topsekret

Skipping this cause it's on a GKC

Hopefully they continue to investigate the underlying issue and fix it. Sounds very annoying to have the game randomly crash on you after an auto save.

I see I-No at 1:25 and Faust at 1:27. Does this take place in the Guilty Gear universe? Or are they just cameos?

@Arawn93 Yeah, the game is 25.5 GB on Switch 2 according to Nintendo's website, so it would fit on a 64 GB Switch 2 cartridge. If one of the new smaller cartridge size options is 32 GB, it would also fit on that.

Man, screw Game-Key Cards. The VF5 Ultimate Shodown got a real physical release for PS4 through LRG. Unfortunately, the GKC release significantly lowers the chance of LRG doing a real physical release for Switch 2.

And here I thought maybe Sega was gonna start doing more real physical releases after their pivot with Sonic Racing Crossworlds. Guess that was just a one-off and we can expect future Sega releases to continue to be GKCs.

I don't get why they don't just add an option to toggle between a 30 FPS and 60 FPS cap. Don't even need a Switch 2 devkit for that.

@Maple "You can still download all the Wii games you bought even tho the shop was closed years ago, same for 3DS.

Not sure what got you all thinking that Nintendo will shut down your console or prevent you from downloading games you already purchased from sheer pleasure."

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Nintendo itself has already confirmed they will eventually terminate the ability to redownload Wii games. From their official FAQ:

"In the future we will close all services related to the Wii Shop Channel, including the ability to redownload WiiWare and Virtual Console games"

This doesn't do much to inspire confidence that the same thing won't eventually happen for 3DS, Wii U, Switch, and Switch 2.

Switch 1 for me to get the real physical cartridge. Though it's a shame that even playing the Switch 1 version on Switch 2 doesn't resolve the frame pacing issues.

I'll probably wait for a sale. I don't really feel good about supporting this release at full price with how Square Enix is treating us.

Also, I hope Nintendo Life can give us a review for the Switch 1 version. In particular, I'd like to know how it runs on Switch 2.

@Maple Okay, now delete Octopath Traveler 0 from your Switch 2 and try to to play it from the GKC while you're in airplane mode. It won't launch, cause there's literally no data on the cartridge.

With PS4/PS5, the discs actually do contain a playable build the majority of the time. (Again, go check out doesitplay.org to see the stats for yourself.) Sure, many games still have patches, but they are still fully playable from start to finish on Playstation without the internet, just like what we used to have on Switch 1.

And because Switch 2 storage is tiny and Switch 2 games are massive, good luck trying to cram all your games on there in the future to prepare for the inevitable server shut down 20+ years from now.

If you don't care, that's fine. Maybe you're okay with paying full price for long term rentals (or in Daybreak 2's case, full price + an extra $10 Switch 2 tax compared to all other platforms). But stop trying to pretend that PS4/PS5 have this problem on the same scale as Switch 2: they don't.

@Serpenterror It's insane that they have the balls to charge $10 extra for a crappy key card. If it were a real physical cartridge it would be justified, but this is just pure greed.

I wonder how many AAA games are in AAA Games Ultimate Collection?

I just want them to port as many old games as they can to Switch 1 before it dies. Since when it does, we'll be stuck with just GKCs for their newer Switch 2 releases.

For those interested, it's getting a proper physical release in Japan (not a GKC or code-in-a-box).

I'd imagine LRG will do a physical version in the US since they did the physical release for the Switch 1 version.

Dang, that sucks. I had a feeling future support was gonna be iffy after they randomly didn't add the 2 new stages to the Switch version in the last update. Such a shame, cause at a technical level, the port is really solid.

Interesting word choice, though. He mentions how updates "beyond" Version 2.0 are under question, so that makes it sound like Switch will still at least get the initial Version 2.0 update.

If they do a Switch 2 version, hopefully Switch 1 owners will be able to get that for free, or at the very least, with a cheap upgrade pack.

Yeah, I really wish the Joy-Cons had a proper D-pad. If Nintendo won't do it, hopefully an accessory manufacturer like Hori does it. And hopefully it includes all the standard Joy-Con features so it can be an outright replacement. One of the crappy things about the Hori left Joy-Con was it didn't support wireless, so it couldn't be used to play shmups with a Flip Grip.

@RiasGremory Unfortunately, they have started censoring and banning games in the US and EU over the last year.

Here's a recent article about how the game Brave x Junction had to be censored only on Switch to release outside of Japan. Playstation and Steam versions were not censored (Nintendo Everything).

Xseed also recently announced that they had to cancel the release of the Corpse Party Tetralogy Pack outside of Japan due to "current platform guidelines" (Nintendo Life).

