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[Really, aren't cards the original roguelike?]

51

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - February 22, 2024

« on: February 19, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

Really, aren't cards the original roguelike?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66287/nintendo-downloads-february-22-2024

Things we missed last week: Master of Weapon (Taito) was the Archives released, and regular indie show star Lake - the game about mail delivery in a small town - was also a surprise release.

It's all digital (at least for now) this week as originally the headliner was going to be the latest (and possibly last, given that the Riot Forge was shuttered in one of the 20k layoffs this year) League of Legends spinoff game, until the Steam Next Fest brought a game that nobody will shut up about in poker-based Game Boy Color style roguelike Balatro. Seriously. Bandle Tale is out this week as well.

Also worth keeping an eye on are a rare 2D collect-a-thon? in Promenade, and an apparent Pong sequel in qomp2. Look for reviews of those throughout the week. There's also a new EggConsole game as that has started popping off... with Hydlide 3, and in Japan the compilation of remasters of the Game Center CX games.

North America

Digital

Yohane the Parhelion -Numazu In The Mirage- (US$29.99/C$38.99)

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story ($24.99/$34.99: Wednesday)

Apex Heroines ($24.99/$33.5)

Lunaria: Virtualized Moonchild ($24.99/$33.24)

Inkulinati ($24.99/$33)

Promenade ($24.99/$31.99: Friday)

qomp2 ($19.99/$26.99: Tuesday)

Wira & Taksa: Against The Master of Gravity ($16.99/$22.85: Friday)

Balatro ($14.99/$18.99: Tuesday)

Metro Simulator 2 ($14.99/$20.15: Wednesday)

Tenderfoot Tactics ($14.99/$19.49: Wednesday)

Dino Race ($12.99/$17.99: Friday)

The Jump Guys ($12.99/$17.50: Friday)

Drift Master Simulator 2024 ($11.99/$16.99: Sunday)

Quadroids ($11.99/$15.99)

The Bike Moto Bike Simulator ($11.99/$15.99: Saturday)

Unlife ($10.99/$15.99: Friday)

Aery - Stone Age ($9.99/$14.99)

Toy Rider ($9.99/$14.99)

502's Arcade ($9.99/$12.99)

Truck Sim 2024 ($9.99/$12.99: Friday)

Squirrel Stapler ($7.99/$8.91)

Eggconsole Hydlide 3 PC-8801 mkIISR ($6.49/$7.34)

A Time Traveler's Guide To Past Delicacies ($4.99/$6.64: Wednesday)

Geometry Survivor ($4.99/$6.49: Wednesday)

Froggie ($4.99/$5.99: Wednesday)

King's Odyssey ($4.99/$6.76: Friday)

Woodturning 3D ($4.99/$6.73: Friday)

King's Odyssey: Dwarves Tale ($4.99/$6.76: Saturday)

Geometric Sniper Z ($3.99/$5.39)

Make It! Taiyaki ($3/$2.74)

Slimeboo ($2/$3)

Hopping Bunny ($0.99/$1.39: Tuesday)

Revealed Later

Penny's Big Breakaway ($29.99/$39.99: Wednesday)

Farmer Simulator: Evolution ($19.99/$26.99)

Pentiment ($19.99/$24.99)

Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! ($15.00/$20.00: Wednesday)

Japan Train Models - JR Kyushu Edition ($13.99/$18.83)

Call of Honor: Duty of Warfare ($12.99/$17.99: Saturday)

Towers Watch ($12/$15.96)

Nyaaaanvy ($9.99/$8.99)

Escape First Alchemist ($7.99/$9.99)

The Tales of Bayun ($7.99/$9.50: Friday)

Pixel Game Maker Series Cat and Castle ($4.99/$6.77)

Chop Goblins ($4.99/$6.49)

Little Red Riding Hood: Wonder Animals ($4.9/$6.60: Tuesday)

Little Red Riding Hood: Wonder Animals Vol 2 ($4.9/$6.6)

Trom ($3.99/$5.4)

Quick Golf ($2.99/$4.04)

Twisty Pals ($0.99/$1.29: Saturday)

Archives

Jungler ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: The complete Witcher 3 is on sale until Sunday if you have the space for it. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Yohane the Parhelion -Numazu In The Mirage- (€29.99/£24.99)

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story (€24.99/£19.99: Wednesday)

Lunaria: Virtualized Moonchild (€24.99/£22.49)

Inkulinati (€24.99/£21.59)

Promenade (€24.99/£22.49: Friday)

Apex Heroines (€22.8/£20.49)

qomp2 (€19.99/£17.99: Tuesday)

Wira & Taksa: Against The Master of Gravity (€16.99/£15.29: Friday)

Metro Simulator 2 (€14.99/£13.49: Wednesday)

Tenderfoot Tactics (€14.79/£12.79: Wednesday)

Balatro (€13.99/£12.79: Tuesday)

Dino Race (€12.99/£11.99: Friday)

The Jump Guys (€12.99/£11.69: Friday)

Drift Master Simulator 2024 (€11.99/£11.99: Sunday)

Quadroids (€11.99/£10.79)

The Bike Moto Bike Simulator (€11.99/£11.99: Saturday)

Unlife (€10.99/£10.99: Friday)

Aery - Stone Age (€9.99/£9.99)

Toy Rider (€9.99/£9.99)

502's Arcade (€9.99/£8.99)

Truck Sim 2024 (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Squirrel Stapler (€6.62/£5.89)

Eggconsole Hydlide 3 PC-8801 mkIISR (€5.59/£5.39)

A Time Traveler's Guide To Past Delicacies (€4.99/£4.49: Wednesday)

Froggie (€4.99/£4.49: Wednesday)

Kings Odyssey (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

King's Odyssey: Dwarves Tale (€4.99/£4.49: Saturday)

Geometry Survivor (€4.99/£4.29: Wednesday)

Geometric Sniper Z (€3.99/£3.59)

Make It! Taiyaki (€3/£1.6)

Hopping Bunny (€0.99/£0.89: Tuesday)

Revealed Later

Penny's Big Breakaway (€29.99/£24.99: Wednesday)

Pentiment (€19.99/£14.99)

Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! (€15/£13.49: Wednesday)

Japan Train Models: Kyushu Edition (€13.79/£12.39)

Call of Honor: Duty of Warfare (€12.99/£12.99: Friday)

Towers Watch (€11.99/£10.79)

Membal (€10.99/£9.89)

Nyaaaanvy (€9.99/£8.99)

Escape First: Alchemist (€7.99/£7.19)

The Tales of Bayun (€6.99/£6.29: Friday)

Little Red Riding Hood: Wonder Animals (€4.99/£4.49: Tuesday)

Chop Goblins (€4.99/£4.49)

Little Red Riding Hook: Wonder Animals Vol 2 (€4.99/£4.49)

Pixel Game Maker Series Cat and Castle (€4.99/£4.49)

Wood Turning 3D (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Trom (€3.99/£3.59)

Line Color World (€2.99/£2.69)

Quick Golf (€2.99/£2.69: Friday)

Hentai: Make Love Not War 2 (€2.2/£1.99)

Twisty Pals (€0.99/£0.99: Saturday)

Archives

Jungler (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Uniform Girlfriend (¥8360)

Crayon Shin-Chan: Shiro of Charcoal Town (¥6980)

GameCenter CX: Arino no Chōsenjō 1+2 REPLAY (¥6490)

5 Minute Unexpected Ending: Monochrome Library (¥5000)

Yohane the Parhelion -Numazu In The Mirage- (¥4950)

Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story (¥3699)

Apex Heroines (¥3627)

Inkulinati (¥3360)

Kannagi no Mori (¥3300)

Lunaria: Virtualized Moonchild (¥2980)

qomp2 (¥2300)

The Jump Guys (¥1920)

Toy Rider (¥1900)

Golazo! 2 (¥1800)

Quadroids (¥1700)

Aery - Stone Age (¥1600)

Unlife (¥1600)

502's Arcade (¥1470)

Nyaaaanvy (¥980)

Eggconsole Hydlide 3 PC-8801 mkIISR (¥880)

A Time Traveler's Guide To Past Delicacies (¥660)

Prisonela DX (¥660)

Geometric Sniper Z (¥590)

Froggie (¥500)

Kurukuru Puzzle (¥420)

Okudake Study (¥420)

Make It! Taiyaki (¥300)

Revealed Later

Penny's Big Breakaway (¥4290)

Farmer Simulator: Evolution (¥2900)

Wira & Taksa: Against The Master of Gravity (¥2508)

Pentiment (¥2090)

Last 4 Alive: Escape From Zombies (¥1800)

Membal (¥1777)

Balatro (¥1700)

Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! (¥1500)

100 Doors - Escape From Prison (¥1380)

Japan Train Models: Kyushu Edition (¥1320)

Hentai Girls: Sweet Doctor (¥900)

Jungler (¥838)

Sea Port Tycoon 2024 (¥730)

Pixel Game Maker Series Cat and Castle (¥550)

Geometry Survivor (¥499)

Line Color World (¥399)

[You'll never see one of them coming.]

52

TalkBack / Four More Costumes Revealed For Princess Peach: Showtime

« on: February 14, 2024, 04:12:24 AM »

You'll never see one of them coming.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66268/four-more-costumes-revealed-for-princess-peach-showtime

Peach apparently took some notes from her time in Smash Bros., as some of her new costumes for Princess Peach: Showtime show.

The four newly revealed costumes are:

• "Dashing Thief" - a phantom-thief themed costume focused on stealth and gadgets
• "Figure Skater" - skating around the stages with spins and jumps for attacks
• "Mermaid Peach" - controls fish with song among other aquatic abilities
• "Mighty Peach" - gives the ability to fly and make powerful punches as a superheroine would

[The Suikoden and Eiyuden Chronicles creator had an undisclosed illness.]

53

TalkBack / Yoshitaka Murayama (1969 - 2024)

« on: February 14, 2024, 02:56:18 AM »

The Suikoden and Eiyuden Chronicles creator had an undisclosed illness.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66267/yoshitaka-murayama-1969-2024

The creator of a seminal mid-1990s RPG series and its spiritual successor has died.

An update to backers of Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes from developer Rabbit & Bear Studios has announced that Yoshitaka Murayama, the director of the upcoming RPG as well as the Suikoden franchise that it succeeds, passed away from an ongoing illness on February 6. No further details have been provided out of respect for the privacy of his family.

Originally hired into quality assurance by Konami in 1992, he was later asked to develop a game for the then-upcoming PlayStation console and chose to create an RPG, which released in 1995 in Japan as "Suikoden" and became a cult hit for the platform. He left Konami in 2002, just before the release of Suikoden III for the PlayStation 2, as part of a career plan to go freelance after ten years. He later worked on manga and wrote part of the scenario for The Alliance Alive, the 2017-18 3DS RPG, before forming Rabbit & Bear Studios in 2020 to create a successor to Suikoden called Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes which is slated to release in April.

