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Messages - Kairon

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1
Quote
But here’s the thing, beyond that single player bug in Battlefront 2, if you’re playing offline the game is largely fine.

This is me and I'm praying that this bears true as I've just purchased it from the eShop this morning. ;D

2
TalkBack / Why StreetPass Functionality Would Make Sense for the Switch 2
« on: February 20, 2024, 03:14:16 PM »

There's multiple reasons why the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass feature should return in the Nintendo Switch successor.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/66333/why-streetpass-functionality-would-make-sense-for-the-switch-2

Until Nintendo reveals the Switch 2 there's plenty of space to speculate about what they'll do for their next act. It'll be a more powerful system on some level - that alone is a prolific topic of speculation - but for a company with such a unique history of hardware innovations/changes, how exactly will their next console differentiate itself from the current Switch console? And with the success of the Switch, should they deviate from its basic concept at all?

Actually, Nintendo could do both - give their new system a unique gameplay feature and not risk upsetting their current paradigm - if they took one simple step: bring back their StreetPass functionality from last decade's 3DS handheld system.

StreetPass was a unique feature for the Nintendo 3DS (and its later variants) that allowed two systems in Sleep Mode to exchange data without their owners explicitly initiating the exchange. For example, two people with 3DS handhelds could casually walk past each other with no interaction and later on, when they woke up their 3DS systems, they'd find new data within their games from each other that could result in new experiences.

This resulted in some unique gameplay experiences, such as passing along basic profile information, trading in-game collectibles, unlocking bonus items or abilities in each other's games, having asynchronous battles between their game characters, or whatever else developers could think up.

Looking ahead, letting two Switch 2 systems do this, instead of two Nintendo 3DS systems, actually makes sense for a variety of reasons:

1. Nintendo LOVES to resurrect old ideas for new products

Bringing back StreetPass for the Switch 2 would fit in perfectly with Nintendo's product history. This is a company that enjoys carrying forward past features or ideas into new products.

The Nintendo DS shares its clamshell dual screen design with some of the 1980's Nintendo Game & Watch handhelds, the Wii's Mii avatars have a history stretching back to the NES/Famicom console, and that little IR camera in the right Joy-Con can be traced back at least as far as the Game Boy Color.

2. StreetPass won't require any radical new hardware be added to the Switch 2

Adding any new hardware will cost money, money sorely needed elsewhere to either pay for beefier computational power or better saved simply to keep costs down. Additional hardware might also complicate the design for a portable system (assuming the Switch 2 resembles the current Switch in this regard) that needs to make smart use of every cubic centimeter.

But StreetPass is just a novel way of using the existing Wi-Fi capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS. No extra hardware needed, no extra cost in the Switch 2's bill of materials.

3. StreetPass could improve public awareness of the Switch 2

Everyone loved showing off their Switch when it had just released, it was the new hotness. We assume the Switch 2 will be similarly portable, but that just isn't that new these days.

However, if people start pulling out their Switch 2s to check their StreetPass activity, that would make the Switch successor visible in public spaces in a way the first Switch never was. And beyond just organic visibility, enthusiast spaces would ratchet this effect up significantly. People are still bringing their 3DS systems to conventions and fan gatherings, and the Switch 2 could receive a boost among hardcore fans who enjoy this aspect of connection.

4. StreetPass could encourage frequent play of the Switch 2

Nintendo has consistently been keeping an eye on recurring play among their console owners. With the Wii they used WiiConnect24 to send updates and messages to Wii Consoles on a frequent basis, using a glowing disc slot light to entice players to at least start up their system, check their notifications, and at least consider playing a video game. Similarly, Nintendo tracks annual players in their investor performance presentations, so the number of people actively engaging with their game consoles, not just owning them, is a big deal. No one wants to sell 100 million consoles that simply collect dust.

StreetPass would be another arrow in Nintendo's quiver to entice players to boot up their Switch 2's. There's no silver bullet to make someone play every single day of their life (aside from, possibly, nonstop gaming nirvana), but in a world of mobile notifications, streaming content, and social media, a quick curious check about whether you might have inadvertently walked by a mystery Switch 2 owner could help Nintendo's case.

