Dcubed

At the end of the day, it's mostly a worse version of the original D/P (And I do mean Diamond/Pearl, not even Platinum). There's very little that they've added, and there's even stuff taken away (such as the GTS). Not to mention that nothing from Platinum was included. It was also released in an utterly dire state (FFS, it didn't even have a bloody title screen or a proper soundtrack on its original cartridge print! Prior to its, very late, post launch updates, it was in a shambolic and utterly unacceptable state). It's not hard to see why people were unhappy with it.

Yup. Sounds like they're going all-in on Fallout and Elder Scrolls; screw everything else basically.

It's insane! HiFi Rush was a hit, and unanimously considered Xbox's best reviewed game of 2023! Why would you shut down the studio responsible for your best received game!? And Arkane Austin were responsible for numerous criticically acclaimed titles before being forced onto a multiplayer project that they didn't want to make. Why should they die for the sins of Bethesda's execs!? Meanwhile, the other Bethesda developers are seemingly getting roped into Fallout duty as they scramble to respond to the success of the TV show... which not only consolodates their output into a single franchise, but will also end up releasing several years from now; far too late to capitalise on any success from the TV show. These are the exact studios that Microsoft desperately need right now. They need criticically acclaimed exclusives like people need water. FFS! This is exactly the mistake they made back in the Xbone era that landed them in the mess they're currently in! It's nuts! The last thing Xbox needs is a return of the endless tired old Forza, Gears, Halo trinity (now with Fallout and COD added in for good measure). Xbox is so fucked.

What the actual fuck!?

Wouldn't be the first time Nintendo had announced a game for a console, only to later port it exclusively to its successor. Their history is littered with examples (Super Paper Mario, Sim City, Eternal Darkness, Pikmin 3, Project Giant Robot etc).

If they follow the same pattern as with Switch 1, that full reveal with price/release date/launch lineup won't be coming until January anyway. September will be the first unveil video showing the basic concept of the new console... which is the kind of thing we always get with a new console before the big blowout. The announcement to release cycle for a brand new console is always at least 1 year; has been that way throughout the entire history of the industry; and I don't expect that to change here. The ~1 year clock starts now.

Ensuring the success of their next console and securing their business as a going concern over the next 6-8 years is more important than selling a few extra copies of a single game. Remember that Nintendo has no backup if Switch 2 fails. There is no seperate handheld pillar to prop them up this time, so they have to make sure that Switch 2 is an explosive success right away in order to keep their business going through the transitionary period. That means no dicking around with their releases and being all-hands-on-deck to make sure that Switch 2 is a massive success. Switch 1's days are numbered, and they cannot afford to let Switch 2 fail. The big hitters need to be exclusively focused on Switch 2 now (which is why the last year of Switch 1 has been almost entirely made up of remasters/remakes that are mostly outsourced).

Now that we have confirmation of a June Direct, the question then becomes "What are they going to show there?" This will almost certainly be the last Direct focused on the current Switch model. So I reckon they're gonna look to go out on a good note here. Wasting Metroid Prime 4 on the current Switch would be a stupid move, but if it is going to still happen for the existing Switch 1; this is the game's last chance of being announced for Switch 1. If it doesn't appear here, then it's a guaranteed launch window title for Switch 2; and it'll probably be exclusive and not a cross-generational release. Now, I think it's safe to say that the majority of the Switch 1's lineup is gonna be made up of Wii U ports and Wii/3DS HD remasters/remakes, we all know this, has been the case for around a year now. But I do think we're gonna get a small handful of new games and we already know about Nintendo World Championships, but I propose that we could also be looking at a new Mario Party game too. ND Cube usually put out one game every 1-1.5 years and the last game they worked on was Everybody 1,2,Switch as a co-development with EPD (Their last solo game being Mario Party Superstars in 2021), so I reckon they'd be due another release come November this year. We have had late-life Mario Party releases a few times before (7, Advance, 9 and Top 100 all spring to mind immediately) and it's basically a guaranteed 7+ million seller by this point. So I reckon it'd fit the bill nicely. HAL are also due to pump out one more Kirby game (their last release being Kirby & The Forgotten Land in 2022 - KRTDdx was made by Vanpool; before being shut down that same year... perhaps their staff were absorbed by HAL and IS?). You all know that every Nintendo console has to close out with an incredibly late Kirby game, it's basically law at this point. So I'm gonna bet on a Kirby game either at the end of this year, or start of 2025. Naturally, we also have Level 5's upcoming games that are due eventually too. Not unlikely that they'll show up here again with new trailers and (hopefully!) release dates. Add on a spattering of ports/remasters/remakes (Metroid Prime 2 & 3, Zelda TP HD/TWW HD seem like shoe-ins at least) and you've got yourself a solid console closing Direct I reckon

