topsekret

Based on the Bluey precedent, this probably has a higher chance of getting a real physical release than a AA/AAA "core" 3rd party game.

@kmtrain83 I'll add a GKC comment of my own: I'll bet P3R would have sold better if it was on a real cartridge.

P5R had a much stronger opening week on Switch 1 with nearly 46k, so a little more than 7.5 times the sales of P3R.

Obviously, install base plays a role as well, and there were about 10 times as many Switch 1s floating around in Japan at the time compared to Switch 2s now. But obviously, some people double dipped for the Lite and OLED models, so not all of those systems belonged to unique players. And we all know that a game's sales are not just a simple proportion of install base (which is why in Japan, despite there being 4.5 times as many Switch 1s compared to PS4s, day-1 multiplats sell at most only 2 times more on Switch 1).

I'd wager P3R potentially would have sold 2-3 times more if it had a real physical release.

@Dee123 Putting the games on Game-Key Cards is not "going all out."

@TheDragonDAFan I can take this one: money

Lol @ the fancy "collectors'" box to hold your glorified download codes

I'm also more interested in how the Switch 1 version runs (on both Switch 1 and Switch 2) sine it's the only real physical version.

Props to them for putting these on real cartridges, but unfortunately, none of these games appeal to me. Binding of Isaac seems like something I would like gameplay-wise, but I just can't get past the gross aesthetic.

@anoyonmus Is your performance complaint related to the Switch 2 version when docked? I've heard that if you set the Switch 2 to output to only 1080p in the system settings it helps.

Though I agree, they should fix it. That's the main reason I've held off from purchasing the game.

Also, I hope they preserve the original difficulty as an option, or add an even harder one. Games today are too easy.

Question
Will you be getting this game on the Switch or Switch 2 this week?

Answer
I will purchase the Switch 1 version since it is on a real physical cartridge as opposed to a GKC. However, since Square Enix is not offering an upgrade path, I'll wait for a sale. I would have picked it up at launch if there was at least a free Switch 2 upgrade pack (like they had for FFT).

If YouTube's so great, why isn't there a YouTube 2?

Thank God this is physical and not GKC trash. Nearly 43 GB is massive.

They made the right choice. Hopefully with the delay they'll also considering putting the game on a real cartridge.

"The price for this upgrade will be... free. We don't believe paying for a technical upgrade is reasonable."

Based devs

Poll needs an "Only if it gets a real physical release (not GKC)" option.

@HugoGED If it's just online missing on the cartridge, it's not a big deal, since the online will be dead anyways by the time the eShop servers shut down.

But no local wireless on the cartridge would be a bit disappointing since there's no reason you shouldn't be able to play that after the servers shut down. Though I guess on the bright side, if the person you were wanting to play local wireless with has the patch on their console, you could download it locally from them using the "Match Version with Local Users" feature.

@purple_shyguy Or even worse, buy the whole game all over again at full price!

@Porky I'm a bit concerned it's seemingly substantial enough to warrant Sakurai announcing it like that. Really hope it's just the online.

@Anti-Matter This new Bluey game is supposed to be on a real physical Switch 2 cartridge, not a Game-Key Card! Will this be a Switch 2 system seller for you? Or are you gonna stick with the PS5 version?

@UltimateOtaku91 The funny thing is, a new Bluey game got announced today and it's getting a real physical Switch 2 release (I'm looking forward to the Nintendo Life article on that for obvious reasons lol), but these AAA devs refuse to do real physical releases. 🤣

The lack of any physical presence for this could make it easier for LRG to secure a release in the future. And they have a relationship with Bethesda for the Doom games.

@UltimateOtaku91 For the record, I also complain about digital only releases for large games like this. Though I don't mind them as much for tiny cheap indie games.

Never played any of these before. This is the sort of game that I would've considered picking up if there was a real physical version (not GKC) to see what the commotion was about, but since there isn't, it's an easy pass for me.

@romanista Maybe they're gonna add something so substantial as part of the Switch 2 Edition (like an entirely new mini campaign?), that it wouldn't really need these small features to sell? Idk, Even if that's the case, it's still kinda weird. Nintendo works in mysterious ways.

Appreciate the hard mode, but the lack of a basic Switch 2 resolution and/or frame rate bump is baffling. Guess they're saving it for a later $10 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Upgrade Pack...

