Comments 539

Re: Switch OLED Upgrades Reportedly Cost Nintendo "Around $10 More Per Unit"

themightyant

@sixrings the trouble with the “how much does it cost to make” question is what do you include in that.

Is it just the BOM (Bill of materials) I.e. the parts themselves. This is usually the lowest number and the one clickbait articles and youtubers use to say technology X is a ripoff as it only costs half the retail cost to make. (It doesn’t)

Does it include the skilled labour, and machines to make them.

Does it include the cost of factories, energy & transport.

Does it include the millions in Research and Development, or advertising and staff costs to successfully market and sell a product worldwide.

Does it factor in wholesale vs retail price and the cut for retailers?

There are a LOT of different costs you COULD include in this number and the difference will be huge.

This is why Xbox can say under oath in court “we have never made a profit on an Xbox console” and not be lying and yet PlayStation said to investors that the PS5 (disc version) is already profitable. Neither lied but they are talking about different numbers.

Ultimately we don’t know how much the Switch costs to make. But whatever number the Internet says is likely missing many costs involved in bringing that product to market.

Re: Someone Thinks They've Resolved Nintendo's Joy-Con Drift Problem With An Incredibly Simple Fix

themightyant

@MarinoKadame The Switch Pro controller, DualSense (Dualshock 5), Dualshock 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and even the £150 Xbox Elite controllers ALL use the same part for their analogue sticks. (Though suppliers may vary for each batch)

There are always some reports of drift on each of those but it's relatively small and in my experience these are all pretty robust.

It's not in the same league as the JoyCons which genuinely have a massive issue, whereby the vast majority of Switch owners experience drift at some point. The one bonus is you can easily replace the joycon sticks, once you know how, whereas the others require advanced soldering.

Lastly: There have been reports that the DualSense may have more drift issues, though if that is the case it is likely either:
1) A bad batch of that same part (happens to them all)
2) the deadzone is set to be smaller in the software. This could be fixed with a firmware update. (I think it's this, the standard deadzone seems smaller to me than on PS4)

Re: The First Review For The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Is Now In

themightyant

Looking forward to replaying this and seeing how it's aged.

I loved Skyward Sword when I first played it (and the second and third time too) but that was a while ago.

But I also loved Twilight Princess at release but wasn't so enamoured with the HD remake. It had aged poorly imho compared to Wind Waker HD. Still a good game but frustrating at times.

Hopefully SS HD fares a little better.

Re: After Months Of 'Switch Pro' Rumours, Nintendo Officially Unveils The Nintendo Switch OLED Model

themightyant

Really disappointing, this is just a slight hardware revision.

  • The OLED is nice (still stunning on VITA) but it's only 0.8" larger diagonally and still has large bezels.
  • Slightly better battery life (than launch model, same as 2019 rev.)
  • Double the storage 64GB (But honestly just buy a MicroSD)
  • Ethernet port (already an optional extra)
  • Better kickstand (usb port still on bottom, can't charge and use)
  • Remodelled dock (who cares, it's still a cheap bit of plastic)
  • New colour (clutching at straws now)

Unless you are always using it as a handheld, in which case the OLED may be worthwhile, this is a poor 'upgrade' for $350. Hard pass, sadly.

Re: UK Charts: Mario Golf Holds Onto First Place While Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Returns To The Top Ten

themightyant

@geordie Durability becomes less of an issue the longer you play the game (Thankfully) and start to pick up better, and more durable weapons and learn to farm them if ever short. (Which is rarely, if ever, but you can)

I'm split on it. It's a hassle at the beginning but I love that it makes you have to switch up styles and tactics and use all your arsenal.

Additionally once you've got the mechanics down and on subsequent replays it's far less of an issue as you don't 'waste' weapons so quickly by not knowing the mechanics as well. In this regard it's a real shame it punishes beginners as it's a big hurdle.

Re: Metroid Series Tops Wii U eShop's "Best Sellers" List Following Dread Reveal

themightyant

@Chamver "So, all these people waited until the announcement of a new game to FINALLY buy the old games?" I suspect a lot of people, like me, are re-buying the games having previously owned them. I no longer have a GBA.

