Messages

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces Full Backwards Compatibility And Retention Of Nintendo Switch Online For Succ

« on: November 06, 2024, 12:36:31 PM »

The ambiguity about if physical releases are included here is annoying but I'm still pretty happy about this.  I felt like this was a litmus test if Nintendo had gone off the deep end or not.  If they didn't have it all that would not bode well for the Switch successor.  Nintendo can do really strange things but this is something very conventional and if the Switch 2 can play Switch 1 games then you know the Switch 2 is still somewhat of a conventional video game system.  I think of how Nintendo really pushed the 3D aspect of the 3DS and that didn't really catch on but the guts of the DS were still in there so it still worked well as DS successor even if it's big gimmick didn't take the world by storm.

But there was a part of the briefing that isn't as notable but combined with this makes me feel quite confident in the Switch 2.  Nintendo emphasized their third party relationships.  I love my Switch but my library is not predominantly first party.  Now that Nintendo has great third party support again, my library more closely resembles what my SNES library looked like with a lot of third party games and Nintendo having no real prominence over other publishers.  So I'm glad that they regard third party support as important and as something to maintain with the Switch successor.  And third party support plus backwards compatibility means that the Switch 2 is not going to be some insane wacky system that misses why the Switch was successful.

Though I really want physical backwards compatibility and I'm a little on edge until that's confirmed.  But they very well may have a digital-only model and a physical model, following current trends.  It would seem odd for them to have a version that supports physical media but then have it be completely incompatible with existing Switch carts.  Just to maintain the portable nature of the system you figure they would stick with the carts.  They're not going to switch to optical discs or anything like that.

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TalkBack / Re: It's Happening: Xenoblade Chronicles X To Be Remastered In March 2025

« on: October 30, 2024, 12:32:19 PM »

There is a part of me that feels a little sad for the Wii U.  From a retro gaming perspective the Wii U is effectively useless.  There really is no point in owning one anymore.  But then since it has now been revealed that Wii Us are not so durable for future use, maybe that's not a bad thing.  In a way Wii U ownership was like belonging to an exclusive club that had early access to Switch games.

I have Xenoblade 2 and 3 sitting in the backlog so I don't really have room for this.  I never finished the game but my Wii U still works for now so I'll likely stick with that version if I decide to return to it.  I recently tried to resume my very old playthrough of Xeno 1 on the Wii so I have the proper context for the sequels.  I was hopelessly lost of course but also found that I struggled to read the text and the SD visuals looked like a blurry mess.  So I'm thinking I might need to upgrade to the Switch HD version.  First time I can think of having to do something like that because of the effects of aging.

Now every Xenoblade game is on one console which is great for any fans that first got into the series on the Switch, which is probably a lot because of how obscure the older releases were.  The Switch is an amazing system for RPGs and it's a good mix of new and old titles.  By itself it can provide a great history lesson for the genre so I kind of like it when a re-release like this occurs that helps fill in the gaps.

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TalkBack / Re: Capcom Fighting Collection Brings Multiple Lost Classics To Switch In 2025, Release Date Reveale

« on: August 27, 2024, 12:38:14 PM »

I recently got a nice arcade stick on sale for the Switch, in anticipation of the Marvel collection.  I have the first Capcom Fighting Collection already so the stick has already gotten use.  But now I'm a little concerned about the physical release coming out after the digital and being "limited".  Maybe I have to pre-order it.

Of course I'll be adding Capcom Fighting Collection 2 to the list as well.  I've got most of those Street Fighter games in some form but Project Justice, Plasma Sword and the Power Stone games are all very obscure and it will great to give those a go.

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TalkBack / Re: First Game In Long-Running Trails Franchise To Get 3D Switch Remake In 2025

« on: August 27, 2024, 12:34:19 PM »

This is very cool but almost happening a little too late.  Ideally we want the entire Trails series available on the Switch but the Switch 2 is right on the doorstep.  So what are the odds that remakes of all three of the Sky games actually get released on the Switch 1, let alone the two missing Cold Steel games?

