The Nintendo news and discussion thread

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

I'm much the same living in a big city so personally I'm not greatly effected, but there are millions of regular train and tube users who are shit out of luck, plus there are still decent chunks of the UK that have pretty patchy signal.

They're also launching this thing in 150 territories, so when you add up the pure number of people across all those countries for whom this will be an issue, they've basically just done themselves out of a potentially massive amount of revenue.

It's just a terrible, terrible idea.

[Suits]

Hmmmm, I'd like to see what sort of connection it needs first before I start to pin the entire hopes of the Switch on this decision.

Reading the comments on that Eurogamer article, Nintendo are doomed, quick pull your investment out !!!

It might just need to check in when you start the app, which might not eradicate everyone issues with the decision but might reduce the severity of it, or so it seems.

Realistically, how often do you not have phone signal/data ??

Having working in London for many years and used the tube for hours daily, gaming on whilst on there wasn't ever anything I wanted to do. I do understand that some do though. I used to use the WiFi down there and refresh the page on my phone at each stop, not ideal but it gave me what I wanted. Again, until we know what sort of connection it needs we wont know if that will suffice.

You have to have an internet connection to use Facebook/Twitter etc.. and people get by fine on that.

I'm not trying to defend Nintendo here, just trying to put this decision into a wider perspective.

[Craig]

Honest question, no snide intended, do you not get any signal in the Tube? Must make for some dull journies (when podcasts run out of course )

[Suits]

Generally, no. Not a reliable signal anyway.

You sometimes get a brief connection on the shallow/surface stations but nothing really, no.

The tube was fitted with WiFi point in about 2012 I think, which was free to use if you have a Virgin media account, which I didn't but a mate did and gave me his log in to use.

Again, that wasn't constant, not through the tunnels, just in the stations, when you stopped but as long as you loaded a page or video at a station it was fine until you hit the next station in 2 minutes time.

[Flabyo]

Most stations on the tube have wifi now, as you say provided by Virgin Media.

Wiring up the tunnels would be... hard. Really hard. Some of the tunnels in the London network are really deep, and others go under buildings that would quite rightly not be happy having a public wifi point under them.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Hmmmm, I'd like to see what sort of connection it needs first before I start to pin the entire hopes of the Switch on this decision.

Don't worry I'm not doing that! I've not been jumping on the Switch hype train since they announced it yet said almost nothing about it

Reading the comments on that Eurogamer article, Nintendo are doomed, quick pull your investment out !!!

Eurogamer is a great site but the comments are generally full of bile. But then that's most of the internet sadly apart from here

Realistically, how often do you not have phone signal/data??

When I'm in my home city barely ever, but when I'm on trains around the country visiting clients (when I'd love to be playing Super Mario Run) I'm in and out of signal constantly. Plus like I said, across the 150 territories they're releasing in there will be millions of potential players for whom this will be an issue.

You have to have an internet connection to use Facebook/Twitter etc.. and people get by fine on that.

People don't pay £8 for the privilege of using either of those free apps. If I buy a mobile game with a single player mode I expect to be able to play it whenever I like, not just under the conditions in which Nintendo allows me to.

Whatever way you slice it, it's a needlessly anti-consumer move.

[Suits]

You have to have an internet connection to use Facebook/Twitter etc.. and people get by fine on that.

People don't pay £8 for the privilege of using either of those free apps. If I buy a mobile game with a single player mode I expect to be able to play it whenever I like, not just under the conditions in which Nintendo allows me to.

Very valid, true point, one which I didn't consider.

My point was more based about the connectivity, of such a popular app and how much that hinges on internet connection.

I still don't think it's too much of a deal breaker for the majority of people that would be interested in the game.

Be interesting to see how it all unfolds though.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Be interesting to see how it all unfolds though.

It will! Regardless, I still think this will sell very well and make Nintendo a bucket load of cash (I'll be buying it day one anyway!), just maybe a bit less now. I guess if it really does prove a big problem for people they can always patch it out at a later date or not include it in future games.

[Craig]

It's a bit crap, but I don't think it's that strange for a mobile game to have these days. Not a defence of the concept, but I think people buying mobile games have either accepted it or don't care. I don't think it'll effect sales in any significant way.

[Flabyo]

There is a difference of expectation here for sure. People who primarily play on mobile, who are not and have probably never been console gamers, will most likely not care one way or the other. Plenty of mobile games require a connection to play, it's not unusual at all.

The more 'gamer' audience are coming at this expecting it'll behave like the games they know on the 3DS etc... and it won't. It can't, the platform doesn't work that way.

I can't see why they need it for the single player stuff, but I can think of reasons why a developer would want to.

[gallo_pinto]

I don't know. I used to commute by subway to work and I could only play offline games on my phone. I thought Hearthstone looked great, but I couldn't play it on my commute so I dropped it. And that was a game that obviously needed to be online.

I agree Super Mario Run will make a bunch of money, but I could see people feeling burned and that affecting sales of Nintendo's next mobile game.

[seansthomas]

Just when they seemed to have got with the programme!

Oh Nintendo. I do love you, but man, you're frustratingly dense at times...

