Switch 2 General Chat Thread (Aka, the final video game console)

[BryanM]

Turning back to the mainstream... I wonder how for many kids who were given this new small console, Mario Kart will be like the only actual S2 software they have on it for maybe years, and the parents will just keep buying them 2nd hand much cheaper S1 games (which in some cases, ie Pokemon, appear to now run smoother on the upgraded hardware). I guess a new Zelda or Splatoon could do it, but at say £70 upwards on physical in a shop, when so many people are feeling the strain financially now... tough one.

That's pretty much the issue with this thing... it's like a tax to be allowed to continue to buy new games, but the new games aren't meaningfully better than the old games. We're a long, long way from the exponential hardware gains of the 80's and 90's. That's why Mario Kart World tried to add more to do, since it couldn't compete with 8 directly.

There will be marios and zeldas and smash and fire emblem and animal crossings and a splatoon and if we sniff enough glue we could pretend a new Earthbound spiritual successor is in the cards (it isn't).

In normal times I could believe the price would come down to something reasonable like it used to do. There's not really enough time left for that, even if this still was that ideal world...

Anyway, simulated people, simulated worlds, and a much broader amount of things to do in the average game should be the upcoming standard of what a game is, in the upcoming decade. We're at the cusp of a major paradigm shift, except instead of being about graphics it's about the core guts of these things. Probably the worst time to invest a lot into a modern console in that regard; play some of your backlog instead you'll have just as much fun srsly.

Show me a single arcade distributor prior to exa who had a "no home version allowed" policy.

I'm not sure what you mean. That they're not allowed to support anything other than the arcade format? It'd make sense they wouldn't want to compete against console ports that already exist, and the owners of the IP can make any kind of revision or expansion of their properties that they want to, can't they? Is it just the Exa-specific variants being locked away from the common man that bothers you? I'm not missing anything am I, I'm not exactly well informed on this topic.

[Sumez]

Exa has an exclusivity clause, that's the whole crux here. Not the price of their systems, or that the games exist in the first place.
It's usually not a problem because their exclusives *often* aren't too interesting (but there are a few gems)

But it's very obviously anti-consumer, it's on the far end of that whole spectrum.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

No one has ever celebrated a game being exclusive to the arcades. Not in the 90s either.

a) Hardware in the 90s wasn't necessarily capable of 1 to 1 ports
b) I've never claimed anyone has "celebrated" exclusivity, merely that an arcade focused business model has shown itself to work in Japan and that's what they're interesting in focusing on. They're still available to arcades elsewhere though, there's like two different arcades in Toronto that have exA cabs. It's not that much different than Nintendo keeping their Mario and Zelda games exclusive to their hardware instead of opening their market up to Steam releases, or developers refusing to translate and release certain series outside of Japan. Many of the games on the exA platform are indeed available elsewhere, with the exA version simply including a rebalanced, exclusive game mode as an option. And again, we don't even know for sure if they'll never port their games, give it 5 or 10 years and maybe they'll start releasing home versions of exA ports. Roughly the same timeframe as a lot of CAVE's ports.

I still remember when Senjin Aleste got leaked and "content creators" in the English speaking world wouldn't shut up about how this brand new arcade game was playable if you knew where to look~ and honestly if that's how we behave screw the English arcade game market, we're entitled and ungrateful as all hell.

Probably the worst time to invest a lot into a modern console in that regard; play some of your backlog instead you'll have just as much fun srsly.

Yeah, I've heavily cut down on how many new games I've bought (the last one might be Devil Blade Reboot?) and I don't feel like I'm missing out.

[BryanM]

If I've learned anything about humanity, all opinions are held. During the Bioforce Ape prototype hijinks, there was a war between anons who thought it should be dumped for all humanity, while others insisted to never dump it to 'preserve its value'. Likewise that guy who bought an unreleased jRPG and sealed it away forever, saying "This game will only ever belong to Japan!"

