It won‘t but it will make it a little bit uncomfortable because I don‘t use the switch handheld much and keep it behind the TV.
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To be fair, the Express format is up to NVME speeds so it’s definitely an upgrade. If it means, along with the faster CPU and WiFi, that it doesn’t take hours to download games, then it’s fine by me.
They maximized the profit, and they made much more money with mobile type of games - with a type of psychological gambling schemes involved. Lootbox etc - these games made more money than some of the AAA titels - and as business decision they can make such a mobile game with much less developers, and get the same or more amount of money. If they would actually care for the art, there would be more games like elden ring.
Microsoft only cares about one thing. Subscriptions to services. That is why they are pretty much a joke to me now. Ditched their OSes at home, and couldn’t be happier.
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It’s like they’re not even trying to maximize those by making good products you’d buy subs to use in either, which is why I’m thinking they’re focusing primarily on Azure (beyond the general moneymakers like Office, of course.)
I tested 3 or so OS versions at MSFT, not a coincidence that after firing all but a handful of software testers (including not renewing my contract) Windows went to absolute shit. In the long run I think I’m more annoyed at Windows as a product than the lost income! (I did need to get out of that learned helplessness, it’s such a morass.)
Anyway, Nintendo is large enough to have its own problems, but at least they have actual products instead of throwing swill at consumers.
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There was a video podcast I saw once, about why Nintendo is so aggressive when it comes to litigation. And it was something along the lines of, their IP is all they’ve got. Nintendo aren’t like Microsoft and Sony and these other players, they don’t have huge planet-wide computer businesses and make TV’s and operating systems and cameras and all this other stuff. They’re more of a video game Disney than a Sony or MS.
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There has been some talk that the new faster and more expensive memory on game carts are part of the reason behind the price bump on games… and them still not wanting to burn bridges with physical retailers meaning the keep the game prices physical and web somewhat in parody.
I can understand wanting to please physical retailers by keeping parity between online / physical edition prices… I do wonder how much longer physical editions are going to last in gaming in general (other than, perhaps, special releases). It feels like something destined to go extinct…
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I hope not. I’m tired of renting my media. I still buy physical records, cds, tapes, blu-rays, books, and games. Hard drives give out. Servers go down. Companies go under. Even some of the places you can buy digital movies will just take them from your collection.
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I can totally relate to the attachment to physical media purchases. I also hate reading PDFs compared to paper media.
OT
When I worked at blockbuster in the late 90’s / very early 00’s, most of the time when they would pull a movie it would become a previously viewed sale item, but occasionally there would be films on a “do not resell” list which had to be removed from shelves. Basically where they were no longer going to rent that tape and could not resell it, so we had to destroy them.
I literally shudder to think at some of the sci fi and horror classics along with rare foreign and other miscellaneous rare vhs titles that i was made to physically smash with hammers and other such implements because of this list.
Occasionally there would be something that I couldn’t bear to destroy and would sneak off to stash it in the trunk of my car. I think that I still a have a few random ones from these contraband tapes like an earlyish Bruce Campbell movie - Maniac Cop, maybe a couple others. Most of my vhs collection is gone unfortunately but it was quite expansive at one point.
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Same here. While it’s a pain in the ass to move with records and books, they instantly make me feel at home as soon as I’ve unpacked them. What’s often overlooked is how book and LP artwork brings art (meaning graphic design or photos) into our everyday lives like no other medium.
Videogame boxes unfortunately look like shit most of the time, so I just stash them away. But it’s nice that you can sell them and recoup some of the cost. This is especially important for Nintendo games, used prices for Switch games so far have landed on around 40€ after some months and stayed there for years, meaning you can basically play them for free if you don’t want to collect them. I’ve played entire libraries of Nintendo systems this way by investing around 100€ initially.
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Moving is the worst and every time I do it I contemplate selling everything so I don’t have to put it all in a box van again.
Big agree on the artwork. I used to buy the $1 sci-fi paperbacks just for the art.
