Short but good
So I think the Switch 2 reveal was good. I know some people were disappointed it was too short, and only showed one game, but there was never any chance it was going to show many games. We knew that going in and I think as an introduction to Switch 2 it worked fine. Everyone in my office watched it and they all seemed to be impressed and intrigued.
None of them had any idea it was on the way but a few then realised how long it had been since the first one had come out and agreed it was about time for a new console.
I’m not sure that was the best Mario Kart 9 footage they could’ve shown but it does seem to be open world to me, so that’s interesting and definitely something I want to know more about. Especially as the game’s success is all built around being simple and accessible for casual players.
Maybe the trailer could’ve had a bit more pizzazz – a voiceover wouldn’t have hurt or some kind of memorable music – but I think it did its job fine. It’s not Nintendo’s fault there were leaks and if there hadn’t have been I think it would’ve been unanimously accepted as a good thing.
Onibee
Screen grabber
Been watching with fascination at the unfolding events for the Switch 2 reveal and the hype train surrounding it. Nintendo hasn’t had this much hype since, err… the original Switch!
Seriously though, all this speculation has been free advertising and a masterclass in carrot-dangling and drip feeding. After all, what else has anyone been talking about for the last few months?
Now we’ve seen the hardware, fingers crossed it can live up to that build-up. A question that still remains to me is, will it be an OLED screen?
That’s a bit of a deal maker for me, as the quality of the one on the OLED Switch is incredible compared to the normal model.
Going forward, I’m really looking forward to the games reveals now and sincerely hoping for good support from the likes of Capcom, EA, and even Microsoft! If the machine can have the power of a portable PlayStation 4 then it should, with careful programming, be capable of great results and it would be great to see more ‘impossible’ ports.
ZiPPi
GC: Every rumour seems to agree it’s an 8 inch LCD screen and that making it OLED would’ve made it too expensive (which you could infer means an OLED version will be along in two or three years).
Minimum effort
That was a very bare bones Switch 2 reveal from Nintendo. It does make me wonder if it wasn’t the original plan to say anything now but because of all the leaks they cut and pasted the opening two minutes from the proper April reveal.
I like the look of the hardware though. A bigger, more powerful Switch with some extra functionality is good for me. As others have pointed out it’s not really the hardware where Nintendo needs to innovate most this gen but the software, with many of their IP needing a fresh take like with Zelda and Breath Of The Wild.
Looking forward to the April Direct though, so much still to find out. But will be tuning out of the Switch 2 news until then.
Simundo
It’s never too late to change
I like the new Donkey Kong design. I’m with those that never liked Rare’s take on him and the ‘new’ Rare characters were even worse. 40 years is a long time to go without ever really having a proper Nintendo sequel but I’m perfectly fine with the new 3D Super Mario being focused on him.
I also like his look in the new Mario Kart, seems much more expressive than the current version which is basically always pulling the same face. I don’t see how you add Diddy Kong and the others to the mix though, since they don’t seem to have been redesigned. They weren’t in the movie either, but I don’t think they were on screen much with him, so you don’t really get the contrast.
Higson
Do you like his new look? (Nintendo)
Taking sides
I always liked Shuihei Yoshida and can’t help thinking that he must’ve been pushed out of Sony, no matter what he says. He could’ve been at Sony till he retired, and I bet they did see his job in charge of indies as a demotion, even if he still enjoyed it.
It does make me wonder what happened with Jim Ryan though, did he jump or was he pushed? More importantly, was he for live service games or against them? If Shu was pushed, or even just encouraged to leave, and he was against live service games then maybe Ryan was as well? Maybe he was warning them against it and it was this new Hermen Hulst guy that was all for them.
It’s really impossible to tell because neither of them has really spoken about it properly in public, which is weird for something that’s meant to be the whole future of the company.
Arnie
Commitment issues
I just wanted to thank to both yourselves and Ali K who responded to my queries regarding gaming on Netflix. Pretty sure you both covered my main questions regarding performance and using touchscreen controls (I can only shudder to guess how these must work on GTA: San Andreas!).
I guess with the majority of games being fairly low budget indies, that they run well on a modest tablet, which is what I will be using. Thank you again for your heads-up about including Netflix games in the mobile round-up, this is one of the few sections I usually skip on your site, as I long since gave up playing games on my mobile.
Do Netflix ever release in advance a list of games coming up for release? I had a brief search and couldn’t really find anything conclusive, more just rumoured games. I am surprised they haven’t made more of a song and dance about their selection seeing as you mentioned there are some top titles available and even on the app the gaming section really isn’t given huge prominence.
DuckOfDeath82
PS: Thanks for the tip of Into The Breach. Luckily, I picked this up a few years ago on the Switch (thanks to your review) and lost many, many an hour of my life!
GC: They occasionally run news stories on their blog but we don’t think there’s a release schedule or anything like that. It’s hard to gauge their commitment though as we noticed quite a bit of Netflix Gaming advertising over Christmas and yet only a few months before that they shut down one of their in-house developers.
Superstar casting
Thinking of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, which had both Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart in it, I wonder what famous voices will be in The Elder Scrolls 6? I’m guessing a lot of ex-Game Of Thrones people. Charles Dance was already in The Witcher 3, so I bet most of them would be up for it.
It’s kind of fun to have such famous people in games but I have to wonder how cost effective it is. They’re rarely advertised as being in them, so does the enormous cost of paying them really get justified by more people buying the game because they’re in it?
Tacle
Portable upgrade
How powerful does an Xbox handheld need to be? Can it just be as powerful as the Switch 2? Because if Nintendo can get away with pushing out PlayStation 4 tech, why can’t Microsoft? Also, If you do enough digging you will see the plethora of options of handhelds and retro devices on the market, there are tons available to consumers. And I have owned every Xbox console.
I have no interest in the Switch 2 or what Sony does. So even as an Xbox Series X owner, an Xbox handheld is still of interest to me, as I have bought into their ecosystem. But, like I said, it’s going to be competing against a lot of options. So, I’m wondering how Microsoft will approach the handheld market because they are going to need something really special and unique to stand out. And right now, given their track record, that seems up for debate.
I know of two families that own Xboxes but haven’t upgraded to Xbox Series X, as they don’t see the point, as it’s enough for them to just be in the Xbox ecosystem and still playing Xbox 360 games on the Xbox one. Apply that on a larger scale and you can see how Microsoft struggled to sell Xbox Series X/S. So I think that’s what the handheld needs to be.
It needs to be that special bridge between generations that makes people upgrade or act as a stepping stone to the next gen. It’s also got to compete with the Switch 2 and treat it as a competitor. And it’s also got to have unique titles for the Xbox handheld that only it can do. Oh, and Xbox Prime sounds fine if only that was the real name. But sadly, I fear Microsoft will pick something silly like Xbox Series X2+ or some other nonsense.
stephen
GC: It’s the same for Sony. Half of all active PlayStation gamers are still using a PlayStation 4.
Inbox also-rans
Finally, the Nintendo Switch 2 is announced but now we have to wait till April for any more news? I thought it said February when I first saw the American trailer!
Renfield
I am definitely all for an open world 24-player Mario Kart game. But could they have chosen a more boring track for the teaser? It looked like Kalimari Desert in Mario Kart 64 (great track, mind!).
Doomsayer
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Games Inbox: Was the Nintendo Switch 2 announcement a disappointment?