Now all the Cold Steel games actually are on the Switch, just the first two aren't localized as they were originally published by XSeed and the series is now published by NIS.  XSeed owns the rights to their English translation and aren't willing to license it to NIS and NIS doesn't want to invest in doing their own.  So from a Japan-specific point of view it's only the Sky games that are missing.  But even then the timing here is tight.  Even if they make one remake per year, the third one would likely show up after the Switch 2 has been out for at least a year, maybe two.

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TalkBack / Re: Fantasy Life i To Miss Harvest Season

« on: August 19, 2024, 12:07:25 PM »

This is going to miss the Switch and end up on the Switch 2 instead, isn't it?

I have enough of a backlog for the Switch that I don't really feel the need to jump on the Switch 2 right away.  A side effect of that is that I've become nervous about any in-development Switch game that I'm interested in not getting completed in time for a Switch release to make sense.  If it doesn't have a set 2024 release date I have my doubts.  From a business perspective does it even make sense for Level-5 to release a bunch of Switch games right at the end of that system's life?

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TalkBack / Re: Good-Feel's Mystical Ninja Spiritual Successor Receiving Spike Chunsoft Localization September 3

« on: August 14, 2024, 02:11:55 AM »

The demo is now available on the North American eShop and I gave it a go.  It feels like a Nintendo game, which is obviously a good thing.  I guess that makes sense since Good Feel has recently worked on Nintendo games.  The controls feel tight and the gameplay is smooth.  I thought it was quite fun.  The demo has four levels, two being the normal gameplay, one shooter level, and one mech fight.

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General Gaming / Re: What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

« on: July 31, 2024, 11:27:33 PM »

Just got 100% in Yoku's Island Express (Switch).  I liked the demo so it had been on my radar for a bit.  I was hoping for physical release but they recently had a sale where it was only a couple bucks so I decided to just go digital for it.

It's a pinball Metroidvania.  I've been playing a lot of the reproductions of Williams pinball tables in Pinball FX so I've been on a virtual pinball kick the last few years (and real pinball when I get a chance).  I like Metroidvanias a lot but I kind of suck at them.  I usually am good at figuring out secret passages and such but tend to suck at fighting bosses which are common in the genre.  But this one essentially replaces that part of the genre with virtual pinball, which I'm reasonably good at.  The idea sounds odd in theory but the layout of the world is designed very well so it all works and the demo does a good job of, uh, demonstrating the concept.  If you like the demo, you'll like the game... unless you're really bad at pinball.

My one complaint is there are parts where you have to swing from these flowers to get to high places and the timing is tricky and if you mess up you usually fall a long ways and have to climb back up.  What I found especially frustrating about them is that there is no pinball elements involved so it requires me to be good at something that is unrelated to the skills needed for the rest of the game.  The closest comparison is probably the barrel levels in Donkey Kong Country.  I also noticed that if the game was on for a fair bit that the performance would get worse and I would start to see slowdown and extra load times.  It fixed it once I exited the game and went back in so there must be some memory leak or something.  But save points are frequent so it's easy to reset the game if it happens without losing progress.

It ended up being one of those games that once I start it it has its hooks in me so deep that I end up plowing through it as soon as my free time allows.  I liked it similar to how much I liked Metroid Zero Mission.  So if a pinball Metroidvania sounds even remotely interesting to you the demo is worth a try and then you'll probably want more.

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TalkBack / Re: New Famicom Detective Club Announced, Mystery of Emio The Smiling Man Launching August 29

« on: July 18, 2024, 12:36:44 PM »

If it was a survival horror game I probably wouldn't get it as that's not a genre I'm really into.  But as a Detective Club game I'm very interested!  I was not expecting that so it's a nice payoff for the Emio teaser.

However I have not yet played the Famicom Detective Club remakes, which I want to play first.  Why haven't I yet?  Because those games have never gone on sale to my knowledge.  Nintendo isn't very into sales like Switch third parties are but at least if there is a physical release you might catch a store having a sale.  Since these are eShop exclusives their price is entirely up to Nintendo's whim and they haven't put them on sale.  So I've never been in a rush to get them since I have other games to play.  Now, maybe they'll finally get a sale to coincide with Emio's release?  If there was a time to do it, that would make sense.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Direct To Air June 18 At 10 AM Eastern

« on: June 17, 2024, 12:06:00 PM »

There's a selfish part of me that wants the last few Wii U exclusives to remain exclusive, just to give that system some reason to have existed.  But aside from X the entire Xenoblade series is available for the Switch so why not give people the option to enjoy it all.  Due to the obscurity of the series before the Switch (late Gamestop exclusive Wii game, Wii U exclusive, 3DS port that requires the NEW 3DS) I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of fans have only played the series on the Switch so might as well make everything available to them.