5. Nintendo Online accounts could benefit from an internet-based StreetPass With Friends

Another of Nintendo's goals is to give players every reason possible to subscribe to Nintendo Online. It's a little cynical, but Nintendo could leverage StreetPass to add an additional reason to sign up: daily StreetPass exchanges with friends over the internet, not just by being physically near each other.

The Nintendo 3DS had something similar to this called StreetPass Relay: instead of needing to be in the same place at the same time as another StreetPass user, if you brought your Streetpass to a "Streetpass Relay" enabled Wi-Fi Access Point (for example, a McDonald's public Wi-Fi network) then you'd get StreetPass data for other players who had also walked by a StreetPass Relay point at some time.

The Switch 2 could tweak this idea into simply giving you limited daily StreetPass data over the internet, and focus it on your friends in Nintendo's online account system. This could maintain the sense of connection between friends who live far away from each other, provide StreetPass functionality to those who don't travel with their Switch but instead leave it docked to the TV all the time, and provide an additional reason to sign up for Nintendo's basic online subscriptions.

6. Even if the Switch 2 doesn't launch with StreetPass, it might be capable of adding it in later

Remember reason #2? Even if Nintendo launches the Switch 2 without StreetPass, perhaps there's a possibility they can add the functionality in via a firmware update. This relies on the idea that they'd primarily need to update the OS to use the existing Wi-Fi tech in this new way.

Another possibility is StreetPass via both a hardware upgrade/add-on accessory. This wouldn't be unprecedented. When Nintendo came out with Amiibo, the Wii U and New Nintendo 3DS systems had NFC readers built-in to read the Amiibo figure data for Super Smash Bros. and other games. But earlier models of the 3DS didn't have Amiibo readers, and instead Nintendo sold an accessory for the older systems to read the Amiibo figure data and pass it on to those devices.

A similar setup could be possible for the Switch 2. Down the line, Nintendo could introduce StreetPass as a feature to newer Switch 2 hardware revisions (a Switch 2 Pro, for example) and if older Switch 2's couldn't gain this feature by simple firmware upgrade, Nintendo could sell a "StreetPass Passport" device that could do the job of collecting StreetPass data over a passive wireless connection, and then syncing up with older Switch 2 hardware to pass this along. This passport could even take a compact form suitable for your pocket or purse making it super convenient to exchange StreetPass data away from your console.

Even if it came at a later date, I think StreetPass could be an added feature for the Switch 2, and Nintendo always seems to enjoy having another accessory to sell.

Conclusion

Now, will the Switch 2 bring back StreetPass? That's the big question and no one knows that as of right now. Frankly, this is all speculation, and we are all currently trapped in that liminal space of feeling in our bones that a Switch successor is approaching, but with practically zero official confirmed information about it. At some point, hopefully soon, Nintendo will release us from purgatory. But if they did bring back StreetPass for the Switch 2 it would make a lot of sense. And it would make this lifelong Nintendo fan, and Nintendo 3DS Ambassador, very happy.


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TalkBack / Palia Hands-On Preview
« on: December 15, 2023, 08:00:00 AM »

This free-to-play cozy MMORPG manages to fit all of its farming, hunting, crafting, cooking, and more on the Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/65771/palia-hands-on-preview

When Palia was announced during the June 21 Nintendo Direct this year I immediately took note. A new MMO that focused on crafting, farming, and a cozy world? And that I could play for free on my Nintendo Switch? Sign me up! Sign up all my friends too!

If you’re not familiar with Palia, it’s what I would introduce as a “Cozy MMO”. Think World of WarCraft, but instead of jumping into conflict and chaos, players awaken in a magical fantasy world and farm, cook, harvest, fish, mine, catch bugs, make furniture, build their house, and hunt.

The closest you come to combat is chasing after deer with a bow and arrow. The closest you come to a “guild raid” is a 2 hour long cooperative cooking session at another player’s farm house with everyone operating different cooking stations and sharing their ingredients (I speak from personal experience: cake parties are intense). The endgame is building and decorating your house and farm (and romancing your favorite NPC). Server chat consists of players helping each other track down rare resources and roving magical creatures. And when multiple people chop down a tree, mine a metal, or hunt a magical creature, they ALL get the reward for it.

