crispy4000

This all would have costed $175 to own on the Virtual Console. Though only maybe a dozen are worth playing ($60 worth). Not an amazing deal. But it actually holds up fairly well to a NES classic for $20 annually, especially with online play added and with new (old) games likely continuing into 2019. Doesn't justify the BS surrounding the Switch's online paywall, cloud save deletion, phone voice chat, no SNES/N64/etc games, etc. But in of itself... it's not so bad.

PC gamer, or are you only in it for offline modes?

That is some shit too, especially when they're the holdover. Know what else would be as easy as flipping a switch? Making XBL online play as free on consoles as it is on PC. All three of the console manufactures are duping us. I'm ready for Microsoft to nix XBLG fees and keep Games Pass as their only subscription. It'd make up for all their past sins in my book, and throw egg on Sony and Nintendo's faces. It would be great! ... Though admittedly, I'm still wary about what Games Pass may inspire other big publishers to do.

That save data is still stored locally. So yes? ...Sounds like you need a refresher on the whole Microsoft thing. A burn against what Microsoft initially proposed. Let me know when you're no longer able to play a physical copy of Mario Kart 8 on a friend's Switch. With Nintendo, you'll have to subscribe to their online walled-garden paywall to access your saves on another Switch. That's still bullshit, layered on top of the bullshit that these services represent for every console now. But hey, at it least it isn't always-online DRM that renders physical copies completely obsolete. Clearly, things could be much worse.

That's the real issue from my understanding. They've given no fixed period. They aren't saying how long. Better resubscribe ASAP since you'll be in the dark! This too - but it's only $20!

$29.99 for the expansion pass, $39.99 for physical standalone (both include Torna and other DLC for X2, should you own it) Destructoid 8/10: Nintendolife: 85/100 Expansion pass content also included for original Xenoblade 2: Free updates also included New Game+, Japanese voice pack, easy mode, various QoL changes, additional blades, etc.

Yes, they did. Or rather, clarified: You can't keep it (ie: recover it) without resubscribing. But it can be recovered before they erase it on their end. They'll keep it for a 'time' after your subscription ends. How long that is would be anyone's guess.

... Are you trying to compare this to the lead up to the Xbox One's launch? Locking out a subscription library of NES games after a week of no internet is very different than always-online DRM'ing the whole console, retail disks included.

Oh, there's no doubt that you can play it and upgrade without buying VC. Some people will spend dozens of hours trying to earn upgrades that others will pay for straight up. Its still bad game design which doesn't belong in a retail game you already paid $60 for. I've always felt that way about in-game purchasable currency. It encourages unreasonable grinds and dangling carrots everywhere.

They've only said that they won't hold onto it indefinitely. If I'm not mistaken, PSN+ deletes cloud saves after 6 months w/o a subscription. Nintendo hasn't given a timeframe. "We are unable to guarantee that cloud save data will be retained after an extended period of time from when your membership is ended. However, you can continue to use the save data that is saved to your system memory." - Nintendo's FAQ Might want to take another look at reactions in this thread. I don't think Microsoft has announced something similar. Games Pass / GWG requires a digital handshake afaik, and cloud storage is free.

If he wants new games portably, then sure, Switch is perfect, and still is. If this is all about playing retro games on the go, the 3DS is a better option. Much better back catalog in its Virtual Console. If he's just sore about being left out of the NES library ... a (hacked) NES classic is the way to go. It's not like he'll be playing online anyways.

PC version is $48 at the same site again. Not quite enough to match the launch discount, but close enough. https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/dragon-quest-xi-pc/

That's the one character so far I never appreciated. He reads his lines so slowly, and is unlikable from the start. ... After playing more, there's some parts of DQXI that people adverse to JRPG tropes (and Japanese games in general) would absolutely hate. If the game wants to tell a story, it has no problem taking the reigns and trying to force you to care, even if its unrelated to the larger quest or even your party. That said, the localization is so good, and clever, that it's often easy to get caught up in it. The game is well paced around those moments too. Lots of exploration, stat tweaking, mini-games, etc, to pad them before and after.

