mike_intv

This is unfortunate. But it is also far too common.

If you think this is just Nintendo, you are delusional. Just from the article, the required time break between contracts came about because of actions by Microsoft.

And this type of dumping work on non-permanent workers happens in many industries.

It would be really nice to know more than what has been reported. We have no idea if this is widespread abuse or one person's misinterpretation of rules or anything in between.

Anything we discuss about the case right now is mere speculation. There are rules regarding possible unionization for both sides to follow — employer and employee.

Is it possible that Nintendo (or the subcontractor for Nintendo, either on its own at the behest of Nintendo) violated the rights of the worker to attempt to establish a union — yes.

is it possible that the worker either over-reacted to workplace rules (or enforcement of the in-place rules that govern the process for establishing a union) — yes.

In other words, we don't know what we don't know.

I wonder how much is the result of the subcontractor. (If there is substance to the complaint.)

I wonder why BandiNamco did not go after AtGames for tortious interference in 2019 as it was negotiating a final rights deal with GCC.

@sikthvash I wonder if there are tax implications and Nintendo knew this would lower the stock value — right before the end of the fiscal year.

Wow. Maybe we should have thought about that for my son years ago. He did earn the "Video Games" belt loop in Cub Scouts.

I think people forget how bad game "ownership" is on mobile devices.

What is the blue unit that gets attached to the bottom of the GameBoy? (I have everything but that and the winged-grips).

That's funny. I pre-bought the pass. They loaded automatically (I had a message that it was ready).

@BionicDodo True. Except their page shows a Saturn box.

What I really don't like is locking a character behind a pre-order bonus with no option for purchasing later.

I find it interesting that the text says this works on only PS1/PS2 --and that with a hardware mod. This despite the games listed/shown.
Am I missing something?

This is after about a week. There is something endemic about how these controllers are made and how they are used that is causing problems.

EA. Need we say more.
It treats Nintendo as an afterthought. It has ever since Nintendo decided against making Origin the native way to play on the WiiU.
Ironically, the reaction to that decision by a US company is more akin to the way Nintendo reacts to things it does not like than a smart business decision,.

Was the review copy the release copy or a pre-release copy?
Is/has Ubisoft done any patching?

I just hope that Atari prices it accordingly. The $30 console price makes no sense when you can pick up copies for half of that (or less).

At least it is a year's notice.

If I recall correctly, Nintendo hardware usually does not do well in these surveys. So nothing really to see here.

Way too much for way too little.
I think I would rather buy a PS4 and the games. It might be cheaper (in the long run).

Why would it not include Switch? It has supported Switch more than PlayStation to this point. I imagine it will depend upon the game. Basically, Microsoft is becoming platform agnostic — like the game companies of yore.

Simple solution. Sites should not be allowed to sell "pre-orders."

I wonder how it will compare to Mini Metro (by another developer).

@Teksetter All that is listed right now is the Wired Productions shop (in the UK) for physical for the consoles and Steam for the PC for Digital.

@GinMiguel That would be interesting — and different enough that a smaller roster would not been seen as a smaller game.

Does anyone know the digital price of this game?

@shgamer
True. Though I was referencing the high-end OLED Switch versus the high end machine listed in the article. The Switch starts at $200 with the Switch Lite.

Also, in reading reviews of the Steam Deck, the 512GB model appears to be the most recommended — and its $650.

My guess is that these handheld PC units will be — at least at first — niche products. They will ultimately become good (a relative term here meaning comparable to regular PCs) — but it will take time, just like laptops took time.

Price. That will be a big determinant. $350 vs. $1,200? Those are two different markets.

@Savage_Joe Good points. I was just thinking that some companies may see the tens of millions of sales that Nintendo has with the Switch and are of the opinion that they can get some of that with a handheld device. But it takes more than a device to generate that level of sales.

Do PC gamers want a portable device?

Different companies are trying to bring one out after the success of the Switch. But I am not sure the two (types of) devices have the same level of demand.

Interesting way to spell Qix (Quix) on the news release.

This appears to be an example of a company not caring about its product. It will result in short-term profit but long-term disdain.

To those who say the Switch cannot run these games, they were originally on the PS2. That should not be a problem. And there have been far more ambitious ports to the Switch that worked.

It seems like this would be so simple to release on digital platforms globally. So alas, I do not expect it to happen.

@Would_you_kindly That is technically true - though it is much closer than Switch compared to PS5 or XBX/S. The point though is that there does not appear to be anything that could not be done/adapted to Switch as many games are released/ported well from that generation of Sony and Microsoft consoles.
My guess is that it is a financial decision rather than a technical one.

