killthenet

I made a bit of a mess when I repaired my launch Switch @Ashley but that was down to the screws along the joy con rail being too tight to undo - once I had got the tablet apart taking out the battery was pretty easy, you just need to make sure you clean up all the adhesive residue before you put in the replacement

The leasing service seems pretty good if you want to test out the PS Portal for a month and see how it works for yourself (£13.99 for one month) but some of the devices are pretty expensive if you go for a single month rental. I would be interested in trying out a PSVR 2 but £52 for a month seems pretty steep, and the longer leases for things like the PS5 Pro don't exactly offer great value (if you opt for a 36 month lease the Pro over £680) but I suppose you're probably covered for replacements for the length of your contract

That's a shame that they've completely retooled THPS4 but I suppose it's not too surprising that they decided to bring it more in line with the classic style. I'm interested to see how the conversion works but I suppose at least the original will always be there to go back to I was obviously wrong with my guess that the screenshot was a redesigned Rio, it's apparently a new park from 4's campaign that takes place in a water park.

I was trying to place which level that blurred screenshot is from and I think it's got to be Rio from THPS3 - it's going to be interesting to see the more detailed levels I played through pretty much all the THPS games last year when I was ill so you would think I'd be sick of them but I'll definitely be picking this up (hopefully on Switch 2 at launch)

You could argue that the Virtual Boy was an attempt at replacing the Game Boy though so really it was only on the market for 6 years before a successor came along But yeah, 8 years of the Switch is crazy especially considering that there hasn't really been a downturn in success in all that time. The Game Boy ebbed and flowed through its life before getting a huge late boost when Pokemon came out but the Switch has really only started losing pace in these last few months - they have certainly done a much better job at its end of life than they did with the Wii U, Wii, Gamecube and N64. Also we're now less than a calendar month out from the Switch 2 Direct but I'm sure the original Switch will still have a presence in the market for the next 18 months or so

THPS2 on the N64 was probably the first time I found a game unplayable because of the frame rate. I had loved THPS3 on PS2 to death so when I saw there was a Tony Hawk game available for the N64 me and my brother decided to buy a copy but first impressions were very disappointing - it just felt so rough in comparison to what I had become accustomed to on the PS2 that I couldn't really get any enjoyment out of it. It was also my first experience of the 'old style' Tony Hawk games, with reduced scope to the levels and goals compared to THPS3 so it just didn't live up to expectations at all and, given how expensive N64 games were, we decided to take it back to the shop and use the money for something else.

Thanks for the offer S.C.G but I realised I could just use the case I had for my original Switch (which is still going strong nearly 8 years later - the case for my OLED barely lasted 18 months) I wonder if it was just a glitch with the item I was buying, one of the Animal Crossing leaf design cases, it could well be out of stock but their system just doesn't show it. I was able to pre-order Xenoblade a couple of weeks ago without any issues.

Is anyone else having trouble ordering from the My Nintendo Store? The zip on the case for my Switch has broken so I need to buy another one but every time I click through to finalise the order I get an error. Its never happened to me before, just wondering is there an issue with the site at the moment?

So disappointing that they're getting rid of Gold points - it's such a good incentive to spend in the eShop. Hopefully they have a replacement in mind but I'm doubtful that will be the case The vouchers weren't available at the launch of the Switch were they? It's possible they'll bring in a Switch 2 voucher scheme later on but it is a bit worrying

They said it would be the week of Valentine's didn't they? I don't think the leakers ever specified an exact date

Heights are a big one for me too, I even get sweaty palms just watching people in precarious positions on TV or films but the weirdest one is when it happens while I'm playing a game - The Last of Us 2 was really bad for that, the whole sequence on the rooftops was really tough for me to get through.

Finally - I've been waiting to play it for ages

Mouse me up

I was so excited for Sin & Punishment after reading all the previews in NOM - it was gutting when it only released in Japan. I did consider importing it but I was only like 13 at the time so it seemed unaffordable really. It came out on the Wii VC when I had just started my first year of uni so I didn't get around to playing it for a while but it's definitely one of the best N64 games.

I don't think the eShop interface is too bad, it's clear and simple to navigate, but they definitely need to make huge changes on the back end in terms of discoverability. The cash grab spam issue is a major one that needs to be addressed but even if they excised all that stuff it would still be hard for most games to get noticed so I guess a review system that is tied to your NSO account would be a good way of highlighting quality titles without the cash grab devs being able to exploit the system in their favour. Besides that though the main thing for me is the speed, it's so excruciating to navigate it at the moment if you're looking through the games that are on offer - I've got used to it over the years but I would probably go to the eShop a lot more if it was a smoother and snappier experience

It'll take over your whole life @Happenstance

I had a dream last night that Kojima was working on a Switch 2 exclusive for Nintendo so don't be surprised if that shows up in the April direct.

They need to bring back the more surly and argumentative villagers - I want them to fall out with each other and create real drama over petty nonsense. And I would love it if they gave the staff in town their own houses too, let us see them wandering around in their time off - its so weird in New Horizons how Nook and Isabelle are just stuck in the town hall 24/7, they deserve some time off. And bring back Pelly, Phyllis and Pete too!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Herman Hulst isn't very good at his job

Miyamoto specifically requested that DK be less handsome

Yeah, it'll be edge cases like Labo VR I reckon. I'm a bit underwhelmed by the reveal to be honest, it's a shame that we only got renders and the date for the direct is so far off. Still, it's officially out there now so we'll be getting more game announcements from third parties in the interim and Mario Kart 9 does look very nice from the tiny glimpse we got of it. The way the joy con skate around at one point in the video seems a clear sign that the mouse functionality is a genuine feature too. I guess it would have been a pretty exciting reveal if all of the designs hadn't already leaked.

Maybe they're actually calling it the Nintendo Lunch

Technically I don't have my lunch until like 5pm so we could still be waiting a while

I think we should all show DK the respect he deserves by boycotting any announcement Nintendo makes and spending all of Thursday playing through Donkey Kong Country Returns HD instead

It doesn't really tie into or further explore the Shenmue story beyond "This is how Ryo ended up with Sega Saturn in his front room" although it does use tropes and dialogue from the first couple of games so it helps if you are familiar with the actual story. It's definitely not trying to be close to canon, it's a very meta fanfic but made by people who clearly have a fondness for the source material and a deep love of Sega