S.C.G

Interesting to hear that they've decided to not increase the prices now... I'm still not renewing, but with the news on Free to Play games, soon being actually Free to Play, with that seemingly happening in a few months time, maybe I'll give PSO2 another go.

I mean... I could say that I'm surprised but... It's Activision-Blizzard. This will likely carry on until there's only a handful of oversized "AAA" studios left, with Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo buying up the rest for the exclusivity. Or... everything could get bought by TenCent. Then all you've got is the 'big' developers who'll carry on doing what they're doing, and the Indies, who will probably do a lot better overall if they can stay afloat and not get bought. I think we're going to see a lot of smaller games doing better as time goes by, because with a business model that the big companies have, putting everything into a few big projects, if those games aren't really what people want to buy then... I can see a lot of bigger game companies going under as well. The hypothetical future of the games industry is a dichotomal one, both unpredictable in some ways, and completely predictable in others. This news falls into the latter part of it, sad but expected. I did buy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (technically twice) even if it was second-hand, but even then, I didn't end up playing the games much, because as polished as the remasters were, and as fun to play as they were, I can see how even something with the past popularity of this fanchise can get lost in the sea of software after those initial sales, and while remakes of the third and fourth games could have done quite well with the same engine, I wonder if even that would have been enough to save the studio, from what seems to be a pre-determined outcome.

Yep... I'm out, I was already planning on not renewing my Xbox Live sub this year when it's up in March, this just affirms that decision. Same for Playstation Plus, I don't get enough mileage out of either, seeing as I don't play many games these days. Nintendo Switch Online is only £17.99... I've already renewed it, it'll let me play Monster Hunter Rise online, along with other games I already play, that'll do, for me.

N-E Café Episode 61 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Welcome back @nekunando it's great to hear you back on the podcast, I enjoyed hearing about your favourite games of last year, personally, I'd struggle to mention five different games. Nice to hear that @Nicktendo has cleared both Part-Time UFO and Luigi's Mansion 3, the latter, I would like to return to, the former, I haven't purchased yet, and @Londragon really sells Grindstone as an interesting mashup of Puzzle and RPG, the last time I heard that same combination of genres, was in Puzzle Quest a few years back, which I enjoyed at the time. Directs have definitely had their day, or at least, in their previous iteration... the smaller presentations, spread out through the year will likely be how Nintendo wants to play it now, especially if they are trying to spread content out as much as possible throughout the year, even the presentations from third-parties are stretched out, just look at the last Monster Hunter Rise presentation, there was a short video, and they must have re-used the footage a good few times from that clip. It turns out they didn't need much more than that, not with the announcement of the demo as well, but it's clear to see how the focus has shifted for these presentations. YouTube link is in the article, the upload of the article and me getting around to listening coincided again this week, I'll be listening to it on YT now, as that works a lot better, but at least the Soundcloud link is always in every article, though YouTube is clearly the default archive now for all episodes. Nice work all round, and it'll be nice to see who wins that game code for The Hong Kong Massacre.

Probably, I received my code for Zarude just over a month ago, though I haven't redeemed it, and probably won't. Would you like my Zarude code? Assuming it's still valid, of course.

Nice find @Hero-of-Time Also a nice reminder of the days when dedicated Nintendo handhelds used to come with the power adapter in the box. I don't have that many different models of the Nintendo DS or 3DS any more, as the upgrades were so frequent, I'd tend to buy the next model when it came out. While I don't even use my 3DS as much as I used to, I still keep it as there's possibly a few games I'll return to, and I've got a spare New Nintendo 3DS XL just in case, plus one or two brand new adapters so that any 3DS consoles can continue to be used.

I've never downloaded any mobile game. I don't even own a smartphone... I can confidently say that I'm probably the only person on N-Europe who doesn't own one. Do I win a prize? (if it's a smartphone, I don't want it) - - - - - Do Nintendo ever have anything worth having in exchange for Platinum points? I gave up on them a while ago, only going for the gold points which come with Switch games. The course decoration kit does seem alright, for what it is, but equally, it's something which could have been included in the box for Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. But hey, it's something, for almost nothing.

Perhaps something linked to Nintendo Switch Online? Pay £5 - £10 and get access to Bowser's Fury as a standalone download, for the lifetime of your online subscription. If Nintendo do decide to go the route of having gold and platinum subscriptions (as I believe @Nicktendo suggested) then something like this would be an ideal offering. As it stands, I won't be buying Super Mario 3D World again, because as good as the extra content is, it's not worth paying £40 - £50 for, to me.