[Well, they kinda had to do that soon anyway. But do we get a run-in from Poseidon?]

54

TalkBack / Splatoon 3 Side Order DLC Reveals Gameplay In New Trailer

« on: February 13, 2024, 03:22:56 AM »

Well, they kinda had to do that soon anyway. But do we get a run-in from Poseidon?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66265/splatoon-3-side-order-dlc-reveals-gameplay-in-new-trailer

With a little over a week to go until its release, Nintendo has finally confirmed the gameplay of the Side Order DLC for Splatoon 3 in a new trailer.

In the DLC, the player character (an Octoling) must climb the "Spire of Order", a large tower almost entirely colored white, and complete challenges on each floor. The challenges change each time, and completing unlocks items for a "palette" for skill modifiers. Failing to reach the top will reset progress to the beginning, though the palette earned along the way will convert to a currency that can be used to buy permanent upgrades.

The next "season" of content ("Fresh Season '24") will start on March 1st, and includes new stages for the main game and Salmon Run as well as weapons and other items.

[Superb Owl winners: Those who bet the 1st half under, Taylor Swift fans, and the news editor who walked away with a shiny 93 Hisuian Decidueye.]

55

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - February 15, 2024

« on: February 12, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

Superb Owl winners: Those who bet the 1st half under, Taylor Swift fans, and the news editor who walked away with a shiny 93 Hisuian Decidueye.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66229/nintendo-downloads-february-15-2024

Things we missed last week: The Archives release is called Face Off, it's from Namco, and it's only available in Japan and Canada. SURE.... wait, it's a hockey game? Oh, that makes sense.

There are four major games being remade depending on the territory, and in both groups three of them have a whiff of fraud about them. The fourth is of course the remake of Mario vs Donkey Kong for the GBA (not as many Minis, more of a DK '94), but in the West there are remakes of the first three Tomb Raider games - and our reviewer assures me that unlike another recent Aspyr Media-published game I could mention, this one does come with everything up front. (Look for the review later this week in gaming magazines.) Japan, meanwhile, gets a trio of Tokimeki Memorial Girls Side releases from Konami. And I didn't see a cheaper bundle, so enjoy dropping 18k yen on those ones if you wish to partake. The other retail class release this week that we will acknowledge is Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II from Aksys.

Because the alternative is continuing to watch Limited Run see how far they can push me before I remove credit for publishing The House in Fata Morgana by way of blessedly not Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, but an intentional homage to the ZELDA CD-I games in Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. In the other download titles this week, there is a former Indie World game in PlateUp!, a rhythm game based on the Azure Striker Gunvolt games - hey, music's big in that plot, might as well - and a new source of the original Ys if you want to play the PC-8801 version by way of the EggConsole line. Lastly, shout out to Banchou Tactics, which asks the most important question: what would Final Fantasy Tactics play like if all of the units were Japanese delinquent teenagers?

North America

Retail

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II (US$49.99/C$68.51)

Mario vs Donkey Kong ($49.99/$64.99: Friday)

Digital

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft ($29.99/$40.65: Wednesday)

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore ($19.99/$26.99: Wednesday)

Lords of Exile ($19.99/$21.99: Wednesday)

Banchou Tactics ($19.99/$25.99)

Maid of the Dead ($19.99/$25.99)

PlateUp! ($19.99/$25.99)

Meta Meet Cute+ ($17.99/$22.99: Wednesday)

Genso Chronicles ($14.99/$20.99)

Gunvolt Records: Cychronicle ($14.99/$20.29)

Scream and Steel ($13.99/$17.99: Friday)

Cyber Taxi Simulator ($12.99/$17.99: Saturday)

Birth ($10.99/$12.49)

Tenement ($9.99/$12.99: Sunday)

Fit My Cat ($9.99/$13.47: Friday)

Z War Apocalypse Shooter ($9.99/$12.99: Friday)

Swords & Adventures ($6.5/$8.78)

Eggconsole Ys PC-8801 mkIISR ($6.49/$7.34)

Dreamland Solitaire ($5.99/$8.23: Monday)

Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire Plus ($5.99/$6.99)

Party Party Time 2 ($5/$4.71)

Throne of Egypt ($4.99/$6.75: Monday)

Witch's Rhythm Puzzle ($4.99/$6.49)

Caveman Ransom ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Sea Port Tycoon 2024 ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Your Majesty ($4.99/$6.75: Friday)

Bucket Crusher ($4.99/$6.73: Friday)

Edge of Reality ($4.99/$6.64: Friday)

DIY Makeup ($4.99/$6.73: Saturday)

Monster Legacy: New Horizons ($4.9/$6.60: Monday)

Art of Glide ($4.39/$5.84: Friday)

Twilight Survivors ($2.99/$4.31)

Hex Cats ($2.99/$3.99)

Top Web Search 2023 ($2.29/$3.11)

My Name is Mayo 3 ($1.99/$1.99: Wednesday)

Revealed Later

Adam Wolfe ($29.99/$40.50: Friday)

Lake ($19.99/$22.79)

Duck, Quack, Shoot! ($19.99/$26.99: Friday)

Last 4 Survive: The Outbreak ($14.99/$20.99)

Magic City Detective: Secret Desire ($14.99/$14.99)

Maze of Realities: Reflection of Light ($14.99/$14.99)

Membal ($11.99/$15.99)

The World According To Girl ($9.99/$13.55)

I Love Finding Furbabies ($9.99/$11.00: Friday)

Legendary Tales: Stories ($6.99/$9.3)

Lo-Fi Haiku: Coffee and Chill ($6.9/$9.9)

Hentai Girls: College Crush ($5.99/$8.49)

Line Color World ($2.99/$3.99)

Shooting Blocks ($2/$2.7)

Courage's Reasoning Nori 5 Chewed Rice Balls ($1.00/not released)

Tippy Pads ($0.99/$1.29: Saturday)

Archives

Master of Weapon ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: 2020 Game of the Year Hades is half off until February 20. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Retail

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II (€49.99/£44.99)

Mario vs Donkey Kong (€49.99/£39.99: Friday)

Digital

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (€29.99/£26.99: Wednesday)

Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore (€19.99/£17.99: Wednesday)

Lords of Exile (€19.99/£17.99: Wednesday)

PlateUp! (€19.99/£16.75)

Duck, Quack, Shoot! (€19.99/£17.99: Friday)

Banchou Tactics (€19.5/£17.59)

Maid of the Dead (€19.5/£17.59)

Genso Chronicles (€14.99/£13.49)

Scream and Steel (€13.99/£12.99: Friday)

Gunvolt Records: Cychronicle (€13.49/£12.19)

Cyber Taxi Simulator (€12.99/£12.99: Saturday)

Fit My Cat (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Z War Apocalypse Shooter (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Birth (€8.99/£8.29)

Dreamland Solitaire (€5.99/£5.39: Monday)

Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire Plus (€5.99/£5.49)

Eggconsole Ys PC-8801 mkIISR (€5.59/£5.39)

Party Party Time 2 (€5/£2.97)

Throne of Egypt (€4.99/£4.49: Monday)

Caveman Ransom (€4.99/£4.99)

Witch's Rhythm Puzzle (€4.99/£4.49)

Edge of Reality (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Sea Port Tycoon 2024 (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Your Majesty (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Monster Legacy: New Horizons (€4.9/£4.40: Monday)

Art of Glide (€3.69/£3.29: Friday)

Hex Cats (€2.99/£2.69)

Twilight Survivors (€2.99/£2.69)

Tiny Treasure Hunt (€2.49/£2.24)

Top Web Search 2023 (€2.49/£2.29)

My Name is Mayo 3 (€1.99/£1.79: Wednesday)

Revealed Later

Adam Wolfe (€27.56/£23.64: Friday)

Lake (€19.99/£17.99)

Last 4 Survive: The Outbreak (€16.99/£14.99)

Magic City Detective: Secret Desire (€14.99/£13.49)

Maze of Realities: Reflection of Light (€14.99/£13.49)

The World According To Girl (€9.99/£8.58)

Legendary Tales: Stories (€6.99/£6.29: Wednesday)

Lo-Fi Haiku: Coffee and Chill (€6.90/£6.19)

Hentai Girls: College Crush (€5.99/£5.99: Wednesday)

Bucket Crusher (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Swords & Adventures (€5.99/£5.39)

Shooting Blocks (€2.00/£1.79)

Tippy Pads (€0.99/£0.99: Saturday)

Archives

Master of Weapon (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Crimson Flame Sanada Ninpocho (¥7150)

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love (¥5995: Wednesday)

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Season (¥5995: Wednesday)

Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story (¥5995: Wednesday)

The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak (¥5940)

Mario vs Donkey Kong (¥5900: Friday)

Maid of the Dead (¥2780)

Pirates Outlaws (¥2490)

Lords of Exile (¥2450)

Bancho Tactics (¥1980)

Gunvolt Records: Cychronicle (¥1980)

HunterX: Code Name T (¥1900)

Fit My Cat (¥1465)

Genso Chronicles (¥1320: Friday)

Birth (¥1120)

Eggconsole Ys PC-8801 mkIISR (¥880)

Edge of Reality (¥660)

Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire Plus (¥600)

Candy Shake Cup (¥563)

Witch's Rhythm Puzzle (¥563)

Party Party Time 2 (¥500)

Hex Cats (¥435)

Learn About Japanese Swords (¥420)

Top Web Search 23 (¥350)

Twilight Surviors (¥240)

Revealed Later

Lake (¥2050)

Manita's Kitchen (¥1900)

Dino Get Out!! (¥1499)

Z War Apocalypse Shooter (¥1476)

The World According To Girl (¥1280)

Legendary Tales: Stories (¥999)

Swords & Adventures (¥963)

Master of Weapon (¥838)

Caveman Ransom (¥660)

Borzoi Adventure (¥630)

Shooting Blocks (¥325)

Courage's Reasoning Nori 5 Chewed Rice Balls (¥100)

[Is the Mario movie halo effect still in play? Oh, absolutely.]

56

TalkBack / Nintendo Releases Financial Results For Holiday Quarter

« on: February 06, 2024, 03:35:47 AM »

Is the Mario movie halo effect still in play? Oh, absolutely.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66205/nintendo-releases-financial-results-for-holiday-quarter

Nintendo has had to revise their earnings estimates upwards for the second time in as many quarters after their latest financial results, which continue to pile on records in the sales department.

All monetary figures quoted in yen, with a US$ comparison provided based on an exchange of $1 USD = ¥148.644.