Palia is a game that intentionally wants to build positive interactions and easy-going-vibes for its community.But how do you cram all that Massively Multiplayer Online RPG game into a portable Switch experience? Apparently it CAN be done! There are rough edges, but the full Palia experience is here, including cross play with players gaming on PC.

When it comes to controls, Palia takes full advantage of ALL the buttons on the Switch. You can do almost everything you could with a mouse and keyboard (though being relegated to the Switch’s software keyboard for chat means you’ll never be a “Chatty Cathy”) but it’ll take a little getting used to and there are UI conveniences that I do miss, particularly in inventory management. One last gripe I have here versus the PC version is there's no easy way to quickly snap the camera into orientation behind your character.

However, the less fluid controls do have a significant effect on hunting (and to a lesser extent bug-catching) due to moving targets that are actively trying to escape. Palia doesn’t support motion-controlled aiming currently, but the game does attempt to compensate by giving your arrows a sliver of a homing effect to make it easier to connect on near misses. Still, it’s a pity that this isn’t more fluid: hunting in Palia could have a zen all of its own because of the flow involved in approaching, ambushing, and even chasing down prey. (It brings to mind real world persistence hunting where even after you hit your target, you need to be able to continue tracking and following it to finish the job!)

To be honest, I put up with similar control challenges for over 200+ hours with Civilization VI on the Switch just so I could play that game from my bed instead of at my desk, so this may just be par-for-the-course for keyboard-and-mouse to controller conversions.

Where graphics are concerned, Palia is a world full of colorful sights and gentle visuals. During the PC Open Beta I was playing Palia on BELOW minimum spec PC hardware and though I missed out on how pretty the game could be when fully turned up I still had plenty of fun. I’m please to find that the Switch’s graphics feel like a cut above that: improved in some places, but ultimately serviceable with some framerate hiccups around town. In Handheld Mode player character models seemed to have difficulty switching to higher fidelity models quickly enough if they were rapidly approaching, but when Docked this didn't seem as much of an issue. When the world is less busy, populated mostly by trees and animals, or at your own house and plot of land, the graphical issues are far less noticeable.

What actually might be more important no matter how you play Palia is how well the game servers keep up with things. Even playing the PC Open Beta earlier this year there were instances where I would be hunting deer only to see it lag (another player once described it as a “moonwalking” deer), become immune to my arrows in that lagged state, then suddenly warp dozens of feet away to its "actual" position. Additionally, every once in a while I’d lose connection to the servers while playing on my PC.

I occasionally ran into similar issues during my recent Switch play. Whether this is a server-only issue or something compounded by the Switch hardware, it is definitely an area that I hope the developers continue to work on for all players regardless of platform. This is likely the most serious issue that could affect one’s experience playing the game.

So did Singularity 6 deliver when they promised they would bring Palia to Switch? Yes they did! Is there immediate room for improvement? Certainly, and I pray they act on those topics soon. Will I be playing it from my bed and hoping my favorite Twitch streamers start playing this on their Switches too? One hundred percent. After all, my farm is in its infancy, my virtual house is full of clutter, I have a full quest log, and I still haven’t yet decided which character in the game I’m going to try to romance.


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TalkBack / Re: SteamWorld Build Constructing December 1 Switch Release
« on: August 25, 2023, 03:21:47 AM »
Oh boy oh boy! 2023 is such a crazy year for me to allow myself to be peak hyped for playing games again, but it was before and now with this is even more! I LOVED Steamworld Heist! This is going to be Day 1 for me!

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TalkBack / Re: Pikmin 2 (Switch) Review
« on: July 21, 2023, 04:58:53 PM »
While I disagree with your conclusions, I like that this site can hold multiple opinions from a diverse and considerate group of gamers. (Is that a self-aggrandizing pat on the back? I guess it is ;D)

I haven't played the Switch port, but in my own review (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/30899/pikmin-2-wii) of the Wii rerelease I more or less gushed over Pikmin 2 (after sort of ignoring it on the GC to be honest). It could be that pointer controls are a HUGE quality of life improvement that could be missing from this release, or it could be that I'm a sucker for anything co-op and so playing extensive multiplayer both co-op and versus with my brother was a ton of fun.