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TalkBack / Re: Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (Switch) Review

« on: June 12, 2024, 11:50:46 AM »

I've been playing the original SMT V on and off for a while and I'm currently at the last boss. I got the game on sale and I've put over 100 hours into it so I can't really complain that I didn't get my money's worth.  I would prefer obviously that there be some way to upgrade to Vengeance with DLC.

Though the game is so difficult and demanding that once I beat it, I can't really imagine going through it again.  I need a palette cleanser and some easier RPGs before I tackle another SMT.  So even if the upgrade was available I don't know if it would make sense for me to buy it because it would likely be years before I would start playing it.

Sega Atlus games tend to get marked down in price.  If I wait, odds are Vengeance physical copies will be getting marked down to the point where it would essentially be the cost of DLC.  So if I'm interested I can get it then.  Do I regret getting the base version?  Not really because I've put over 100 hours into it.  If it was sitting in my backlog unplayed I would be annoyed but I clearly made use of the time between it's original release and now.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo To Announce Switch Successor In Current Fiscal Year, Direct Next Month

« on: May 07, 2024, 01:04:39 PM »

Interesting that they would just casually mention this in a shareholder's meeting.  This pretty much means a 2025 Switch 2.  I'm both excited and nervous.  With the Switch Nintendo finally had good third party support again for the first time in 20 years.  But do they know why?  Is the Switch a happy accident or perfect execution of a good plan?  With Nintendo you never know.  Most of us are hoping for a Switch 2 but Nintendo might double down on Labo instead or something like that.  They're very unpredictable.

Though you would think that this announcement of an announcement could hurt Switch system sales.  Obviously you have to announce these things with some time before the launch but you don't want to do it too early.  And this isn't the old days where an announcement like this is largely unknown to the general public beyond hardcore enthusiasts.  This is on social media.  You can assume that the average consumer will be aware of this when they're Christmas shopping this year.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2024?

« on: March 14, 2024, 01:57:39 PM »

Regarding third party support I figure there is a big difference in attitude depending on if a person has only a Switch or also has another current console.  For multiplatform third party games the Switch version is usually the worst and often costs a bit extra.  So if you own a PS4 or 5 and don't specifically desire portability you'll probably get the game on one of those systems instead.  If that's your situation then the Switch's usefulness is entirely based on its exclusives, which is usually going to be first party games.

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TalkBack / Re: Akira Toriyama (1955 - 2024)

« on: March 08, 2024, 12:28:21 PM »

I wouldn't have thought of myself specifically as a fan but I realize that Toriyama tied into the changing tastes of my life.  When I was a teen I was into Dragon Ball Z, then as a young adult got more into the original Dragon Ball.  Dragon Quest VIII is really when RPGs clicked with me after earlier attempts to get into the genre and then that expanded into a wider interest in the Dragon Quest series as a hole.  Dragon Quest XI was my first Switch game and I put over 100 hours into it.  I have some great memories where Toriyama's art design is integral and, being visual, is the first thing I would think of when reflecting back.

I guess he's kind of like Jack Kirby, who I never really thought of myself as a fan of but then realized his work was weaved into my pop culture tastes.  I didn't really know who Kirby was until after his death so this time I'm well aware of who this person is when they pass.  So I felt a little sad when I saw the news, more so than I would typically feel for a public figure that I don't know personally.  RIP Akira Toriyama.

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TalkBack / Re: New Shin Megami Tensei V Title Revealed, Vengeance Reaps June 21

« on: February 22, 2024, 03:12:28 PM »

I've been playing SMTV off and on for a while now.  I'm trying to stick to one game at a time on the Switch but there are certain exceptions and Pokemon and Zelda were allowed to temporarily bump it.  Now I got the Pokemon DLC for Christmas so SMTV got bumped again.  I appear to be at the very end so there's not much left.

