Nintendo Switch - Happy Switchmas Everyone!

[Dcubed]

It's funny how many people's favourite console on here was the N64. I'm pretty sure that if we did a poll, it would probably end up being No1.

 

Actually, I think I might just go ahead and make a thread about that. Might be fun

[Agent Gibbs]

Nobody ever remembers shadows of the empire, I thought that game was awesome

[Dcubed]

Nobody ever remembers shadows of the empire, I thought that game was awesome

 

I liked that one. Really amazing for a launch title!

 

Sure it was rough around the edges, but it was crazy ambitious for its time!

 

Gamasutra have a postmortem of the game's development process. It's a really interesting read!

[Hero-of-Time]

It's funny how many people's favourite console on here was the N64. I'm pretty sure that if we did a poll, it would probably end up being No1.

 

Actually, I think I might just go ahead and make a thread about that. Might be fun

 

It's probably my favourite Nintendo console but as for my favourite... that's a toughie. I mean, the PS2 was in god mode the best part of it's life.

[Dcubed]

It's probably my favourite Nintendo console but as for my favourite... that's a toughie. I mean, the PS2 was in god mode the best part of it's life.

 

I always much preferred the PS1 to the PS2 myself. Generally speaking I think that the libraries for Sony's consoles just got worse over time.

 

But then again, I love oddball niche stuff :p

[dazzybee]

Will people say the same when the next Metal Gear doesn't have Kojima attached?

 

The DKCR games have been really good but they're totally different to Metroid Prime.

 

Ah come on, that's completely different and you know it.

 

DKCR are different, but they're still absolutely incredible games in it's genre.

 

Films don't tend to suffer from framerate issues, blocky models and lack of twin sticks to control a character, do they?

 

We have moved on considerably from the early 3D days but that doesn't mean we shouldn't give credit where it is due. Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Smash, Mario Kart (in 3D). These were genius creations and the generation deserves full credit for what has essentially served as the archetype for Nintendo's bread and butter franchises ever since.

 

No but they couldn't produce sound, or colour, film acting and production standards where being figured out and developed; they couldn't have great effects etc etc

 

It is slightly different I concede, but still, there ARE games which are still amazing, and yes the games you mention are great and the N64 does have its place in history for what it did in its time etc I'm just saying it hasn't aged very well at all in the main.

[V. Amoleo]

Ah come on, that's completely different and you know it.

 

How is it different? Kojima was the director of the Metal Gear games and Pacini was the director on the Metroid Prime games. Just because Pacini didn't have his name under the title doesn't mean he wasn't as important to the development.

 

All I'm saying is that I don't think Retro Studios doing another Metroid Prime would be a guarantee of a good game anymore.

[dazzybee]

How is it different? Kojima was the director of the Metal Gear games and Pacini was the director on the Metroid Prime games. Just because Pacini didn't have his name under the title doesn't mean he wasn't as important to the development.

 

All I'm saying is that I don't think Retro Studios doing another Metroid Prime would be a guarantee of a good game anymore.

 

Well Kojima IS metal gear, the amount of control he would have had on that game is unrivalled. Pacini wouldn't have had that much, hardly any over Prime. And also Metroid was a fully established franchise. And Donkey Kong Country shows that without him they still make incredible games. No reason whatsoever to suggest it would impact retro.

[Emasher]

The fact that they're not doing Metroid anymore probably does have a lot more to do with the fact that the Metroid series tends to not sell that well to be fair. Donkey Kong Country Returns sold 6.39 Million units globally, whereas most Metroid games don't usually sell more than 2 Million (Metroid Prime and Metroid being the only exceptions). Tropical Freeze didn't sell that well either (1.16 Million), but that might have more to do with the Wii U's sales than anything, and I'm not entirely sure how accurate VG Chartz is with eShop purchases (or in general). Donkey Kong Country games are almost certainly cheaper to make than Metroid Prime games though, so even with the lower sales numbers of Tropical Freeze, it's quite possible Nintendo profited more from it than they did Prime 3, which sold a few hundred thousand units more than Tropical Freeze.

 

On the other hand though, Nintendo could have had them develop a Zelda game. Given the Prime games were some of the greatest 3D games in the metroidvania genre of all time, you would think Nintendo would might let them work with their other major (and much better selling) metroidvania-focused IP, but instead, they had them completely change genres to 2D platformers, which are much simpler games both in terms of design, and from a technical perspective. Miyamoto has actually stated before that he would like to work with Retro to develop a Zelda game, so it wouldn't really surprise me if the Donkey Kong games were a temporary thing to put the studio to work while it recovered. Aside from the three key staff members who left to form Armature, another one of their key programmers (Mark Haigh-Hutchinson) died, and a few other designers left to join other studios. It's also worth noting Retro has hired staff from Virgil Games, which was responsible for the Darksiders series, which are metroidvania games.

 

The recent commends made by the EA CEO don't surprise me at all. EA's interest is in profit, not holding grudges. They'll develop games for the NX if it's profitable for them to do so. Their lack of support for the Wii U probably has a lot more to do with the fact that it's not selling very well as opposed to Nintendo refusing to use Origin as a distribution platform.