Last year, Idea Factory announced that they had to cancel the western release of the Neptunia trilogy and Death End re;Quest: Code Z due to the content of those games "not complying with Nintendo Guidelines" (Nintendo Life).

Last year, the developer of the bullet hell shmup Redneg Allstars announced that his game "has been restricted in Europe and the U.S. due to expression restrictions" (Nintendo Life).

Nintendo has done a total 180 from their laissez-faire approach in the early Switch years. They are now aggressively censoring and banning content that their Council of Karens find offensive.

@Max_the_German Yeah, I'm also disappointed by the lack of a 60 FPS option for handheld. My only guess is maybe they disabled it due to battery life concerns. But that would still be a bit silly since it's already an optional feature when docked, so users that are concerned about battery could stick with the 30 FPS mode.

Yet another reminder that Nintendo and Sony have traded places from where they started at the beginning of the Switch gen with regards to censorship.

@HalBailman Virtually every indie game that gets a physical release costs more at retail compared to on the eShop.

Here's some more Switch 1 examples:
*Touhou Luna Nights ($17.99 eShop, $39.99 retail)
*Chronicles of the Wolf ($19.99 eShop, $29.99 retail)
*Steamworld Heist II ($29.99 eShop, $34.99 retail)
*Class of Heroes I & II Complete Edition ($34.99 eShop, $39.99 retail)
*Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark ($29.99 eShop, $34.99 retail)
*The House of the Dead 2: Remake ($24.99 eShop, $39.99 retail)
*Pepper Grinder ($14.99 eShop, $29.99 retail)
*Tevi ($34.99 eShop, $39.99 retail)
*Balatro ($14.99 eShop, $29.99 retail)
*Antonblast ($19.99 eShop, $34.99 retail)

I could keep going. And I haven't even touched games that get physical releases through limited print companies like Limited Run Games.

If Nintendo has a "rule" that retail prices have to be the same as eShop prices, it sure seems like a lot of unrelated devs found ways around that "rule."

I can't believe Nintendo's letting them remake Project M! I wonder if Sakurai will be involved?

They should have an option for 40 FPS. Would be smoother than 30 FPS, and there wouldn't be any drops below the target like they still have at 60 FPS. Might even be able to hit 40 FPS in handheld mode.

@HalBailman So you essentially believe that the rule is that AAA games have to have the same MSRP at retail as they do on the eShop, but AA and indie games are allowed to have different MSRP for retail vs. eShop?

I don't have any proof that that's not the case, but to me it seems more logical that it's just up to the publisher.

C'mon Nintendo, why is it taking so long to fix Raiden III & IV?!

@HalBailman The theory about retailers forcing digital games to be the same price as physical games needs to die. It is patently false as there are multiple counter examples:

*No Sleep for Kaname Date ($40 digital, $50 physical (both the real physical Switch 1 version and the fake physical Switch 2 GKC LMAO))
*Hades II ($30 digital, $50 physical)
*Yooka-Replaylee ($30 digital, $50 physical)

Many publishers do choose to make them the same price, but retailers are not forcing them too. Cause if that were the case, how did the above games get away with making digital cheaper? It is simply a publisher choice.

Also, some turbo-***** publishers like NISA are increasing their prices on Switch 2 compared to all other platforms by $10 while still using GKCs for physical! Look at Trails Beyond the Horizon: $60 on all other platforms (Switch 1, PS4, PS5, PC), but $70 on Switch 2 for no reason.

Kinda funny how Inin confirmed this and had to quickly alter their statement after they clearly received a firm email from Nintendo's lawyers regarding NDA.

Unfortunately, this doesn't really bode well for the widespread adoption of the smaller card sizes. When 64 GB was the only option, Inin said they'd have to increase the price by €15. Now, they're presumably using the smallest of the available new card sizes, and despite this, they still need to charge a €10 premium.

The original rumor was that the 64 GB cards cost about $16. And it was pretty common to see the few multi-plat Switch 2 real physical games cost $10 more compared to other platforms, which implies that those publishers were still eating about $6 of cost and passing $10 to consumers. So with the new smaller cards, it looks like for sufficiently small games, publishers won't have to eat any cost, but consumers will still need to pay a $10 premium.

This might be enough of an incentive for smaller publishers of more niche games that target the hardcore to do real physical releases since they won't have to decrease their margins, which is what we are seeing with Inin. But I think mainstream publishers with more mass-market games are probably gonna stick with GKCs, unfortunately.

@Repete Cool, glad we solved the mystery!

@AussieMcBucket *With whom do you spend the holidays?

What's the point of watching a "first impressions" video from the developer/publisher itself? You think they're actually gonna put anything critical of the game in there?

It's just gonna be "game is awesome." There, saved you the trouble of watching the video.

@Jeronan That's the reason it's so big?! Wow, such a stupid design decision.