The game is really long and pretty hard, at least compared to the typical RPG I would play.  I like it a lot but it's kind of gone on too long and I want to wrap it up.  I've also been resisting switching the difficulty to the easiest setting which would presumably let me finish it quicker but I've been over 100 hours in without doing that so it feels like a cop-out to do it now.

In that sense, I don't really feel like buying a second version of the game.  But the first SMTV ended up becoming pretty cheap.  I paid $50 CAD a few years ago and it felt like a good deal but it has since been marked down to $30.  So if Vengeance gets marked down to a low price, maybe I would consider it.  But then I don't think SMTIV Apocalypse ever became cheap and it's now very pricey.  If I got the game on a low price then I figure I would play through it on the easiest difficulty, just to experience the gist of it without committing another 100+ hours.

Ideally though this should be DLC.  In modern times it makes no sense to double-dip on games when everyone else lets existing owners upgrade.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Switch is so popular people don't even post

« on: January 02, 2024, 01:53:39 PM »

The Switch does have tons of ports and re-releases.  But I don't find it to be a problem because the Switch has strong enough third party support that there are enough new games on the system available that you could avoid the re-releases and still have a healthy backlog of stuff to play.  Prior to the Switch Nintendo would remake an old game and that was it, for like a three month window.  Play this port or play nothing.

I also wouldn't discount PS4 ports even if they come a few years late.  Again, back in the Gamecube days a port of a well regarded PS2 game was a valuable entry in the library.  That sort of thing isn't great if you own all the current systems but if you only own the Nintendo one then that's essentially a new game.  It's the sort of thing that between the SNES and Switch was rare for Nintendo consoles.  Over the last year I'm starting to see the types of games I'm interested in get announced for the PS5 and not the Switch but prior to that I could kind of assume that the Switch would get the games I'm interested in.  And if that's happening for like 80% of the games on your radar then you don't get hung up on the missing 20%.

With digital downloads now being the norm I would expect a significant amount of old games available on the eShop.  When music switched from records to CDs or videos from VHS to DVD it wasn't like only new content was available.  Classic content made the conversion as well.  If you went to a book store historically it wasn't like the shelves only had books written in the last five years, there were classics that would remain in print for decades.  Videogames should have the same thing.  The fact that Nintendo made that Mario 3D collection a limited time release is nuts.  Those games should just be "in print" forever in whatever digital store Nintendo has.  So in the modern world a console should have tons of old stuff, it just needs to also have a steady stream of new games.

Something I've thought of is if you loaded up the max SD card the Switch can support (which I think is 2 TB) you would have a fantastic time capsule of video game history since it has so many key games from Atari to the present.  If you were to send something out to space like the Voyager Golden Record a fully loaded Switch would be perfect.

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

« on: January 02, 2024, 12:18:37 PM »

I was rather shocked when I discovered there were hentai games on the Switch.  I always thought of that stuff as underground, and relegated to open platforms that don't have any licensing system.  I assume Nintendo does still have a third party licensing system so that there aren't games that are outright viruses on the eShop but it seems like only the most basic functionality is required to pass.  And while restricting games that are not very good is way too subjective usually "no porn" is a pretty standard policy.

Though a lot of the complaints I hear about the eShop don't relate to me because I just never use the eShop interface in any meaningful way.  I use Deku Deals to browse the eShop and it links me to the direct page where I can purchase the game.  I never login to the shop from the Switch itself, I do it all on my laptop.  Now I typically peruse the "recent price drops" page to see what's on sale and it can get overloaded with junk games which seem to go on sale every week (oh look, "Checkers for Kids" is on sale again).  But it's still a relatively easy interface to scan quickly and spot the good stuff, plus you can filter by publisher so that can help narrow it down to the companies that you associate with quality.  Good indie games will need something else to grab my attention obviously but that's kind of a the case with anything indie in general.  Games like that get on my radar from word of mouth and good reviews on sites that I frequent.