@AkiraHoward My point was that the Switch was more likely to be marketed to younger players than the Sony or Microsoft systems.

@Would_you_kindly Except that it is running on PS4 and XBO and the article said there appeared to be nothing in the game that would tax the Switch.

Shocked by how much PN03 now costs. Have been thinking about it for a while but never pulled the trigger. Probably won't now, at the current price point.

Game more targeted toward a younger audience — not going to the system more targeted toward younger audience. That says a lot about the industry and the lack of common-sense therein.

@HammerGalladeBro
That is the one game on that list that I don't own or have access to (meaning that my son was the Pokemon player in the family and has those games).

Biggest shocker to me is that Smash Bros on the 3DS outsold its WiiU counterpart by almost 2:1. I realize the two had very different install bases. Still, no one ever thinks of Smash Bros. as a portable gaming experience.

I looked through my collection. I have 15 of the 16 N64 games — all but Sin & Punishment which I have on VC. I have access to originals/versions/sequels to all but two of the Genesis (Mega Drive) games. Can't justify $45 (USD) for that. Waiting for more content or less price.

I am not sure that having a game with 2020 teams at the end of the 2021 season is a big seller for anyone.

I agree that it is not a good thing if someone makes a meaningful contribution and then is ignored in the credits. The lack of credit led to the creation of the first independent game studios. (Remember, Atari equated those working on creating the game with those who worked on the manufacturing assembly line, .the result was Activision and later Imagic as well as the Adventure Easter Egg)
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However, as has been pointed out, this is the latest incident and at least the studio appears to have a policy about the situation. As another poster noted, their previous employer would remove people who left the company from the credits — and it does not appear there was a standard of how much effort a person had put toward a game to aid in that determination.

The Washington Post summed up the problem in an article on May 18, 2021: There are currently no widely-adopted crediting guidelines within the games industry, as there are in film and TV, where studios abide by best practices negotiated by unions.

I have no problem with people being upset by this. (I will say that in this case though there at least appears to be some sort of policy in place — though when a game takes this long to develop, those standards probably need a reexamination). However, as this is not new (the Kotaku article appeared in 2008), nor is it exclusive to Nintendo games or Mercury Steam, (for example, the Washington Post notes that Rockstar is notorious for this), I do find some of the reactions specific to this game a bit surprising.

Two quick comments.

1. Personally, I have only had one negligible issue with drift other than once where it went away and may have been nothing more than a connection issue. Then again, I don't play much and only adults use my Switch.

2. There was an article yesterday where Nintendo noted it was making continual improvements on the Joy-Cons and those have been implemented in those packed in with the OLED, those being sold now, and those built into the Lite model. This would be very much in line with W. Edwards Deming's Total Quality Management which was embraced by post-war Japan in the early 1950s (but did not get noticed by American/Western enterprises until the mid/late 1980s).

I somewhere have KH1 and KH2 for my PS2. I may get 1.5 and 2.5 for the PS3 I have yet to hook up. Or I might by the package for the XBO my son has (but does not play).

This begs the question — what is the market for these games? Can you sell enough copies to get a return on your investment of porting and producing? That is something that has to be asked. SE decided it was not worth the effort — and offered this up instead. Consumer reaction will determine if this becomes the norm or forgotten.

Personally, if the cloud versions are cheap or on sale, I might buy them (think $10 each title). My guess is that they are going to be substantially higher than that. Otherwise, I will play on other systems.

Speaking of price, it should be interesting to see what the price point is for these games. Some companies know do better on pricing older games than others. (For example, I keep buying NAMCO titles, I am waiting for PacMan to go on sale).

I understand the situation — these are all PS4/XBO games.
So I will probably just get the XBO versions (since my son has that console) — or buy a PS4.

I imagine these are the PS4/XBO collections — which is why the first two games are being streamed as well (because they are really six games).

Device that is several years newer and costs substantially more has a better battery. Imagine that.

I have external screens for my PSone, my original Xbox, and my GameCube. Only one every travelled — the GC. I later got a vehicle with a back seat screen — which made it easier for travelling and playing. (These were all used by son — as I was driving and could not even play MarioKart).

I wish someone else would be first-party reporting on this story. I don't like situations where they can be described as "word vs. word."
And I am not saying the reporting isn't correct — but I always like confirmation because it makes more difficult for those in the wrong to deny the allegations.

I wish there was the ability to select more than one reason for "Why." Some are because I still have them. Some were to complete sets. Some are because I like the series. Some because I bought everything I could get in the late 1990s.