Is Mario Kart 9 the sole launch game?
The Monday letters page thinks the cancellation of Concord may end up being a good thing for Sony, as one reader welcomes Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered.
Launch partner
Now that we’ve had a few days to mull over the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal I think we have to consider all the things Nintendo didn’t tell us. The most important to me is whether Mario Kart 9 is the main launch game. Mario Kart has never been a launch game before, that I remember, and it seems a bit of an odd choice to me.
It’s super popular, obviously, but it’s not really the sort of thing you show to someone else as a must-play game that will make you buy a console. Zelda: Breath Of The Wild was definitely that but I’m not sure Mario Kart will be. Like GC said, it’s more likely that most people will ask whether it’s a new game (mistaking it for Mario Kart 8) then they are anything else.
I’m hoping that something else will launch alongside it and ideally a new 3D Super Mario. Technically there’s no reason this couldn’t be the case, but I think I’m mostly resigned to the idea that it’ll only be Metroid Prime 4 at best.
I just hope that the new Mario Kart has a good single-player mode because it’s going to feel a bit odd to me to buy a new Nintendo console and the main launch game is basically multiplayer only.
Limpton
Legendary tease
I know we’re not getting a new mainline Zelda for a very long time, since Tears Of The Kingdom only just came out, but what are the chances we get an annoucement for the next one this year? Tears Of The Kingdom was announced just over two years after the release of Breath Of The Wild so a reveal, or at least a tease of some kind, in April wouldn’t be that out unbelievable an idea.
I mean, you announce a new console you’d want to assure everyone that your second biggest franchise is also going to be on it, and I don’t think another re-release for The Wind Waker is necessarily going to do that. Not saying it’s likely but just a (nice) thought to consider.
Cubbie
A silk purse
I still can’t believe that anyone is bothering to remaster Tomb Raider 4, 5, and 6. Everyone knows The Angel Of Darkness is awful, but The Last Revelation and Chronicles were also pretty bad. The formula was starting to wear thin and they were clearly running out of ideas, with so many games having come out in so short a period of time.
The weirdest thing about Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is that it seems to be making such a good job of everything. The first remaster collection was really good, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but they’re actually bringing back cut content from Angel Of Darkness and trying to improve it rather than just re-release it.
I’m intrigued enough that I probably will give it a try if the reviews are good. To turn a bad game into a good one must be the ultimate goal of every remaster and this time it may actually happen.
LZA
Tied up
I am very glad to see more Sony live service games being cancelled. The failure of Concord may end up being the best thing that ever happened to PlayStation. I know they say they got more money to make them, rather than diverting money from single-player games but that’s not really point.
The problem is the developers were tied up making the live service games instead of proper games. That’s exactly the reason Naughty Dog gave for cancelling The Last Of Us Online and it’s clear it’s been a problem for all the developers.
Bend Studio hasn’t announced anything for five years now and I think there’s got to be a real danger they’ll be shut down now, or not far from now, simply because you can’t afford to keep a company going for that length of time and not produce anything.
That’s Sony’s fault, not theirs, but at the end of the day hundreds of people are being employed at a company that hasn’t produced a single useable thing in half a decade.
Focus
Cannonball Run
Looking at the Mario Kart trailer recently shown I was wondering if there could be a gumball rally mode that is its main focus?
In the short trailer the track looks like it could be larger, not unlike some racing sims where you compete in full or short circuit races.
I think it would be a polarising decision to exclude the traditional cup tournaments but to have a gumball rally as a mode could expand the Mario Kart universe exponentially.
That would alleviate any concerns that a story mode would not have the replay value as a traditional Mario Kart racer.
Bad Edit
GC: Yes, that is the prevailing theory at the moment, although there’s no reason it couldn’t have cup tournaments as well.
Hopeful theories
So, the Switch 2 had its big reveal last week and I have to say it looks pretty classy with its Joy-Cons just having a hint of colour to differentiate between them.
I also like the idea of them doubling up as a mouse too. I can see a game like the new Ōkami snuggly fitting right into the console while having the mouse at its disposal to paint symbols on the screen.
We all know the functionality of the mouse is decade’s old now but, it would be nice to see Nintendo implement it into older Switch games that might benefit from it by using an update.
Obviously, the trailer is CGI, so we are only looking at a rendition of the console but at 51 seconds in, it’s hard to tell if Nintendo have done away with the IR camera or not on the right Joy-Con. At 61 seconds you see the left Joy-Cons equivalent and the grooves seem to mirror it.
To throw my two pennies into the ring of what the mystery button is. I think it’s a transmit button that makes it work similar to the Wii U’s gamepad, again not new technology, yet anyone who’s played the Luigi’s Mansion style ghost game from Nintendo Land in multilayer will tell you how much fun the concept of somebody having a separate screen is.
I also found the first Splatoon game where you could just press the map on the Game{ad to instantly transport across gave it the edge over its sequels when in a frantic battle online.
Of course, the Switch 2 dock would have to be permanently plugged in for this to work, so what happens when the Switch 2 console runs out of power?
I think that’s where the new USB port on the top of the console comes into play, so everyone can keep playing without consumers feeling cheated that they had to go out and buy a specialised Switch 2 charger in order to appreciate it in all its glory.
Me personally, I would absolutely love Nintendo to do a Labo 2 range for it. As building and playing those games on the original Switch was probably some of the best fun I had with that console.
Anyway, here’s hoping.
freeway 77
No change
I agree with what seems to be the consensus about the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal: it did nothing wrong but it also did nothing unexpected or exciting. Not that the idea of a new Nintendo console isn’t exciting in itself but the reveal certainly didn’t do anything to add to the hype.
A proper Nintendo Direct in April will hopefully be different but for now I’m in the same position I was before the reveal: I know virtually nothing about the console but I’m still looking forward to it anyway.
Cranston
A fine cup of gaming
At last, I am playing the now fixed Cyberpunk 2077 and thoroughly enjoying it; the nearly five year wait since its original release has been fine with me. To know that the last update was around mid-December 2024 shows the dedication that CD Projekt Red had with the game and being respectful and apologetic to the fans who brought it on release day back in 2020.
I remember seeing the many YouTube videos which used the name CyberBug or some other derogative name and showed all the many amusing scenarios where clipping and animation errors occurred, like road jams and vehicle crashes and characters doing a whole bunch of unusual and crazy actions.
Yes, the above was funny but the content creators or reviewers who made little jokes here and there have nearly all replayed the recent Ultimate Edition, which came out just before 2024 (which I bought), with all the patches on the disc and recent DLC Phantom Liberty. And they noticed the great amount of effort and attention in getting the annoying bugs fixed.
Also, on a different subject, I’d just like to say that the passing of David Lynch on the 16th January was definitely a loss for the world and to say he influenced many developers is a super positive thing. Disco Elysium, Alan Wake, and Hideo Kojima were definitely influenced by his imagination and development ideas.
Much love and respect to David Lynch and his family.
Alucard
GC: We second that. Although our favourite Lynchian video game is Deadly Premonition.
Inbox also-rans
I for one welcome the new look of Donkey Kong. If it means we never see Cranky Kong and the other Rare characters again I’ll be even happier. Next step: bring back Donkey Kong Jr.
Benjy Dog
What’s the chances of a double pack of Star Was: Fallen Order and Survivor on the Switch 2? I’d buy it.
Mergo
GC: We don’t know about a double pack, but we’d be surprised if both games didn’t make it onto the console.