On that note Deku Deals will show you the Metacritic score for a game on it's main page as well which makes it easier to spot good titles.  Nintendo would do well to learn from that site on how to redesign their eShop layout.  Now having a third party web site alternative to the proper eShop doesn't give Nintendo an excuse to not offer something better, but it exists and if you're aware of it but don't use it you're suffering for no reason.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Year in Review 2023

« on: December 15, 2023, 12:17:40 PM »

My top one was Tears of the Kingdom with 260 or so hours.  It's funny looking at the month-by-month breakdown.  January and February was Pokemon, March was Chaos;Head, April was SMT V (which I've been playing on-and-off for a while now) and then May it's Zelda and that remains until the end of the year.  It's crazy to think of one game dominating so much of my play time.

Another amusing trend was seeing my total time drop significantly starting in September.  The reason is obvious - football.  Typically Sunday afternoon is a good time for me to play videogames but with the NFL eating up that time instead I lose significant hours in the later months.

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TalkBack / Re: Entertainment Software Association Officially Ends Efforts To Revive E3

« on: December 13, 2023, 05:36:41 PM »

It's odd to see something die that used to be such a big deal but has become so irrelevant that I don't care that it died.  Really it died years ago but in a gradual way.  It wasn't like a quick pull of the plug.  20 years ago if E3 died that would have seriously bummed me out.  But E3 isn't really what was exciting, at least for someone like myself that didn't attend it, it was new game announcements and hands-on reports of the demos for upcoming releases.  These days Nintendo Directs handle the announcements and I'm usually looking for demos I can download pre-release.  If I have to resort to reading someone else's impressions, I'm disappointed.  It's very easy for the general public to experience from the comfort of their home what E3 used to be like for the attendees.  It's really up to the publishers if they're willing to offer a demo and at what point they want to reveal their upcoming game.

Though I do occasionally look at my old Gamepro issue from 1996 that covered that year's E3.  Of course that's the big N64 rollout.  That was the best way to get that info in those days and it's nice to look back, but it just isn't a model that makes sense anymore.

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General Gaming / Re: What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

« on: November 30, 2023, 11:22:45 AM »

Strider 2

Picked this up a while back when the PS3 store was closing as I grabbed a couple PS1 games that are expensive in the retro market.  I beat it in about an hour and not because I'm so talented but because the game has unlimited continues that plop you back into the action as if nothing happened.  The game still has a ranking for how you did in each level (I got a nice 'E' on every one) so there is some objective for avoiding dying.

I still had a lot of fun though.  I have the original Strider on the Genesis and the arcade version in Capcom Classics Collection but I'm not very good at it.  I play the arcade one more because I have unlimited continues as I struggle to get to level 2 in the Genesis version.  Strider is very much a set-piece game with all sorts of cool bosses and action sequences and there is a lot of fun to be had in just experiencing it.  I'm not going to take the time to get good at it so the unlimited continues is almost a feature for me, to just experience the game.  Ideally they should have let you restrict it though and set the amount of continues you want.

Something I couldn't help but notice is how the whole presentation is a great representation of what was cool during the PS1 era.  Teenage me would have been all over this.  As a result it created a sense of nostalgia, not for the specific game because I didn't play it at the time, but for the time period.  The graphics also add to that as it uses 2D sprites on a 3D background.  This doesn't really look that good and it looks old and dated, but again I find it has a certain charm to it.  Blocky 8-bit sprites eventually became an intentional aesthetic and I feel like 32-bit polygons have that potential as well.  PS2/Gamecube era polygons look too similar to present day games so they seem just like a lower res version but 32/64 bit polygons look distinct.

Now in terms of the ending, well aside from defeating the bad guy I really couldn't tell you what happened.  The bosses have a few lines of dialog when they appear but it's in Japanese with no sub-titles so I have no clue what they said.

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General Gaming / Re: What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

« on: November 15, 2023, 12:12:10 PM »

So over the weekend I beat Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.  So it took me about six months and this was pretty much the only thing I played on Switch, aside from the odd demo here and there and little bit of Addams Family pinball.  I didn't 100% the game but unlike Breath of the Wild I actually did complete every shrine.  I wasn't originally thinking of doing so but realized as I got close to the end game that I was only a few shrines away so I gave it a go.  Had to resort to a map to find the last one though as it was in a cave I had visited at some point but gone past it and forgotten about it.  It was a Shrine quest that some person gives you but for whatever reason I never talked to that person so it wasn't in my Adventure Log.

