The Nintendo news and discussion thread

[Flabyo]

And that's my pre-order for Breath of the Wild in.

For the WiiU.

(also Horizon Zero Dawn, because clearly I have nothing much planned for the start of March)

[Alex79]

I didn't get a chance to watch right to the end - the things people are saying, have Nintendo revealed they're going to offer a PS+/Games With Gold type system?

[Suits]

Total Biscuit has mentioned, that he's been told that once the free trial of the Nintendo Network on the Switch expires, the monthly charge to remain part of the service is $5 a month.

Which is pretty much in line with the other major console service providers.

I appreciate perhaps a slow start from Nintendo on this service in terms of features but for that amount of money a year, I want a full blown online service similar to PSN & XBL.

Which I'm almost sure it won't get close too. Unfortunately.

[Suits]

I didn't get a chance to watch right to the end - the things people are saying, have Nintendo revealed they're going to offer a PS+/Games With Gold type system?

Yes, there'll be a classic NES/SNES game per month with added online multiplayer functionality added.

It will only be available for a month though, then the title will change to something else and no longer be available to play for free.

[Flabyo]

There's a Nintendo Direct next week specifically on Fire Emblem.

Probably just be about Fire Emblem Warriors, but who knows?

There's been nothing of it on Koei's own YouTube channel yet, and they got things on there pretty quickly with Hyrule Warriors, so they might be holding back for the Direct. (It's still focused on revealing the characters in 'Warriors All-Stars' at the moment)

[Scrustle]

On the Nintendo Treehouse video for Arms they confirmed that the game also has traditional button controls, so you don't need to be flapping your hands around, so that's good. I'm still concerned how much staying power the game has though.

As for the comparisons between the Wii U and Switch versions of Zelda, I still think we don't really know enough. Clearly they're trying to make each version close, since neither seems to look significantly different from what has been shown. But I think we still haven't really seen either game properly. Don't think there are any direct feed videos out there which don't have something about them which could misrepresent the game. All stream VODs, or from different sources, etc. I have seen a comparison which makes it look like maybe the textures and draw distance are a tiny bit better on the Switch, but with some pretty flat lighting in darker areas compared to the Wii U version. But still, Can't tell for sure right now. I've got the special edition pre-ordered right now on Switch, but I might change my mind later. Just wanted to get my order in early in case that was my only chance. Given how quickly they sold out on Amazon though, I think I may have already been too late.

[Flabyo]

I don't think the Switch has existed long enough to have significantly affected development of Breath of the Wild. There might be some improvements, but they simply haven't had the time for anything major. Of course they could always patch further down the line if they choose to.

My main concern is that the game was designed with the WiiU touch pad in mind, and the Switch can't operate with both screens on at the same time so they will have had to fiddle about with it. It won't be to the extent that Twilight Princess was so heavily modified for the Wii though I think.

A lesser concern is the the WiiU version might end up being a shorter print run. Twiggy was pretty hard to find on Gamecube. (Of course they may offer the WiiU version as a digital download anyway, which gets around that)

[Scrustle]

It seems pretty obvious that the game on the Switch will basically be a port, like Twilight Princess was on the Wii. But I was hoping they could add in a few little extra details. Just pumping up some of the specs a bit. Something that it looks like they might be doing, like having slightly better texture filtering or higher resolution shadows. Nothing major, but I think those were things on the Wii U version did look like they could use some tweaking. I was never expecting it to be a totally different game with massively different assets.

I think that it's been known for a while now, though, that the Wii U version doesn't use tablet controls at all. It's all done through the TV screen. Personally, I don't mind if the Wii U version did have that over the Switch version anyway. I never really cared much for the tablet screen features on the HD games they put out on the Wii U. Don't like having to constantly refocus between screens. Found that to be more of a pain than pausing and doing it the old way. And with Wind Waker, since it's such a colourful game, I found that constantly trying to readjust my view actually gave me a headache.

[seansthomas]

I see it as a build up to Christmas and Mario on reflection. A steady stream of top tier stuff and then a massive push for the holidays. If they can also get a Pokemon out next year, this is going to absolutely kill it.

Me too. I suspect that this was to shift the initial batch to hardcore fans and tech lovers, slightly fleecing the early adopters as usual. Then there'll be a price drop, perhaps a new model and bundle for Christmas alongside a big marketing push.

But first impressions do count, and Nintendo have a lot of work to do...

[seansthomas]

Read somewhere that the Switch version of BOTW is half a gig bigger. But no one knows why.

[hazeredmist]

The sensible side of me is asking me to cancel my preorder and just play Zelda on the Wii U, considering every other game I want is ages away... Still not cancelled though.