Or maybe I'm just one of those hardcore fans you're talking about who lapped everything up! There may not be any accounting for taste, after all!

I will admit it IS a little gutting to hear that the product-placement of the original game has been removed though.

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I'm not exactly sure I've seen anything reported from that testimony that outright says Kotick actually KNOWS the Switch Successor's power levels. He could very well be making the same assumptions/forecasts/guess/estimates that we all are here.

Anyways, a lot of the speculation that I've seen up till now does Suggest the "Switch 2" can stretch to PS4 levels, if not in raw marketing numbers at least in what actually shows up on the screen. And the longer we go on without the Successor releasing, the longer technology has to get more inexpensive/more powerful/more efficient.

Because that's what I think is the true thing working against an extremely powerful Switch 2: cost and heat/efficiency of mobile chips.

Inflation and pandemic supply chain shocks definitely isn't helping with the price of electronics, so that's something that'll probably be a headwind for Nintendo reaching the highest target levels. We can only hope that as time goes by, these pressures ease and tech advances in such a way to make the powerful chips that Nintendo might be considering older and, one would hope, cheaper.

And let's not forget that everything a tv-box console has to do, the Switch 2 has to do backwards and in heels (I mean, in a mobile heat limit and off of battery power). So it's not as simple as Nintendo always choosing cheaper less powerful tech, it's also Nintendo has to choose cooler-running, energy-efficient and smaller tech, then perhaps even downclock it the same way they downclocked the Tegra X1 for the Switch.

I DO think the estimate is supportable that the Switch 2 will appear for lay consumers to be a sort of portable Nintendo version of PS4/XB1 power (though under the hood it'll be more nuanced: weaker in Hz and flops, but stronger in modern features?) We have to see how close all this speculation is to reality of course...

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Dear lord, please let Charles Martinet have signed up for residuals on this one.

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TalkBack / Re: I Saw Three Images and I'm Enraged
« on: March 10, 2023, 10:40:24 PM »
I want that out of stock badge for my own.

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Please please PLEASE don't just be another "unprecedented partnership." I really want to play CoD on my Switch!

10
I pre-ordered Bayonetta 3 almost five years ago to lock in the 20% off new games promotion that Amazon has long since retired. Existing pre-orders were grandfathered in. I set the shipping address as my employer since I don't like having any small and expensive deliveries sitting outside my door while I'm at work. One pandemic later, and I'm driving to the office to pick up this game. Amazon requires you to cancel an order to change the shipping address. I wasn't going to do that out of principle; $12 is $12, yo.

Anyway, I'll probably boot this up later and play the intro. I'm committed to completing Spirit Tracks first.

Anyone else pick this up?

This was almost my absolute last Amazon 20% off new games promotion that I've been carrying for years! Ahhh... finally that "open order" screen can be empty once again.

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This means there's hope for Perfect Dark!!!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: DS...the end of porting?
« on: August 12, 2022, 09:26:47 PM »
Wow I don't think I was even on these forums in 2004?!?!?

Edit: omg... I WAS

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Happy 20th Birthday Eternal Darkness
« on: August 05, 2022, 01:08:43 PM »
Does anyone else still have some of the spells embedded in their memory?

Tier pargon pargon Aretak pargon pargon Ulyaoth!


I remember reading about how the magic system was language based and it sounded SUPER cool. In the end it was functionally flavor in terms of actual gameplay importance, but the concept still felt really cool to me about how I could see how the spells were structured instead of being pure gobbledygook and allowed you to discover some things by pure extrapolation.

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TalkBack / Re: Digimon Survive (Switch) Review
« on: August 05, 2022, 12:58:14 PM »
Hmmm... might be time for my first ever Digimon game!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: My Video Game Collection/Museum
« on: July 16, 2022, 09:55:27 PM »
Gumdrops! That's a heck of an awesome way to have it all presented! I can easily imagine that stuff taking up room in a small apartment... all the boxes, all the occupied space... not unlike my current room...

You gotta hope they stop releasing amiibo so you don't need any more shelves there right? I LOVE the pictures, game carts and discs, art, did you know exactly what you were doing once you saw the room or did you experiment with the layout a bit?