Certainly there are affluent people here I remember back in the day being offended at the idea of ports. Something being locked into a premium format that nobody else can have makes it feel more valuable.

There's a part of me that thinks some of that stuff is really cool, like Steel Battalion's controller basically being a cockpit. (The original lead dev wanting to make the thing out of stainless steel originally was completely audacious.) Or Neo-Geo being in this weird spot where it was simultaneously far beyond the SNES and Genesis, but also not much of an improvement at all.

Still, I think things like driving and flight simulators (the whole rig that makes you feel like you're inside a vehicle) are a better use of one's savings. It is a bit silly for standard-input format arcade games to come at a premium; we're a long ways away from custom printed circuit boards, and since a system-on-a-chip can run the whole shebang, $2,000 per game does seem a little bit high.

[BEAMLORD]

Considering all the incredible old school (Mega Drive, late '80s/early '90s era) shooters that turned up on S1, I'd love to see Varth and/or Air Gallet appear on Switch 2. Some sort of Raizing pack would be epic as well. I had the Mahou racing thing on Saturn way back, but still never played the later games.

Just double-checking, R79, but are you aware that Varth is available on Capcom's Arcade Stadium 1, which was out on Switch 1 back on release? I would imagine that collection is also available on Switch 2, but couldn't say for sure, not owning a Switch 2.

[Despatche]

Jesus christ, please stop ever responding to any of my posts again

Stop writing awful lies all the time!

Show me a single arcade distributor prior to exa who had a "no home version allowed" policy.

They didn't need this policy prior to now because it was an implicit part of the environment! Home versions weren't really made for the benefit of people who were so unwilling to go to arcades, they were made for the benefit of the people who did go to arcades and wanted that experience at home. Ports have always been judged by either how accurate they are (if they're trying to be) or how fun they are (if accuracy isn't the goal). Many arcade games did not get anything resembling a port at all, either because the available hardware simply couldn't handle it, or it just wasn't worth the cost.

It's not at all operating in the same way arcade operators of the past did, and I have pointed out the exact differences many times before. There's nothing subjective about those points, so that part isn't a question of opinion.
The end result might be comparable, but the intent and decisions driving them are completely different. It honestly comes across like that "arcade credits were just pay2win mobile games of the time" argument.
No one has ever celebrated a game being exclusive to the arcades. Not in the 90s either. Especially not arcades which mostly only exist on other continents.

You haven't, and you can't, because they are operating the same way with the same intent! You are wrong about this. You are wrong about this whole "anti-consumer" narrative. Why can't you understand that? Why do you cling to a blatant lie so tightly?

I'll tell you exactly who's "celebrating": the people buying these damned things in the first place! If they're not, that's entirely their fault. exA keeps making games, so obviously someone out there is happy enough to keep funding them.

their exclusives *often* aren't too interesting (but there are a few gems)

Ah, and there's that downplay. I didn't really want it anyway, it's not very good! It's the principle that matters! Never mind that it only takes one game for a platform to matter.

But it's very obviously anti-consumer, it's on the far end of that whole spectrum.

I really want to believe that one of these days, you will finally realize that repeating something over and over again doesn't make it true. But experience tells me that it's a really bad idea to even have a little bit of hope here.

Still, I think things like driving and flight simulators (the whole rig that makes you feel like you're inside a vehicle) are a better use of one's savings. It is a bit silly for standard-input format arcade games to come at a premium; we're a long ways away from custom printed circuit boards, and since a system-on-a-chip can run the whole shebang, $2,000 per game does seem a little bit high.

The idea of individuals buying this hardware for their own homes is outlandish, and the only reason any arcade developer ever caters to this is because there really are outlandish people out there who want to do just that, and are begging arcade developers to provide options. This is especially strange when you consider that Japan (the target market for CAVE games as well as exA games) typically has much smaller housing compared to, say, the US. It is an excess (shoving a bunch of arcade hardware in your likely-larger-than-average house) stacked on top of an excess (being able to buy these for home use at all), but that is the world we live in.

