The NINTENDO Thread

[Jay 37,404]

okee dokee

[SilverTrumpet 638]

That game almost looks like they took the assets straight from Jupiter's Picross games. 

[Jay 37,404]

Wow!

I dunno how much any of you know about deep BOTW stuff, but there are 4 chests in the game that were "impossible" to open, but the Sheikah slate would still beep for.  (Basically, they were like under the ground or otherwise inaccessible; essentially chests they intended to use but then the devs forgot to delete out when they changed their minds)

Well it took over 4 years, but within the past 2 months, all 4 of these "impossible" chests have been opened by dedicated players!

 

 

 

 

https://kotaku.com/breath-of-the-wild-player-opens-the-games-final-impossi-1847206007

[Nick Parker 3,040]

11 hours ago, Disco Stu said:

One of my favorite indie developers (I'm a *huge* fan of both Mutant Mudds and Xeodrifter) is putting out their own Picross game on Switch tomorrow, titled Pictooi

 

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/07/like_picross_say_hello_to_pictooi_a_new_puzzler_out_very_soon_on_switch

 

I just started going through withdrawals from completing S5, thanks for the heads up!

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Why not play S6 then?

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I have purchased Pictooi!  Feels good to support a small team (just a few people) that make games you like.

[Faleel 5,373]

Streamlined item information HALLELUJAH!

[Jay 37,404]

Great!

 

Looking forward to finally playing this game

[Faleel 5,373]

Slight bit more detail:

 

Quote

+ Optional help from Fi: Fi only appears in cut-scenes or when necessary and can otherwise be summoned manually to provide advice or guidance.
+ Enhanced framerate: The game runs at 60 frames per second, resulting in smoother gameplay
+ Fast-forward dialogue: Text shown on-screen can be fast-forwarded by pressing the B Button
+ Streamlined item information: Explanations for collectable items, such as insects and materials, only appear the first time the item is collected
+ Skippable cutscenes: Cutscenes can be skipped by pressing the - Button
+ Autosave: Game progress will be saved automatically, in addition to the existing manual save option
+ Skippable tutorial dialogues: The introductory player tutorials have been refined to be less intrusive

 

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/07/heres_how_nintendo_is_improving_zelda_skyward_sword_hd_over_the_wii_original

 

 

[SilverTrumpet 638]

I always assumed the fact that it bugged you when you got 5 rupees the first time you got it after turning on the console was a bug they missed. 

[Faleel 5,373]

People thought the same with Twilight Princess as well.

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Yeah, and when they used the same engine in SS they just never bothered to fix it. 

[Faleel 5,373]

Which ended up being much more noticeable, because of the treasure mechanic.

[mstrox 6,654]

Not that it will stop people from

buying it, but the catchy name for the Switch upgrade is Nintendo Switch OLED Model

[Jay 37,404]

Woah

 

 

https://www.nintendo.com/switch/oled-model/

 

https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/#oled-section

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The question is, is this the Switch upgrade or a Switch upgrade.  All the reporting by reputable outlets like Bloomberg was that the "Switch Pro" would feature both a new OLED screen and at least lightly upgraded hardware (new Nvidia chip for instance).  This model seems to be just the new OLED screen with the processing hardware unchanged.  It's certainly possible this model is meant to just replace the launch model and the true "pro" could come out later.  But it's also certainly possible they decided to ditch the plans to have the mid-gen true upgrade (a la PS4 Pro).

 

Either way: all I really care about is if this will technically introduce a secret redesign of the joy con (not in form factor) that finally fixes drift for good.  I'm not planning on buying this until I hear about that.  I mostly play on my TV anyway so an upgraded handheld screen is not enticing for me.

[Jay 37,404]

It's like the Game Boy Pocket, Gameboy Advance SP, Nintendo DS Lite, etc - cosmetic upgrade, not additional power.

 

The built-in stand is nifty

 

I guess with this coming out now we won't be getting a New Nintendo 3DS / PS4 Pro style upgrade to the Switch at all; The Switch's successor will probably be coming out by 2023 or so.  If this upgrade came out in 2019 or 2020 I'd say a power upgrade was still possible

[SilverTrumpet 638]

1 minute ago, Jay said:

The Switch's successor will probably be coming out by 2023 or so. 

 

Definitely not. They're still making bank on Switch and it's games. There's no reason to cut off the momentum early. They still haven't even dropped the price once on Switch. Even Wii had a price drop as time went on. 

