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91

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Boredom and Nintendo

« Last post by Khushrenada on April 09, 2024, 06:21:10 AM »

Nintendo definitely got deservedly punished with the mini discs and cartridges, fucking over developers in an evil attempt to stop piracy (which is morally correct). But the games themselves were amazing.

Aaaaaaannnnddd, you lost me with that take.



Deservedly punished? Piracy is morally correct? Now I feel bad for agreeing with you about being bored with Nintendo's release schedule of late. 

92

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Boredom and Nintendo

« Last post by Khushrenada on April 09, 2024, 06:14:43 AM »

I think that extra power for the GameCube might be another reason why it gets more fondly remembered for that era. 

It's the entire reason.  Most people get hung up on the fact that the Gamecube was comparable to the competitors while Nintendo has been a generation behind since. 

Maybe for some but I'm as a GameCube fan it took me a long time to even think of that point and only after doing some reflecting on that generation and being reminded of the performance difference in Resident Evil 4 for GameCube vs PS2.

The Switch on the other hand despite being a generation behind, was designed to handle the various game engines that most developers were using, so they could scale their games to run on the Switch much easier.  So even before the Switch gained the massive sales it did, many third parties where able to have games ready for the system even if they didn't have much faith in it because it was easier to port games for it then they could back in the Gamecube era.  And then when the Switch gained the massive sales it did, we started seeing ports of some of the more popular titles from the PS4 era because the hardware once again allowed for such a thing.

This is why when I've seen comments from some Gamecube fans saying the Gamecube was the last Nintendo system to have good third party support I have to roll my eyes so hard they literally fall out of my head.  The Gamecube was still Nintendo designing hardware for their own developers without a thought to third parties.  The Switch on the other hand was the first Nintendo system actually designed with third party support in mind and as a result, has by far the best third party support in Nintendo history.

I would have to disagree with you a little bit on this. I think you are misremembering the Switch's first year. Switch had a small launch line-up. Third party retail titles when it launched were Just Dance 2017, Skylanders: Imagination and Super Bomberman R. Third party retail titles from launch (Mar. 3) to end of June were The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+, Has Been Heroes, Fast RMX, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Rime, Disgaea 5 Complete, Redout, and Dragon Quest Heroes 1 & 2. That doesn't seem like a lot of third parties having their games ready for the console. It wasn't until the end of 2017 that you saw bigger name third party titles like DOOM, Skyrim, WWE 2K18, L.A. Noire and even Sonic Forces. I commented on it in the past but Bethesda actually releasing games on a Nintendo system really helped change the third party narrative with Nintendo systems. I do agree that Nintendo did seem to rethink their hardware design by making a system that would be much easier for third parties to port their games to but I also think that third parties still waited awhile to see how the Switch launch turned out before deciding if they would actually bother with the system or not. Nintendo really carried the Switch in that first year and the effort was noticed. I made a thread at the time that 2017 might be Nintendo's best year ever for quality software released. Nintendo carried that momentum of Breath of the Wild and kept the Switch selling so that there was no collapse of system sales after the launch window like the Wii U and 3DS experienced.

Even during the 2017 summer with Switch selling hot, third parties were reluctant about bringing software over. Famously, Cliff Bleszinski said he didn't think he could port the game Lawbreakers to the Switch because "I think the hardest part with the Switch is the controls. Look at the game that we have right now, and we just literally by the skin of our teeth put the entire game and the control pad that the PlayStation has. That means that we could probably make it work for the Xbox One in someway, right? But if you’re looking at the Switch the base controller that’s on the unit, it doesn’t have as many buttons." You'd see comments still of developers unsure about the Switch's ability to run their games that they were putting on PS4 and XBox One or saying that maybe if enough people ask them to on Twitter or something to show there is demand then maybe they'll think about porting something.