@UltimateOtaku91 Ah, thanks for the info. I've been pretty unplugged from the wider Pokemon franchise for a long time now.

I think the best solution would be to decouple the other arms of the franchise from the games.

They already did that with the anime, right? Like didn't they finally break the pattern of having to have Ash visit the new region? And didn't the last season with Ash also kinda break the pattern by having him visit lots of past regions? And I remember back in the early days, they had that entire "filler" with the Orange Islands, which had nothing to do with an actual game region.

And even in the TCG, they were always coming up with gimmicks in lieu of having content from a proper new mainline game. Things like Dark Pokemon, Trainer's Pokemon, Light Pokemon, Delta Species, etc...

@UltimateOtaku91 Yep, agreed. Pokemon being a massive multimedia franchise is really a double-edged sword. The mainline games have to release with certain frequency to provide content for the rest of the franchise.

But the funny thing is, these Legends games, while considered "mainline," aren't really new generations, so I don't think they are expected to push the rest of the franchise forward the same way the traditional generation mainline games are. But despite this, they still have extremely tight deadlines and low budgets.

From a quality standpoint, I just don't think their current business model is working anymore.

@UltimateOtaku91 So uh...why does the largest, most profitable multimedia franchise and fourth best selling game franchise have such a small budget for its mainline games? We know they have the money, why not invest that in the games to make them better?

This is exactly the problem. TCPI and Game Freak don't put in money or effort cause fans will slurp up whatever slop they churn out. Why invest more money to make a better product when it'll sell the same regardless?

@Fazermint Don't you think it's a bit of a shame that the new game from the largest, most profitable multimedia franchise and fourth best-selling game franchise is "upper mid tier at best?"

Most of the people actively complaining about these games are doing so out of their love for the franchise and desire to see it live up to its full potential.

@w1p3out There was an interview several years ago where programmer and director Masayuki Onoue from Game Freak said that they have two different production teams and basically admitted that their Pokemon projects are lower priority:

There are two different production teams here, simply named Production Team 1 and Production Team 2,” Onoue explained. “Team 1 is fully dedicated to Gear Project, while Team 2 is for the Pokémon operation.

What that means is that Game Freak as a company is prioritising Gear Project, which is production team number one, more than Pokémon in general. We are always trying to create something that is equally exciting, or more exciting than Pokémon.

I'm assuming their Team 1 is working on that ambitious Project Bloom game. I don't think modern day Game Freak is really passionate about Pokemon. So they just phone it in to get a pay check to fund the projects they really care about.

@LastFootnote Final Fantasy XII blows ZA out of the water. Rabanastre is a much more visually interesting and bustling city than Lumiose. And the buildings aren't just cubes with pictures of windows slapped on them!

Question
Will you be picking up Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined in the new year?

Answer
Since it will be on a GKC on the Switch 2 machine, I will only consider the Switch 1 version. But because Square Enix is not offering an upgrade path, I'll wait till the Switch 1 physical version is on sale.

Question
Would you like to see Ninja Gaiden 4 on Switch 2?

Answer
Only if it gets a true physical release. If it's gonna be on a GKC, then I'm not interested.

I can deal with 30 FPS for a turn-based JRPG, but I can't deal with a GKC. So I'll give this a pass unless they do a true physical with someone like LRG down the line.

I wonder what they could be hiding to warrant not only a 2nd dedicated Air Riders Direct, but a 60 minute one at that. Top Ride? But I don't think that alone would carry a 60 minute Direct...

@Znake Well, if it makes you feel any better, it's a GKC anyways, so nothing is on the cartridge lol.

The silver lining is that eventually they may partner with someone like LRG to do a proper physical release, and that may have the performance fixes on the cartridge.

@jsty3105 I mean, they gave devs more choices on Switch 1. On Switch 1, they had 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB carts. Why not replicate those options at least? Why not literally just use existing Switch 1 cartridges to hold Switch 2 binaries? Sure, some games will need faster read speeds, so a new cartridge design is necessary to accommodate that, but why force non-demanding games to use that if they don't need it?

And they've already made it more complex for developers since apparently the Switch 2 cartridges, despite being faster than Switch 1 cartridges, are noticeably slower than micro SD express cards. So devs are already needing to theoretically* consider read speeds when considering whether or not to use a Switch 2 physical cartridge.

*In practice, we all know that the devs are just opting for GKCs cause they are cheaper so they make more money off each sale.

