Be Excellent To Each Other

Nintendo have made the formal announcement that the Switch 2 will be available this year.

Just watched the teaser trailer and it looks like a slightly bigger Switch. There’s probably more to it, but detail
is scant and rumours abound.

It does say that it’s backwards compatible with Switch games (both digital and physical) but that maybe not ALL Switch (1) games will be supported. It also says there will be Switch 2 exclusive games.

https://www.nintendo.com/successor/en-gb/index.html

They did well to mention it was backwards compatible because last year they made it sound like it might not be.

Yeah, a bit bigger, probably a bit faster. It's fine I guess but that's not what you want from Nintendo. You want some sort of mad innovation.

Gamecube - shaped like a cute little cube
DS - Dual screens
3DS - 3D
Wii - motion control
Wii-U - screen in joypad
Switch - handheld/docked switcharoo

If this is just a Switch that's a jump from PS3 to PS4 quality games, that's not very exciting. They announced a Direct in April though so hopefully they'll blow minds and not just do another version of Mario Kart 7 and Smash Bros.

They’d better be bringing me a new Animal Crossing
game.

I think there’s already a couple of switch games that don’t work on the OLED model (Labo stuff possibly) so 99% compatibility is good enough.

I’m quite tempted as I only had a Switch Lite and fancy some more big screen Mario

It's the Spectrum +2A all over again.

Today's the day. The big reveal is at 2pm.

Although I've got a lot of love for three or four Switch games and they do make it worth owning, most gamers I know don't use their Switches much. I think it's been an underwhelming console. That's mostly down to the fact that 99% of all console games are just ports of mediocre PC games. And the eShop is just the worst thing that's ever been designed by anyone.

I'll see what they announce but if it's just a better Switch, I'll probably swerve it.

Had I not moved onto a steam deck, I would still use my switch loads. As it stands, I don't. But I don't think that's a slight on the Switch itself.

I'm pretty excited to be honest.

Personally, I love my Switch. Although I still game on my PC it's pretty much exclusively just American Truck Simulator, The Long Dark and Cities Skylines on Steam. (Funnily enough I did consider the Steam Deck briefly but having handled one up in the cottage it just felt too heavy for me.) Two thirds of the time I'm gaming on my Switch, and I'm currently deep into Xenoblade 3. The Switch was properly my first Nintendo console that I invested heavily in. In fact, it's the first console I ever invested heavily in, unless you count the Amiga 500. Sure, I did have the DS Lite but I only bought about four games for that and was entirely ignorant of the Nintendo universe, except that Mario was a thing. Now I think I can name nearly all their roster of side-characters. Oh God, how embarrassing.

It's been a pretty darn good eight years, even considering the increasingly creaky age of the Switch with the graphics clearly struggling. Here's my top games of the generation in no particular order...

1: Animal Crossing - I rarely play it now but man, I got this and my AC Special Edition Switch just a week before lockdown when I figured I'd probably be spending the next six months at least indoors. Amazing times.
2: Super Mario Bowser's Fury - What I'm hoping the next Mario 3D game will indeed be like. Lovely whistly music too.
3: Stardew Valley - A match made in heaven for the Switch.
4: Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition - My first JRPG. Good Lord, it was amazing. Xenoblade may beat it out if it sticks the landing.
5: Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Sure, TOTK has more but BotW just still feels more iconic. Another unforgettable lockdown experience.
6: Fire Emblem: Three Houses - For about two hundred hours or so I played nothing else. Amazing voice acting, great plot.
7: Unicorn Overlord - Just a very satisfying strategy-RPG. Beautiful art design and a very relaxed game.
8: Regency Solitaire - I must save my marriage prospects and the family fortune from that dreadful Mr Bleakley! How? SOLITAIRE.
9: Luigi's Mansion 3 - Just brimming with character! That bald scientist guy does chunter on a bit though.
10: Super Mario Odyssey - Yeah. It really is just great.

So yeah, lots of good stuff on the Switch. What am I hoping for the Switch 2?

Mouse control and bluetooth keyboard option, so I can properly swivel my head about fearfully looking for wolves in The Long Dark.
Updated graphics and 60fps for existing beloved Switch games, so that I can more smoothly and easily see said wolves in The Long Dark.
A big bunch of RAM so that somehow American Truck Simulator and CIties Skylines: Enhanced Console Edition can can come to the Switch and not be utterly terrible.
An e-shop that is somehow worse so that I buy fewer games.
It not feeling too big or too heavy.
Nintendo finally understanding that anti-aliasing is a good thing that exists.