[KissMammal]

It's an anti-piracy measure. A minor inconvenience, sure, but I think it's fair enough, really. It won't put me off from buying.

[seansthomas]

It's an anti-piracy measure. A minor inconvenience, sure, but I think it's fair enough, really. It won't put me off from buying.

I get minimal coverage on my commute, so if it requires a constant connection I'll not get it. Wouldn't play it at home.

Usually I think that peoples reactions to these sorts of things are overblown but this does seem a bit controlling, certainly on iOS.

[Flabyo]

It's an anti-piracy measure.

This is the part of their explanation I struggle with.

Because I don't believe there is such a thing as effective anti piracy on mobile. It's why f2p is the main focus for the mobile powerhouse companies. Trying to protect the app itself is a futile battle that you will not win.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

Oh English people and there perceptions of shoddy mobile coverage! Come to Australia: it's super rubbish here! (So many of my tourism motto's for Australia never get published for some reason... )

Putting the quality of mobile coverage aside, and the fact that the two other Nintendo apps available (well, one Nintendo, one Niantic) are also online only... and also putting aside the possible quality of Super Mario Run as a game, my question is this: how often does anyone here, under ideal circumstances, prefer the mobile (iOS, Android) version of a game over a "proper" console/PC release?

I ask because I look at all the games I currently have on my phone, and if I didn't look at them I would probably forget that I even had them! Granted, I drive to work rather than take public transport, so my situation is different to others, and in the circumstances where I was taking the train into the city to do a course, there were games like Monument Valley, or Hitman Go, games that were good and made the commute more tolerable.

Eventually I took my Vita on those train trips, because despite how sophisticated mobile games has become, between using a touch screen and traditional controllers, I prefer the latter.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is: regardless of how good Super Mario Run could eventually be (and in an ideal world lets imagine there was a single player offline option), would you choose that over a proper, 3DS Mario title, with proper controls?

[Craig]

There is no distinction between proper games and mobile games, they're both games. Those that succeed best understand their platform's strengths and weaknesses. Pokemon Go or Lifeline wouldn't work nearly as well on a handheld console the same way Street Fighter 2 wouldn't work well on a device really purely on imprecise touch controls.

An experience does not have to be compromised to be a mobile game, but it does require consideration of the limits. Hitman and Lara Croft Go are both wonderful experiences which I really like just having on my phone. It means I can play a bit standing on a train or if I'm in a long queue. Neither I feel would play any better on device with button controls, but I don't think they'd suffer either.

As far as Nintendo's properties go, I think generally Nintendo is great at understanding and exploring limited spaces and considering how to use those limits and strengths effectively. It's essentially Gunpei Yokoi's philosophy of using old tech in inventive ways that has echoed through the company for decades.

Mario Run looks to be shaping up well. Is it a new Mario 3DS title? Nah, but it's a different experience with different goals. The Rayman games in that ilk are great.

If they do it right, Animal Crossing is the game that could really shine on mobile. It's slow paced and simple enough that touch screen controls won't be an issue, and it's the kind of game that benefits from being there all the time with you. Morning commute? Check Facebook, check Twitter, check Animal Crossing.

[Alex79]

I'm really hoping Mario Run comes to Android. I thought it was releasing alongside the ios version, but it looks like I thought wrong.

[Stanshall]

It is coming but it's a timed Apple exclusive, from what I read.

I have little enthusiasm for the NSMB range and have three games sitting there unfinished on Wii U and 3DS so important not massively fussed about this, either. It looks very shallow but I hope it makes a tonne of cash which they invest in Switch development.

[Joshihatsumitsu]

If they do it right, Animal Crossing is the game that could really shine on mobile. It's slow paced and simple enough that touch screen controls won't be an issue, and it's the kind of game that benefits from being there all the time with you. Morning commute? Check Facebook, check Twitter, check Animal Crossing.

From a gameplay point on a touch screen device I can see Animal Crossing working much better. From a marketing/sales point, Mario is a very reliable and recognisable brand, so I understand why Nintendo sent in the big guns, so to speak.

I do agree with you that games are games regardless of device. I guess there are certain aspects of mobile gaming that leave a bad taste in my mouth, like micro-transactions (I'd rather buy outright) which have been making there way into the non-mobile market, unfortunately.

And god-damn mandatory online connection. I know the official line is that it's an anti-piracy measure, and to some extent it's probably true, but I think its more of a data mining thing. I think anyone signing up for any social media service must be aware to some degree that there's going to be some level of data mining, as it's the nature of the beast and how they make their money. And if that's what it is with Mario Run, just say it up front. It might turn some people off, but I think they'll have more than enough people signing up anyway. I mean, it's Mario! Non-gamers know Mario; non-gamers love Pokemon Go.

These are just my personal feelings, and assumptions, at the end of the day. I'll be checking out when it comes out anyway, at least the free version, and probably at work where there's free Wi-Fi. I did check out Pokemon Go when it came out, and eventually realised there wasn't much game in that game, then deleted it. For some bizarre reason I still have Miitomo on my phone. Poor little guy in that app keeps asking for friends, and I keep having to remind him that I'm the only one still using this app, so you better get used to that empty room!