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I’ve by and large moved to digital for my game purchases and I love it. I don’t need to swap out discs and game cards, lose them or scratch them, everything is on the device. I way prefer this. That said I’m happy for the kids that still get cartridges under a Christmas tree, and for the folks that prefer to roll physical for the second hand market factors, and the sales which more often come to physical.
I think physicals days are numbered, and it’s funny the conversations that come up around it - physical media slipped away quietly and died on PC years ago, and literally no one even noticed.
I think Nintendo will probably be the last to hold on, and their game key cards are a sign of what’s to come, but they’re also highly considerate of the world we still live in. I think that’s a pretty great gesture from Nintendo, as you can still buy and sell those on the used market.
Likewise, some of the game sharing features are actually pretty nice, like only one person in a family having to own a cartridge, as well as being able to loan out virtual game cards. They’ve clearly thought about a considered move to a more digital world, rather than just cutting it off completely.
I think all of that is glimpse of the future to come, but with a bit of hope - as Nintendo is showing - companies find ways to keep the benefits of physical media alive even while fully digital.
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I somehow struggle with fears of being hacked someday.
Don‘t know if that happens often but if someone would be able to steal my steam Account, this would be massive.
This is such a difficult thing for me because I also hate “renting” content. I appreciate owning what I’ve purchased and I’m considering following the kindle jailbreak path soon too.
I also live in NYC, so anything physical needs to be something I truly like and it applies to games, vinyl, books and anything that could occupy space.
The one area that worries me most about Nintendo’s cartridges is that the updates don’t save to the card, and combine that with gaming industry standards where games mostly meet their release dates full of bugs, its hard to get the same value of a hardware cartridge compared to the updated software counterpart.
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Yeah, GameStop was never that great but still a shame to lose even that option for physical media having been run into the ground by a babyman and converted into a “meme stock” to extract surplus value from a cult of desperate apocalyptics who feel being scammed is their lottery ticket.
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Yeah old media breaking down is becoming more and more a thing though… day one patches and all that jazz. Really pirating is the only reliable form of preservation left in the game industry… which seems crazy but what are you gonna do.
Not gonna lie I want one. The recent news of the prices staying the same is a relief, but another interesting bit of news is Nintendo was already taking a loss on the hardware. (The only other time was the WiiU.) The console costs roughly $400 for them to even manufacture, before packaging, marketing, distribution, etc.
Given all that, there are some tips floating around on how to save money. Seems Nintendo put some slightly-hidden avenues into the ecosystem to soften the blow of $80 games. So, besides that actual retail prices are likely going to be less than MSRP (at least online) things aren’t quite as apocalyptic as everybody thought.
- Game Share - if you got a family or gaming friend group, only one copy of MKW is required to local P2P.
- Virtual Game Card - kind of a gimped way to share digital games (but better than nothing?)
- The $50 online service tier comes with Switch 1 game upgrades and a ton of virtual console games.
I think the main problem was with Nintendo’s messaging. Trying to hide the price of MKW was stupid, and the jump itself was too big and out-of-nowhere. Some kind of “please understand” type announcement would have gone a long way. Also $75 for both MKW and DKB would have had a much better look than $70 / $80 imo.
Anyway fuck Game Key Cards. That’s the most anti-consumer news of all.
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Agreed on all counts. I haven’t purchased a physical game in a long, long time and don’t plan to. I know people get itchy about preservation and replayability, and I respect those positions - especially preservation. But realistically on a personal level, I’m not going to ever replay 99% of the games I’ve purchased just like I don’t generally rewatch movies or TV shows or reread books, with a small handful of exceptions I’m extremely attached to from childhood.
I’ve added 2fa to all my valuable accounts. It’s not perfect, but it helps enough that I think the odds of getting hacked are basically 0 unless there are basically 0 unless there are AI hacking advancements I’m unaware of.
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Intentional or not, the typo at the end here is chefs kiss.
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