WKE

I have no plans for getting a Switch 2 any time soon, due to there being no must-have games for me on it yet (maybe Prime 4, but I’m happy to just play that on my original Switch).

This game would be a must-have on Switch 2 for me and get me to buy one. Please, make it happen.

Isn’t there a chance this announcement will be related to the themepark plans? If I recall correctly, they always said they wanted the themeparks to be more than just static attractions. They wanted them to be more interactive, to take your switch/3ds there and with that enhance your expercience, be more interactive with the park.

That would certainly be a new way to enjoy games. And themeparks are intended for kids and the young at heart... Plus, plans are to have the parks finished before the 2020 Olympic games, so it would be a good time for a sneak preview.

However, since the parks are only in the US and Japan, it would not make sense to announce this in Europe as well, so... 😕

I’ve started Xenoblade Chronicles 2, so that’s my main gig for the coming months. In between I’ll be working to finish up Paper Mario Color Splash and switching between Splatoon 2 and Kirby Planet Robobot if I feel a bit burnt out and need some simple gaming time to relax.

But even just 2 hours in I’m already loving XC2!!!

Finally managed to finish both Timbleweed Park (awesome!!!) and Fire Emblem Awakening (super!).

Still working on Paper Mario Color Splash and started on Kirby Planet Robobot now. And in between getting some matches and single player levels of Splatoon 2 done.

Planning on picking up both Skyrim and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 at the beginning of December. Those will royally mess up my gaming plans.

I'm currently enyoing Thimbleweed Park very much. Got stuck a few times but usually I manage to find the solutions to the puzzles. On the side I'm trying to get some Paper Mario Color Splash progress in there. Coincidentally, I've also tried to finish up Fire Emblem Awakening again yesterday evening. Almost there, just the last couple of maps...

I'm loving this "HD-2D" style they've used! Looks really beautiful. Hope it looks as well as in this trailer when I try out the demo later tonight. Unless something really puts me off in the demo, this is a sure buy for me.

And in any case, I really, REALLY hope SE will use this style for more upcoming games. To me, this is how you do a "retro" 2D art style with a modern flair.

Wait, I'm confused.

Wasn't the gospel that "the creator's artistic vision is the most important factor" and "no outside influence should change that"?

Where are the cries of "self-censorship"? Where is the indignation that the studio gave into public pressure? We can't let this happen, can't we? Why the praise for a studio that gave into this???

/irony

I find it incredibly funny that certain people claim the Switch library is filled with ports (Wii U, Neo Geo, Steam, mobile) and then in the same breath complain that there is no Virtual Console. Isn't the VC the biggest set of ports there will ever be? 😁

Anyway, I really like the eShop offerings so far. Got a handful of games already and there are many more on my wishlist. Wish I had the time to actually get around to finishing some. (oh, what a luxury problem 😁)

From the original WSJ article (just the title and subtitle, I don't have a subscription to WSJ):

"Nintendo Shipped Switch Consoles by Plane to Quickly Meet High Demand

Company moved back in April to using less-expensive sea freight "

Did the writer of this NL article actually read his source? :/

How does transporting a batch of Switches by plane in March help meeting demand during the launch of Mario Kart 8 DX in any way? That by air shipment was over a month ago... :/

The spokesperson was speaking in past tense, not talking about current batches. Kinda misleading reporting going on here. Or am I missing something?

No, no, no, no, no. All I've read the last couple of weeks is how Nintendo fans are only interested in games. And now all of a sudden we "should have heard" about these "important" other details? We know the eshop will be available. We know the VC will be there at some point (at the latest when the paid on-line service kicks in). And since when is the OS a system selling point!? We want to know these things, but we don't need to know them.

Why is knowing that we'll be getting a nice home and portable system, with some interresting new possibilities and some awesome andsome unique new games. Ot enough for now?

So gonna get this. I really like the aesthetics and it seems like a fun game. Perfect for shorter little distractions in between playsessions for the bigger games.