Um, that's about it. I was pretty happy with the Switch, you know. I think only the lack of RAM held it back really, everything else could be covered by Nintendo's art style. So yes, anything else is a bonus.

Games and things I'd like to be announced:

New Animal Crossing game.
Starfox (although the Nintendo version of Starlink made a surprisingly good Starfox game)
New 3D Mario at or shortly after launch.
New Fire Emblem without a terrible toothpaste art-style and actually great plot ala Three Houses.
Gamecube games.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (will never happen)

Yep, that'd do it. Ooh, not long now!

They never launch with an AC Game, UNTIL NOW (probably not, but maybe we can wish it into being).

£395.99 or £429.99 with the new Mario Kart , pre-orders from Nintendo go live on the 8th of April , launch is 5th of June

Shop link is here but has a queue system to get into it https://store.nintendo.co.uk

Games :

Donkey Kong Bananza
Kirby Air Riders
The Duskbloods (From Software!)
Silksong
Fast Fusion
An Arcade Archive version of Ridge Racer
Final Fantasy 7 remake
Cyberpunk 2077
Enter the Gungeon 2
Survival Kids
Deltarune Chapters
Civ 7
Borderlands 4
WWE 2K
Gamecube games are coming to Switch online - FZeroGX2 at Switch 2's launch , Windwaker and Soul Calibur 2
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Bravely Default
Yakuza
Hitman World of Assassination
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
Hogwards Legacy
Madden NFL
Split Fiction
Daemon x machina
Street Fighter 6
Elden Ring
Hades 2
Drag and Drive
Metroid Prime 4
Super Mario Party Jambore

r/games and r/gaming predictably losing their minds over the price of the console and games going forward, without understanding - you know - inflation. It actually pans out the same as the 2016 launch of the Switch in GBP regarding purchasing power.

Anyway.

Overall I'm quietly impressed. There wasn't quite that 'killer app' for me except for MK9, though Metroid 4 looked extra colourful and lush on the Switch 2 and DK Odyssey looks a lot of fun. That game with the space-aliens and defending Earth and big robot suits looks fun too. I'm not terribly interested in Elden Ring or Cyberpunk but happy for those who want it on the go on a Nintendo system. Oh, and it looks like the Fast RMX guys have a new game at launch. Looking forward to being wowed and yet being hopeless at that also.

I think it's fair to charge a bit for graphical upgrades of classical games if you're putting a lot into it with DLC content too. This should lure hard-up AAA third party studios to do the same, as a lot of them are financially hurting and they can make easy bank doing so sprucing up the various Switch ports. Whether they'll actually put effort into it to make it worthwhile or phone it in is an open question and will probably vary by developer. Very happy to see confirmation that it effectively has a mouse as yes, that might mean a console enhanced edition of Cities Skylines on the go. Also hopefully it'll get Nintendo interested in making the odd strategy game. The game chat thing looks fun but I hope they have the option to entirely reduce the UI of the voice boxes on screen. Jamboree's upgrade looked very amusing.

So yup, I'll be getting one. Mainly also as I mainly game on a 2k monitor. Bit surprised actually to see 4k, I thought they'd top it out at 2k.

Also Gamecube games, yay! Hope we get Rogue Squadron, and can't wait to finally play Wind Waker and that F-Zero game.

Underwhelming amount of Animal Crossing.

What I most want is the GC controller, but reading about it you have to:

Have a Switch 2, and
Have a Nintendo Online Extended Access Sub

To be in with a chance of being able to buy the controller.

So with the Switch, sub and controller all in it’s going to be around £600, which isn’t going to happen.

The price is a bit much. And they're talking about the big games being $80 in the States. I don't know what that'll be over here. But it's way too much to play another Mario Kart game. I mean they're just kart racing games. There's probably value if you're into Mario/Zelda/Pokemon but how are they still interesting after all these years.

All the other stuff announced is probably coming to PSN, Xbox (maybe) and Steam and will probably be cheaper or eventually free there.

And in terms of hardware innovation all they've done is add party chat and some clunky looking 'mouse' functionality. They're so behind the times on this one.

I'd be more interested in a Steamdeck. Just fill it full of all those free Prime/Epic/Humble Bundle games and you'll be good from now until when you die.

No Animal Crossing though Blucey, so I’m gonna have to pass.

Not played any of the Switch versions of any of these games, aye?

I played Mario Odyssey. Actually, I sort of liked it for a bit. I think I played three or four areas and then stopped and never went back. I think the Astrobot games on PSN do the same sort of thing but more compelling.