[ThirdDrawing]

The thing I always find bizarre is that everyone complains Nintendo has no third party support.

The 64's was abysmal, but the Gamecube's was amazing. Of my 28 Gamecube games, 8 are first party Nintendo titles - 9 if you count F-Zero, which was done by Sega.

Of my 41 Wii games, 7 are first party Nintendo games.

They've already announced titles like Shin Megami Tensei for the machine. Nintendo seems to be the home for more traditional JRPGs now.

I'm not amazed by what I've seen, but I'm hopeful.

[Tleprie]

Haven't been keeping up too much with all the announcements, but Odyssey looks really cool; I'm happy seeing some new ideas there, especially since the city bits were giving me Sonic Adventure 2 vibes.

An expanded Mario Kart 8 is welcome and will keep me busy for a while seeing as how I still haven't completed the original version.

Bomberman is the only launch game that really interests me, so I'll probably hold off, maybe till the holiday season, but I'm definitely interested in getting one eventually.

[Stanshall]

Yes, the launch line up is slim but after E3 and once they start dipping into the handheld catalogue and make some home console fattened up system exclusive iterations of Pokemon, Monster Hunter, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem, Layton and all that other massive selling teenage girl, weeb and nerd panacea (let me introduce myself), it'll fly like shit off a shovel.

*snaps fingers*

[chase210]

I played the Switch at the event in London today, and I loved it!

[Stanshall]

OK, I'll bombard you.

What did you play? How does the joy grip feel? How about the joycons on their own? And turned sideways? What's haptic HD like? How does it feel in portable mode?

[Jobobonobo]

One positive of this, is that because it will only be about for a month, there will potentially been a large amount of traffic playing it for the time it's out.

With the reported online multiplayer being included in these titles, that would only be a good thing, as opposed to the little player counts you get on these retro titles nowadays.

Huh, did not know about the online function being put into the old titles, that is definitely cool. This is the thing with Nintendo, they will have some really great ideas such as this but then squander the potential due to their control freak attitude of restricting players. Keeping the online NES and SNES titles when you subscribe would make the service a lot more attractive and could even make it a viable competitor to XBLA and PSN. As always with Nintendo, it is one step forward, two steps back.

The thing I always find bizarre is that everyone complains Nintendo has no third party support.

The 64's was abysmal, but the Gamecube's was amazing. Of my 28 Gamecube games, 8 are first party Nintendo titles - 9 if you count F-Zero, which was done by Sega.

Of my 41 Wii games, 7 are first party Nintendo games.

They've already announced titles like Shin Megami Tensei for the machine. Nintendo seems to be the home for more traditional JRPGs now.

I'm not amazed by what I've seen, but I'm hopeful.

While it is true that the N64's third party support was poor, I feel it gets a pass from some due to Nintendo and Rare releasing games regularly enough that there were never software droughts of the length that the Wii U had. Also helped that it supporting 4 players naturally enabled it to fill a niche that the Playstation and Sega Saturn could not without additional peripherals. 4 player matches of Mario Kart and Goldeneye helped the time between big releases feel less painful. That was what helped me anyway Agreed on the Wii though, it never got the big names like Assassin's Creed or Mass Effect but its third party lineup had some unique gems that really gave the system an identity of its own such as Zack and Wiki and No More Heroes.

[chase210]

OK, I'll bombard you.

What did you play? How does the joy grip feel? How about the joycons on their own? And turned sideways? What's haptic HD like? How does it feel in portable mode?

Zelda, 1-2 Switch, Arms, Splatoon 2, Sonic! Zelda was good, but I think I'll have to be playing it myself in my own house to really get into it. Arms was better than I expected. 1-2 switch didn't feel like it should be selling for £50. Splatoon is more splatoon which is fab. And sonic is fun.

Joy grips feel good, though its very small. Not so small its uncomfortable though. Joy cons also feel good, but again, I'd have to judge again when OI have my own switch and not have them attached to the unit by security cables I'm sure the rumble controllers will be good, but I didn't feel blown away by them today, then again it was a very controlled environment and not the one I'll be playing it in.

And portable is great, the screen is gorgeous.

[Stanshall]

Cheers for that. Glad to hear it's rocking in portable mode. I genuinely can't imagine ever using the joycons separately with a friend or wife but good to know that if I ever do take it round to a mate's, it feels decent. I do absolutely love the idea of playing USF2 or Bomberman with my mate on the train commute or just cart it around with me for going back to a mate's after the pub.

Oh, I also adore the look of Snipperclips.

[chase210]

Shame its not launch. Not at all convinced 1-2 switch is worth £20, let alone £50.