Okay, these videos sealed the deal for me. I was already intrigued. But seeing now how you can punch around columns to reach an opponent who is hiding confirms to me there's a lot more depth to this than just throwing punches towards your TV.

Gonna get this ASAP (no pre-order, so I hope I can get a Switch and an extra set of Joy-Cons pretty soon after launch).

I'm just confused by a lot of people saying it's a weak launch based on how they think other people might react to the launch. How is that of any concern to you? If it has some things you want at launch, why is that not enough? Why be all worried about what others think? Because you "want Nintendo to succeed"? Then how about proudly saying what you like about the launch instead of spreading a negative narrative based on a perceived and unsubstantiated worry of "others not liking it"?

As for me, I like there's some games that I like and I'm completely down with the concept. Some things are still vague, but I trust things to work out. And if not, then I'll still be happy with the system based on what I already know now.

@Xaessya
Considering this is the same company that for the past 20 years made the whole world enjoy a game that is basically illegal dog-fighting, I'm not really surprised.

On topic, I'm still not sure about this. It looks very interesting and could be loads of fun. Just a bit bummed I need an extra set of Joy-Cons to enjoy it with friends, I guess... Eh, I'll probably get it anyway. I'm too intrigued.

First off, great article Tom! I like how you presented a fairly balanced and calm view on the situation, without resorting to the narrative you've mentioned in the article. However...

I'm starting to get a bit annoyed by all this "it's too expensive" talk. While I of course agree that the Switch is not cheap, I never expected it to be in the first place. I mean, come on, it's a new piece of tech/gadget/game-thingie! Stuff like that is always expensive. Why is this even a topic of discussion? I'm really starting to feel that a lot of the "it's too expensive" talk is actually thinly veiled "I don't want to spend money" complaints... I know that's a bit unfair of me to say (since, again, I too realize that it is expensive) But by golly I'm really getting annoyed by it. Mostly since I feel that a lot of the "too expensive" talk is all rather baseless and no real argument is built for it. It's all "because" and "it should be cheaper" without any additional foundation for those assertions. I mean, for gosh's sake, people are already expecting price cuts not even a year into the darn thing's life time... Really?

And all this is not helped by the echo-chamber effect I'm seeing. It seems that people are just reinforcing each other's view, just like with the rumours. See the pattern here? If enough people keep saying it, it becomes its own, baseless reality.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Just needed to vent a bit. I personnally think it's not cheap either, but I believe it will be worth it.

Funny thing, I was actually not planning to get a Switch anytime soon (too much games still left to play on my Wi U and N3DS), but after seeing the presentation and some stuff from the Treehouse stream, Japanese stream and some youtubers I'm actually planning to get one pretty soon. No pre-order (I'll leave those available for the truly passionate) but as soon as one is available in my local games store I'll get it.

It's weird, since I can kinda understand the worries some have and that Alex also mentions, but I've found that I don't really care about those worries.

I don't mind having an awesome game system which only gets a new game I want every other month. I don't game enough to actually finish my games in that time frame. So low first and third party output is not my concern, as long as there is some support in the coming three years. If it all fails after that, I'm confidant that I'll look back at a system I had fun with (and what more could one ask for?).

I actually like that Nintendo is giving me options like not paying extra for storage I don't plan to use, or paying extra for a pack-in game I don't intent to play.

I like that Nintendo gives me all I need for single player and (most) local multiplayer games and then lets me choose which game I want to get with that.

I don't mind that the peripherals are expensive, I won't need them right away anyway. I can save for a few months and get them if and when I actually need them.

I'll worry about paid online after I know what I'm actually getting and trying it for free for a few weeks or even months.

Eventhough there are not many games available early on, there's already some I want (Zelda, Arms and even 12Switch) and more to come (Xenoblade, FE Warriors, I am Setsuna). I 'll have plenty to play the coming year.

So I'll be looking forward to enjoying a system based on what it is, instead of what I wanted it be.