[Goron_3]

The fact that they're not doing Metroid anymore probably does have a lot more to do with the fact that the Metroid series tends to not sell that well to be fair. Donkey Kong Country Returns sold 6.39 Million units globally, whereas most Metroid games don't usually sell more than 2 Million (Metroid Prime and Metroid being the only exceptions). Tropical Freeze didn't sell that well either (1.16 Million), but that might have more to do with the Wii U's sales than anything, and I'm not entirely sure how accurate VG Chartz is with eShop purchases (or in general). Donkey Kong Country games are almost certainly cheaper to make than Metroid Prime games though, so even with the lower sales numbers of Tropical Freeze, it's quite possible Nintendo profited more from it than they did Prime 3, which sold a few hundred thousand units more than Tropical Freeze.

 

On the other hand though, Nintendo could have had them develop a Zelda game. Given the Prime games were some of the greatest 3D games in the metroidvania genre of all time, you would think Nintendo would might let them work with their other major (and much better selling) metroidvania-focused IP, but instead, they had them completely change genres to 2D platformers, which are much simpler games both in terms of design, and from a technical perspective. Miyamoto has actually stated before that he would like to work with Retro to develop a Zelda game, so it wouldn't really surprise me if the Donkey Kong games were a temporary thing to put the studio to work while it recovered. Aside from the three key staff members who left to form Armature, another one of their key programmers (Mark Haigh-Hutchinson) died, and a few other designers left to join other studios. It's also worth noting Retro has hired staff from Virgil Games, which was responsible for the Darksiders series, which are metroidvania games.

 

The recent commends made by the EA CEO don't surprise me at all. EA's interest is in profit, not holding grudges. They'll develop games for the NX if it's profitable for them to do so. Their lack of support for the Wii U probably has a lot more to do with the fact that it's not selling very well as opposed to Nintendo refusing to use Origin as a distribution platform.

 

Whilst Metroid doesn't have a high attach ratio, it sells a lot of systems. Prime sold 2 million worldwide and had a huge impact on the Gamecube, with Argos, Currys and Dixons all U-turning on their decision to stop selling the Gamecube. All those new console sales meant that they sold more games, which means more $$$.

[Emasher]

I'm sure it had some impact, but both Super Mario Sunshine and Animal Crossing (which both had better sales), and Mario Party 4 (which had similar sales to Metroid Prime) came out the same year, so I'm a bit curious about what you're basing that on.

[Mr_Master_X2]

Well there's MPFF coming, AND they have never once said there isn't a true Metroid game in the works. Not once. All they've said is "if we started one NOW it would take such and such long to release." If you look at certain interviews it leads one to believe there may actually be one in the works.

[nekunando]

I always much preferred the PS1 to the PS2 myself. Generally speaking I think that the libraries for Sony's consoles just got worse over time.

 

But then again, I love oddball niche stuff :p

 

I also much prefer the PS1 to the PS2, though neither could ever hope to have anywhere near as many games for my tastes as the N64 and GC : peace:

 

I'd probably look at the PS2 library more favourably if I didn't have a GC as games like Splinter Cell, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Prince of Persia, Burnout 2: Point of Impact, Killer 7, Resident Evil 4 and Super Monkey Ball are all in my Gamecube collection but, of course, could also be bought on PS2. With that in mind, my actual PS2 collection isn't overly compelling and I was actually considering selling it all for a while as almost all the games I like for it, such as MGS 2, Silent Hill 2, Shadow of the Colossus and ICO can all be downloaded on PS3. I don't particularly care for Devil May Cry, God of War or anything else and I'm yet to get into the Kingdom Hearts games so there's only really Gitaroo Man, Onimusha and PES 6 that make my PS2 worthwhile..

[Goron_3]

I'm sure it had some impact, but both Super Mario Sunshine and Animal Crossing (which both had better sales), and Mario Party 4 (which had similar sales to Metroid Prime) came out the same year, so I'm a bit curious about what you're basing that on.

 

Prime caused GC sales to go up 1000% percent in the U.K, in part caused by the bundle and the insane reviews it got.

 

I don't recall MP4 or Animal Crossing having any effect on hardware sales.

[Dcubed]

Prime caused GC sales to go up 1000% percent in the U.K, in part caused by the bundle and the insane reviews it got.

 

I don't recall MP4 or Animal Crossing having any effect on hardware sales.

 

Animal Crossing and MP4 were slow burners which sold very well over time. The majority of Prime's sales came from its first week and then dropped off a cliff until it was given away as part of the bundle (which was also why you saw so many used copies for bargain prices back in the day).

 

It's hard to say what kind of effect that these games had on the GCN's overall hardware sales because they didn't explode out of the gate and fizzle out like Prime did.