Financial indicators

Revenue: ¥598.559bn (~$4.026bn US), down 6.22% year over year

Operating Income: ¥184.32bn (~$1.24bn), down 3.1% year over year

Ordinary Income: ¥126.241bn (~$1.077bn), up 17% year over year

Digital Sales: ¥128.9bn (~$867m), up 1.9% year over year

Mobile/IP (film) Revenue: ¥20.2b (~$136m), up 31% year over year

Ordinary income is reflective of exchange rates, which continue to favor Nintendo as more than 90% of their sales in the reported period were outside their home market of Japan. This is reflected in the revised estimates below.

Hardware Shipments

The Switch's new lifetime sales are 139.36m following a 6.9m shipment quarter; although this is the lowest Switch holiday ever, it was also the seventh holiday for the platform. The breakdown was 3.48m OLED, 2.15m standard, and 1.27m Lite.

With the new total, the Switch needs to ship 14.66m units to pass the DS for #1 on Nintendo's all time shipments list, and 19.34m to pass the PlayStation 2 for 1st among dedicated gaming hardware. It has already taken the latter crown in Japan from the DS with shipments in the homeland of 33.34m.

Software Results - New

Nintendo had four first party titles in the quarter, with the biggest being Super Mario Bros. Wonder which shipped 11.96m units in the quarter - the fastest selling Mario game ever. (Sell-through - to customers - was reported at 10.7m units.) The Super Mario RPG remake also clocked in with 3.14m sales in the quarter, while neither Detective Pikachu Returns or Wario Ware: Move It were reported to have crossed 1m shipments.

Software Results - Catalogue

The headliner is the continued dominance of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which (buoyed by the annual Black Friday bundle) shipped 3.57m units for a new lifetime total of 60.58m copies: just the second game ever to cross 60m sold. (For comparison, the original Mario Kart 8 shipped 8.54m units.)

Other milestones in the top 10 (which ends with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe at 17.2m and can be found here): NSMBU is the only top 10 game to NOT be over 20m units with both Super Mario Party and Tears of the Kingdom crossing the barrier, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have passed Pokemon Gold and Silver to become the third best selling Pokemon pair (though the first slot is held by the trio of Red/Green/Blue), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate cemented its hold on 3rd in Switch game shipments with a 1.23m unit quarter buoyed by being included in Switch OLED bundles.

Pikmin 4 - released this fiscal year - also received an updated life to date of 3.33m.

Other Announcements

• Although confirmed last week by Universal, Nintendo confirmed that the Universal Studios Orlando will add a Super Nintendo world next year
• Due to current results and a stronger Euro against the yen, Nintendo has revised their estimates for the fiscal year upwards for the second time: net revenue up 3.8%, operating profit up 2%, ordinary profit another 3.3%, estimated hardware to 15.5m (from 15, they are already at 13.75m for the year), and software to 190m units from 185m (already at 163.95m).

[We're not opening the Happening Bunker yet, but I did clean it up this weekend.]

57

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - February 8, 2024

« on: February 05, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

We're not opening the Happening Bunker yet, but I did clean it up this weekend.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66170/nintendo-downloads-february-8-2024

Things we missed last week: Old Tecmo shooter Silk Worm in the Archives. (I originally read it as "Silk Road", and boy does THAT hit different now than it did in 1988.)

OK, let's be real: There is a LOT of room for shadowdrops to come in and directly steal the show this week. There's not a whole hell of a lot major coming out, and Nintendo's holiday quarter results come out at the close of business in Japan tomorrow so any "quiet periods" under Japanese law will be gone. So we're not going to come right out and say there's a Direct this week, just that the door has been opened.

As far as what's coming out this week, we have... a Nicalis UK localization of a three-and-a-half year old licensed visual novel, a neat adventure platformer in Alisa, and the second "Invector" game on the Switch. See what I mean?

North America

Retail

Konosuba: Love For These Clothes of Desire (US$49.99/C$68.10)

Digital

Invector: Rhythm Galaxy ($24.99/$33.49)

Bullion: The Curse of the Cut-Throat Cattle ($24.99/$not released: Saturday)

MakOS ($19.99/$25.99: Saturday)

Neet Girl Rehabilitation Plan ($19.9/$not released)

Alisa: Director's Cut ($17.99/$23.49: Tuesday)

HunterX: Code Name T ($16.99/$21.99: Wednesday)

Clem ($15.99/$20.79: Tuesday)

Shanghai Summer ($14.99/$19.49)

Raft Survival Simulator ($12.99/$17.99: Sunday)

Forklift Simulator 2024 ($12.99/$17.99: Friday)

Golfinite ($12.99/$17.39: Friday)

Cannibal Abduction ($11.99/$14.99)

Police Car Driver ($9.99/$12.99)

West Hunt ($9.99/$11.49)

Football Simulator 2024 ($9.99/$12.99: Friday)

Jubilee ($9.99/$12.79: Friday)

Dungeonoid 2: Awakening ($8.99/$10.99: Wednesday)

Town Adventures ($7.99/$12.19: Tuesday)

T.E.S.T: Expected Behaviour ($7.99/$9.99: Friday)

Mustache In Hell ($4.99/$6.99)

Pirates: Carribean Chronicles ($4.99/$6.75)

God of Light: Remastered ($4.99/$6.49)

Prisonela DX ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Frozen Honey ASMR ($4.99/$6.73: Friday)

The Nom ($4.99/$6.73: Friday)

Deathly Dangerous ($4.99/$6.64: Friday)

Alpaca Wonders Why ($3.99/$5.00)

Borzoi Adventure ($3.99/$4.99: Friday)

Revealed Later

Truck Simulator USA Revolution ($17.99/$17.99)

Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 5 ($14.99/$14.99)

Nature Escapes 3 ($14.99/$14.99)

Pechka ($14.99/$19.49)

Manita's Kitchen ($12.99/$16.99: Friday)

Special Froces Assault ($11.99/$16.99)

First Time in Hawaii ($11.99/$11.99)

The Lord of Darkness: The Awakening of the Light ($11.90/$15.95: Tuesday)

Darts Club ($10.00/$11.00: Friday)

Galactic Wars ($9.99/$13.99)

Just Find It ($9.99/$9.99)

Drone Delivery Simulator ($6.99/$8.99)

Exiled ($4.99/$6.49)

Croc's World 4 ($4.99/$5.99: Friday)

Project Roll ($0.99/$1.29: Saturday)

Archives

Face Off ($?/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: The Atelier Ryza trilogy is on sale until the 19th. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Retail

Konosuba: Love For These Clothes Of Desire (€49.99/£44.99)

Digital

Invector: Rhythm Galaxy (€24.99/£22.49)

Bullion: The Curse of the Cut-Throat Cattle (€22.99/£19.99: Saturday)

MakOS (€19.99/£17.99: Saturday)

Alisa: Director's Cut (€17.99/£16.19: Tuesday)

Meta Meet Cute+ (€17.99/£14.99)

Neet Girl Rehabilitation Plan (€15.9/£14.9)

Clem (€15.79/£13.49: Tuesday)

HunterX: Code Name T (€15.39/£13.89: Wednesday)

Shanghai Summer (€14.49/£13.09)

Raft Survival Simulator (€12.99/£11.99: Sunday)

Forklift Simulator 2024 (€12.99/£11.99: Friday)

Golfinite (€12.99/£11.69: Friday)

Cannibal Abduction (€11.99/£10.79)

Police Car Driver (€9.99/£8.99)

Football Simulator 2024 (€9.99/£8.99)

Jubilee (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Dungenoid 2: Awakening (€8.99/£7.99: Wednesday)

West Hunt (€8.19/£7.19)

Town Adventures (€7.99/£7.19: Tuesday)

3 Minutes Mystery (€7.99/£7.99)

T.E.S.T: Expected Behaviour (€7.99/£7.19: Friday)

God of Light: Remastered (€4.99/£4.49)

Mustache In Hell (€4.99/£4.49)

Pirates: Carribean Chronicles (€4.99/£4.49)

Prisonela DX (€4.99/£4.99)

Deathly Dangerous (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Alpaca Wonders Why (€3.99/£3.59)

Borzoi Adventure (€3.99/£3.59: Friday)

Revealed Later

Cluedo (€19.99/£14.99: Wednesday)

Truck Simulator USA Revolution (€17.99/£15.99: Wednesday)

Big Adventure: Trip to Europe 5 (€14.99/£: Wednesday)

Nature Escapes 3 (€14.99/£13.49)

Pechka (€12.99/£11.29)

Manita's Kitchen (€12.79/£10.49: Friday)

First Time in Hawaii (€11.99/£10.79)

Special Forces Assault (€11.99/£11.99: Wednesdsy)

The Lord of Darkness: The Awakening of the Light (€11.9/£10.69: Tuesday)

Darts Club (€10.00/£8.99)

Galactic Wars (€9.99/£9.99: Wednesday)

Just Find It (€9.99/£8.99)

Drone Delivery Simulator (€6.99/£6.29)

Exiled (€4.99/£4.49)

Frozen Honey ASMR (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

The Nom (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Croc's World 4 (€3.99/£3.59: Friday)

Project Roll (€0.99/£0.99: Saturday)

Japan

Invector: Rhythm Galaxy (¥3520)

Torn Away (¥2135)

Neet Girl Rehabilitation Plan (¥1980)

Shanghai Summer (¥1980)

Golfinite (¥1886)

Alisa: Director's Cut (¥1840)

Quiz Animal Encyclopedia DX (¥1580)

Cannibal Abduction (¥1400)

Police Car Driver (¥1399)

T.E.S.T: Expected Behaviour (¥1099)

West Hunt (¥1010)

Dungeonoid 2: Awakening (¥1000)

Alpaca Wonders Why (¥580)

Croc's World 4 (¥555)

God of Light: Remastered (¥520)

Deathly Dangerous (¥499)

Dreamland Solitaire (¥499)

Numbers IQ Quiz (¥420)

Super Difficult Sign Quiz (¥420)

Trauma Puzzle (¥420)

Slimeboo (¥320)

Revealed Later

Overland (¥2940)

Truck Simulator USA Revolution (¥2800)

Lil' Guardsman (¥2876)

Pechka (¥1650)

Football Simulator 2024 (¥1470)

Sakura Gamer 2 (¥1000)

Drone Delivery Simulator (¥950)

Hentai Girls: Mandarin Love (¥900)

Face Off (¥838)

Psycho Mystery Series Vol 6 "Bloody Tears" (¥800)

Mustache In Hell (¥750)

ASMR Slice (¥735)

Coin Rush (¥735)

Hentai: Japanese Goblins (¥380)

[They added a worse character instead of the 3DS content. Thanks, Sega.]

58

TalkBack / Sega Announces Sonic Generations Remaster With Added Shadow The Hedgehog Content

« on: January 31, 2024, 04:07:55 PM »

They added a worse character instead of the 3DS content. Thanks, Sega.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66149/sega-announces-sonic-generations-remaster-with-added-shadow-the-hedgehog-content

It's Sonic's 30th anniversary, and they're dipping back to his 20th for the blue blur's latest release.