Wait, so that Gameboy 10-in-1 cart is the one that comes with the Super Retro Boy? That actually sounds kind of interesting. If it also plays on my original Gameboy even more so!

I might actually order the Super Retro Boy then. Just as a nice gadget. Anybody know if Retro Bit has a distributor in Europe (The Netherlands specifically)? Or if they ship directly here?

@Solid_Stannis "Think of all the things you'll miss out on; not least of which is the undiluted original author's prose."

So in this specific case, Japanese? Everyone should just learn Japanese then if they want to play Nintendo games?

But seriously, I understand your point. I'm in The Netherlands myself but could care less for a possible Dutch translation. I play all my games in (and have all my devices and such set to) English. I prefer it that way.

But I think it is a bit self-centered to just expect everybody to adhere to the most common denominator. Why not have an open mind for the non-English speakers and let them have things a bit "their way" too? It sucks having to (possibly) wait a bit longer, yes, but not complaining about it makes you that much more of a nice person, in my opinion at least.

I'll be getting it. I don't really have any games on my phone, so it'll be fun to have a nice and quick distraction always with me.

Can I be devil's advocate here? I don't buy the "technical difficulties" spin. I think Nintendo is aware of the interest in this game from Wii U owners and has offered Playtonic the option to have Yooka-layle be a launch title for the Switch. It would obviously help Nintendo with their lauch. I believe this is just their way of getting out of their commitment to the Wii U (since they were doing the Wii U version themselves, I wholeheartedly believe they knew they could make it work). The timing for their Switch version information also ties into this.

Plus, don't TV shows always use the "technical difficulties" image when something completely different is happening behind the scenes?

Well, I'm clearly in the minority here, but I actually like the program. It's not fantastic by any means, but I've gotten some nice things out of it so far. Sure not every batch of rewards has something I like, but I can wait a few months for a new batch that's hopefully a bit more interesting. So far it's been every other batch that had something I like.

Granted, I'm a late adopter of both the Wii U and 3DS, so I don't own a lot of games yet (though the backlog is now growing at an increasingly alarming rate...). I'm very curious to know where Nintendo will be taking this concept going forwards, should be very exciting!

But in the end, it's free stuff that doesn't really cost a lot of effort or money to get, so what's not to like? Gifted horses and such...

I will eventually be picking this up. Having never played any of the previous Paper Mario games, I'm not really bothered by what was changed in regards to the previous games. It looks wonderful and seems to be a nice entertaining (and perhaps relaxing) play. I like colourful and cute games like these.

Looks pretty interesting. I'll probably get Bayonetta and HarmoKnight around the holiday period. Maybe Persona Q as well, but that one doesn't appeal to me that much. Maybe I'll be more interested after I've given Etrian Odyssey a try.

Such negativity and some people making specific assumptions based on a patent (which is more of a concept than a specific implementation). Is it really that difficult to see the potential in this?

Practical example: I prefer playing VC games using the D-pad, but all my controllers (N3DS, Gamepad and Wii U pro) are designed with the analogue stick as the primary means of control, meaning the D-pad is in an awkward position for me. This idea would solve that (admittedly minor) issue in one fell swoop!

Basically, I've read from a lot of people here that they want options, not being locked into a single design. Well, this is it right here. And now it's too cumbersome? Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess...

I'm not planning on getting Nintendo's new product (whatever it will be) since I got my N3DS Nov. 2015 and my Wii U Feb. 2016, so I'm good with all the games I still plan to play on those. But even I'm getting excited about the new hardware! All these rumours I'm reading here hint at such potential! If even half of them turn out to be true, the new hardware could be awesome. Have some faith and try to see the positives instead of focusing on possible negatives.

(Oh, and to everyone claiming that Nintendo "should just reveal it already", they will do that when they're ready. They have no obligation or interest to do a reveal early just because some people are dying of curiosity... Relax and be patient. Remember: good things come to those who wait... )