Again, Bethesda ended a lot of those excuses but I do wonder if they would have decided against releasing stuff if Switch had slowed down in sales. But by basically showing that it was duplicating Wii level sales, that seemed to get third parties to start taking the system more seriously and you began to see a result of that in 2018. That's when third parties started showing up which is good as Nintendo had to start looking at ports and other ways to fill in their software lineup as their development teams started anew after all their 2017 stuff. They had Smash Bros. which they used to keep up the hype and excitement. Yet it may have ended up being a bit beneficial as it did allow third party software to get more of a spotlight and perhaps get better sales than it might have had it released during the system's early launch. Even though they were old, previous Final Fantasy games getting ported to a Nintendo system in 2019 was another big signal that third parties might now be viewing the Switch different from past consoles. Yet, why couldn't Square have had ports of Final Fantasy VII or FFX ready for launch? Did it really need to take them two years to figure out how to port those games? Porting games may have been easier but it took awhile for third parties to actually take the Switch seriously and do it. Nintendo was further aided in the slow growth and momentum of the PS5 and XBox series X. With third parties releasing games that also had PS4 and XBox One versions to try because of the smaller userbases and expense of development for titles on those system in their first few years, it's kept the Switch as a key piece of the market for a longer time with its large userbase and hardware that they should know pretty well by now.

(And I didn't even get into the whole waste of time that is stuff like cloud versions of games like Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Square still pulling crap when it comes to bringing their games to the Switch. Or ports with issues so that they still run better on consoles three generations ago like the Metal Gear Solid collection. It's crap like that which can make third party support seem better on a console like GameCube because while it was a smaller quantity at least the quality was usually pretty good. Or at least, that's how it gets remembered now thanks to forgetting the bad and remembering the good that comes with nostalgia.)

Oh and Gamecube fans are complete fucking hypocrite when you praise games like Luigi's Mansion 1, Wind Waker, Paper Mario TTYD, but then turn your nose at the recently released Princess Peach Showtime.  Quite a few of these highly praised Gamecube titles were incredible easy game, and yet the same people we now praise these games, say they have no interest in the recent Princess Peach Showtime because it looks too easy.  Give me a fucking break.

Seriously, this is why I have no respect for opinions like this.  This are the very definition of peak nostalgia blinding people.  Seriously, if Princess Peach Showtime was released on the Gamecube 20 years ago, the same people who refuse to play it now because it's an easy looking game, would be praising it as a masterpiece like they do to many of these extremely easy Gamecube era games.

I don't know who these GameCube fans are that you keep encountering with those crap opinions. I will say that since Super Mario Wonder, Princess Peach: Showtime is the only Nintendo game that has been released or announced that I actually want to play and is the type of software that I wish they were releasing more of. I absolutely agree that it reminds me a bit of the GameCube era of trying to do something new with their IP in a sort of spinoff way like Luigi's Mansion or Wario World or Battalion Wars. It's rather annoying to me to see you speak of GameCube as having written off something like Princess Peach when I've never done that and makes it seem like you don't know what you are talking about or are just making things up when you label all such fans as one. Perhaps not your intention but it creates a disconnect for me when reading your posts with the phrasing that way.

It's Princess Peach that actually is why I agreed about having the same feeling of boredom that Dinar87 was expressing. Let's go with August 2023 as a starting point. When I think of the period from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024 and Nintendo developed software for the Switch that instantly appealed to me or stood out, I can only think of two titles which are Wonder and Showtime. That's a whole year in which Nintendo released just two games I'm excited to play for Switch. I had to look up to check what I might be forgetting as everything just seemed to be ports or remasters like Super Mario RPG. There was Detective Pikachu Returns and WarioWare: Move it!. Both are games I'll likely pick up when the price is right for me but they aren't big motivators to make me excited about the current state of Nintendo releases. I also wish I could just buy the Wii Another Code game that didn't get released in NA rather than both games but that's still a game that was made for Wii and not Switch. Now, if you want to say I'm being selective and if I moved back my timeline to include July 2023 which had Pikmin 4 then go ahead and shift the date so that there are now three top Switch games instead of two but I don't think it's great that a company like Nintendo can only put out about three fresh games in a year. Moreover, we still don't know how Nintendo is planning on padding out the rest of this year. If the rumours are true that the Switch 2 will be 2025 then Nintendo's could be very boring for over a year and a half. Save us, Professor Layton! I really need you now to give the Switch some life. It's not quite a Nintendo franchise but it feels like it sometimes.