During a PlayStation presentation today, Sega revealed Sonic X Shadow Generations, a remastered version of the 2011 console versions (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) of Sonc Generations. Although the title originally included "Classic" Sonic as well as the then-modern interpretation of Sega's chief export, the 2024 remake will include a Shadow the Hedgehog-specific story campaign.

Sega has confirmed the game will release on the "Nintendo Switch family of systems", but did not mention if any content from the bespoke 3DS version would be included.

[Along with a new trailer.]

59

TalkBack / Mario Vs Donkey Kong Demo Available Now

« on: January 31, 2024, 03:59:31 PM »

Along with a new trailer.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66147/mario-vs-donkey-kong-demo-available-now

If you want to get some practice with Nintendo's next retail release, you now have the chance to.

A demo of the Mario vs Donkey Kong remaster is now available on the eShop. The demo contains four stages from the game's first world and includes the new "Casual Mode" options for testing.

The demo is also accompanied by a new trailer:

[Is this the contract year for the series? It's hard to tell.]

60

TalkBack / MLB The Show 24 Holding Opening Day On March 19

« on: January 30, 2024, 08:24:00 AM »

Is this the contract year for the series? It's hard to tell.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66145/mlb-the-show-24-holding-opening-day-on-march-19

Pitchers and catchers might report in a few weeks, but the Switch is getting an early jump on the Major League Baseball season.

MLB Advanced Media have announced that MLB: The Show 24 will release on March 19: although previous releases on Switch were around the end of March or early April, the 2024 regular season for MLB opens officially on March 20 in Seoul, South Korea.

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr has been announced as the cover athlete for this year's version.

[In which we try to run "I think George Lucas 'bout to sue somebody's ass" through Japanese localization.]

61

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - February 1, 2024

« on: January 29, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

In which we try to run "I think George Lucas 'bout to sue somebody's ass" through Japanese localization.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66143/nintendo-downloads-february-1-2024

Things we missed last week: Indie World sizzle reel roguelike Grime (Dec 2021) finally dropped, and the Archives games was Rainbow Islands as Hamster apparently woke up on the right side of the bed this month.

Setting aside the game that topped the list when I flooded the database on Sunday and was CLEARLY Suika Game At Home, it's a light week thus far. The major game is the first licensed game based on the groin-grabbingly popular manga/anime Jujutsu Kaisen, which seems like it should've come out a year ago based on the amount of fan art I've seen for it. Also notable is... cel-shaded Postal? Lay on, MacDuff.

Honestly, Japan's getting the better deal this year as they're finally getting a localized version of Citizen Sleeper. Just in time for the sequel?

And on a personal note, congratulations to Bernadetta for finally getting a "Brave" version in Fire Emblem Heroes. Guess I didn't need to plug this year's Choose Your Legends after all.

North America

Retail

Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash (US$59.99/C$79.99: Friday)

Digital

Postal: Brain Damaged ($24.99/$33.49: Friday)

Project Downfall ($23.99/$32.68: Friday)

Knights of Braveland ($19.99/$26.99)

Torn Away ($15/$19.89: Saturday)

UDO: Unidentified Drilling Object ($14.99/$20.62)

Defense Master ($14.99/$19.99)

Dreamcutter ($14.99/$18.99: Friday)

The Pigeon - Simulator ($12.99/$17.99: Friday)

Snow Moto Racing Adventure ($12.99/$17.99: Saturday)

Miniland Adventure ($10.99/$13.99: Wednesday)

CEIBA ($9.99/$13.99)

Japanese Escape Games The Police Office ($9.99/$12.49)

Farm Day Simulator 2024 ($9.99/$12.99: Friday)

Harpoon Shooter! Nozomi ($9.98/$12.99)

Piggy Gambit ($7.99/$9.99)

Teppo and the Secret Ancient City ($7.99/$10.99)

Turret Rampage ($4.99/$5.99: Wednesday)

Dr. Frank's Build a Boyfriend ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Big Watermelon Match ($3.99/$4.99: Wednesday)

Kubic ($3.99/$3.99: Wednesday)

Seven ($3.99/$3.99: Wednesday)

Candy Shake Cup ($3.99/$5.26)

Morto - Chapter 2 ($0.98/$0.49: Saturday)

Revealed Later

Avaris 3 ($35.00/$46.86: Wednesday)

Bus Driving Simulator 24: City Roads ($24.99/$29.99)

Jigsaw Dinosaurs ($19.99/$29.99)

Jigsaw Fantactic Pets ($19.99/$29.99)

Tale of Immortal ($16.99/$16.39: Wednesday)

Labyrinth of Legends ($14.99/$18.99)

Magic City Detective: Wings of Revenge ($14.99/$14.99)

Maze of Realities: Flower of Discord ($14.99/$14.99)

Nature Escapes 2 ($14.99/$14.99)

Horse Racing ($9.99/$13.99)

Mystery Box: Hidden Secrets ($9.99/$9.99)

Graveyard Girls ($5.99/$7.99: Wednesday)

Hentai Girls: Hot Police ($5.99/$8.49)

Carry Onward ($4.99/$5.73: Wednesday)

Pixel Game Maker Series Hunter of Devil ($4.99/$6.77)

Love Language Stories ($3.99/$5.35)

Jelly Shot ($0.99/$1.29: Saturday)

Archives

Silk Worm ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: Nintendo's "Jump Start January" sale runs until February 7 and includes discounts on Splatoon 3, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, New Pokemon Snap, and the pandemic-causing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Retail

Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash (€59.99/£54.99: Friday)

Digital

Postal: Brain Damaged (€24.99/£19.99: Friday)

Project Downfall (€23.99/£21.59: Friday)

Knights of Braveland (€19.99/£17.99)

Tale of Immortal (€15.99/£16.39: Wednesday)

Dreamcutter (€14.99/£13.49: Friday)

Torn Away (€14.99/£13.49: Saturday)

UDO: Unidentified Drilling Object (€14.79/£13.29)

Defense Master (€13.99/£12.59)

The Pigeon - Simulator (€12.99/£11.99: Friday)

Snow Moto Racing Adventure (€12.99/£11.99: Saturday)

Miniland Adventure (€10.59/£9.49: Wednesday)

Zombie Football Simulator (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

CEIBA (€9.99/£8.99)

Downhill Driver: Extreme Racing Simulator (€9.99/£8.99)

Farm Day Simulator 2024 (€9.99/£8.99)

Japanese Escape Games The Police Office (€8.99/£8.09)

Harpoon Shooter! Nozomi (€8.99/£7.99)

Piggy Gambit (€7.99/£6.99: Wednesday)

Speed or Death (€7.99/£7.19)

Teppo and the Secret Ancient City (€7.99/£7.19)

Turret Rampage (€4.99/£4.49: Wednesday)

Candy Shake Cup (€3.65/£3.19)

Big Watermelon Match (€2.99/£2.49: Wednesday)

Kubic (€2.99/£2.99: Wednesday)

Seven (€2.99/£2.49: Wednesday)

Slimeboo (€2/£1.79: Friday)

Morto - Chapter 2 (€1.29/£1.19: Saturday)

Revealed Later

Avaris 3 (€32.00/£27.00: Wednesday)

Bus Driving Simulator 24: City Roads (€24.99/£22.49: Wednesday)

Jigsaw Dinosaurs (€19.99/£17.99)

Jigsaw Fantactic Pets (€19.99/£17.99)

Labyrinth of Legends (€14.99/£13.99: Wednesday)

Magic City Detective: Wings of Revenge (€14.99/£13.49)

Maze of Realities: Flower of Discord (€14.99/£13.49)

Nature Escapes 2 (€14.99/£13.49)

Mystery Box: Hidden Secrets (€9.99/£8.99)

Horse Racing (€8.99/£8.09)

Graveyard Girls (€5.99/£5.39: Wednesday)

Hentai Girls: Hot Police (€5.99/£5.99: Wednesday)

Carry Onward (€4.99/£4.49: Wednesday)

Dr. Frank's Build a Boyfriend (€4.99/£4.99)

Pixel Game Maker Series Hunter of Devil (€4.99/£4.49)

Bloopy & Droopy (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Love Language Stories (€3.99/£3.59)

Might'n Mow'em Co-op Survivors Online (€3.99/£3.59)

Jelly Shot (€0.99/£0.89: Saturday)

Archives

Silk Worm (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash (¥8470)

Project Downfall (¥3585)

Knights of Braveland (¥2999)

Citizen Sleeper (¥2570)

Alterity Experience (¥2500)

The Enigma Machine (¥2500)

Tale of Immortal (¥2399)

Defense Master (¥2150)

CEIBA (¥1510)

Harpoon Shooter! Nozomi (¥1400)

Teppo and the Secret Ancient City (¥1400)

Downhill Driver: Extreme Racing Simulator (¥1399)

Miniland Adventure (¥1250)

Piggy Gambit (¥999)

Escape From The Lost House In The Forest (¥990)

The World of Cryptography (¥980)

Farm Day Simulator 2024 (¥899)

Turret Rampage (¥500)

Basic Chemical Formulas (¥420)

Read by a Death Row Prisoner (¥420)

Urban Legend Ghost Story Game (¥420)

Revealed Later

Legend of Legacy HD (¥6820)

Bus Driving Simulator 24: City Roads (¥3700)

Tools Up! Ultimate Edition (¥2970)

Dungeons & Doomknights (¥1900)

Mothered (¥1615)

Time Rift (¥1615)

Mystery Box: Hidden Secrets (¥1400)

Farm Knight Adventures (¥899)

Silk Worm (¥838)

Pixel Game Maker Series Hunter of Devil (¥550)

Carry Onward (¥500)

Zombie Football Simulator (¥292)

[The number of Fire Stingray in the average lobby is likely to be equal to the number of players in the lobby - 1.]

62

TalkBack / Private Lobbies Added In F-Zero 99 Update

« on: January 24, 2024, 04:35:21 PM »

The number of Fire Stingray in the average lobby is likely to be equal to the number of players in the lobby - 1.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66089/private-lobbies-added-in-f-zero-99-update

F-Zero 99 is giving more options for racing with rivals in a new update that has just launched.

Version 1.2 has added a new option for Private Lobbies, which run off of a four digit code so long as the players are in the same game mode. It will be possible to earn experience in the private lobbies, but at reduced rates and without the ability to advance challenges or move up leaderboards.

A "secret track" option has also been added, alongside a more than four-fold increase in the maximum level (from 99 to 399).

[If you bought the plaza last year, now you get CONTENT baybay.]

63

TalkBack / Splatoon 3 To Serve Up Side Order February 22

« on: January 24, 2024, 04:04:22 AM »

If you bought the plaza last year, now you get CONTENT baybay.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66082/splatoon-3-to-serve-up-side-order-february-22

The longest digital preorder in Nintendo history will come to a close in four weeks.