(Btw, I appreciate your measured response.)

Gotta love DRM on your news lol

I want Coldsteel the Hedgehog.

@Ziondood Hey Zion! Thanks for the followup and the transparency! Glad you asked the question.

I'm guessing their PR instructed them not to engage in any discussion about GKCs. They probably know that if they're honest and say it's just a business decision to increase profits it would make them look bad. And if they tried to add weird spin like NISA did ("We decided to release this title as a Game-Key Card on the Nintendo Switch 2 as we believed it was the most beneficial option for our customers."), it would look even worse.

I guess their refusal to respond at least tells us that they know people hate GKCs, but rather than attempting to control the narrative, they're just hoping it eventually blows over.

But here's my copium conspiracy theory: what if the reason they didn't wanna talk about it at all is cause they already have a full physical LRG release planned and it'll be announced next week at LRG3 and they don't wanna spoil the surprise?! One can dream...

I appreciate Zion asking a hardball question with the question about the frame rate issues in the demo. Hopefully they are true to their word and iron it out eventually.

Though I'm disappointed Zion didn't also ask about their decision to use a GKC for this game. Kinda surprised he didn't considering he made an entire video back when the port was announced lamenting it being on a GKC.

I'm hoping they eventually work with LRG to make a complete physical version with all the latest patches and DLC. That's the only way I'd ever buy this on Switch 2. It seems like a possibility since they worked with LRG in the past for physical releases for P3P and P4G. And Sega isn't opposed to re-releasing more complete physical versions of older games through LRG (they did this with Valkyria Chronicles 4).

@jsty3105 Nintendo should have just made more cartridge options. Lower capacity and/or slower speeds to reduce cost.

@AG_Awesome Thanks for the tip about the Joylocks. I was eyeing those, but wasn't sure if you could use them without that shell. I'm not too keen on their shell cause then it forces you to use their special dock.

While not perfect, the Switch 1's ergonomics allowed me to play it in handheld for long periods of time with no issues. But unfortunately, the Switch 2 really doesn't feel comfortable for me to hold for long periods of time.

"The source also notes how this latest fix is an "interesting development" as it appears Switch games can be fixed for the Switch 2 at "any point"."

I'm assuming this just means that the devs released patches for these specific games to fix their Switch 2 issues, as opposed to Nintendo releasing fixes for their Switch 2 BC layer as part of a firmware update.

Anyways, glad to see that these games got fixed. I'm still really hoping for fixes for several other games:
*Raiden III
*Raiden IV
*Strania
*NieR Automata
*Trails from Zero
*Trails to Azure
*Tokyo Xanadu

I also wish Nintendo had an up-to-date central list of all games with known BC issues. As an owner of hundreds of Switch games, it sucks having to type in each game I own one at a time to see if there are issues or not.

Also, as the Crossbell Trails games demonstrate, there are games with issues outside of the issues that Nintendo officially acknowledges.

I really hope they keep working on BC till all issues are fixed.

Rest in peace, Itagaki-san. 58 is just too soon. He left a major impact on the industry, for sure. Will have to play some Ninja Gaiden to honor his memory. A shame we never got any of the DoA fighting games on Switch.

@Jarodlaraus Are you implying that games like Street Fighter VI, Persona 3 Reload, Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D, etc... would be impossible to run on a Switch 2 cartridge?

Question
Will you be picking up this title on the Switch 2 when it launches early next year?

Answer
No, since it will release on a GKC, I have no interest in purchasing it.

All the Nintendo fanboys in the comments defending GKCs: "Won't someone please think about the billion dollar corporations!!!!"

GKCs suck. As one of a minority of Nintendo fans that actually did buy 3rd party games on Switch 1, I'm buying dramatically fewer games on Switch 2 because of GKCs.

@SpaceboyScreams You joke, but that's basically what we got with the atrocious English dub for Pokken Tournament! As someone who prefers English dubbed games and anime, this is one of the few games that made me Switch to Japanese due to how bad the English dub was.

Maybe not quite Chaos Wars bad, but close.

@chriswashere313 Who says they need to have a voice track for each text language? It's fairly common for games to support less voice languages than text languages. For example, all the Fire Emblem and Xenoblade games on Switch only have Japanese and English voice options and many additional languages for text. That would be a perfectly acceptable starting point for Pokemon.