sumo73

I'm surprised about the launch date which I thought would be a lot closer to Christmas/Holiday season unless Nintendo feels that this system will be a great Summer holiday seller while schools closed. Pushing it to a later date would allow for more games to be released for the system as well. There feels some complacency with Nintendo regarding the Switch 2 overall. In the video I mentioned above, Nintendo charging more money for an upgrade to play a game that you already own while Microsoft gave that away for free Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One feels odd. I dislike the key holder cart thing as well but it's becoming more common place. When the Wii U was released Nintendo were confident that the system would sell because the Wii sold so well. The company self reflected due to the Wii U and got it's edge back with the Switch because it had to succeed. Switch 2 seems a bit blunt.

I should have clearer, the question was meant as a rhetorical question and 'the middle kingdom'=China. However, it's interesting that you mention customer service which is more responsive and caring than the UK companies that you have used. If the UK doesn't learn from this, it will lose out further.

I was originally interested in the Switch 2 but now I've lost a lot of interest especially regarding some physical cartridges just being key holders for games that you need to download. I disliked this practice on the Xbox One and it's sad to see it moving everywhere now. Was late to the Switch party but have bought quite a few games for it so am in no rush for the new system. It's not on my buying horizon for at least another year or so. Hopefully I see how the situation with the physical games holds up by then but I'm not optimistic.

I'm not in favour of boycotting things unless I hold a strong view about it. I get it, people especially on Reddit hate Trump but to boycott American companies, what real difference will that make unless it is done with a large number of people. People are quite happy to moralise about America but frequently turn a blind eye to various parts of the world where people are forced into slave labour and work under very harsh conditions. I would like people to take a wider view on this rather than signal on Reddit to farm for up points. From a UK point of view what exactly do we produce apart being a largely service lead industry? The government wants to carve up the countryside to make way for more housing (we do need more housing) but at the cost of reducing more farm land meaning we will import more food. Everything just feels like short term answers but they won't fix long term issues. We already have a government that wants to be a leader in A.I, the very thing that I believe will damage many jobs. We look to America for everything and forget the mess right in front of our eyes. It's been more expedient and quicker just to buy everything from the middle kingdom. Even if we bought more from the E.U can we be sure it's not dropped shipped from somewhere else? The last question is why can't we make and buy it from here?

Slight unease of - Bathophobia, Agoraphobia and Nyctophobia. None of these are major however.

I saw the video and now the flood of YouTube videos and rumours about the Switch 2 will go into overdrive. I'm sure someone is going to complain that it's called the Nintendo Switch 2 and then make some comparison with the Wii U that people got confused with the name or something. This trailer at the end does make things clearer. On a side note has it really been 20 years since I first saw this -

Biden's done good you say but yet fails to show the impact of his administration to the people over the last four years. The old Reagan question of "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" rings true. Any leader which fails to show the positive impact of their leadership will be voted out in time. I agree with The Guardian article when it says, "This government is against the clock." This new(ish) government may have a 10 year plan of how to change the country but in four years or so time people will ask, are you better off (now) than you were four years ago? You can repeat the phrases we were elected with a mandate of change...fixing the foundations....restoring public trust in the government....fixing the mistakes (black hole) that the previous government made... but it's all word salad until people see positive change. As for Reform, I would say to the people of 'Clacton' in four or so years time, are you better off now than you were four years ago in 2024? Farage talks a lot, but people in Clacton and elsewhere need to see change.

You made good points. However, when any celebrity endorses a certain side they can often alienate others who don't think politically like them. I'm not saying celebrities can't have an opinion but I'm more for them encouraging others the value of voting, that every vote counts and for people themselves to way up the pros and cons of who to vote for themselves. What happens in the USA will often be copied elsewhere, so it's too late to put the celebrity genie back in it's bottle for politics because it's here to stay.

In reply to some of the above, should we really be persuaded/influenced by celebrity endorsements of political figures left or right. I find the whole thing a bit cringe. Lastly it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said - 'Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people'. Plenty of things to attack both Harris and Trump on with regards to 'policy' but to reduce it down to how someone laughs (Harris) or drinks water (Trump) is in poor taste.

What an alarming price! At that price it's just not for me, maybe a price drop or see it on e-bay at some point in the future. Still could see this selling well for Xmas. The real question is, can it play Doom?

Interesting time period since now it's the Japanese which have expansion plans and not the Mongols from the first game. It's a video game first but I would be interested to see how the 'Ainu' people are depicted in the game. If anyone is interested in this time period onwards (I realise this video is not for everyone) -

Personally, I think the whole thing will be closer but it's difficult in this media fuelled world, where we often end up in echo chambers, to say who will win yet.

It looks like Ubisoft Quebec did a bit more research into things and consulted with Ubisoft Japan and more historians than I had originally thought. That's good however there are still areas that need to be fixed before the game releases. Even if the game was pushed back to early 2025, it would be for the better personally. Assassin's Creed Shadows - An Update for the Japanese Community (ubisoft.com) INTERVIEW | Yasuke and Assassin's Creed Shadows: A Japanese Historian's Perspective | JAPAN Forward (japan-forward.com)

Not overly impressed with things at the moment concerning the new government over a wide range of issues. I really feel that they need to read the room and repair public trust in them. The previous government messed things up for sure but they are not in charge now.

I don't have a TV license so won't be tuning in. I might watch a few clips via YouTube after the event or read the news about it online but that's it. Tokyo was such a muted affair that I lost a lot of interest in the whole thing, sorry.