The Splatoon 3 "Side Order" portion of the game's Expansion Pass will be available on February 22, according to a newly released trailer. No new gameplay was shown in the trailer.

Originally, the Expansion Pass was put up for sale shortly after last February's general Nintendo Direct, with the first part (an Inkopolis plaza) launching a month later. The last sign of any gameplay for the Side Order mode was in the September Direct.

[Probably earlier in April than we wanted.]

64

TalkBack / Official Cutoff Time For 3DS And Wii U Online Play Announced

« on: January 23, 2024, 03:48:00 PM »

Probably earlier in April than we wanted.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66081/official-cutoff-time-for-3ds-and-wii-u-online-play-announced

The official cutoff time for those Wonder Trades in Pokemon Sun has been announced.

Nintendo has updated the support article regarding the shutdown of online gameplay on the 3DS and Wii U. The update indicates that the service will end on April 8 (Monday), at 7 p.m. EDT.

Originally announced on October 3/4, the service will affect both direct online services as well as 3DS's SpotPass service, which can remove content from games such as Fire Emblem Awakening. The services for Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter - which can be uploaded to the current Pokemon Home service - will remain online beyond that, but are subject to their own end date.

[Kicking ass in all her finery - and in one case, that's literal.]

65

TalkBack / New Costumes, Gameplay Revealed For Princess Peach Showtime

« on: January 23, 2024, 04:23:00 AM »

Kicking ass in all her finery - and in one case, that's literal.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66080/new-costumes-gameplay-revealed-for-princess-peach-showtime

New details for Princess Peach: Showtime have been revealed in a brief new trailer.

The roughly 1:15 video shows costumes both known - Swordfighter, Patisserie, and Detective - and also new costumes including a "Kung Fu", "cowgirl", and ninja outfits.

Some more of the gameplay was shown as part of the trailer, showing a large portion of 2D gameplay with some switching between planes almost in an overhead view.

Following the launch of the trailer, Nintendo also confirmed that an all-pink Joy-Con pair would be available on March 22 (day and date with Showtime).

[Eat your Neptunia games, Apollo.]

66

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - January 25, 2024

« on: January 22, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

Eat your Neptunia games, Apollo.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66076/nintendo-downloads-january-25-2024

Things we missed: In a 30+ game dump, the arcade version of Super Contra was the Archives game and a third Valis collection also came over from Japan.

This week's guaranteed retail releases are a) Japanese, and b) highly variable in terms of quality, with game of the week honors falling to the second trilogy of Phoenix Wright series releases in the Apollo Justice trilogy. (I believe they include all of the DLC from the originals, so you get to not feel bad for missing them in the eShop's implosion AND get to hear a whale on the stand.) The close competition stems from Arc System Works's latest in the increasinly inscrutable Under Night fighting series, and the much, MUCH more distant competition is in the form of yet another g-d Neptunia game that we have already directed the review code well away from my desk lest I cut my ears off. And given that I'm off work because of an inability to hear in a job where I kind of need that, it could only help.

Smaller titles on the lineup this week include another reprisal of classic Hitman, a version of classic (?) Lynx puzzle game Chip's Challenge, and a lower-priced version of scrolling shooter Steel Empire.

North America

Retail

Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters (US$49.99/C$69.99: Tuesday)

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy ($49.99/$67.99)

Under Night In Birth II Sys:Celes ($49.99/$66.99)

Digital

Oops, I Said Yes?! ($29.99/$38.99)

Hitman: Blood Money - Reprisal ($29.99/$29.99)

The Legend of Steel Empire ($24.99/$34.99: Tuesday)

Lil Guardsman ($19.99/$26.65: Tuesday)

Arcade Tycoon ($19.99/$26.99)

Evil Nun: The Broken Mask ($19.99/$23.99)

Devil Inside Us: Roots of Evil ($14.99/$19.99)

Starward Rogue ($14.99/$19.49)

Anomaly Agent ($14.99/$18.99)

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic ($12.99/$16.99)

Grotto ($12.99/$17.99: Friday)

Jett Rider ($12.49/$18.00)

Counter Shooter Strike Zone ($11.99/$16.99: Saturday)

Sudoku Game For Kids ($9.99/$13.99: Sunday)

Boaty Tanks 2 ($9.99/$14.99)

Negligee ($9.99/$13.99: Friday)

SciFi Racer Simulator ($9.99/$12.99: Friday)

Zombie Football Simulator ($9.99/$13.99: Saturday)

UFO: Henfield ($8.99/$11.99)

The Adventures of Panzer: Legacy Collection ($8.99/$11.99: Friday)

Eggconsole Yokai Tantei PC-8801 ($6.49/$7.34)

Saga of the Moon Priestess ($5.99/$7.29: Wednesday)

PuzzlePet: Feed Your Cat ($4.99/$6.83)

Chip's Challenge ($4.99/$3.99)

Brain Memory Training Academy ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Dead Tomb ($4.99/$6.78: Friday)

Post-Apocalyptic Old Man ($4.80/$6.61)

Kobolok ($3.99/$5.51)

Selling Souls ($2.99/not released)

Sweets Drop ($2.49/$3.49)

Released Later

Cosmic Fantasy Collection ($49.99/$66.00)

Grime: Definitive Edition ($24.99/$28.99)

Silver Falls - Guardians and Metal Exterminators S ($20.99/$27.99)

Axis Football 2024 ($19.99/$25.99: Friday)

Tibetan Quest: Beyond The World's End ($14.99/$19.49)

Connected Hearts: Fortune Play ($14.99/$14.99)

Pirate Bloopers ($9.99/$13.49)

Space Exttactor ($9.99/$13.99: Friday)

Sunset Racer ($7.99/$10.49)

Gnarbike Trials 2 ($6.00/$8.00)

Onion Force ($4.99/$7.00)

The Street 10 ($2.99/$3.99)

Cherry Tower ($2.49/$3.40: Wednesday)

Tail.io ($0.99/$1.29: Saturday)

Archives

Rainbow Islands ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: Disco Elysium is 65% off until the 29th. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Retail

Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters (€49.99/£44.99: Tuesday)

Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes (€49.99/£44.99: Wednesday)

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy (€49.99/£39.98)

Digital

Oops, I Said Yes?! (€29.99/£24.99: Wednesday)

Hitman: Blood Money - Reprisal (€29.99/£19.99)

The Legend of Steel Empire (€24.99/£19.99: Tuesday)

Lil Guardsman (€19.99/£17.99: Tuesday)

Evil Nun: The Broken Mask (€19.99/£17.99)

Arcade Tycoon (€17.99/£15.99)

Anomaly Agent (€14.99/£13.49)

Devil Inside Us: Roots of Evil (€14.99/£13.49)

Starward Rogue (€14.99/£13.49)

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic (€12.49/£10.89)

Jett Rider (€12.49/£11.49)

Counter Shooter Strike Zone (€11.99/£11.99: Saturday)

Sudoku Game For Kids (€9.99/£9.99: Sunday)

Boaty Tanks 2 (€9.99/£9.99)

Negligee (€9.99/£9.99: Friday)

SciFi Racer Simulator (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

UFO: Henfield (€8.99/£7.99)

The Adventures of Panzer: Legacy Collection (€8.99/£8.99: Friday)

Fastest Finger First: 3 Hint Quiz (€7.99/£7.99)

Rescue! Dropkick on my Devil (€7.99/£7.99)

Fantasy Blacksmith Shop Simulator (€7.49/£6.99)

Saga of the Moon Princess (€5.99/£5.49: Wednesday)

Eggconsole Yokai Tantei PC-8801 (€5.59/£5.39)

PuzzlePet: Feed Your Cat (€4.99/£4.49: Wednesday)

Brain Memory Training Academy (€4.99/£3.99: Friday)

Post-Apocalyptic Old Man (€4.8/£4.29)

Dead Tomb (€4.63/£4.09)

Kobolok (€3.99/£3.99)

Monster Truck Freestyle (€3.99/£3.59: Saturday)

Chip's Challenge (€3.49/£2.99)

Selling Souls (€1.99/£1.79)

Sweets Drop (€1.99/£1.79)

Released Later

Cosmic Fantasy Collection (€45.00/£40.49)

Grime: Definitive Edition (€24.99/£22.49)

Dungeons & Doomknights (€19.99/£17.99)

Silver Falls - Guardians and Metal Exterminators S (€19.99/£17.99)

Axis Football 2024 (€15/£13.50: Friday)

Connected Hearts: Fortune Play (€14.99/£13.49: Wednesday)

Tibetan Quest: Beyond The World's End (€14.99/£13.99)

Space Extractor (€9.99/£9.99)

Pirate Bloopers (€9.99/£8.99)

Cat Simulator (€9.99/£8.99: Saturday)

Sunset Racer (€7.99/£7.19)

Girl Like A Dreaming: Floweing Sacrifice (€7.00/£6.07)

Onion Force (€6/£4.49)

Gnarbike Trials 2 (€5.69/£5.09)

The Street 10 (€2.99/£2.69)

Cherry Tower (€2.49/£2.29: Wednesday)

Tail.io (€0.99/£0.99: Saturday)

Archives

Rainbow Islands (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Yuki Yuna Is A Hero Vol 1 (¥8360)

Yuki Yuna Is A Hero Vol 2 (¥8360)

Yuki Yuna Is A Hero Vol 3 (¥8360)

Yuki Yuna Is A Hero Vol 4 (¥8360)

Which Me Do You Like? (¥7810)

Tenka Unification SSB (¥7678)

Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes (¥7480)

Shiren The Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island (¥6985)

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy (¥5990)

Agatha Christie: Murder On The Orient Express (¥5280)

Sudama Relation (¥5170)

Hitman: Blood Money - Reprisal (¥2999)

Oops, I Said Yes?! (¥2980)

Evil Nun: The Broken Mask (¥1999)

Anomaly Agent (¥1750)

Starward Rogue (¥1699)

Boaty Tanks 2 (¥1499)

Hidden Through Time 2: Myths & Magic (¥1400)

Detective - Stella Porta Case (¥1200)

Suspect Room (¥1200)

Cute Critters Pet Kitty (¥999)

Eggconsole Yokai Tantei PC-8801 (¥770)

Saga of the Moon Princess (¥700)

Chip's Challenge (¥400)

PuzzlePet - Feed Your Cat (¥499)

Post-Apocalyptic Old Man (¥480)

Real Werewolf Game (¥420)

Spot The Difference Challenge (¥420)

Selling Souls (¥300)

Easy Dice for RPG/Tabletop (¥160)

Released Later

Broadsword: Warlord Edition (¥4225)

Utsusemi no Meguri (¥3300)

Grime: Definitive Edition (¥2570)

Zengeon (¥2100)

Beach Boys 2: Zodiac Date (¥1650)

Pirate Bloopers (¥1499)

SciFi Racer Simulator (¥1450)

The Adventures of Panzer: Legacy Collection (¥1300)

Sunset Racer (¥1100)

Girl Like A Dreaming: Floweing Sacrifice (¥1000)

Tibetan Quest: Beyond The World's End (¥990)

Hentai Girls: Hot Police (¥900)

Rainbow Islands (¥838)

Jaleco Super Tennis -Heroines Cup- (¥800)

Onion Force (¥800)

Goo Fighter (¥730)

The Street 10 (¥399)

Cherry Tower (¥360)

[A bit of a random one, but potentially cool.]