N-E Café Episode 60 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - It was great to hear some more impressions on Monster Hunter Rise, and being that it's the game and topic of the moment, I thought it would be fitting if the banner reflected this, though I realised that we have already had a banner showing some art from the game, so instead, I've taken the monster icon art (from Monster Hunter World, as it happens) which shows two monsters which I'm pretty certain are in the game, and either way, I think it looks nice as banner art. The competition should being in a few more viewers potentially, plus it's good to have a giveaway when we can, I also had a message back from our contact who gave us the codes, they were very grateful for the review, the fact that the code was being used as a giveaway, and that they've been kept informed of this, so good news all round. I put the YouTube link in straight away this time, I even listened on there instead of on Soundcloud this week, and I'm looking forward to next weeks episode.

Pokémon 25th Anniversary - 25 Years of Memories video Now up on the main page. PR and video. - - - - -

Saturday is fine for Mario Kart, though if Smash moves to Saturday right after Mario Kart as well, I'll probably just be in for the dlc character nights.

I played the demo last night, I was plaing each of the missions on and off for a while, starting the the basics tutorial, which went just as expected, getting used to what has been changed and what remains the same in this latest entry in the Monster Hunter series. It seems like a perfect pairing of old Monster Hunter and the new style shown in World, but with its own unique elements, which work well within the game world. It took a little while, just to customise the HUD, as I prefer it when there's a minimum of information on the screen, I couldn't work out how to get it so that the HUD moreorless disappears, like in Monster Hunter Generations, until you toggle it while running, but I got rid of a few superfluous notifications and 'features' like the quick select wheel which comes up, as the old style item selection works just fine for me. Both training missions were fine, they outline what to expect from the game pretty well, as for the main missions... Beginner Quest: Great Izuchi - Standard entry-level Monster Hunter quest, easy enough to get into the combat, use your surroundings, take out some smaller enemies which appear, and generally get a feel for the flow of the game, when the monster reaches a certain amount of damage taken, it seems to use the system from world where it will automatically run to a certain location on the map, this seems to happen two or three times for more standard monsters; defeated it without too much trouble. Intermediate Quest: Mizutsune - This quest proved to be a bit more of a challenge, despite having faced Mizutsune many times over in Monster Hunter games before, this new version seems to take a few few more hits, it might be that because it's a demo and that you can't pick anything about your character, plus the weapons seems to be quite low-grade, coupled with the more World-focused combat/damage system. Anyway... I got taken out twice, chased the monster all the way around the map, came into contact with another Izuchi and a Rathian which I got to ride, then decided to run from the Rathian and managed to take out Mizutsune with around seven minutes left on the clock. It's a great demo, the game seems to be the perfect balance of everything which I'd want from a Monster Hunter game, it's a shame to hear about the online issues, though I'd have thought these would be ironed out before the game comes out, will I be buying the game when it comes out? Quite possible, but it's only the start of January, and the game isn't out until the end of March, so we'll see what happens, I want to say that I'll be getting it, in all likelihood I will, as there isn't really any other game coming out on any other platform which I'm interested in. Monster Hunter Rise certainly seems to be, at first glance, another solid entry in the Monster Hunter series, and while Generations is the ideal entry point if you want a representation of what the series has mostly been about from the start, with World being a clear intention of where Capcom want to take the series, Rise seems to take the middle path between the two, not going toward either of the previously well-worn paths, but instead forging a new one, which could be just what the series needs.

N-E Café Episode 59 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - I enjoyed listening to your 2021 predictions for Nintendo, and great choice for the title "Nintendo to Shut Down on March 31st" because what with all of the games which may well be going off-sale again on that day, and the lack of many other titles coming out aside from Monster Hunter Rise (I know there are more, I just can't think of any right now) then you could well believe it... though I suspect it's probably a financial year thing, and Nintendo are probably playing it cautiously. I've updated this episode and the previous two with the YouTube links, so everything is up to date again, and I look forward to next weeks episode.

Monster Hunter Digital Event January 2021 Roundup Up on the main page. N-Europe's roundup of the event, full press release and video embed. - - - - - A demo then? Excellent news, I'll likely be trying that out later. They certainly got a lot of mileage out of that short video clip though.

I might as well change my vote to What Remains of Edith Finch there you go, enjoy the game, it's a great walking/talking simulator.

Steamworld Dig 2 because I still haven't played it.

