@ll_exile_ll: There's also two perfect examples of this happening already. The Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask remakes on 3DS were brand new graphics and more features and those were both separate and fully priced like a regular 3DS game. Both were $40 at the time which was the cost of any other 3DS game. I think they would have done the same thing here if they did add more to them because that's how Nintendo is.

This will still likely sell bucketloads, and all our (mostly justified) complaints will fall on deaf ears. I think it's madness, but then the business practices of giant Japanese software/hardware firms are largely baffling to me anyway.

I can still play 64 and Sunshine in their original release formats without too much hassle luckily - I just don't ever really want to anymore. I'll happily go back to a lot of the 2D games but the older 3D ones are tough to return to, especially if I've had time away playing more modern iterations, like Odyssey. Never having a Wii had made me hope for a Switch version of Galaxy 1&2 but not enough to get this.

Sad thing is, I genuinely don't see Nintendo feeling real problems from the backlash (they rarely have in the past, I love them but they are pretty damn stubborn) and wouldn't be surprised if they do something pretty weird with the Metroid Prime Remasters now (which would really bum me out). It's like Disney in the times of VHS all over again.

AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE UNTIL MARCH 31ST 2021

From Nintendo's website. So it might be a timed limitation rather than stock?

@shindig: Yes, I think that is everyone's understanding of it.

The physical retail version of this Mario collection will ship some finite amount of copies to stores, and sell out whenever it sells out (I doubt retailers have to abide by the March 31st date, that would be insane). Meanwhile, the digital version of this Mario collection has effectively infinite copies, but will probably be removed from the Nintendo digital store after March 31st.

From Nintendo's wording, I think it seems unlikely that there is a limited number of digital keys for the software or anything weird like that.

There's also the two HD Zelda remasters on Wii U (Wind Waker and Twilight Princess). They were each a standalone full priced release.

@bisonhero: Yes, the wording on the digital stuff is it'll be playable for as long as it is archived on Uncle Nintendo's servers.

The six month deadline sounds to me like they've seen a graph of diminishing returns and based the decision around that. The business around selling classics has always been weird but there's probably a universal truth of the nostalgia hype not matching the sales.

@shindig: "Diminishing returns" implies it costs them something to keep games in the digital catalog, when in fact that's basically free money.

The only way this makes sense is if they plan to sell each game individually (for more) later on.

I can't see this being done any more poorly.

I want to play Sunshine on a modern console because getting a functional Gamecube off of eBay and trying to wire it up (no HDMI ports on them) is too much hassle, same with emulators where you get the additional problem that it is illegal to do so. Aside from wishing it was cheaper (an argument that you can apply to literally every item that costs money - I wish my rent was cheaper, I wish movie tickets were cheaper, I wish beer was cheaper, and so on) I don't see how it could be done any better.

Show me a server rack that costs nothing.

I can promise you that deleting 5GB of data from whatever CDN they contract with saves them zero money.

Yeah, on an individual game basis. But the storefront will always grow. Over the course of the Switch, is that cost likely to stay stable?

@ntm: it's gotta run on a Switch Lite right?

As a refresher, the pointer in Mario Galaxy has to pass over star bits to collect them (you get them from literally any range as long as they are visible on-screen). The same pointer is used to shoot star bits, which I don’t think is used for any mandatory puzzle in maybe the entire game, but it briefly stuns enemies, and also you can shoot little gold domes or sprouts on the ground to create coins if you need healing. Also they make you shoot star bits at NPC Lumas as a form of currency.

The whole pointer-for-star-bits thing is so extraneous they should be able to remove it, especially because if they don’t then Switch Lite owners are boned.

If they just hack out the motion controls but make no other alterations, it’ll be quite a bit harder to farm star bits, as without the pointer they bounce around and are hard to touch manually and TONS of them are floating off-stage in a distant area you can never touch. You need several thousand star bits to give to NPC Lumas to unlock side challenges.

Nintendo has practiced this nearly predatory behavior of pulling on old nostalgia strings while simultaneously creating artificial scarcity for years so it’s not all too surprising. I wouldn’t even say it’s tone-deaf to their customer wants and needs because they know exactly what they’re doing.

On the one hand, I haven't played Mario 64 in 20 years, so I'm almost willing to bite even with this minimum of effort.

On the other hand, after looking at the effort Activision was willing to put into their ports (and how weird does it feel to praise Activision for putting effort into something), I feel like this could have been so much more.

Maybe they tried it, and Mario 64's fiercely polygonal geometry just didn't jibe with a new coat of paint. I think it's more likely that they didn't try, though.

I'm trying to think what you could do to 64 for quality of life. Outside of full camera control, I can't see much else. Also, if they we're going to spend time and money creating new assets, this wouldn't be a limited release.