67

TalkBack / Ace Combat 7 Landing On Switch July 11

« on: January 17, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

A bit of a random one, but potentially cool.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/66014/ace-combat-7-landing-on-switch-july-11

For the first time ever, one of the most unusual flight combat series will be available on a Nintendo console.

Bandai Namco have announced that Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown - the 2019 release for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One - will come to Switch on July 11. The Switch release will be a "Deluxe Edition" and will include three maps and aircraft sets that were previously downloadable content alongside a music player mode and additional aircraft and skins.

The Ace Combat series debuted in 1995 on the PlayStation under the name "Air Combat", and this is the first time a game in the main series will appear on a Nintendo home system. A spinoff title was released on the GBA, and the second game in the franchise was remade in 2015 as one of the first third party titles to use Amiibo functionality of the New 3DS.

[The weeks of peace are about to be shattered.]

68

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - January 18, 2024

« on: January 15, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

The weeks of peace are about to be shattered.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65986/nintendo-downloads-january-18-2024

Things we missed last week: Another Reigns title - Three Kingdoms - dealt itself in on Thursday, and Namco's Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle in the Archives.

No less an authority than James Jones noted that the last couple of weeks were silent, and no lies there. But that changes this week (as evidenced by the hentai game we got on Sunday), headlined by a pair of in-store releases of Noah and Mio... I mean, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Another Code: Recollections. (Both have demos if you want to see what's going on there.)

The download-only space includes more crimes as Turnip Boy skips from white collar crime to standard with Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, and an interesting RPG coming out in a bit with Legend of Grimrock. And to answer a question posed last week: the Golden Sun releases WILL have internal link cable support for moving the data from 1 to The Lost Age.

North America

Retail

Another Code: Recollection (US$59.99/C$79.99: Friday)

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown ($49.99/$69.99: a bundle with DLC and early access is +$10)

Digital

Dreadout 2 ($24.99/$34.99)

Choo-Choo Charles ($19.99/$25.99)

The Pedestrian ($19.99/$22.79)

Legend of Grimrock ($14.99/$19.99: Monday)

Knights of Grayfang ($14.99/$20.99)

Turnip Boy Robs a Bank ($14.99/$18.99)

The Cub ($14.99/$18.99: Friday)

Neon Drifter ($11.99/$16.99: Sunday)

Detective - Stella Porta Case ($10.49/$14.00)

Ultimate Racing 2D 2 ($9.99/$12.99: Monday)

Downhill Driver: Extreme Racing Simulator ($9.99/$12.99)

Super Sean 007 ($9.99/$13.49)

Fastest Finger First! 3 Hint Quiz ($8.99/$11.49)

Rescue! Dropkick On My Devil ($8.99/$11.49)

Nephenthesys ($4.99/$7.49: Wednesday)

Witch Rise ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Vigour ($3.99/$5.39)

Monster Truck Freestyle ($3.99/$3.99: Saturday)

Hentai: Make Love, Not War 2 ($2.49/$3.40: Sunday)

Death Motel ($2.49/$3.30: Friday)

Fairytale Theatre: Momotaro's Adventure ($2.23/$3.00)

Easy Dice for RPG/Tabletop ($1.00/$1.40)

Launched Later

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III ($54.99/$74.00)

Beauties Unveiled ($19.99/$25.99)

Rising Lords ($19.99/$25.99)

nDay ($16.99/$22.56: Tuesday)

Superfluous Returnz ($14.99/$19.49: Monday)

Hero of Fate ($14.99/$19.99)

Connected Hearts: Full Moon Curse ($14.99/$14.99)

Beach Boys 2: Zodiac Signs ($11.99/$15.99)

Bahnsen Knights ($9.99/$13.64)

Noobs Want To Live ($9.99/$13.58)

Room of Depression ($9.99/$12.99)

Mystery Box: Evolution ($9.99/$9.99)

Stories in Glass: Winter ($9.99/$9.99)

Coloring book series Aquarium ($9.99/not released)

Hentai Girls: Office Romance ($5.99/$8.49)

Sir Questionnaire ($4.99/$4.99: Tuesday)

Pixel Game Maker Series Lunlun Superherobabys X ($4.99/$6.77)

Goo Fighter ($4.99/$6.75)

Meow Match ($4.99/$6.62: Friday)

Sushi Shot ($3.80/$3.57)

Bugby ($1.99/$2.73: Monday)

Swingers ($0.99/$1.29: Saturday)

Archives

Super Contra ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: Bandai Namco games are om sale until the 22nd including 60% off JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Retail

Another Code: Recollection (€59.99/£49.99: Friday)

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (€49.99/£44.99)

Digital

DreadOut 2 (€24.99/£22.49)

Choo-Choo Charles (€19.5/£17.59)

The Pedestrian (€16.79/£15.09)

Legend of Grimrock (€14.99/£13.49: Monday)

Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (€14.99/£13.49: Wednesday)

Knights of Grayfang (€14.99/£13.49)

The Cub (€14.99/£13.49)

Reef Escape (€14.79/£13.29)

Hero of Fate (€13.9/£12.49)

Neon Drifter (€11.99/£11.99: Sunday)

Detective - Stella Porta Case (€10.49/£10)

Knights of the Rogue Dungeon (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

Nystery Box: Escape the Room (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

Mystery Box: The Journey (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

Super Kart Mini Cart Race (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

Ultimate Racing 2D 2 (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Super Sean 007 (€9.99/£8.99)

Room of Depression (€9.75/£8.69)

Farm Knight Adventures (€9.49/£8.59: Monday)

Tenement (€8.99/£7.99)

Nephenthesys (€5.99/£5.49: Wednesday)

Tennis 2024 Simulator (€5.99/£5.39)

Hard Racing: Stunt Car Driving (€4.99/£4.49: Sunday)

Witch Rise (€4.99/£4.99)

Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 (€4.49/£4.09: Monday)

Vigour (€3.99/£3.59)

Found It! (€2.49/£2.24)

Death Motel (€2.49/£2.29: Friday)

Fairytale Theatre: Momotaro's Adventure (€2/£1.79: Wednesday)

Easy Dice for RPG/Tabletop (€0.99/£0.89)

Launched Later

Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III (€50.00/£44.99)

Broadsword: Warlord Edition (€29.95/£29.89: Wednesday)

Beauties Unveiled (€19.99/£17.99)

Rising Lords (€19.99/£16.99)

nDay (€16.99/£15.29: Tuesday)

Superfluous Returns (€14.99/£12.79: Monday)

Connected Hearts: Full Moon Curse (€14.99/£13.49: Wednesday)

Monster Loves You Too (€14.99/£13.49)

Ominous Tales: The Forsaken Isle (€14.99/£13.29)

Beach Boys 2: Zodiac Signs (€11.99/£10.99)

My Child Lebensborn Remastered (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Mystery Box: Evolution (€9.99/£8.99: Wednesday)

Stories in Glass: Winter (€9.99/£8.99: Wednesday)

Bahnsen Knights (€9.99/£8.49)

Gladitorial Conquest Battle (€9.99/£9.99)

Noobs Want To Live (€9.19/£8.29)

Moon Lander (€8.99/£8.09: Monday)

Anime Girls: High School of Dead (€7.99/£7.19)

Buddy & Friends: Santa's Workshop Animal Party (€6.9/£6.19: Saturday)

Hentai Girls; Office Romance (€5.99/£5.39: Wednesday)

Santa's Workshop Challenge: The North Pole Gift Adventure (€5.90/£5.29: Saturday)

Eggconsole Marchen Veil PC8801 MkIISR (€5.59/£5.39)

Kumamon Run (€5.00/£4.49)

Sir Questionnaire (€4.99/£4.49: Tuesday)

Goo Fighter (€4.99/£4.49)

Pixel Game Maker Series Lunlun Superherobabys X (€4.99/£4.49)

Meow Match (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Sushi Shot (€3.8/£2.11)

Xmas Toy Merge (€2.99/£2.69)

Swingers (€0.99/£0.99: Saturday)

Archives

Super Contra (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (¥6600)

Another Code: Recollection (¥6500: Friday)

Dreadout 2 (¥3980)

Everdream Valley (¥3980)

Hero of Fate (¥2200)

The Pedestrian (¥2050)

Super Sean 007 (¥1500)

Knights of Grayfang (¥1320)

Chickenoidz Super Party (¥1200)

Escape Room: Brain Training Mystery (¥980)

Fastest Finger First! 3 Hint Quiz (¥980)

Rescue! Dropkick On My Devil (¥980)

Nephenthesys (¥600)

Hangul Applied Vocabulary (¥420)

Sushi Shot (¥380)

Fairytale Theatre: Momotaro's Adventure (¥300)

Launched Later

Yuna and the Haunted Hot Springs (¥3520)

nDay (¥2416)

Rising Lords (¥2300)

Ominous Tales: The Forsaken Isle (¥2139)

Ultimate Racing 2D 2 (¥1500)

Mystery Box: Evolution (¥1449)

Moon Lander (¥1425)

Noobs Want To Live (¥1350)

Bahnsen Knights (¥1320)

Room of Depression (¥1200)

Ryunosuke Todo Detective Diary Vol. 4 "Zinc Box -Soma House Serial Murder Case-" (¥1200)

Coloring book series Aquarium (¥980)

Vostok 2061 (¥860)

Super Contra (¥838)

Hentai RPG: Isekai Journey (¥710)

Meow Match (¥709)

Pixel Game Maker Series Lunlun Superherobabys X (¥550)

Night of the Crabz: Watch Out For The Crab Head (¥100)

[One wonders how one gets to the other.]

69

TalkBack / Golden Sun And The Lost Age Venture Into Expansion Pack GBA Library Next Week

« on: January 11, 2024, 04:00:00 PM »

One wonders how one gets to the other.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65974/golden-sun-and-the-lost-age-venture-into-expansion-pack-gba-library-next-week

A pair of games that partially offset Camelot's sentence for creating Waluigi are joining the Switch's Game Boy Advance library.

Nintendo have announced that 2001's Golden Sun and its sequel, 2003's The Lost Age, will join the Expansion Pack on January 16-17. Golden Sun was included in the first announced wave of GBA games when the library was announced last February, though the second was not.