93

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Downloads - April 11, 2024

« Last post by Khushrenada on April 09, 2024, 04:42:53 AM »

When you have the opportunity to end a monster heel's title run at 666 days, you effing DO it.

I do not understand that reference.

94

General Gaming / Re: The Great(?) Video Game Spreadsheet Project: Year 32 Challenge!

« Last post by Evan_B on April 08, 2024, 09:04:21 PM »

Week 28: Current Weighted Top Twenty (as of 4/8/2024):
VVVVVV (4.47)
Roller Coaster Tycoon 2 (4.42)
UNSIGHTED (4.41)
Crawl (4.36)
Paper Mario TTYD (4.35)
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (4.3)
The Swapper (4.28)
Inscryption (4.25)
Donkey Kong (1994) (4.25)
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Deluxe) (4.23)
Crystal Project (4.23)
Dandara (4.21)
Mr. Driller Drill Land (4.21)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (4.19)
ARMS (4.19)
Skwish (4.17)
Tetris Effect Connected (4.16)
Kirby's Air Ride (4.15)
Pick Pack Pup (4.12)
Toree 2 (4.12)
Small games... good?

I'm really happy to have played a number of smaller titles that have allowed me to feel that I'm still progressing in my goals while also tackling larger projects. I have been working away at an "analysis" article that requires some scrutiny of a previously-played title, so in the meantime, ticking some games off of my backlog thanks to brief gameplay experiences has been a nice balancing act.

With that said, I guess I finally feel confident in saying "here for a good time, not a long time" is an adage that I can get behind, as I've found many of these shorter games to be highly impactful and memorable.
Donut County (3.82) - Loved
Entering into the top 100, Donut County is amazing. It's probably one of the easiest recommendations I could make to a potential game enthusiast of any age. Funny writing, great aesthetics, and novel little twists that keep the experience fresh in addition to brisk and lovely. A quickly digested experience, but absolutely worth it.

Paradise Killer (3.26) - Loved
This is a weird one, because as much as I really, really love the writing and world-building of this game, I think it's a bit of a mess from a design standpoint. If everything means something, this game is actually harmed by its excess- excess in collectibles, in dialogue options, in an open-world that has way too much stuffed inside it, yet still feels a bit too sterile and large for its own good. But man, what a ride. It's so satisfying... except for the one random missable secret that blows the entire plot wide open and is hidden behind heaps of alternative dialogue. Also, amazing soundtrack, but pretty terrible sound mixing, to the point where you're constantly being bombarded by irritating sound effects for doing nothing other than exploring. Such a mixed bag of good and bad, but the incredible amount of personality the game possesses helps it win out in the end.

Sonic Superstars (2.55) - Hated
Hell is playing a Sonic game in 2024.

Oom (3.91) - Loved
Another game entering into the top 100 with ease, this is proof that a simple concept and novel controls can a fun and engaging game make. Oom is rhythmic, but sometimes its exploratory. You don't always need the music in order to find success, but it can help. What also helps is the very granular control options provided by the crank, which is really the selling point of the game overall. It comes together very well even though some rooms feel a little bit redundant. Just a tiny bit.

95

General Gaming / Re: 4th Annual NWR Four on Four

« Last post by Evan_B on April 08, 2024, 08:01:34 PM »

I'm obviously already chronicling my backlog odyssey in another thread, but my Four on Four for this April is as follows:

Oom on Playdate. After a hearty recommendation on the NWR Discord and picking both it and Mars After Midnight up, I can say that this one grips me far more as a first impression- no hate on MAM, but as a game concept its a bit more laid back and abstract, and I can appreciate that, but it feels like more of a slow burn.

