Dufniall

They mentioned in one of the interviews with IGN that they are going to share the specs and the OS as free license for other manufacturers. So everyone who wants to can make their own Steam Deck, and that will probably increase interest and decrease pricing. And the obvious reason is a new product that sells games for them. Same way as Microsoft tries to create new markets every now and then, first with the Surface leading to detachable and the Surface Neo that should lead to dual touch screen devices. Not that they want to shift hardware but create more platforms and form factors to sell software for. Same comment as above goes for this. It's more of a showcase, same as with the VR. Show how to make a VR platform, hope other brands pick up, sell more VR software. Again Microsoft did it as well with their Mixed Reality. And the reservation system is a great system, creates plenty of buzz while keeping scalpers out. You don't need an official dock, any USB-C dock will do. And every controller will work so it's quite cheap to go full screen. Anyway, still on the fence about getting one. I don't need one but I do want one. The one thing that holds me back for playing more pc games is that I would have to sit upstairs and the misses is downstairs, so that's not really a fun way to spend evenings. That's why I play my Switch 90% handheld, we can both sit on the couch and do our own things. But, my PC is upstairs so I would be much cheaper off investing in a good controller for the smartphone and just stream all my games from my upstairs PC. I don't see me using it out of the house. So for now I'll just hold, let's see if I can stay strong haha.

Going to paste in the specs just for convenience: It looks to be an impressive piece of kit, and I'm glad they chose to go for a 1280x800 resolution and not force a higher resolution on the 7 inch, probably would have been bad for the battery time. It's on the heavy side, about double the weight of a Switch so train up those muscles Take into account that the base model only has 64GB eMMC memory. Plenty of PC games already go over the 64GB, plus eMMC is slow compared to the other options (256-512GB NVMe SSD). So I wouldn't even consider the base model. There is quite a price gap to the middle one though, and the most expensive option also comes with a non-glare screen. Also immediately thought about the Game Gear I have the Steam controller, and while the track pads are a clever invention, I find it really tricky to work with them. I can see the right one here working though as a more accurate option for FPS games instead of the stick, but it'll never be a mouse. The thing does look crammed though. Buttons pretty close to the edge, and the sticks are very close to the buttons as well. Wonder if it's ergonomic, combined with the weight. Rear buttons are great though! I'm curious if this will be a hit. There have been Windows-based handhelds before, but I don't think they ever took off. Valve and Steam are well-known so that may help, but I wonder if PC gamers are interested in a handheld, and running games on a lower resolution. And if you're going to stream a game to it from your PC, a phone+controller is the cheaper option. I think would it have been Microsoft or Sony releasing it, there would have been more leverage behind it. I can imagine a handheld XBox with GamePass would be the dream. But Microsoft is focussing on streaming so you wouldn't need these specs. And Sony, well, games like Horizon: Zero Dawn and Death Stranding are already on Steam so basically this is already an unofficial Sony handheld.

Oh, didn't know there was a Monster Hunter animated series on the way! The kid is annoying, but the rest looks entertaining enough. I finished Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness this week, and the last episode was the weakest. Without spoiling anything, it was a bit of an anticlimax.

The Switch version is releasing next week: Still strangely excited for this. Will definitely give it a go!

A physical version is coming September 10th:

The fact that one of the ships is shaped like a giant knob says it all, doesn't it? Anyway, still quite interesting to see what the private sector can accomplish. The Virgin flight was a success:

Bump! The Switch version of this has been out for a couple of weeks now, and I'm absolutely loving it. Despite the cut in graphics and framerate, it runs pretty well and stable on the Switch, and since I play mostly handheld it hasn't bothered me yet. If it ever makes it to PC on Steam I might double dip, but for now this version is more than capable. I've 100% THPS1 and 2, and have full stats on one character. So I'm guessing now it's time to play some different characters and try to get all of the achievements and unlock the hidden characters. Control-wise the game plays almost exactly like THPS4 (for as far as I can remember), with stuff like reverts, wall plants and spine transfers included but not the get off your board stuff that was in later games. It immediately felt familiar which helped getting through it quite fast. I wonder how it feels for new players though. Love going back to the classic levels, especially those in THPS2. School II, Warehouse, it's a blast. Add to that the soundtrack (which could have been a bit more extensive imho) and the vibe is definitely there. Anyway, this is a remaster/remake done well. Plenty of content, a bunch of QoL and new content, but the feel of the old games is definitely there.

The new Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness series is up. Watched 3 out of the 4 episodes yesterday, and it is pretty enjoyable. It takes place around 2 years after Resident Evil 4, and follows Leon and Claire. It looks to be a pretty standalone story, although there are some callbacks to the events in Raccoon City and Resident Evil 4. Don't expect a deep story, just 2 hours of popcorn fun. Also watched The Serpent, a series about a jewel smuggler who took advantage of, drugged and murdered travellers in the East in the 70s. Pretty dark, it makes you uneasy knowing these kind of people exist. The story does jump around in time a lot so you have to keep a bit of attention to follow the timeline, but it was definitely worth watching. Only comment is that the Dutch guy in the series is played by an English actor with a bad accent, might as well just casted a Dutchie for it.

Curious to see how many units they can ship in October. One shop in the Netherlands only took pre-orders in their physical shops because of the small amount of units expected, and they were gone within a day. Other shops also sold out in a day. There's one shop still taking pre-orders but they require full payment in advance. So I think I'll just see down the line if I can get it somewhere in stock, even if that's more towards the end of the year.