The Lost Age was able to use either a Game Boy Advance link cable or a long password to import data from the original Golden Sun: it is not known how this function will work with the NSO libraries, though at worst it could use the Switch's screenshot function to ensure accurate passwords.

[Not just an excuse to not add the base game to the Expansion Pack.]

70

TalkBack / New Mario Vs Donkey Kong Trailer Reveals New Levels And Features

« on: January 10, 2024, 03:59:04 PM »

Not just an excuse to not add the base game to the Expansion Pack.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65971/new-mario-vs-donkey-kong-trailer-reveals-new-levels-and-features

Nintendo has revealed new details on next month's Mario vs Donkey Kong remaster, including some brand new modes and content.

The trailer promises over "130" stages, including a pair of new worlds later confirmed as "Merry Mini-Land" and "Slippery Summit" with new obstacles and puzzles also involved. A two player (local) co-op mode with an optional Toad and enhanced difficulty options are also available, alongside a Time Attack mode.

A Casual mode will also be available in this release, in which failing returns Mario to the start of the stage to try again immediately; it promises "a few do-overs".

Mario vs. Donkey Kong is still slated for launch on February 16.

[And another one's gone, and another one's gone, another one bites the dust. At least it's going for everybody.]

71

TalkBack / Switch Pokemon TV App To Sunset On March 28, Already Delisted

« on: January 08, 2024, 08:23:44 AM »

And another one's gone, and another one's gone, another one bites the dust. At least it's going for everybody.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65970/switch-pokemon-tv-app-to-sunset-on-march-28-already-delisted

Pokemon TV is about to wind down for good.

The service which offered the ability to watch the long-running animated series in its entirety will be shutting down effective March 28, and has been delisted from all services where it was offered including the Nintendo eShop. The Pokemon Company has a page listing the other streaming services that offer select seasons of the anime as well as movies and other specials.

No reason has been given for the closure. The Pokemon app follows Twitch, which announced on Halloween last year that it would no longer run on Switch as of the 31st of this month.

[The only good thing about last year's North American release count is that none of those 2,431 games had Waluigi.]

72

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - January 11, 2024

« on: January 08, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

The only good thing about last year's North American release count is that none of those 2,431 games had Waluigi.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65958/nintendo-downloads-january-11-2024

Things we missed last week: Nichibutsu 1986 scrolling brawler Mighty Guy in the Archives.

Apart from the demo for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and the epilogue update for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC, this is a light week on the new release front. Third person action/adventure hybrid Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow and shooter (scrolling, not Doom clone) Shinorubi look to be the most intriguing releases, but we're barely into the 20s for North American release count heading into the first full week of the year. Of course, that's going to change dramatically by the end of the week.

Regarding sales, a note to watch for: Europe is running a New Year's sale as of last Thursday and it MIGHT start in North America this week or next, but since Nintendo jumped into the annual pre-Christmas sales in North America they may not want to double dip. We'll see.

North America

Digital

nGolf (US$21.99/C$29.71)

Shinorubi ($19.99/$25.99: Friday)

Cafe Owner Simulator ($18.99/$24.79: Wednesday)

Frogsong ($14.99/$19.49: Friday)

Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow ($13.99/$17.99: Wednesday)

Grotto ($12.99/$17.99: Friday)

Ikkarus and the Prince of Sin ($9.99/$11.99: Wednesday)

Pixel Coloring Paint ($9.99/$12.99: Saturday)

Wild Seas ($4.99/$6.83)

8-Colors Star Guardians+ ($4.99/$4.99)

Hatland - Pixel Impossible Game Over ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Kitten Hero ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Coin Rush ($4.99/$6.70: Friday)

Released Later

Crystal Project ($13.99/$15.49: Friday)

Farm Knight Adventures ($8.99/$10.99: Monday)

Gladitorial Conquest Battle ($9.99/$13.99: Friday)

EggConsole Marchen Veil PC-8801 MkII SR ($6.49/$7.34)

Reigns: Three Kingdoms ($2.99/$3.89)

Archives

Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: Super Mega Baseball 4 is half off until the 16th. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Digital

Pan'orama (€19.99/£17.99)

Shinorubi (€19.99/£17.99: Friday)

Cafe Owner Simulator (€18.99/£17.09: Wednesday)

Dungeon Defence Simulator 2024 (€14.99/£13.49: Monday)

Roman Empire Simulator (€14.99/£13.49: Friday)

Frogsong (€14.79/£13.29: Friday)

Cynthia: Hidden in the Moonshadow (€13.99/£12.59: Wednesday)

Grotto (€12/£10.79: Friday)

Geo Jelly (€10.99/£9.89: Monday)

Ikkarus and the Prince of Sin (€9.99/£8.99: Wednesday)

Bowling Fever (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Pixel Coloring Paint (€9.99/£7.99: Saturday)

Monty Mole Collection (€7.99/£6.99: Monday)

8-Colors Star Guardians+ (€4.99/£4.99)

Wild Seas (€4.99/£4.49)

Kitten Hero (€4.99/£4.99: Friday)

Coin Rush (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

HatLand - Pixel Impossible Game Over (€4.99/£3.99: Friday)

Capitals Quizzer (free to start: Monday)

Released Later

My Life: Farm Vet (€29.99/£26.99: Monday)

nGolf (€21.99/£19.79)

Battlefront Trench Warriors (€11.99/£11.99: Monday)

Bike Courier (€11.99/£11.99: Monday)

Crystal Project (€11.59/£10.99)

Coloring Book Series: Zoo (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

All I Want For Christmas Are Subgames (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Super Bear Adventure (€9.99/£8.99)

Military Combat Shooter: Desert War (€6.99/£6.29: Monday)

EggConsole Silpheed PC-8801 MkII SR (€5.59/£5.39)

Reigns: Three Kingdoms (€2.99/£2.69)

Archives

Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Gungrave Gore (¥5500)

nGolf (¥3233)

Electrician Simulator (¥3000)

GeoJelly (¥1600)

Trash Punk (¥1470)

The Spy Who Shot Me (¥1200)

8-Colors Star Guardians+ (¥800)

Shivering Stone (¥500)

Wild Seas (¥499)

Released Later

Hentai Number Place (¥2962)

For The Warp (¥2299)

Cat Simulator (¥2000)

My Bakery Empire (¥1160)

Anime Girls: High School of Dead (¥920)

Hentai Girls: Office Romance (¥900)

EggConsole Marchen Veil PC-8801 MkII SR (¥880)

Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle (¥838)

Kitten Hero (¥610)

Reigns: Three Kingdoms (¥350)

[Observations from a year that single-handedly proves Sturgeon’s Law to be true.]

73

TalkBack / 2023 In Review: The State Of The Switch eShop Is Fallen

« on: January 02, 2024, 03:20:00 AM »

Observations from a year that single-handedly proves Sturgeon’s Law to be true.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/65948/2023-in-review-the-state-of-the-switch-eshop-is-fallen

Early in 2023, author and hot-air balloon resident Cory Doctorow published a piece on how TikTok had shifted value from users to business partners to itself and now was in the process of dying, calling the process “enshittification”. For most of the year, I’ve thought of this as a good explanation for what has happened to the Switch eShop since early 2021 with the rise of the eShop spamming publishers. You know who they are, you know what they publish. (Though the rise of “hentai” in game titles that top out at a T rating has been a disturbing subplot of the last few months on our Discord server.)

However, I’m beginning to realize that this process doesn’t strictly apply to the eShop as it stands. Because previously the eShop as a platform for games has seemingly completed the first two steps; the value started with consumers, then shifted to the publishers… but it’s hard to imagine the third step happening to Nintendo as the platform holder. Sure, their digital sales are growing, but they brought back Game Vouchers this year and had a game (that is already over 20m shipped) retail for $69.99 US for the first time ever. But if Nintendo is going to get the 30% cut of third party sales on the eShop, it’s hard for actual quality publishers to sell their wares when the most common search (“Recently released”) buries anything and everything under a sea of 29th bundles for games and stuff that I’d call asset flips but that’d be an insult to asset flippers.

And that’s not even accounting for the stuff that the lawyers killed because it flew too close to the copyright sun (see: Last Hope, The and Burnout (2023)).

A sample bullshot from the eShop page or a screen of a game that got ripped off wholesale? (The latter: it's Burnout Paradise Remastered.).

Let’s drop some numbers here (all based on the chart here and accurate to 1% 19 times out of 20):

• North America and Europe both blasted past 2000 releases, with North America hitting a previously thought unfathomable 2431 releases
• The average week this year in North America had 47 games, with only two weeks under 30 and a new North American record being set with 71 releases the week of October 25 - and even a world record being shattered in Japan with 79 on the week of December 21
• Since I began tracking release counts in 2021, there were 5000 games released just on Switch as of June 1 - and this went over 6000 roughly around Halloween

This is a clearly unsustainable pace that - ideally - will cut off this year with the launch of a Switch successor. Hopefully it’s announced and launched sooner than later so as not to combine holiday pressure with difficulties in launching the new system (maybe in June) but I’m not holding my breath. Obviously, Nintendo could deny the right to publish software on the successor to these outlets, but that doesn’t seem like something they would do. I mean, VG Games and GameToTop still get to put games out after the previously mentioned copyright infringers were slapped down.

So what features does the Switch eShop need to make it so I’m the only one who sees these works on the successor, assuming similar publishing agreements? I can see three - but feel free to suggest more in the Talkback thread.

1. “New Releases” list includes publisher blacklisting. One click on the publisher’s page and they get removed from the New Releases view, while retaining the option to search for a specific game if the blind squirrel finds the nut. VG Games? VG Gone. RedDeer Games? Shipped off to High Level. GameToTop? Shoved six feet under. And if I want to block a certain AAA publisher in retaliation for only paying royalties for a game to someone who wants a significant portion of my friends and at least one person who has written for Nintendo World Report to die for existing, I have that option.
2. An option to toggle bundles from the new releases page, if not confined to a “Bundles” page assuming similar functionality to the Switch eShop. This way, these publishers who release one random new DLC every week with a new 90% off bundle can’t game New Releases with it. Looking at you, AAA Clock. Legitimate bundles can still be listed on the main game page as we see now, and scenarios of “early access with premium editions” can put the game on the main page until everyone has access.
3. Actual quality control of eShop advertising. If your key art isn’t at least somewhat accurate to the game you’re publishing, you don’t get to launch. This would ideally also include a legal review to preemptively catch the most flagrant copyright violations, and a special master to immediately ban any game that puts “hentai” in the title. The fact that I have 25 hits on our Switch game list for that term is about 25 too many.