On Switch, I think I'm going to split the difference between Signalis and Frogun, the latter of which I already started and assume won't take me very long. Sginalis is a game I've been itching to play for a while, although the first game complete screen is apparently not the end of the full experience.

On SNES/Analogue, I'm going to set my sights on Dark Half, an obscure JRPG that received a translation patch for those unable to get their hands on its Japan-only release. It's known for having gameplay that covers both sides of a demonic conflict, with the unabashedly evil demon lord comprising half of the playable experience. It's fun consuming souls, trust me.

I'm going to end my selections with the 3DS, namely Bye Bye BoxBoy!. A simple puzzle platformer that can likely be easily completed within the month, and BoxBoy is generally fun, if not a bit one-note. Trying to stay realistic with what I can complete in the span of a month.

96

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Boredom and Nintendo

« Last post by Evan_B on April 08, 2024, 07:23:12 PM »

But if they’ll be fine, why worry?

97

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« Last post by Enner on April 08, 2024, 01:29:50 PM »

Japan Numbers!

https://www.installbaseforum.com/forums/threads/media-create-sales-week-13-2024-mar-25-mar-31.2553/

TOP GAME: 01./01. [NSW] Princess Peach: Showtime! <ACT> (Nintendo) {2024.03.22} (¥5.980) - 27.258 / 104.820 <40-60%> (-65%)

Media Create Sales: Week 13, 2024 (Mar 25 - Mar 31)

01./02. [NSW] Princess Peach: Showtime! <ACT> (Nintendo) {2024.03.22} (¥5.980)
02./03. [PS5] Rise of the Ronin # <ADV> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2024.03.22} (¥8.164)
03./05. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980)
04./00. [NSW] Winning Post 10 2024 # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2024.03.28} (¥8.800)
05./00. [NSW] Super Mario Bros. Wonder <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.10.20} (¥5.980)

Top 5

NSW - 4
PS5 - 1

(Taiwan)
01./01. [PS5] Dragon's Dogma II <ACT> (Capcom) {2024.03.22}
02./02. [PS5] Rise of the Ronin <ADV> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2024.03.22}
03./00. [NSW] Super Mario Bros. Wonder <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.10.20}
04./03. [NSW] Princess Peach: Showtime! <ACT> (Nintendo) {2024.03.22}
05./05. [PS5] Final Fantasy VII Rebirth <RPG> (Square Enix) {2024.02.29}

Top 5

PS5 - 3
NSW - 2

(South Korea)
01./02. [NSW] Princess Peach: Showtime! <ACT> (Nintendo) {2024.03.22}
02./05. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.03.20}
03./04. [NSW] Super Mario Bros. Wonder <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.10.20}
04./00. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports <SPT> (Nintendo) {2022.04.29}
05./00. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.12.15}

Top 5

NSW - 5


Famitsu Sales: Week 13, 2024 (Mar 25 - Mar 31)