All of this crap is still worse than what the Wii U did online for free. ... Or Valve. But I guess people have grown accustomed to turning a blind eye there.

Like with the PSP/Vita, the PSone FF's should be nice to have on a portable screen.

Games are up. Re:Core and Super Lucky's are both $20, as with the Microsoft store. https://store.steampowered.com/app/537450/ReCore_Definitive_Edition/

Along with a few others.

The NES thing isn't as bad as some of the headlines make it out to be. Basically, you lose access if you don't connect to wifi after a week, but will retain all local save and download data. Just don't plan on taking a month vacation in the woods and still playing your NES games on the go.

Excluding ports, I'd put their Switch output roughly on par with the Gamecube or Wii at this point in their lifecycle. Gamecube might edge out both.

The Switch doesn't have incredible 3rd party support. Progress has been made, but large segments of the industry still ignore it. It's been good for indies and the occasional soft-AAA remaster that fits the portable form factor. But there's also less 3rd party exclusives than 2+ gens ago. (... At least there's Octopath Traveller.) I've never said the Wii U and Switch were in analogous positions. Only that the Wii U did have a solid library at this point in its lifecycle. And that the Switch's output, while improved, still has some obvious sore spots.

On the contrary, almost all of this could apply to the Switch. There still isn't much to get hyped for outside of ports and Nintendo's properties. The Switch had a great 2017 line-up, but 2018 hasn't been stellar for Nintendo's original games. Q1-3: Mario Tennis, dialed in Kirby, Xenoblade 2 & Splatoon 2 DLC. Q4: Smash, Mario Party, dumbed down Pokemon. Not their worst, but far from the best. Metroid still isn't in sight, lol. It's even more of an unknown than BoTW was at its first teaser. Same goes for the real Pokemon. Will we even see it in 2019? Lastly, let's not do revisionist history: Wii U had 2+ Mario games in its first year. (Super Mario 3d World, NSMBU & Luigi U DLC) They never stopped making new games because of Wind Waker, or the farmed out TP port for that matter. Those were the extent of their port jobs that gen.

I like the lending idea most, which is the primary reason for me. I tend to buy local multiplayer games on disc so I don't have to lug the console itself around if my friend owns the platform but not the game. (though Switch simplifies that) Discounts probably come second. It's no secret that going all digital is more expensive on consoles. Walled gardens. Buying physical at retail, new or used, is often the cheapest way to go. Though typically not as cheap as PC digital.

Again, the Wii U had a solid library of original Nintendo games after a year and half. To say there was "very little other reason" to buy one is overly dismissive. The Switch's library is worse off for people that owned a Wii U. A lot of those ports are in fact, amazing games. For most Switch owners, they aren't padding.

Xenoblade 2 is worth seeing through. No regrets for finishing it on my end. I still need to go back and do more of the blade sidequests. A few of them ended up being a lot more substantial than I thought they'd be. Plus I still want to max out Ursula at some point. ... I might be in for Torna eventually. I like that it's shorter and self contained, and adds some interesting looking DLC to the main game too. But I'll probably need a breather from JRPGs after DQXI.

I'd say as far as Nintendo is concerned, that's simply not true. By this time in the Wii U's lifecycle, it had Super Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Wonderful 101, and NSMBU + Luigi. That's a solid, if not exemplary output for them. I do prefer the Switch line-up. But beyond the improved marketing, a lot of good will came from a Zelda game releasing at its launch (and BoTW at that). The sore feelings about the Wii U not getting an exclusive Zelda ended up being a small minority. Nintendo knew exactly what they were doing. No one complained about ports because they were too busy with Zelda. Also, because the Switch was an actual handheld and the Wii U was a bust. I think it's clear enough now why they never dropped the price of the U. It was all to get more mileage out of the ports.