crispy4000

It did, but even the 3DS had a rough start with a more marketable feature (glassless 3D) because the 1st party games weren’t there in any meaningful way.

It’s definitely not my argument that the characters are the system sellers. If anything, that’s probably more true for Pokemon than Nintendo’s other mainstay brands. The games and hardware have to be appealing and exciting. There is no easy coast mode for Nintendo at the start of a generation.

Yes, people recognized Mario and co on the cover of New Super Mario Bros U at launch. And Mario Kart 8 too a little later on. It took the Switch for people to actually buy these games en masse.

I’m sure Nintendo felt plenty of pressure to drop the Wii U. If it doesn’t sell well enough, the games won’t either.

Cost Control doesn’t sell consoles.

GameCube started at a slight loss.

Could be. But it'd be awfully dumb to give Microsoft's their competitive mojo back like this. There's no guarantees for Sony keeping the lead in future generations. Can't hate on them for being the smart ones at the table.

Is this a strategy change, or just referencing what they've already done on PC?

@AbsolutSurgen Saw that Hardware Unboxed did a video on DLSS at 1080p lately: Slightly different take than Digital Foundry's in the past. They don't think the trade-off is always worth it, as it can further blur detail in motion in a way that isn't apparent at reconstructed higher resolutions. Still, there are games like Ratchet where DLSS can take the crown. (which is particularly promising since its closest to Nintendo's aesthetic) And it's still a ~36% uplift in FPS. Some of these differences are splitting hairs compared to the FSR2 fizzle we see in a lot of PS5/SeriesX games at higher reconstructed resolutions. Even on the TV it could look fine, although a reconstructed 1440p would be preferable when possible. Portable? It’s going to be harder to notice.

It's still pretty bad on PS5, which I find harder to forgive given that the DLC is current gen only. It might be a thing with SquareEnix not being able to properly optimize UE4, or maybe they figured out a way to avoid UE4 traversal stutters on console but this is the trade-off, lol.

-20% FlatOut on GOG.com WWW.GOG.COM Drivers thrown across the track, shattered fences, mangled cars, exploding tire walls, an Save 100% on Dead Island: Riptide Definitive Edition on Steam STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM Welcome to the zombie apocalypse experience of a lifetime – more beautiful than ever. Caught in an epic zombie outbreak on the tropical island of Banoi, your only thought is: Survive! Driftland: The Magic Revival | PC Mac Steam Game | Fanatical WWW.FANATICAL.COM Explore a procedurally generated world and connect floating lands to expand your kingdom with your Driftland: The Magic...

Tinykin? Yeah, the test it wraps up is nothing special. The last level itself is cool though.

Just booted up the Yuffie DLC. This game is still so much fun. (and sadly, they didn’t fix the texture issues in spite of being on PS5…)

Crisis Core feels like an arcadey offshoot to me, not too unlike what Koei Temco did with Hyrule Warriors. It's largely inconsequential to the main story of FF7, shoehorns new villains and characters into the mix, and has a super repetitive combat and mission structure. And yet it’s still more fun than that sounds, partly because the combat in Reunion feels pretty good, if not as polished as FFXVI, or as high stakes and engaging as Remake. The most disappointing part of Crisis Core is the localization; it's awful. I usually don't mind this sort of thing in JRPGs, but the big bad's schtick is poetry, and no one feels like they're actually talking with each other, but around each other. They really should have polished this part of the game as much as the visual glow up. As for the returning cast, I'd say it treats Cloud with some respect. But the others... wow... it's stunning how much Remake improved on this. The sectioned off environments don't really blend into each other well in the story bits. PS1 FF7 still had a sense of place and transition in its pre-rendered backdrops, but here, moving from one place to another can be such a sudden transition, it's creates dissonance. This all might be a remnant of it being on PSP, but its still something that diminishes the story's impact at times. It's also an incredibly easy game to break, balance-wise. You can completely gut the challenge if you'd like to. Maybe that's another thing that's fun about it in a roundabout way. You feel like a god, which flies in the face of the plot's central conceit. I'm glad I played it, especially if FF7 Rebirth references anything in it, as has been hinted. It's a fun video game and worth the $30 I paid for it. But the gameplay itself was more engaging than anything remotely FF7 about it, which is harder to forgive. My score reflects that. 7 / 10 2024 Games Final Fantasy XVI - 8.5/10 Tinykin - 8/10 Evan's Remains - 7.5/10 Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII: Reunion - 7/10