Nintendo are hard to bargain with so i guess Nintendo could only get the rights to sell them for 6 months.

This is sad. Unlike the original All Stars which updated the 8-bit classics to 16-bit and included The Lost Levels as an extra, this 3D All Stars are just Rom dumps of games you can play by other means. And yet they plan to charge full price for it. This reminds me of Xeno Chronicles they ported from the Wii U to the Switch and how its actually an inferior version of the game when it comes to resolution. Instead of running at 1080p which the Switch should be more than capable of doing, they choose 720p, just like the Mario games.

Nintendo is clearly doing bare-bones when it comes to these classic conversions, knowing that many loyal Nintendo fans will buy the games anyway.

The original Xenoblade was on the Wii, and ran at 480p capped at 25 fps (PAL version). If you are referring to playing Xenoblade on Wii U, that was simply a virtual console release that emulated the Wii version, so it was running at a 480p resolution that was being run through a digital output of 1080p from the Wii U, which actually cleaned up the image slightly because the Wii output was analog.

With Xenoblade DE being a complete graphical overhaul, the Switch would have absolutely chugged if it tried to run that game at 1080p. It actually has a dynamic resolution that can dip to 378 (extremely rare cases), similar to Xenoblade 2. It runs at 720p and still has dips, so 1080p would be an fps nightmare.

It's one of the games on Switch that really makes me pine for a Switch Pro, something that could utilize DLSS 2.0 and get these newer Switch games looking and running better. Because as someone who mostly plays docked, the Switch is getting more & more dated by the minute.

Wow, thanks for clearing that up. And as someone who also plays docked on a 4K television, you're right, the games do look pretty dated resolution wise. This maybe the reason Nintendo might be coming out with an updated Switch which is supposed to look good on a 4K set.

It pains me that this will probably still sell well because of the limited time thing. Nintendo knows exactly what they are doing, but it’s disgusting. $60 for 3 barebones ports.

I already felt pretty ripped off by the remake of Link‘s Awakening (good game, but nowhere near the production values to justify full price - should have been $30) First time and last time I’ll drink the cult of Nintendo Kool-aid hopefully.

Same deal with Pikmin 3, which I unfortunately really want to play, but I can’t support Nintend’s ridiculous pricing for ports and old games.

I'm probably still gonna buy it, though. I like my Switch. I wanna use it more often.

When you play Mario 64 like this but in 3440 x 1440, you realize then and there that there is no god.

I still need to figure out how to install mods, though.

I'm picking it up. My Switch is a first-party machine at the moment and I've only got two games on the thing since I bought it. 3 great games in one package is fine for me and I'll get my £50's worth.

I feel like I'm the only one that is happy they've not touched Mario 64.

I've not played it since 120 (I think it was 120!) stars completion in 1996! I want to play it again how it was - Sadly my N64 gave up the ghost a long long long time ago.

64 reminds me Mario can punch and kick.

My brother bought it, not necessarily for me, but kind of as he wants me to go through it. Yes, it is bare-bones, but I still think it's really good. Galaxy is excellent and the necessity of gyro-controls, as opposed to the Wii's motion controls, is totally fine here. I am just super happy that I can use the pro controller. It does feel more akin to what we're used to with most Mario games. I think the resolution/frame rate thing is the biggest issue with the package because otherwise, it's fantastic.

I am not sure if I will go through Super Mario 64, but I plan on going through Sunshine and Galaxy. I'm also surprised that they both utilize surround sound, or at least it sounds as if it does and it's not just faux surround due to my receiver. I don't think 64 does though (not quite sure). I think Sunshine is the one I'm interested most in seeing through, but Galaxy is better than ever and it is the 'remaster' that I've wanted to play.

@lionsy: Widescreen wouldn't hurt, and camera controls, i think 60fps is optional in this case because how that game moves and functions is engrained into the core of many of us, but you know, save states, give it something, charging for emulation just looks bad.

Yeah, the camera controls for 64 feel their age.

@cikame: I'm enjoying playing 64, The camera controls don't bother me, I only really got it to play 64 again but honestly, it being in 4:3 is a bit, uh, weird?

The camera controls don't really "feel their age" for me, everyone was moaning about them in 1996 too.

Maybe my brain is fuzzy, but they've clearly gone and re-done U.I elements, they seem bigger, clearer, etc - so it isn't just a straight ROM dump... couldn't they have put the effort into making it 16:9 like Sunshine?

Games are fun so far. It'd have been cool to see a bit more but this is fine.

They missed a trick not having touch screen controls to mess with Mario's face.

So is there any kind of extra features besides the music player?

Not that I can see. It's those three games in HD.

Nintendo- "yeah whatever, you bought it and you'll buy the next half assed shit we put out at full price too. Now stfu and give us your money!"

:-)