 

In the context of Wii U though, it's fair to say that at this point in its life; a Prime game would have a more appreciatable impact on hardware sales than another Mario Party or AC game though because it fills a gap in its library; unlike say, a hypothetical Mario Party 11. Though it doesn't really matter much at this point as it's far too late for it to make much of an impact anyway.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

I was listening to the latest episode of PS I Love you XOXO yesterday and Colin and Greg were talking about the Wii U. Colin was saying that the NX could be the last roll of the dice for Nintendo if they don't get things in order. He mentions that it's not just a sales issue but, more importantly, a mind share one. The Wii U has continued the downward trajectory of the Nintendo console sales, minus the Wii bump, of course.

 

It was quite an interesting segment and this got me thinking. Everyone has their own theories as to what the NX is and when it will arrive. If the home console version of the NX isn't released next year, can Nintendo really afford their home console to be out of the limelight for yet another year?

 

Looking back at what I have played this year, and what I still have to play, the retail releases on the Wii U have been few and far between, some well below the quality you expect from the company. Will we have to put up with another year like this?

[peterl0]

I am more concerned about having a year worse than this one for the Wii U!

 

Unless they have something hidden up their sleeve we are looking at Star Fox, Twilight Princess, Gene Ibun Roku #FE (if it gets translated) and Zelda (if it is not moved to NX). Only Zelda there would approach the enjoyment I got out of Splatoon, Mario Maker and (hopefully) Xenoblade.

 

If NX does come out next year I would have thought November will be the target month, so that would still be 11 months.

[Hero-of-Time]

I am more concerned about having a year worse than this one for the Wii U!

 

Unless they have something hidden up their sleeve we are looking at Star Fox, Twilight Princess, Gene Ibun Roku #FE (if it gets translated) and Zelda (if it is not moved to NX). Only Zelda there would approach the enjoyment I got out of Splatoon, Mario Maker and (hopefully) Xenoblade.

 

If NX does come out next year I would have thought November will be the target month, so that would still be 11 months.

 

Apart from the FE game, the start of the year should be alright. Twilight Princess, Pokken Tournament and Starfox are all lineup for Spring. If FE makes it over here then I imagine it will be a Summer title and Zelda will be in the Autumn/Winter.

 

I'm sure there are other titles. I mean, Pikmin 4 was hinted at but that may be a NX title at this point.

[peterl0]

Oh yeah, I had forgotten about Pokken and Pikmin 4. We might just stretch to another 'bad' year then.

[Kounan]

I was listening to the latest episode of PS I Love you XOXO yesterday and Colin and Greg were talking about the Wii U. Colin was saying that the NX could be the last roll of the dice for Nintendo if they don't get things in order. He mentions that it's not just a sales issue but, more importantly, a mind share one. The Wii U has continued the downward trajectory of the Nintendo console sales, minus the Wii bump, of course.

 

It was quite an interesting segment and this got me thinking. Everyone has their own theories as to what the NX is and when it will arrive. If the home console version of the NX isn't released next year, can Nintendo really afford their home console to be out of the limelight for yet another year?

 

Looking back at what I have played this year, and what I still have to play, the retail releases on the Wii U have been few and far between, some well below the quality you expect from the company. Will we have to put up with another year like this?

I think that it also depends how they do in the mobile market. If they make really good money there and it is quite possible, plus they could increase the userbase, they could be OK even if the NX doesn't sell brilliantly and I think that with time they will sell more units as I expect them to make spin offs from mobile games on consoles (handheld).

[Hero-of-Time]

I think that it also depends how they do in the mobile market. If they make really good money there and it is quite possible, plus they could increase the userbase, they could be OK even if the NX doesn't sell brilliantly and I think that with time they will sell more units as I expect them to make spin offs from mobile games on consoles (handheld).

 

The mobile point is a good one. I suppose it depends on how well their plan actually works, with them wanting people to jump on to their consoles after sampling their IP on a mobile.

 

Funny you should mention mobile as i'm just on reading THIS old thread at the moment. It makes for some entertaining reading. What? It's a very slow day at work.

[Ronnie]

I like Colin and Greg a lot, but Colin's views on Nintendo are ridiculously harsh these days. He has such a closed mind about them. Compare to the likes of Jose, Altano and Peer from IGN and it's night and day. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

[Hero-of-Time]

I like Colin and Greg a lot, but Colin's views on Nintendo are ridiculously harsh these days. He has such a closed mind about them. Compare to the likes of Jose, Altano and Peer from IGN and it's night and day. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

Like a lot of people, he still loves Nintendo games but he just hates their consoles. The guy got burned bad by the Wii and since trying what the competition had on offer at the time (360/PS3), he hasn't looked back since.

[Ronnie]

Like a lot of people, he still loves Nintendo games but he just hates their consoles. The guy got burned bad by the Wii and since trying what the competition had on offer at the time (360/PS3), he hasn't looked back since.

 

I know but he doesn't even give the games a chance. He goes on about how the Wii U is a disaster of a console on Kinda Funny (in terms of hardware, not sales), then Tim always replies how much he loves his consoles because of the GAMES, something Colin always says it's what's most important. Yet he never seems to apply that POV to Nintendo, short of saying how much their games are great. Meh.

 

I think he's one of, if not the most interesting people to listen to in the gaming industry, but some of his Nintendo criticism is very unfair.

[peterl0]

What is 'PS I Love you XOXO'? Sounds interesting.