Well we now have our official "start" of Switch 2, so this can now be our thread regarding everything to do with the next console. If anything, it'll stop me clogging up the main Switch thread with my console begging

Our first official announcement regarding Switch's successor at long last! Will be formally announced/unveiled this financial year, but not during the next Direct in June (so probably in September then).

Fixed that for you.

Hint: Try rubbing the badges while playing in handheld mode

Liam Robertson is back! Fascinating video. Such a shame about what happened to Vicarious Visions… Hope that Nintendo keep working with their descendants (Velan Studios) going forward. They’re good peeps.

This is gonna be one of those cases where strong arming isn't gonna have the effect that Sony are looking for...

This game is a surprise little multiplayer gem. I can't imagine it being much fun on your own, but it's a cracking little multiplayer platformer racer! It's also drippin' with 90's 'tude, which just adds to the charm in my book. Seriously! We had a great time with it when me @Glen-i, @BowserBasher and @S.C.G played it last week, and it's also been a hit with my other friends too. Give it a shot if you've got the NSO Expansion Pack! I reckon you'll be pleasantly surprised, as there's nothing else quite like it In case you want an idea for how impressive it is, it has over 100 stages... despite being released on the smallest N64 cartridge possible (just a mere 32 mbit/4MB!), and even a fair amount of voice acting too! Iguana simply didn't miss back in the mid 90s, and it's not hard to see how this talent would eventually transition over to Retro Studios a few years later.

If we’re getting a port of Rainbow Paintbrush, it’ll probably be handheld mode only. Wouldn't be the first 1st party game to ship without supporting a specific Switch configuration. Brain Training Switch is Handheld only; and Switch Sports is Docked mode only. They’ll surely have to ship physical copies with a Stylus though, even if it’s an el-cheapo one like what came with SMM2 and Brain Training. It’d be unplayable with finger only. PCJ is an excellent example of game that should’ve just been handheld mode only. The Docked experience is utterly woeful.

I don't think this is actually the NES ROM on NSO... the description makes it sound like a new take on NES Remix instead! That would be very cool! Edit: Looks like Pyoro is confirming! Awesome! I wonder if we could potentially get a SNES edition or a Game Boy Edition later on as well? Edit 2: Will cost $30 (So, same price as NES Remix 1&2/Ultimate NES Remix)

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7191713903104450560/ There goes another one... Shame, Good Job was a decent game.

I've got the cartridge of this game and I can totally see why it was skipped over for localisation. It's basically a glorified demo/prototype, with only 40 Pokemon being useable and no real single player content of any kind. Barebones doesn't even begin to describe it. Supposedly this game was originally meant for the 64DD before being hastily ported to cartridge... which would certainly explain why this game is so utterly bereft of content and why it was supplanted by the Pokemon Stadium that we know here in the west so quickly (just 8 months after the release of the original game in Japan). In fact, we can verify this is true, because if you play this game with a 64DD attached to your console, you get a special error message saying that the expected 64DD disk is missing! FWIW, Mario Party 1 also has a similar error message... I can only assume that our Pokemon Stadium 1 is basically the game that this was supposed to be, not unlike how Mario Tennis Aces was basically the finished version of Mario Tennis Ultra Smash. It's a neat curio, but really, we didn't miss out on much here. Its successor makes this game completely redundant.

Wouldn't surprise me. Resident Evil is a well oiled machine at this point. I just hope that they don't try to pull another Dragon's Dogma 2 and that they've learned from their mistakes with rushing that game out the door before it was done.

Sorry guys, I had to post these highlights... ... There Was Nothing I Could Do...

Because there was nothing you could do.

Ahh!!! @BowserBasher!! Glen can’t join in tonight all of a sudden! You have to host! SAVE US ALL!!!

Uh oh... ... looks like Project Bloom might be in trouble...