Some other functionality the successor’s eShop needs, but isn’t strictly tied to this:

1. A g-d shopping cart for new games. We know it’s possible, you can buy multiple pieces of downloadable content on the same page, but I would really like an option to put through a single transaction for multiple games when there’s a big sale that’s knocking off 20% of my wishlist at once. Speaking of…
2. Buying a game by default removes it from the wishlist. I’m pretty sure this was the case on 3DS and Wii U, so why do I have to clear items manually from the list on Switch? If you want to make it toggleable, that’s fine; it could be used as a way to tell your friends that a game you enjoyed is on sale.
3. Speaking of Wii U and 3DS eShop features, music and pages. The former to make the eShop less of a sterile experience, and the latter to avoid the pagination issues that occur when going more than 30 / 50 / whatever releases deep into the schedule.
4. A simple refund system. Not only will it get certain government authorities off your back (hi European Union), but if we’re going to live in the era of “known shippable” it’d be nice to have some recourse.

We’ll be watching the developments with the eShop with great interest, or dread, or anger depending on what actions Nintendo takes as a platform holder. Hopefully it’s more of the first item on that list so I don’t have to threaten to reenact the most dangerous match portrayed in Beyond the Mat.

[The year begins quiet, and may it stay that way.]

74

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - January 4, 2024

« on: January 01, 2024, 03:00:00 AM »

The year begins quiet, and may it stay that way.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65930/nintendo-downloads-january-4-2024

Editor's note: Donald is writing this article on New Year's Eve proper, after a red-eye cross country flight in which his sleep was at best, 45 minutes. As he lacks the energy to try and make chicken salad out of this week's releases, normal snark resumes next week.

North America

Digital

Tools Up! Ultimate Edition (US$34.99/C$47.99: Friday)

Arcade Game Zone ($24.99/$34.99: Friday)

Electrician Simulator ($19.99/$26.99: Friday)

Truck Simulator 2024 ($13.99/$19.99: Tuesday)

Ski Simulator: Winter Sports ($9.99/$13.99: Sunday)

Isolated ($9.99/$9.99: Saturday)

The Spy Who Shot Me ($7.99/$10.99)

Shivering Stone ($4.99/$5.99: Friday)

Forbidden Ghost Photo ($3.99/$5.39)

Released Later

Ominous Tales: The Forsaken Isle ($15.99/$20.99)

Warzone Chronicles: Virtual Warfare Simulator ($11.99/$15.99: Monday)

Knights of the Rogue Dungeon ($9.99/$13.39: Monday)

Moon Lander ($9.99/$13.25: Monday)

They Know ($6.99/$9.54)

Skin Care ($2.99/$3.99)

Archives

Mighty Guy ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: Various holiday sales end this week, including Nintendo's ending at 2:59am ET on the 3rd. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Digital

Arcade Game Zero (€24.99/£22.49: Friday)

Hentai Golf (€21.99/£19.79: Monday)

Electrician Simulator (€19.99/£17.99: Friday)

Gates of the Mind (€14.99/£13.49: Saturday)

The World of War II: Frontlines of History (€13.99/£13.99: Sunday)

Truck Simulator 2024 (€13.99/£11.99: Tuesday)

City Bus Driver Simulator (€11.99/£10.99: Monday)

Warzone Chronicles: Virtual Warfare Simulator (€11.99/£9.99: Monday)

Ski Simulator: Winter Sports (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

Christas Bubble Puzzle (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Bulldozer Tycoon: Construction Simulator (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Milk Seller (€9.99/£8.99: Saturday)

The Spy Who Shot Me (€7.99/£7.19)

Shivering Stone (€4.99/£4.49: Friday)

Released Later

Tools Up! Ultimate Edition (€34.99/£31.49: Friday)

Airport (€9.99/£9.99: Monday)

Princess Puzzle Adventure (€9.99/£8.99: Wednesday)

They Know (€6.99/£6.29)

EggConsole Hydlide PC-8801 MkII SR (€5.59/£5.39)

Skin Care (€2.99/£2.69)

SNQZ (€1.00/£1.00: Monday)

Archives

Mighty Guy (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Atsushi's Detective (¥1000: Sunday)

They Know (¥999)

Mighty Guy (¥838)

[The news editor is ready to start whacking the SEO farmers of the eShop with a toaster.]

75

TalkBack / Nintendo Downloads - December 28, 2023

« on: December 25, 2023, 03:00:00 AM »

The news editor is ready to start whacking the SEO farmers of the eShop with a toaster.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/65875/nintendo-downloads-december-28-2023

Things we missed last week: Brawler Rough Justice '84 and Archives title Mystic Warriors (a Konami joint), also we have a new one-territory record for releases as Japan hit 79 releases. More on that later.

Especially in North America, this post is probably mislabeled in terms of the date as 21 of 26 releases there either dropped yesterday, or has a release date of today (the 25th). Bah, humbug. There's obviously nothing major in that bunch, as the big release of the week is Thursday's release of Zen Studios's new, more mature pinball title (Pinball M) and that's free to start as is their want. Meanwhile, in Japan, the 79 releases last week are followed by... one, and likely a second in the Archives when that comes out but it's giving me a bit of whiplash. At least they knocked out some of the shovelware the West is getting.

So with that, hopefully whatever you're celebrating today is being done safely and with love, and watch out for amateur hour if you're going anywhere on Sunday night. We'll reconvene next week for the first column of 2024.

North America

My Life: Farm Vet (US$29.99/C$37.79: Monday)

3 in 1 Game Collection ($19.99/$26.49: Monday)

Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt For Moriarty ($19.99/$26.49: Monday)

Tanuki Sunset ($16.99/$19.99: Sunday)

Truckzilla ($11.99/$16.99: Sunday)

Bowling Fever ($9.99/$13.50: Monday)

Trash Punk ($9.99/$13.50: Monday)

Misbloody ($9.99/$9.99: Saturday)

Party Friends ($7.99/$10.99: Sunday)

My Bakery Empire ($7.99/$10.75: Monday)

Pocket Quest ($7.99/$10.75: Monday)

Space Papers: Planet's Border ($7.99/$10.75: Monday)

Cute Critters Pet Kitty ($5.99/$5.99: Sunday)

Fashion World ($5.99/$8.10: Monday)

Kebab Bar Tycoon ($5.99/$8.10: Monday)

Pocket Foosball ($5.99/$8.10: Monday)

Santa's Workshop Adventure ($5.9/$7.90: Monday)

Hard Racing: Stunt Car Driving ($4.99/$6.80: Sunday)

Bloopy & Droopy ($4.99/$7.45: Monday)

Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 ($4.99/$6.99: Monday)

Nothing to Declare ($4.99/$6.80: Monday)

Light It Up ($4.99/$6.70: Monday)

Chico and the Magic Orchards DX ($4.99/not releasing: Friday)

Found It! ($3.99/$5.39)

Tiny Treasure Hunt ($3.99/$5.39)

Pinabll M (free to start)

Released Later

Jigsaw Pets ($19.99/$29.99: Monday)

Clue (2023) ($19.99/$26.99: Monday)

Ultimate Moto Bike Simulator ($16.99/$23.99)

Cat Simulator ($14.99/$14.99: Monday)

Monster Loves You Too ($14.99/$19.49)

The Gardener Simulator ($13.99/$19.99)

Battlefront Trench Warriors ($11.99/$)

Mystery Box: Escape The Room ($9.99/$9.99: Monday)

Mystery Box: The Journey ($9.99/$9.99: Monday)

Super Kart Mini Kart Race ($9.99/$13.59: Monday)

Starship Showdown: Galactic Grand Prix ($9.9/$13.90: Tuesday)

Anime Girls: Highschool of Dead ($7.99/$10.49)

Fantasy Blacksmith Shop Simulator ($7.99/$9.99: Friday)

Unpogable ($7.5/$10.37: Monday)

Wizard Hunter: The End of the Magic World ($6.99/$9.5)

Buddy & Friends: Santa's Workshop Animal Party ($6.9/$8.90: Monday)

Kumamon Run ($5/$7)

Nathan Jones and The Empty Century ($4.99/$6.

Xmas Toy Merge ($2.99/$3.59: Monday)

Hilm ($1/$1)

Gang Blast ($0.99/$1.29: Monday)

Human Bowling ($0.99/$1.29: Monday)

Archives

Solitary Fighter ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: Nintendo's Hits for the Holidays sale is on until end of day January 3, including sales for Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury and Cocoon among others. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Tanuki Sunset (€15.99/£15.99: Sunday)

Nekomin (€14.00/£13.00: Monday)

Truckzilla (€11.99/£9.99: Sunday)

100 Demon Fantasia (€9.99/£8.99: Sunday)

Trash Punk (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Party Friends (€7.99/£6.99: Sunday)

Poly Shooting Simulator (€7.99/£7.99: Monday)

My Bakery Empire (€7.99/£7.20: Monday)

Pocket Quest (€7.99/£7.20: Monday)

Space Papers: Planet's Border (€7.99/£7.20: Monday)

Cute Critters Pet Kitty (€5.99/£5.39: Sunday)

Fashion World (€5.99/£5.39: Monday)

Kebab Bar Tycoon (€5.99/£5.39: Monday)

Pocket Foosball (€5.99/£5.39: Monday)

Light It Up (€4.99/£4.49: Monday)

Chico and the Magic Orchards DX (€4.99/£4.29: Friday)

Pinabll M (free to start)

Released Later

3 in 1 Game Collection (€19.99/£17.99: Monday)

Jigsaw Pets (€19.99/£19.99: Monday)

Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt For Moriarty (€19.99/£17.99: Monday)

All Of Us Are Dead (€19.5/£16.75)

Ultimate Moto Bike Simulator (€16.99/£15.99)

The Gardener Simulator (€13.99/£11.99)

Japan Train Models - JR West Edition (€13.79/£12.39)

Petit Petit Petit (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Wood Guy (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Escape From The Island (€9.99/£8.99: Tuesday)

Misbloody (€9.99/£8.99: Saturday)

Starship Showdown: Galactic Grand Prix (€9.9/£8.89: Tuesday)

Piyokoro (€8.99/£7.99: Monday)

Molecano (€7.49/£6.79: Monday)

Unpogable (€6.99/£6.29: Monday)

Wizard Hunter: The End of the Magic World (€6.99/£6.29)

Dani and Evan: Dinosaur Books (€5.99/£5.39: Monday)

Eggconsole Xanadu PC-8801 MkII SR (€5.59/£5.39)

Nathan Jones and The Empty Century (€4.9/£6.

Breakout Birdie (€4/£2.99)

Breakout Birdie 2 (€4/£2.99)

Breakout Birdie Adventure (€4/£2.99)

Word Space (€2/£1.79)

Gang Blast (€0.99/£0.99: Monday)

Human Bowling (€0.99/£0.99: Monday)

Archives

Solitary Fighter (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Misbloody (¥1200)

Solitary Fighter (¥838)