Ending wise, it's Zelda so it's pretty much just saved the day, everything's great, etc.  The experience of playing the game is where the enjoyment comes from in Zelda, less the story.  My brother had beat the game months before and had warned me about the last boss battle and then he sat dumbfounded on the couch as I almost effortlessly beat it.  He noticed I used a defensive approach while he's more offensive and it seems that my approach was the better one.

This is one of the best games I've ever played but I will say I was getting bored by the end of it and ready to play other things.  The game is maybe a little too big or would benefit from taking breaks in playing it so everything freshens up each time.  Or just don't go for every shrine I suppose.  I was worried that the re-used map from Breath of the Wild would be a problem, but it isn't really and having played both games it is fun to see how things have changed.  But a third game using this map would be overkill.  They had their one chance to recycle things and have it not seem like a cop-out.  Though it does result in a strange situation where I feel like this is the better game but it works best if you're familiar with first game.  So you have the play the weaker first title and if you were to play them both back-to-back it would probably be a slog.  You need a few years between them.

My favourite part of this game that made it better?  Weapon Fusion.  The constant breaking of weapons was such a pain in the first game and while the feature is still here, the ability to fuse weapons with other items makes it fun.  The fused weapons tend to have a longer lifespan and the customizations gives it more of a strategic element.  I think it "fixed" the breaking weapons concept.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces Development Of Live-Action Zelda Movie

« on: November 07, 2023, 07:53:21 PM »

20 years ago I would have been thrilled to see a Zelda movie.  Today? Eh, Hollywood blockbusters aren't made for me anymore.  I'm just not the target audience.  I see nothing but CG and self-referential quips that appeal to younger generations and it just doesn't appeal to me.  But I'm not really bothered by that either.  As long as the Zelda games remain good, that's all that matters to me.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: The OFFICIAL Big N rumor thread *bring your own salt*

« on: October 11, 2023, 11:46:44 AM »

That's the same pricing as the PS5 which is a little expensive for my tastes.  I'll be waiting for sales or price drops if it's $400 for the digital-only model, which wouldn't be the one I would get.

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TalkBack / Re: John Riccitello

« on: October 10, 2023, 11:44:38 AM »

When Unity backed down on the original idea there were theories that the current model was what they really wanted and that they came up with the ridiculous one as a tactic to "compromise" to what they were really aiming for.  If that was their plan all along then I don't think we would see Riccitello gone.  It looks like it was what it appeared to be, where upper management came up with a ridiculously greedy pricing structure with all sorts of logistics issues and potential legal issues and figured everyone would bend to it, but they didn't and the company's whole future is almost certainly in doubt now.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Unconfirmed(?) FTC Leak: MS hoping to buy Nintendo (and Valve)

« on: September 20, 2023, 12:03:08 PM »

This doesn't surprise me in any way.  Of course if you're looking to acquire other game companies that Nintendo would be the one you're most interested in.  What would surprise me would be evidence of Nintendo and MS having semi-serious talks about this.

Though if MS was to ever purchase Nintendo I suspect I would be done with current gaming.  Like not even necessarily in a grand "taking a stand" gesture, I just figure they would ruin Nintendo so quickly that I would just lose interest and gradually transition to solely playing retro games.  In a way I wonder if my backlog is my subconscious preparing for that day.

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TalkBack / Re: Another Code Games, Including Wii Title Unreleased In North America, Being Remade For January La

« on: September 14, 2023, 11:42:32 AM »

Lots of a remakes in this Direct, which strongly suggests that the Switch 2 rumours have some weight to them.  Obviously it's easier to fill the backend of a the Switch release schedule with remakes while resources are put towards upcoming Switch 2 games.

But this is one I'm quite interested in because the sequel was never released in North America and I would like to try it out.  Though I probably will wait for a sale of some sort if I can.  The first game was ridiculously short and thankfully I had bought it used for a low price, years after the 3DS had come out.  It was fun but I would have felt cheated if I paid full price.