N-E Café Episode 58 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Nice choice of games for the 2020 Awards, it was a lot more enjoyable than The Game Awards, and significantly less ad-ridden. If you'd like a listener question for next week, this may or may not already tie into next weeks main topic but... What game are you most looking forward to in 2021? For me, it would have to be Monster Hunter Rise, aside from that, I don't see myself buying any other games, at this point in time. Anyway, looking forward to the next episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

A great episode to round off the year. I'll promote it properly on the main page tomorrow, as I've only had time to listen to it while uploading the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity review. I'm pretty certain on the transition tunes though...

N-E Café Episode 57 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Another excellent listen this week, it was nice to hear about what you've all been playing this week, I know some weeks there will be a lot to talk about, while other weeks might seem empty, but an hour here and there spent gaming, it does add up... I was surprised that I managed ten hours of gaming this week, all online as well, which leads nicely onto... This weeks Listener Question about Local versus Online Gaming, it was good to get everyones perspective on the topic, especially as arranging gaming sessions can be trying, if you're busy anyway, so online can be easier in that respect, I can remember many a fond local multiplayer session, though that doesn't happen much these days, and hasn't for a while, which is probably why I'm drawn to online gaming, it's definitely the community aspect which makes it for me. Well played on the tunes this week, I don't want to spoil it but it's nice and festive, and wanting to carry on the theme, I went for images from ice levels in games which featured on Nintendo platforms, rather than making a banner based on this weeks talked about games, as none of the images I could find, would have really worked that well in a banner. Anyway, looking forward to the next episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

I've unlocked Sephiroth, though it's likely I'll be playing some Mario Kart online at around 8pm. (especially as I missed playing it this week in the league) But I'll likely join a bit later, if that's the case, probably around 9pm or so, but either way, I'm sure it'll be a great session.

Super Nintendo World Direct 18/12/2020 Roundup All up on the main page. A brief summary, and entire video presentation embed. - - - - - It does look good, clearly a lot of time, energy and resources went into making Super Nintendo World a reality, it's just not something I can get that excited over, but it was nice to see Shigeru Miyamoto giving a brief tour around the place, and you can see that he's happy to see all of this being brought to life, it must be a big moment for him. If anyone is planning on going to visit Super Nintendo World, whenever that's possible, then I'm sure they'll have a great time there, personally, I've never been that bothered about theme parks in general, though I can see that this is a significant venture for Nintendo. I'm sure the place will print money, so long as people actually have the money to spend... and if not, at least the place is now a reality, though it would be good to see people actually get to enjoy the place, otherwise... it's one heck of an expensive statement by Nintendo and Universal.

Mr. Sakurai presents Sephiroth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Roundup All up on the main page. Full press release, and entire video presentation embed. - - - - - Right, time to unlock Sephiroth a few days early through the in-game challenge.

I completely forgot that it was Thursday, 8pm just passed me by without a second-thought. I won't join part-way through, my place on the leaderboard is all but finalised in any case. All the best though, and thanks for all the GP's and Battle mode runs we've had this year, it has been fun.

N-E Café Episode 56 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - I think its been a good week for the podcast on the news front, which made for some really decent discussion, what with Sephiroth being announced for Smash, and The Game Awards in general, especially as a new Perfect Dark game was announced, also, I know there hasn't been a lot to talk about on the Nintendo front with games, but it is interesting hearing about some Nintendo games, plus games from other platforms, obviously it depends on what you've all been playing each week, it definitely adds a good bit of contrast though. Thanks for answering my Listener Question as well, I thought it was a standard question, but one which didn't seem to have been asked before, plus it's always interesting to hear about how everyone plays their games, and what their favourite ways to play are as well, especially with games that you're familiar with. The next edition should be interesting, as I'm assuming that the main topic could well be the Nintendo Indie World Presentation which aired today, I can almost hear Greg's response to a lot of the Indie games... it's likely the same for me, as although a lot of titles with a great deal of variety were shown, only a couple of games genuinely interest me on a 'I can see myself playing that' level. Anyway, looking forward to next weeks episode, and I'll update this weeks episode with the YouTube embed, as soon as it's available.

Nintendo Indie World 15/12/2020 Presentation Roundup All up on the main site, N-Europe's Roundup of the presentation. Full press release and video embed. I had no expectations for this, games were shown, plenty that I probably won't be purchasing, though there's clearly a lot of variety on offer. Cyber Shadow looks decent.