be dross.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Gets A Release Date, And It's Sooner Than You Think
Wonderful news. Though kinda weird that this was announced as September just 2 months ago and now that date is pulled forward two months.
Optimistically I hope that's because they realise their are less bugs to fix than expected.
Pessimistically I hope it's not for the wrong reasons and won't release with bugs that will be patched later just to hit an arbitrary date they set themselves.
Re: Feature: Which Is The Absolute Best Nintendo Console Generation?
Gameboy (1989) and SNES (1990) were the same era and wins in a landslide for me. Famicon/NES was 1983.
Gameboy Colour was part of the Gameboy Line not a separate generation. Altering history to fit neat boxes.
Re: Backlog Club: Week Zero - Hello (Again), And Welcome (Again) To Backlog Club
@KateGray Great idea! But unfortunately I'm already doing one of these on the forums of PureXbox and struggle to get through one extra game a month as it stands. But i'll keep an eye out here and see when I can jump in. Best of luck with the backlogs!
Re: Final Fantasy Uniqlo Range Accidentally Revealed Early
They’re not great are they. Though I for one like the minimalism of some of these. Subtle enough that it looks kinda cool to the average punter yet those who know know, but not so in your face that you are walking talking garish billboard. Just a shame they aren’t better.
Re: Scalpers Set Their Sights On LEGO Star Wars Deluxe Edition 'Blue Milk Luke' Minifigure
“It's got so bad that blue milk Luke is now going for higher prices than a copy of the game”
Sadly this isn’t that uncommon with these collectors edition extras. Plenty of people buy them and sell the models and other bits for large profits due to scarcity
Re: Back Page: Which Is The Best Controller Button, And What Does Your Pick Say About You?
X it's on all major consoles and PC.
Re: Square Enix Shows Off Chrono Cross Remaster Comparison Screenshots
@Daniel36 there was an article just the other day saying you couldn’t sadly.
Re: Square Enix Shows Off Chrono Cross Remaster Comparison Screenshots
Looks like they’ve mostly just put the backgrounds through AI upsampling. The trouble with updating the models and text is they no longer all sit so cohesively together. Seems nearer to a minimum possible effort.
Honestly don’t have high hopes
Re: Rumour: A New Zelda: BOTW 2 Name Is Gaining Traction Online...
Sounds like a placeholder
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2: Everything We Know So Far
They were always going to have to nerf the Master Sword in some way
Re: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 Delayed To Spring 2023
@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!
Re: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2 Delayed To Spring 2023
@TheRedComet Don't discount Starfield!
Re: Hands On: Turn Your Nintendo Switch Into A Gundam With This Case
It's a proper monstrosity!
Re: Video: This Fan-Made Banjo-Kazooie Remaster Trailer Looks Absolutely Stunning
That music though! ♩♫♬♪♩
Re: Metroid Dread Senior Programmer Leaves MercurySteam, Joins Call Of Duty: Warzone Mobile Developer
@Jumping_Dead You know things are BAD at MercurySteam when moving to Activision seems like a positive upgrade.
Re: Video: YouTuber's Ultimate Switch OLED Test "Finally" Delivers Burn-In After 3,600 Hours
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.
Re: Obsidian's RPG Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire Appears To Have Been Cancelled For Switch
@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.
Re: Obsidian's RPG Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire Appears To Have Been Cancelled For Switch
@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.
Re: Obsidian's RPG Pillars Of Eternity II: Deadfire Appears To Have Been Cancelled For Switch
@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.
Re: The First Review For Triangle Strategy Is Now In
For Famitsu 35/40 is pretty average for a Square JRPG. All it tells us is it's not a stinker, which is enough.
Re: 'Switch Pro' Trends On Social Media After Massive Nvidia Leak Reignites Speculation
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.
Re: Feature: From Chrono Trigger To Super Mario RPG, The Varied Influences Of Sea Of Stars
If it's by The Messenger's dev team they have my attention. Brilliant game.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Of Valve's Steam Deck Are In - What's It Like Compared To Switch?
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
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Of Valve's Steam Deck Are In - What's It Like Compared To Switch?
@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
Re: Poll: Do You Have An Issue With Xenoblade Chronicles' Accents?
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.
Re: No Man's Sky Has Been Secretly In The Works For Two Years, And There's More Info To Come
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.
Re: Nintendo Heirs Buy Majority Stake in U.S. 'Activist Fund'
@westman98 That website is 100% Nintendo, big goofy smile on my face.
What a great share. Thank you.
Re: Nintendo Heirs Buy Majority Stake in U.S. 'Activist Fund'
@Pod AMAZING!!!
Re: Nintendo Heirs Buy Majority Stake in U.S. 'Activist Fund'
His grandson is named BANJO. Legend!
That is all I’ve taken from this.
Re: Random: Link's Breath Of The Wild Bow Technique "Really Sucks", According To A Professional Archer
This might come as a shock but i'm not looking for realism in my video games.
Re: 5 Years On, The Games Media Remembers Its First Impressions Of Nintendo Switch
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.
Re: Nintendo Reveals The Top 15 Most-Downloaded Switch Games In December 2021 (Europe)
Great to see Unpacking on there!
Re: Gallery: Nintendo Shares More Screenshots Of Pokémon Legends: Arceus For Switch
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.
Re: The IGF Award Nominations Are In, Celebrating The Past Year's Best Indie Games
@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.
Re: The Team Behind Bravely Default And Triangle Strategy Will Announce "Multiple" Games This Year
I’d love A FF6 or Chrono Trigger remake in this style
Re: Video: The Best RPG Ever Made Still Isn't On Switch
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
Re: Hardware: Up-Switch Orion Review - Turn Your Switch Into A Switch XXXL (And Make It Worse)
I have nightmares that start "hhhhellllo there lovely peeeeple"
Re: Review: Loop Hero - A Creative And Incredibly Addictive Distillation Of An RPG
@SwitchVogel Loop hero is free on the Epic game store today
Re: Random: This Guy Has Been Mining Out An Entire Minecraft World For 4 Years, And He's Almost Finished
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
Re: Review: Record Of Lodoss War: Deedlit In Wonder Labyrinth - Far More Than A Knock-Off Symphony Of The Night
It looks lovely. Will take a closer look. Awful name though!
Re: Don't Worry, Zelda: BOTW 2 Is Reportedly Still Aiming To Launch Next Year
Didn't they say that in 2020 and 2021?
Re: Sonic's Co-Creator Yuji Naka Made A New Game, And You Can Play It Right Now
Great to see Yuji not being down about Balan and instead throwing himself into something new and learning. Winning mentality. Massive respect!
Re: Hey, Listen! Pre-Orders For This Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Hylian Shield Are Live
@koffing When you didn't know you NEEDED something!!!
Wanna go into business? How long before Nintendo lawyers up?
Re: Poll: So, How Would You Rate Nintendo's 2021?
5. There was very little that interested me this year and 2021 has mostly seen my Switch gather dust.
Re: Hey, Listen! Pre-Orders For This Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Hylian Shield Are Live
@nessisonett My head played the classic chest opening sound.
Re: Masayuki Uemura, Creator Of The NES And SNES, Has Passed Away
Rest in peace Legend. Gave so much joy to so many.
Re: Surprise! Nintendo Has Added A 'Most Played' Section To The Switch eShop
The real problem with the eshop is discovery. This doesn't really help at all.
Re: Talking Point: Are Nintendo's Exclusives Enough To Win A Next-Gen Handheld War?
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
Re: Talking Point: Should The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Library Expand Faster?
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?