Thanks for the games, fun as always!

Can we all agree @Glen-i plays this game waaaaay too much?

May join in again tonight, band rehearsal got cancelled so the evening opened up.

Haha, thanks for changing it. It was more a tongue in cheek comment about how silly the name is, doesn't sound like they want to market this as a big upgrade. Also noticed this in the FAQ: The Joy-Con controllers included with Nintendo Switch (OLED model) are the same as the controllers currently available. So no fixes there I guess? Love the white setup though. Goes well with Metroid Dread's EMMI.

The title of this thread is wrong. It's Nintendo Switch (OLED model), not Nintendo Switch OLED Model. Marketing is important! Catchy name though...

Pretty cool video for the game's soundtrack. I love how the musicians with the traditional instruments went the extra mile and are dressed in traditional clothing as well. I need to dive back into this game as I have a pretty decent bow armour now and need to master it more. But Tony Hawk is eating up all my current time and I haven't had much game time this week or the upcoming weekend.

Ah I see, always figured firmware TPM was stored on the same spot as your BIOS, but apparently it's the CPU that runs the bit of firmware.

TPM doesn't have anything to do with the processor, it's either an integrated chip on the mainboard (hardware TPM) or firmware based (firmware TPM). It's something you mostly see in business line laptops, which is used for an added layer of security. I can't imagine Windows will keep it as a system requirement, unless they really want to to hardcore on the security (and leave a lot of current consumer grade systems out).

What hammer is that? It's got some pretty useful melodies! Might swap out my Sinister Strum for it, that one has health recovery, attack and defense up and sonic barrier. Also, what is that move you pull off in the beginning, looks like you are riding the monster and then jumping off? Were you wyvern riding before the clip starts or is there some flashy riding move I don't know about?

They've already explained what the amiibo does. Samus gives a health container and can be scanned once a day to replenish health. EMMI gives a missile container and can be scanned once a day to replenish ammo.

I'm actually quite excited for this. MOBAs are pretty fun to play, and the time limit means that you know exactly how long every match is going to be, something that is a bit of a hindrance in other MOBAs. I've been playing a bit of League of Legends: Wild Rift (the mobile version) and that is surprisingly solid and works well on a phone, so I have hopes this will work out pretty nice as well. But it the biggest challenge will be if they can keep the balance up, have a little bit of depth and if the player base sticks or it will take half an hour to find a match. We'll see, I'll definitely give it a go.

Metroid Dread was the biggest surprise and my most anticipated title. It was great to see an update on Axiom Verge 2 and that is high on my wishlist as well. Another surprise was Metal Slug Tactics, Dotemu is on fire with Streets of Rage 4, Turtles coming up and now this! Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope looks amazing, it made me finally start the Donkey Kong DLC and yeah I want more. Not much was shown of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed the first Jurassic World Evolution so seeing a sequel getting announced was good news.

First of all, shout-out to @Hero-of-Time. I was chatting on Discord during the Direct, and the first thing I shouted when the 18+ logo showed was Bayonetta confirmed, and the first thing I said when Dread was revealed was "it lives!". Exactly the same reactions you posted here haha. Anyway, a solid Direct all in all. The opening had me on the wrong foot for a short moment as it was Ganondorf being tossed so thought they might open with BOTW2, but the art style was off and it quickly dawned this was Smash. A good choice for a character, but I still haven't bought any of the passes and this is not convincing me to purchase one now. The highlight was of course Metroid Dread, can't wait for it to arrive as I had a blast playing Samus Returns last year. I have faith that it is in good hands of MercurySteam. Two other games that are high on my list but were already confirmed are Tony Hawk 1+2 Remastered and Mario + Rabbids 2. WarioWare is a good get for the system, and one that is also long overdue. The last one I played was one of the DS ones I think, may be up for this in time. Mario Party Superstars, great they are going back to the roots but I have Super Mario Party borrowed from a friend and it really doesn't feel like a €60 title. I wonder if the new one has a bit more content. Same goes for Advance Wars 1+2 Remastered, great to see the series return but I prefer the old pixel art style, and €60 feels steep for a remaster of two GBA games. Even WarioWare I'm not sure if I want to dish out €60 for it. Super Monkey Ball, loving the looks of it! Have great memories of the GameCube games so if the remaster is done well this will be a get, but probably a bit later down the line. Mario Golf keeps looking better and better, but after Aces and Mario Party I'm a bit wary about the Switch Mario spin-offs so far. The Breath of the Wild teaser was a good closer, it gives an ever-so-small insight in what the game is going to be and surprising how different the vibe was from the first teaser. I'm guessing it will be Holiday 2022 at best but we'll see.

Just do as all the cool kids do nowadays and blast it from your speakers. The world needs to know anyway!

I'm guessing it'll be a seizure-inducing trippy No More Heroes 3 trailer! But it's probably license related, Nintendo has been a bit notorious with content creation of their stuff. Or maybe there is an IP with a different license as well (Star Wars, Disney kind of stuff).

New set of figures announced: Scuttlebug Swoop Parachute Bob-omb Amp Torpedo Ted Crowber Galoomba Bony Beetle 1-Up Mushroom Boo I think these usually cost around €3.99 a piece?