01./01. [NSW] Princess Peach: Showtime! <ACT> (Nintendo) {2024.03.22} (¥5.980) - 27.258 / 104.820 <40-60%> (-65%)
02./03. [PS5] Rise of the Ronin # <ADV> (Sony Interactive Entertainment) {2024.03.22} (¥8.164) - 20.139 / 84.785 <80-100%> (-69%)
03./00. [NSW] Winning Post 10 2024 # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2024.03.28} (¥8.800) - 12.845 / NEW <40-60%>
04./05. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe <RCE> (Nintendo) {2017.04.28} (¥5.980) - 10.432 / 5.768.608 <80-100%> (+12%)
05./02. [PS5] Dragon's Dogma II <ACT> (Capcom) {2024.03.22} (¥8.990) - 9.172 / 77.764 <80-100%> (-87%)
06./06. [NSW] Super Mario Bros. Wonder <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.10.20} (¥5.980) - 8.163 / 1.803.747 <80-100%> (+1%)
07./00. [PS5] Winning Post 10 2024 # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2024.03.28} (¥9.800) - 6.733 / NEW <40-60%>
08./10. [NSW] Minecraft # <ADV> (Microsoft Game Studios) {2018.06.21} (¥3.600) - 6.618 / 3.483.557 <80-100%> (+1%)
09./12. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.03.20} (¥5.980) - 6.411 / 7.729.183 <80-100%> (+4%)
10./11. [NSW] Splatoon 3 <ACT> (Nintendo) {2022.09.09} (¥5.980) - 6.172 / 4.264.330 <80-100%> (-3%)
11./09. [NSW] Mario Vs. Donkey Kong <PZL> (Nintendo) {2024.02.16} (¥4.980) - 5.941 / 137.369 <80-100%> (-15%)
12./13. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu World: The Earth Spins with Hope! <TBL> (Konami) {2023.11.16} (¥6.300) - 5.289 / 1.023.124 <80-100%> (-10%)
13./08. [PS5] Final Fantasy VII Rebirth <RPG> (Square Enix) {2024.02.29} (¥8.980) - 4.840 / 310.596 <80-100%> (-32%)
14./17. [NSW] Nintendo Switch Sports # <SPT> (Nintendo) {2022.04.29} (¥4.980) - 4.802 / 1.299.683 <80-100%> (+15%)
15./00. [PS4] Winning Post 10 2024 # <SLG> (Koei Tecmo) {2024.03.28} (¥8.800) - 4.702 / NEW <40-60%>
16./14. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate # <FTG> (Nintendo) {2018.12.07} (¥7.200) - 4.633 / 5.476.270 <80-100%> (-2%)
17./18. [NSW] Pokemon Scarlet / Violet # <RPG> (Pokemon Co.) {2022.11.18} (¥5.980) - 4.310 / 5.320.999 <80-100%> (+4%)
18./19. [NSW] Mario Party Superstars <ETC> (Nintendo) {2021.10.29} (¥5.980) - 3.160 / 1.419.708 <80-100%> (+6%)
19./20. [NSW] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics <ETC> (Nintendo) {2020.06.05} (¥3.980) - 2.839 / 1.265.195 <80-100%> (+3%)
20./21. [NSW] Pikmin 4 <ACT> (Nintendo) {2023.07.21} (¥5.980) - 2.595 / 1.194.882 <80-100%> (-6%)
21./23. [NSW] Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 [Special Price] <PZL> (Sega) {2022.11.17} (¥3.500) - 2.519 / 148.943 <80-100%> (+5%)
22./22. [NSW] Super Mario Party # <ETC> (Nintendo) {2018.10.05} (¥5.980) - 2.480 / 2.270.837 <80-100%> (-1%)
23./29. [NSW] Luigi's Mansion 3 <ACT> (Nintendo) {2019.10.31} (¥5.980) - 2.088 / 967.855 <80-100%> (+11%)
24./30. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure # <HOB> (Nintendo) {2019.10.18} (¥7.980) - 2.052 / 3.538.329 <80-100%> (+10%)
25./26. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom # <ADV> (Nintendo) {2023.05.12} (¥7.200) - 2.047 / 1.970.381 <80-100%> (-7%)
26./00. [NSW] Super Mario RPG <RPG> (Nintendo) {2023.11.17} (¥5.980) - 2.034 / 473.939 <80-100%>
27./27. [NSW] Jinsei Game for Nintendo Switch <TBL> (Takara Tomy) {2023.10.06} (¥6.000) - 1.980 / 197.995 <80-100%> (+0%)
28./24. [PS5] Unicorn Overlord # <SLG> (Atlus) {2024.03.08} (¥7.980) - 1.839 / 34.220 <80-100%> (-23%)
29./25. [NSW] Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku <HOB> (Imagineer) {2024.03.07} (¥6.345) - 1.788 / 25.220 <60-80%> (-22%)
30./00. [NSW] Hakuoki: Shinkai - Yuugi Roku - Taishitachi no Daienkai for Nintendo Switch <Hakuoki: Yuugi Roku \ Hakuoki: Yuugi Roku Ni - Matsuri Hayashi to Taishitachi> # <ADV> (Idea Factory) {2024.03.28} (¥6.500) - 1.750 / NEW <60-80%>