But it would be lovely to be able to get these on Switch. A proper VC store has been my most wanted feature for Switch since release. It's such a great platform for playing older titles.

Re: Another Cloud Game Is On Its Way To Nintendo Switch This July

themightyant

@CarlosM87 I get your point and to be clear I don't think this is black and white for ALL games. My point was about THIS game.

I think you'd accept that some games just can't reasonably run on Switch hardware. (Especially games like this that are CPU heavy) In those cases i'm happy to see a cloud version vs nothing.

Yes that could lead to dev's being lazy potentially and just releasing a cloud version. We don't' want that either, I understand.

Ultimately, as ever, we have to trust the developers to make the right choices for their games within their budgets.

Re: Another Cloud Game Is On Its Way To Nintendo Switch This July

themightyant

I don't understand people complaining about some cloud games on Switch. For a game like this it's likely either:

  • have the option of playing it via the cloud or
  • don't have it on Switch at all.

Having that choice is good.

This game taxes the CPU hard with all the Rat simulation and physics (as well as the GPU for graphics, though that is far more scalable) it just won't be easily possible on the aged Arm 4 processor.

Take it or leave it, it is your choice. But for many this may be the only way they can play this good game.

Re: Hideki Kamiya Shares Irritation At Speculation Over Bayonetta 3

themightyant

Honestly? I'm not sure whether is the chicken or the egg.

  • after a year or two of great game releases Nintendo's line up slows and gets a little dry
  • Many fans got progressively more vocal about the lack of games they want
  • Nintendo announces sequels to the big games too early to appease fans
  • Fans are briefly appeased and excited
  • Nintendo releases other games (not the big ones) for a while
  • Many fans get restless and start getting progressively more vocal about the lack of updates on games
  • Time goes by and Nintendo releases great games for a year or two
  • Many fans get progressively more vocal...

What I do know is this has all happened before and it will all happen again. Long time fans will be familiar with these cyclical relatively dry spells from Nintendo and all this bluster repeating ad infinitum...

Re: Poll: How Hyped Are You For Nintendo's E3 Direct?

themightyant

Honestly had to answer "Don't know how I feel". I WAS hyped, and want to be, but Nintendo usually disappoint at these showings to a degree. Plus much of this E3 has been a bit flat (Capcom, 2K interactive, most of Square Enix, Koch Media)

"Nervous but cautiously optimistic" is likely the best I can do right now.

EDIT: I also feel that as much as studios have tried to be "business as usual" the pandemic will have impacted a lot of plans for this year, next year and a few years to come.

Re: Random: What If Nintendo Just Released A Basic Switch XL?

themightyant

Was discussing this with a friend. Here's what we came up with (considering Nintendo are unlikely to give us what we want)

  • As it's rumoured the joycons will stay the same t,he larger screen - without bezels, but in a similar form factor - isn't that unlikely
  • This main unit would have a little better performance, to play at a slightly higher resolutions on the go.
  • What if the REAL magic was in the dock itself? That ALL current switch owners (including Lite) were able to buy a new dock that included the processing power to do DLSS or an equivalent etc. and upgrade the resolution without having to replace the whole thing

While this isn't the super powerful, all singing, all dancing Switch Pro I want, i'd still get it. And I think tens of millions would follow suit while we wait for the inevitable Switch 2

Re: Talking Point: How Good Are You At Games?

themightyant

I don't think it's one size fits all and mostly it's down to experience.

At puzzles, spotting patterns quite quickly and general gaming prowess I think i'm pretty good, not great, but well above average. But this is to be expected, conditioned from decades of experience.

At twitch shooting, or procedural rogue-like twitch gaming i'm pretty bad. In part due to my ageing reflexes and reaction times but more to do with my relative inexperience in these games because I don't play/enjoy them.

I have no doubt if I spent a lot of time in Warzone or Spelunky or Dead Cells I would get good at them (I got OK with Dead Cells, completing 4-5 runs before getting bored), but equally I don't think i'm going to rock the world at any as I always want to move on.