@Repete Are you sure you downloaded the upgrade pack? According to the NoA site, 11.3 GB is the exact size of the Switch 1 version and the Switch 2 version is 30.1 GB.

Do you have the physical version on Switch 1? In that case, I'd expect the download to be around 18.8 GB.

Nice, glad they aren't dropping Switch 1 so we can get a proper physical version! And they'll likely offer a $1 Switch 2 upgrade again.

About time. Can't believe it took Nintendo this long to do this, but here we are.

Obviously, this does nothing to address games bigger than 32 GB, but there's a lot of Switch 2 games less than 32 GB that went the way of the GKC.

Wonder how much these will cost though, as that will dictate how often they're are used. Probably big greedy corporations like Crapcom will stick with GKCs no matter what. But hopefully at least AA devs and indies will take advantage of this.

Square soured me on this with their GKC shenanigans and lack of an upgrade path. So I'm waiting for a sale on the Switch 1 physical before I pick it up.

@Drago201 Then I guess most people won't buy the Switch 2 version anyways cause it costs $40 on Switch 2, yet it regularly goes on sale for $15 on PS5 and just recently it started going on sale for $20 on PC.

Hmm... I guess $7 per character lines up with their pricing on other platforms. But I thought for sure they'd at least give us a bundle to get all three characters at a slightly reduced rate. Might just wait for a sale then.

Also the exclusion of the 2 new stages leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Why, Arc Sys?

Still, I'm glad to finally have frame data in training mode. And I'll definitely check out the new ranked mode. I wasn't too fond of the tower system cause I think I lucked into too high of a floor and the hard cap preventing you from ranking below 2 levels of your all time high makes it really difficult to learn characters you suck with online.

@PikminMarioKirby Yep, you hit the nail on the head. Nintendo spent so much time this year absolutely pissing away all the good will they built up during the Switch generation:

*$450 base console price
*Despite the premium price, several obvious technical flaws in the console (ex: slower screen response time than Switch 1, no VRR support when docked, poor battery life, still fairly underpowered and unable to run many 3rd party games well)
*$80 Mario Kart World
*$10 Welcome Tour
*Game-Key Cards (and they're gonna start using them on 1st party games like Pokopia now)
*Forcing you to buy $10-$20 DLC if you want technical upgrades for select Switch 1 games.
*Requiring you to buy a $100 or $25 shell to play Virtual Boy games on the most expensive tier of their subscription service.
*Ignoring player feedback about Mario Kart World and forcing people to play intermission tracks online
*Releasing another trash-tier low-effort Pokemon game
*"Cut content"-style DLC for DK Bananza and Pokemon released right after launch

There may be tough economic times, but PS5 outsold the Switch 2 by a wide margin in both the US (~2:1) and UK (~3:1) over Black Friday. Not a good look for an old console like that to be outselling a brand new one in its first holiday sales period when the Switch 2 isn't even supply-constrained. The problem is, demand for Switch 2 just isn't that high now that all the hardcore fans already got theirs. The only place where Switch 2 is doing really well is Japan, where it is actually priced competitively.

Hopefully this will be the wake up call Nintendo needs.

@Dm9982 The Skyrim Switch 2 update is basically the coal that Santa puts in naughty children's stockings.

@Drago201 Absolutely! $60 for the complete game on a cartridge is significantly more appealing to me than a $40 GKC.

@Skunkfish I don't mind downloading the occasional game from the eShop, but it has to be cheap (<$10) and small in file size (ideally less than 1 GB, but maybe up to 10 GB if I really want it). FFVIIR is too far above both my price and file size thresholds to consider a digital purchase.

@SBandy1 Yep, that's the plan. In a way, it's a good thing: Nintendo has cured my game purchasing addiction. Now I can focus on my backlog.

@jfp Lol, good one! Perhaps "on" was a poor choice of words since the reason we dislike GKCs is that there's nothing actually on them. 😂

@Jeronan Wow, that's insane! How is the Switch 2 version of Skyrim the largest, and by that much?! Devs have forgotten how to optimize.

From what I hear, the Switch 2 version of Skyrim also adds a bunch of input lag.

Some of these 3rd parties are really dropping the ball with these updates. These should be the easiest possible layups.

Nope, I'm not interested in picking this up since it's on a Game-Key Card.

So it adds 20 GB to the file size, and the graphics don't even look that much better? I guess it's free but, I'm not sure I'd wanna download it in that case lol

Really surprising to see the Baroque spinoffs get brought over, but what about Baroque itself?!

@HotGoomba Umm, actually you should be using the Whitebeard image to go with that caption! 🤓

Anyways, hope the Switch 1 port is good since we know that the Switch 2 version will be GKC trash.

More like South of Midnight