 

There was some reporting, I'll have to find it, where someone at Nintendo suggested Switch was at the halfway point of its life.

[Jay 37,404]

Yes in 2020 they said it was at the halfway point; It came out in 2017 so 2023 for the replacement makes sense to me

[SilverTrumpet 638]

I thought it was this year, but you know, the more I think about it, it's life can go on with another console. 

 

Maybe the lack of 4K today was yeah, because production didn't work out the way they wanted it to, but also, if it's going to be delayed another year manufacturing wise, then why not just keep it going a little while still? It's been selling so well without one price drop yet, so wait until 2023 or 2024 and pop out a full blown new console with 4K and all that, but you can still support Switch for years after that, like what's been done with other consoles. That bring it out to about 10 years of support. 3DS basically did that too.

 

Though 3DS was a different case too like GBA where they continued to exist in case the new idea (DS and Switch) didn't work out they'd have something to fall back on.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

44 minutes ago, SilverTrumpet said:

then why not just keep it going a little while still?

 

It could be some really boring supply chain contract issue.  I remember reading they made some special deal with Samsung for these OLED screens, maybe that contract was predicated on going into production with the new screens this year.  Pure speculation, but it's possible.

[Jay 37,404]

That's a pretty smart theory actually

[SilverTrumpet 638]

That's likely exactly what happened. 

 

Either way, I'm a Nintendo first gamer so it's an easy upgrade for me.

[Marian Schedenig 8,214]

 

 

This is the one I'll be getting then. Improved display, (hopefully) no joy con drift, and perhaps the small number of improvements means that's a slightly better chance of actually being able to get one before too long (who am I kidding).

[Jay 37,404]

It looks like a very nice piece of hardware!

[Jay 37,404]

[SilverTrumpet 638]

14 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

 (hopefully) no joy con drift

 

 

I'm a huge Nintendo fanboy but I hate using the Joycons almost as much as I hated using the Wii U Gamepad. Bring back the Wii Remote! 

[Jay 37,404]

The joycons may be problematic, but the official Pro Controller is top notch

[SilverTrumpet 638]

It's a freaking delight, that controller. I thought the Wii U pro controller was way underrated, but the Switch Pro blows it out of the water, and is significantly more comfortable than the Dual Sense.

[Jay 37,404]

Oh, absolutely.  The PS controllers make no sense, putting the left stick down low; it's a remant of the PS1 era when most games still used digital pads and analog was the exception.  When Analog became the norm, Nintendo and Microsoft starting putting the left stick where you thumb naturally rests, but for some reason Sony keeps it down low.  It's stupid.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

The Pro Controller is decent, not great.  The truly bad d-pad keeps it from greatness.  These days if I'm playing a sidescroller on the Switch, I use the SNES controller that Nintendo put out to promote the SNES online app.

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Using the SNES pad is definitely valid. The Pro Controller's d-pad is nowhere near the worst one we're seen from all sorts of companies. I think the Xbox one is still worse, even on the Series controller. 

[mstrox 6,654]

I for one would not be in favor of a return to the Wiimote.  Having revisited some games recently, what a drag it is to point at the screen and click on things.  Taking away motion, I’m happy ergonomically with a Wiimote and nunchuck, but why go back?

 

I have no gripes about the Wii U screen remote, although I ignore the screen unless I’m forced to use it (small handful of Mario 3D levels, second display in Zelda games).  

 

Joycon drift is probably the biggest reason I haven’t gotten a switch yet - hoping it will be resolved by the time owning a Switch becomes a requirement in our house (BOTW2).  If not, oh well!

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Get a pro controller and you'll be way more than in business. 

 

I still think the Wii Remote is way better at cursor stuff than Switch. Playing Mario Galaxy on Switch, besides the graphics, was awful compared to the Wii pointer. It kept getting out of sync and you'd have to press a button to re-sync it. Kinda makes me scared about how Metroid Prime 4 will control since 3 and later the trilogy collection on Wii was night and day controls. Pikmin 3 on Switch stunk compared to the Wii U version with the point aiming for throwing Pikmin.

 

Also, the worst case of being forced to use the screen on Wii U was Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Beautiful game that makes it mandatory to use just the gamepad and doesn't let you look at the TV. The graphics are beautiful but they look worse than 3DS on that dopey screen. 