Top 30

NSW - 24
PS5 - 5
PS4 - 1

HARDWARE

Code: [Select]

+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|System |  This Week |  Last Week |  Last Year |     YTD    |  Last YTD  |     LTD     |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
| NSW # |     57.533 |     60.828 |     56.543 |    721.741 |    936.351 |  32.508.397 |
| PS5 # |     20.846 |     27.788 |     34.677 |    494.706 |    858.644 |   5.459.563 |
| XBS # |      1.376 |      1.360 |        621 |     29.013 |     36.401 |     569.120 |
| PS4 # |        679 |        250 |      1.540 |     10.003 |     21.570 |   9.501.062 |
| 3DS # |          6 |          9 |         29 |        162 |      1.395 |  24.601.092 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  ALL  |     80.440 |     90.235 |     93.410 |  1.255.625 |  1.854.361 |  73.832.140 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
|  PS5  |     18.272 |     24.183 |     28.654 |    414.832 |    726.546 |   4.713.002 |
| PS5DE |      2.574 |      3.605 |      6.023 |     79.874 |    132.098 |     746.561 |
| XBS X |        938 |        958 |        312 |     17.690 |     11.286 |     262.674 |
| XBS S |        438 |        402 |        309 |     11.323 |     25.115 |     306.446 |
|NSWOLED|     42.957 |     46.851 |     38.880 |    530.622 |    571.801 |   6.958.780 |
| NSW L |      8.302 |      7.826 |      7.304 |    119.631 |    160.531 |   5.793.705 |
|  NSW  |      6.274 |      6.151 |     10.359 |     71.488 |    204.019 |  19.755.912 |
|  PS4  |        679 |        250 |      1.540 |     10.003 |     21.570 |   7.925.339 |
|n-2DSLL|          6 |          9 |         29 |        162 |      1.395 |   1.206.147 |
+-------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+-------------+
Princess Peach holds on to the top spot as Winning Post 10 2024 releases.

98

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Boredom and Nintendo

« Last post by Dinar87 on April 08, 2024, 09:47:27 AM »

I don't argue that we need Metroid Prime 4, but my reasons are more selfish than anything. I think, with the approaching midway point in the year, we'll get a more tangible look at what is in store for us for the Switch's final holiday season. Whether that's more ports or MP4 as a last hurrah (similar to the Wii U era, where Nintendo seemed committed to following through with their claims of "we're making a Zelda for this console, trust us") will be up to how much pressure Nintendo feels at this point to maintain momentum for Switch or keep their most loyal customers ravenous for the Switch successor.

Nintendo could easily give us nothing this year and still be fine. So my worry is because of this, games like metroid prime 4 (even though it's rumored to be already finished) will be made to wait longer to coincide with the launch of the next nintendo console.

99

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Boredom and Nintendo

« Last post by Evan_B on April 07, 2024, 02:48:11 PM »

I don't argue that we need Metroid Prime 4, but my reasons are more selfish than anything. I think, with the approaching midway point in the year, we'll get a more tangible look at what is in store for us for the Switch's final holiday season. Whether that's more ports or MP4 as a last hurrah (similar to the Wii U era, where Nintendo seemed committed to following through with their claims of "we're making a Zelda for this console, trust us") will be up to how much pressure Nintendo feels at this point to maintain momentum for Switch or keep their most loyal customers ravenous for the Switch successor.

100

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Boredom and Nintendo

« Last post by Dinar87 on April 07, 2024, 05:56:47 AM »

We need Metroid Prime 4 this year. A lot of people say Nintendo is saving it for crossgen but that doesn't make sense when probably the next 3d mario and other big games will also be releasing, then Prime 4 gets no attention.

Metroid Prime 3 was IIRC the first Wii game announced and apparently had good marketing at the time, yet it got destroyed by all the other more popular games releasing at that time.