Post Script: Also Dark Souls isn't hard. That's not a flex, it's just conditioning, taking things slowly and mindset. But It is punishing initially. If you struggle you can always level up a bit more to even the odds.

now Cuphead, Super Meat Boy, Sekiro and a few others recently, THOSE are hard. But again you can play enough and condition yourself to play any, if you have the patience and time.

Re: Video: Do Faster Micro SD Cards Actually Improve Load Times On Switch?

themightyant

@Radbot42 Not just a video, but a (deliberately) over 10 minute video, as YouTube has additional monetisation options over the 10 minute mark.

In short. Yes there is a difference between some cards but it's not huge. Also UHS 1 is fine, no difference in buying the faster more expensive UHS II so stick with UHS 1. Lastly older cards are slower in their tests, so buy new if feasible.

An official (there's a lot of fakes) SanDisk UHS 1 MicroSD will be perfect.

Re: Talking Point: Do You Replay Games?

themightyant

Often I'll play a new game twice back to back. It's often a great experience second time around once you know the mechanics and have a bit of mastery.

After that if I feel I've had my fill of it I will often sell it.

There's also games that suddenly just come to mind, or there's an update or something that brings you back. Sometimes I'll even rebuy these. Recently just replayed the Dishonored series after it got FPS boost on Xbox and also did another playthrough of Arkham Knight (it stands up really well).

Lastly there's the 'comfort food' games, that you can always return to for a few games. Racers and other short dip in titles are good for this with the King being Mario Kart.

Re: Rumour: Genshin Impact For Switch Reportedly Delayed Due To "Weaker Hardware"

themightyant

This could absolutely be a CPU or Network card issue. Less likely to be GPU.

The Switch CPU is based on the 2014 A57 which was relatively weak at release, it’s massively behind current smartphones, particularly Apple’s. MiHoYo, the game’s developer, have proved to be not great at optimisation, PS4 & Pro and to a lesser extent PS5 all struggle with this game.

Genshin Impact also requires an always on Internet connection and again the Switch Network hardware is not great.

Re: Sorry, We're Not Getting Hollow Knight: Silksong News At E3 2021

themightyant

@theflowergarden Well said! This isn't the normal case of "developer announces a game too early". Hornet was promised as DLC as part of the Kickstarter. At some point this merged into a whole new game, Silksong, so they had to let backers know.

Moreover they said that all backers of Hollow Knight, who already got FAR more game than expected with all the first games DLC, will now ALSO be getting Silksong for free when it releases.

On the flip side: when it was on the cover of EDGE this January I hoped it was coming very soon. Seems not. But they should take as long as they need.

Re: Random: Did You Know The Wii U Can Burn eShop Games To Discs?

themightyant

Interesting! Though I no longer have a Wii U to try this out.
Somehow I sold it for more than I bought it for, as I had the Zelda Collectors Edition. I don't regret buying it, though it is closest to that in all the consoles I have purchased over the years, but I also definitely don't regret selling it. Whereas I still have most of the others going back to the Master System.

Re: 505 Publishing New Game From Metroid And Castlevania Developer MercurySteam

themightyant

That opening cutscene though is still bad-ass! And the promise of a "An actual game where you played as Dracula, in the style of Lords of Shadow"... is still mouth watering... only making the failure all the worse.

I never actually played the 2 LoS DLC or the LoS2 (SPOILERS for a 7 year old game) draculA (backwards) DLC, so wouldn't be wholly against a Switch trilogy.

Re: 505 Publishing New Game From Metroid And Castlevania Developer MercurySteam

themightyant

The first Lords of Shadow was a wonderful game, if a little long, and I was happy with it as a separate Castlevania game/timeline IF the 2D series still continued.

Mirror of Fate was OK by comparison, Good for a mobile title, but no where near the scope of LoS.

Lords of Shadow 2 was a huge backstep. A few good ideas, combined with several bad ones. It felt rushed and rudderless, not sticking the landing in many areas. It's amazing to me that it was the same studio, everything from the gameplay, aesthetic, sound, story and voice acting were worse than the first game. It's not terrible, but I expected much much more after such a great opening.