That "premium" isn't intended for an individual to just buy and play at all, it's meant to be paid by the arcade operator. Your cost is whatever the arcade operator charges to play it, that is the premium you pay. That $2,000 is meant to be slowly paid off by players coming in to play the game, and anything after that is supposed to be profit, minus maintenance.

[Sumez]

Intentionally and specifically restricting consumers from buying a game because you want to run your business based around only a much smaller selections of operators buying them isn't "anti-consumer". Check

[Despatche]

Yes! Correct! That sentence is absolutely correct the second you take those stupid scarequotes and shove them up your ass. It does not require any "mental gymnastics" to understand and accept. You refuse to believe it, you mock the very idea, yet it is true regardless. It was true back then, it's true now, and it will remain true until humanity finally destroys itself.

[Sumez]

It's not that much different than Nintendo keeping their Mario and Zelda games exclusive to their hardware instead of opening their market up to Steam releases, or developers refusing to translate and release certain series outside of Japan.

I mean, both of those are bad from a consumer point of view as well, I wouldn't defend them. Nintendo has their business reasons to do so, but that's *their business*. Ie. obviously not consumer friendly. Designed specifically to cater to their wallet.
But even then you can't say there's "not much difference" between restrincting you games to a system that millions of people own, and restricting them to a system that you need to travel 8 hours to see.

[Despatche]

But you "needing" to travel 8 hours to see it is not exA's fault, nor should it be! They make these games primarily for Japanese arcades, places generally within walking distance. That they even bother to localize these games at all should be praised, and they only do it because there are people outside Japan willing to buy them.

[BryanM]

In the case of Ongeki it's more like 6,000 miles.

: (

[ZellSF]

New Nintendo Direct today.

Wii Ports of Mario Galaxy 1/2 that probably needed minimal work? 40$ each, or 70$ when bundled.

Mario Wonder is unsurprisingly finally getting a Switch 2 Edition, no word on upgrade paths, not coming until Spring 2026. To line up with the Mario Galaxy movie maybe, but why not use the Galaxy remasters for that? Nintendo being weird as usual.

Also Donkey Kong Bananza DLC already, too bad for people who thought its ridiculous price meant Nintendo sold you the full game.

For some reason Danganronpa 2 is getting a remake? Remaking the second game in the series is weird. Especially since it's not as dated as the first one, which needs it more and is the better game.

Oh and everything is game key cards still. Not particularly mentioned during the Direct, but worth mentioning. Even Limited Run Games are publishing game key cards now. Not that Limited Run Games weren't already a joke.

[R79]

Considering all the incredible old school (Mega Drive, late '80s/early '90s era) shooters that turned up on S1, I'd love to see Varth and/or Air Gallet appear on Switch 2. Some sort of Raizing pack would be epic as well. I had the Mahou racing thing on Saturn way back, but still never played the later games.

Just double-checking, R79, but are you aware that Varth is available on Capcom's Arcade Stadium 1, which was out on Switch 1 back on release? I would imagine that collection is also available on Switch 2, but couldn't say for sure, not owning a Switch 2.

It's on an old PS2 pack isn't it? I don't have any official NIntendo download stuff, never tangled with it.

I would imagine quite a few people purchased a Switch 2 at launch price, because they had very valid concerns the unit would only gradually rise in price, such is the way of the world as I type. Still no 2nd hand market really to speak of, but I'm sure by next year the field will be more fertile, so to speak.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I see listed on the USA region Nintendo Shop for both Switch 1 & 2, a Virtual Boy headset & cardboard version -- they are listed at $99.99 & $24.99 respectively. Here's the link: https://www.nintendo.com/us/whatsnew/ga ... -iCbkE56Vr

Fascinating that Nintendo would revive the Virtual Boy with Switch based hardware.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~