[Marian Schedenig 8,214]

4 hours ago, Jay said:

Oh, absolutely.  The PS controllers make no sense, putting the left stick down low; it's a remant of the PS1 era when most games still used digital pads and analog was the exception.  When Analog became the norm, Nintendo and Microsoft starting putting the left stick where you thumb naturally rests, but for some reason Sony keeps it down low.  It's stupid.

 

I love the PS3 and PS4 controllers. I've bought an extra one for my computer. The left stick is down where it belongs, where my thumb naturally rests.

[Jay 37,404]

Your thumb naturally rests down there?  How?

[Marian Schedenig 8,214]

Ok, I checked: It doesn't rest there. In fact, I think that's why I like the design. My thumb is in active mode when it's on the stick and in passive mode when it's resting.

 

Anyway, I'll need one of those Pro controllers for the Switch. I'll keep my eyes open for deals while I'm waiting for the release of the actual console.

[Jay 37,404]

In USD, the official Pro Controller retails for $70 but can commonly be found for $60 or $50.  I highly recommend sticking with the official one, as I have two different coworkers who bought similar looking controllers made by other companies because they were cheaper, and that really didn't work out for them

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Those cheap third party controllers are never worth it! Even the officially licensed ones! 

[Jay 37,404]

Yes

[Disco Stu 15,495]

Nintendo has been giving press some hands-on time with the OLED Model.  I read a positive but measured write-up at The Verge.  The upgrade is nothing major, but is still pretty nice, basically.  It'll take until launch for someone to be able to open up the joy-con and see if the internal design of the left one has changed at all (to maybe fix drift).

 

https://www.theverge.com/22569208/nintendo-switch-oled-model-hands-on-screen

 

[Jay 37,404]

Do you still listen to NVC, Stu?  Jools Watsham was on this week, talking about Mutant Mudds, Xeodrifter, and of course Pictooi

[SilverTrumpet 638]

The bummer of these hands ons if they don't have live pictures of the hardware. 

[Jay 37,404]

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Lemme ask a totally serious question, I'm not just trying to be a contrarian.

 

Is it that wrong to suggest people seek out an old cartridge of Metroid Fusion to play before Dread comes out? Why do people pretend the only option is to have it on a new digital service provided to them by Nintendo? 

 

I guess maybe if you're being coy with them about piracy, but let's not pretend piracy of old Nintendo games isn't the most common thing in the world. Between those two options, it's easier than ever to play old games. 

 

SHOULD they have a more substantive archive of their old games? Absolutely. The Nintendo paid online service is a bad joke just like the other ones, even if it's a third of the price. But the thing where people are all "Oh no! I cannot play this game at all. Does Nintendo hate me???" seems a LITTLE dishonest. 

[mstrox 6,654]

Well, beyond suggesting people seek out an old cartridge, they’re also possibly/likely asking people to seek out a game system.

[SilverTrumpet 638]

Yeah, or an emulator. I think it's hard to argue at this point that emulators and piracy are super super niche when DS console sales were so high and software sales were absolutely in the tank by the second half of it's life because of R4s and other ways of playing games. SO many people know how to run a simple emulator on their computer.

 

Again, not saying Nintendo totally shouldn't have this stuff on a convenient service like it does the couple other games it has, but still. I feel like people are playing coy about it more than actually unable to play.

[Jay 37,404]

5 hours ago, SilverTrumpet said:

Why do people pretend the only option is to have it on a new digital service provided to them by Nintendo?

 

What people?

Who are you referring to here?

 

Emulation is still piracy and of course it makes sense there's a general desire for NIntendo to make their (amazing) back catalog of games easily accessible via some of online store like most other game developers do.  

[Marian Schedenig 8,214]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

Emulation is still piracy

 

Legally, perhaps (not sure about the details here, and it probably depends on your country as well). Practically, it isn't really, as long as you've bought the game as well - then it's basically the same as ripping a CD/DVD/Blu-ray you own. And yes, I know there's this thing about breaking the encryption to manuall decode a Blu-ray being against the law, but that's basically just the DRM way of getting around the fact that copying the data and using it with other tools (e.g. ripping the video and playing it with a local player software, assuming the video isn't encrypted) is perfectly legal.

[Jay 37,404]

I was referring to people who emulate games they didn't pay for of course, not people who spend the time to find a Metroid Fusion cartridge on ebay but then emulate it elsewhere instead of playing the cartridge on a GBA.

 

Regardless, you sidestepped the entire thrust of my post with that reply