It does a lot better than FSR1 or 2 on the Deck, which people seem to be fine with. Bump the base resolution high enough and a DLSS generated 1080p can look better than native 1080p in some games.

There's some obvious answers. I just don't think Microsoft corporate has the patience to take a short term hit this gen, or that it would align with Phil's vision of Xbox ... or the contracts they signed.

Just finished Crisis Core. The villain is incredibly stupid, but I’m half expecting him to make a return in Rebirth now considering the Yuffie DLC apparently ties into him very tangentially. That comes next. I’ll probably have time to watch Advent Children before Rebirth too. Never saw it.

Time Spent: 20 min Rating: **½ @Biggie's request WarioWare where the mini-games are mash-ups of Atari games. Presentation is ugly in a way that kind of reminds me of Deadly Days, with pixel art that stretches and sways out step with the aesthetic. There's also something very screwy with the Vsync, where the screen scrolling feels 15fps but the characters move at 60fps. Other than that, it's not as bad as it looks. If you like the idea of its mash-up concept, its reasonably entertaining. But I'd recommend What the Golf? over this in a heartbeat. Its physics, overworld and mini-game ideas are much more fun.

Remake is definitely not as linear as FF13 though, if you've played that.

More or less in Midgar. PS1 pre-rendered backgrounds felt like a step back exploration wise from the 16-bit games. You often got funneled down single file walkways. It worked, but there was some hidden pixel hunting and behind-the-backdrop secrets. Parts of the Remake like Wall Market feel a lot bigger, so which does open things out a considerable bit. But it's still a very linear game.

That could be the case. But there's also so much money to be lost on not owning the storefront people use to access their games. They've utterly failed at that on PC, felt blocked out of mobile after Windows phones bombed, and understand cloud won't be a cornerstone for gaming for the foreseeable future. Console is a form of diversification they can at least be reasonably successful at. So I don't think Phil has any plans to drop living room hardware, but would go there if market forces dictate it. It's about being in prime position for a cloud future, if things go that way.

I don't think the Wii U's downfall was ultimately the branding. I think the product was unappealing and felt shortsighted, *New* 2D Mario wasn't a draw, and the rest of the games took way too long to come out. Unlike Microsoft, Nintendo can't just release console hardware prematurely, before the games are ready, and still find themselves on track to sell 30+ million in a generation. If they came out with a few more bangers in the launch window/year, I don't think Gamepass growth (and hardware sales) would be stagnating. Ultimately, they have themselves to blame for not being prepared to make a case relative to Sony's efforts. With console transitions, it really is a sprint, not a marathon. The library compounds from there, and the narrative is mostly set. They have that much in common with the Wii U this gen. But the Series consoles will still outsell it handily, in part because of Games Pass. You don't get to dump a cool $68 billion into a competitive investment and say you must depend on your competition.

Switch had a stellar first year line-up and a game-of-the-generation caliber launch title. And no more divided handheld and console divisions. They doubled down on everything they had the potential to do, and the masses bought into it, in spite of the Wii U selling slower than the Dreamcast, and their games being perpetually $40-60. Microsoft has similar potential now after these acquisitions, IMO, and not nearly as tough of a hill to climb. I don't think it's in their nature to do what Nintendo did though, they'll want to find a different path.

FPS is mostly fine in that game for Switch, its BoTW/ToTK grade. It's the IQ that's hot garbage.

Well, they know 2D Mario doesn't move the needle. I think 3D Mario is more likely than not, especially without Zelda. Or maybe they pull out a new Mario Kart.