Also, if I may ask, where did you find all the various display cabinets you've used? I'm still years away from having the organization and put-together-ness to display anything, but I do dream of sometime in the next couple of years being able to put up a curio cabinet with assorted stuff inside it!

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This game alone makes the N64 Switch Online virtual console offerings a delight for me. I played it when I was in the hospital for a couple days as a kid and it's earned forever a place in my heart because of that.

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It'll be interesting to see Nintendo revisit this in a year. By then they'll have data on exactly how many people took the Expansion Pak upgrade and, IF people vote with their wallets against this product offering, Nintendo will be strongly pressured to either improve the value proposition (adding more systems, games, or features to the expansion pak) or lower the price.

I think Nintendo DOES want to hit a $50-60 annual price for this to bulk up on recurring subscription income (the best kind of income! yummy!), so I think if it came to that they'd be compelled to try to sweeten the pot instead of lowering the price: add the GB and GBA systems, flesh out the game libraries of existing systems as much as they can, throw in MULTIPLE free DLC packs (imagine, for example, if there was a Smash Fighter's Pass Volume 3 and that was promised! Or a Mario Kart 9 DLC?), or come up with some other additive features, like Pokemon Box, Mobile Game bonuses, Better Gold Points Cashback Bonuses, etc.

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Yeah no. I'm not paying an extra $30 a year for a bunch of random N64 & Genesis ROMs for games I probably already own.

If there are enough people like you (and fewer people like me) I hope that either puts a negative price pressure on this product when Nintendo revisits it (probably in a year's time when everyone will be thinking about up/down-grading) or encourages them to add in more and better features for the Expansion Pak.

However, the family plan is still an absolutely amazing deal. I've got 5 people on mine so if we all shared the cost that comes to only $16 a year for each of us for everything listed.

19
I wonder how much the Animal Crossing DLC will cost standalone.

EDIT: OMG Happy Home Paradise costs $24.99 STANDALONE?!?!?!? That's ALMOST the price of the ENTIRE YEAR of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pak upgrade!!!

On subsequent examination Nintendo is obviously sacrificing the Animal Crossing DLC as a price anchor to make the Online Subscription seem like a steal.

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Boy howdy they cost as much as a 1 year subscription to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pak!

As a result, I only bought two T-T

Two N64 Controllers that is. As neat as the Geneses controller is I'd be paying a hefty $49.99 USD for something that isn't very functionally different from other standards controllers out there? At that price, and with no real Genesis nostalgia etched into my soul, I would probably be better served buying my first Pro Controller...

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Games you DON'T want to see come out
« on: September 01, 2021, 04:09:28 AM »
one franchise I really don't wanna see get a new game coming soon is those godforsaken Raving Rabbids....

Hate em, they, Assassin's Creed, & Just Dance killed our boy Rayman.

Just Dance is innocent in this. Great game series and fun for a lot of people at my office.

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Your images are not loading for me.

I'm not sure what changed to break the image links but this looks to be the game's official website:

http://www.mission-in-snowdriftland.com/

Looks like they're prepping for a Kickstarter AND have a FREE 3-level demo on steam!

So I assume that the IP remained in the developer's hands despite Nintendo publishing the game to some extent? That's always nice to hear that creators retain their IP.

I also wonder how/if the advent calendar mechanic is coming back, given that this is no longer a sort of stick marketing ploy but now its own full game.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread
« on: August 14, 2021, 01:48:55 AM »
This just makes me want a Nintendo Land Switch port.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread
« on: July 29, 2021, 07:02:48 PM »
So let's say that the Switch "owns" the majority of the Japan console market for the next couple years, minus a couple PS5 diehards due to unique offerings on Sony's platform. How useful is that to Nintendo is terms of garnering third-party dev support?

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Thanks for this! For some reason I'd completely forgotten the cover accessory existed, so that threw me for a loop! Also, I don't know why I thought this but I was under the misconception that it was actually "launching" this month, lol. A first wave of units coming end of 2021 makes sense, and with just 20,000 units in that bunch it sort of makes sense with the scale of what this is and embracing its niche status.

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