GundamGuru

@paulmako: From the sounds of it I don't think the next mainline Pokemon will be on Switch. All we've heard rumored is that a Pokemon Switch game is planned, but it could just be a spinoff like Pokken or a new Pokemon Snap. After all, the Switch Fire Emblem that was announced is a damn Dynasty Warriors game. Now I know how the Zelda fans felt about Hyrule Warriors.

The guys over at Wired have a good interview with Reggie Fils-Amie that directly comments on common concerns I've seen posted. The full article text is here, but I wanted to share some excerpts I found particularly interesting.

[Wired]: Nintendo’s online service for Switch will charge a monthly fee and one of the incentives is one free classic game “per month.” Does that mean you lose access to that game after a month?

Reggie Fils-Aime: Correct. It means that essentially you’ve got access to that game for a period of time, and then after the month there’s a new selection. You’ll have the opportunity to buy it, but [after] that month we’ve moved on to another game. I think it would be helpful maybe to step back. Because I think it’s important there’s an understanding of the bigger vision. The bigger vision is that we are going to provide an overall online service, subscription-based, that not only will capture the multiplayer opportunity, but also the voice chat capability that we’re going to provide through a global app...

Reggie Fils-Amie: [Regarding availability] ...I know, because I read the boards and I read the comments, that there is concern about supply. From what I’ve read, the concern seems to stem from the lack of ability to buy NES Classic.... What happened with NES Classic is that was a situation where the global demand was well in excess of anything we had anticipated, and that’s what created shortages....

[Wired]: Did the surprising, to you, demand for NES Classic open your eyes to understanding the popularity of classic Nintendo products in this day and age?

Reggie Fils-Amie: We know the popularity of our classic games. That’s a known situation. The challenge for us is that with this particular system, we thought honestly that the key consumer would be between 30 and 40 years old, with kids, who had stepped away from gaming for some period of time... Because again, how many times have you purchased the original Super Mario Bros.? We thought that the consumer that already had a Wii or a Wii U and had purchased those games once or twice already, we didn’t think that they’d buy the NES Classic.

[Wired]: What does the launch of Switch mean for 3DS?

Fils-Aime: 3DS has a long life in front of it. We’ve already announced games that will be launching in the first couple quarters of this year. There are a number of big games coming. And in our view, the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Switch are going to live side-by-side... They’re going to coexist just fine. We’ve done this before, managing two different systems. I think there’s a sense that Nintendo Switch is a portable device. It is portable. But at its heart, it’s a home console that you can take with you on the go.

So it looks like this idea of Switch taking the portable torch is out, and they are directly chasing the XBL/PS+ crowd with their new service. Nintendo also seems to continue to be surprised at the value their back catalog has with fans.

That's actually really fascinating, and thanks for the long reply. Believe it or not, I'm one of those weirdos who's played all of the FFs and will still tell you that FFVIII is my favorite (I liked the scifi direction, premise, setting, and characters, not the weird ending), but that's neither here nor there. Your blog/playthrough of IX makes much more sense in that context, since it peddles so much in nostalgia, which you don't have. I suppose I was the opposite of you in that regard. I grew up on a steady diet of JRPGs, and only got into western stuff late in high school, when I got handed-down my first desktop computer. I've soured a ton on the genre in my old age. I suppose my only suggestion would be to branch out of the FF series soon, well before playing them all (it's not worth it). Might I recommend Xenogears/XenosagaStar Ocean or Legend of the Dragoon?

@conmulligan: 500 people turning the rating around in 9 hours is reaching? What is vote brigading, then?

Case and point on why you can't trust Steam reviews: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/5nc63s/elite_dangerous_still_has_a_mixed_rating_on_steam/

Elite Dangerous is one of most amazing games I have ever played. It is polished, sounds amazing, and has an impressive amount of content & much more of it on the way.

The fact that it is a 6/10 on Steam, with global & current reviews rated as "Mixed" blows my mind.

Please consider reviewing it on Steam. I think Frontier has embarked on a grand journey in order to make the best space sim out there, and they deserve our support.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/359320/

Edit: I'm being told that this game is not polished. I realize that some of us might have a different a different opinion on what that word means. By polished, I meant it feels quick and responsive (in the menus & in-game) - The attention to visual and audio details are amazing. Even the damn maps look amazing. Some devs have poured their heart and soul into this game, and it's tangible. No one here is saying that this game doesn't have a lot of bugs left. it sure does - but to me, that shouldn't solely decide if this game is polished or not.

Edit 2: I'm also being accused of "manipulating" or "inflating" the game's score on Steam. I'm not. I am simply asking people to re-consider their initial the reviews. This game has come a long way. It deserves to be re-considered.

Edit 3: FRONTIER YOU DID IT! NEW RECENT SCORE = MOSTLY POSITIVE ! HOLY SHIT! WELL DESERVED! I hope you guys never stop working on this game. It only gets better and better.

When I pointed out what he was trying to do was vote brigading, the poster wanted to argue with me about how there was nothing wrong with what he's doing. The edits are what really take the cake on this one.

You guys ever seen anything like this on other games? This is the first time I've had it happen right in front of me like that.

As far as I can remember, it was my Buckyball A* run of 18 hours 16 minutes 45 seconds in Elite: Dangerous. It was a total of 26,000 ly and about 1000 individual hyperspace jumps. Though we did take bathroom and meal breaks, the official runtime is real world not playtime. It took a whole Saturday, and my friend and I listened to the entirety of Leviathan Wakes on Audible while we were doing it. I've got a screenshot gallery on Imgur with the ship loadout, timestamps, and some vanity shots of the ship. You had to submit screens of your departure and arrival time to get on the leaderboard.

I've never done anything like Extra Life, and after the BBA run, fun as it was, I don't think I've got that kind of endurance in me again.

@zombiepie: So, real talk for a new-ish user who's not been keeping up with your trek through the Final Fantasies... do you hate JRPGs? And if so, why are you putting yourself through all this? Or is this some kind of Giant Bomb inside joke that I've missed the setup for?

Patrick Klepek did a neat little article on the encounter last Friday. They talked about it on their podcast, too. Patrick mentioned that he's got an upcoming interview with the FDev coming up, so keep your eyes out for that, if you're interested.

Alright, @rorie what did you do with it? https://www.cnet.com/news/razer-prototypes-stolen-ces-2017/

Ha, I remember those damn things. They supposedly saved the heads in your actual tape deck from excessive wear. I just liked it 'cause it was way faster.