I don't think Zelda would be for me. I really hated those Darksiders games and the things I hated about them were apparently all Zelda-influenced. What I saw of BotW just looked a bit dull. If you're all in on Zelda though I imagine it's good.

If they bring out a Pilotwings for Switch 2 though, then I'll be tested.

ToTK has more, but maybe too much. A bit of side quest overload, and there's too much going on that isn't particularly consequential. I think BotW was more enjoyable for me as the story felt more 'epic' and it was more tightly focussed. What I'd really like to see is a bigger swerve (like how Majora's Mask followed on from Ocarina of Time).

It's methadone for your Animal Crossing addiction but I am enjoying the new Nintendo Today app's daily AC calendar pics, with a little gyroid doing a funky little construction dance as the app loads.

Also, I err buckled and for the first time ever pre-ordered a console through Currys on Sunday. Hell, I've never even bought a console in the year of launch, but I'm genuinely pretty excited by the Switch 2. Sadly they'd run out of the Mario Kart World bundle, so it was just the console on its own, but still excited.

Games at launch I'd like to play...

The new Fast RMX game, Fast Fusion. I was hopeless at the original but it was a great, cheap game that came at the OG Switch's launch and really pushed what the system was capable of.

Nobunaga's Ambition. Cos I love Sengoku Jidai stuff ever since I first saw Seven Samurai and read Shogun.

Mario Kart Worlld, obv.

Zelda-BotW/TOTK Super-Shiny-Editions

Kirby Super-Shiny-DLC-Campaign

And then a bit later in the rest of the year's line up...

Metroid Prime 4. I just love the graphical style. I think a lot of new shooters are overly busy and cluttered, so I love the elegant style of this one. Harks back to early HALO.

Professor Layton & The New World of Steam - Hell yeah. Professor Layton was one of the few games I bought for my DS Lite.

Also interested:

Donkey Kong Banaza - reviews dependent. I'm liking what I see, but not head over heels as it all feels a bit claustrophobic.

Civ 7 on the go? Tempting. Though the existing Switch's Civ 6 may actually be enough for me, now that I'll presumably be able to run the bigger maps without issue.

Anyway. EXCITEMENT.

Just watched the Mario Kart World Direct. Looked pretty good! Still a lot of people complaining online about the price though. I mean, it's a highly polished huge open-world racer with a crazy amount of attention to detail so I don't know what they were expecting exactly. Would I like it to be a tenner less? Yes. But the fact that we'll be playing this for an ungodly amount of time over the coming years means I'm pretty cool with it. Anyway, thoughts:



Overall I'm still pretty excited by this. Looking forward to losing against any Beexers who fancy playing it online too.

went to the nintendo event in Amsterdam, won the lottery... we enjoyed it a lot, from the applause from the nintendo crew, to the games and the goody bag..

see here. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJelFR6I ... BiNWFlZA==

Ooh! Mildly jealous. Not long until this comes out now, my first Day 1 on, er, pretty much everything. Any other Beexers got one lined up, and whose for Mario Kart World fun?

Also has anybody here played Cyberpunk77 and is it actually fun to play? I hear it's been heavily No-Man's-Sky'd after a disastrous release and is a good game now, but what's the Beex consensus? Does it have an in-game soundtrack featuring albums from the greatest year for music ever, 1977? Which would feature Rumours, Marquee Moon, Talking Heads 77, Lust for Life, Trans-Europe Express, Low, The Kick Inside, Rocket to Russia, Bat Out of Hell, Pink Flag and, oddly, technically Bjork's first album.

Well I got my Switch 2 folks! My first ever console bought launch day. Just completed the system transfer from my old Switch and it went pretty painlessly. Just downloading my old games and the three launch ones I bought, being Mario Kart World, Fast Fusion and Welcome Tour (yes, and I don't care.) I'm looking forward to seeing how the Zelda games run in their new editions, too.

Console feels lovely, a real quality finish. The box it came in was surprisingly tiny. New dock weighs a bit more, new screen is beautiful and the speakers are great from the various chirps, whistles and easy little boppin' beats it did during setup. Anyone else got one?

Also I booked tomorrow off but ironically am feeling the first troubling signs of a cold. GAGH.

I saw Argos had stock this morning and was tempted to pick one up, but resisted for now.

I got the GC controller. Not the actual Switch, but I will do eventually

Switch 2:

The unboxing was very underwhelming. The accessories feel like tat (again). The console is nice enough but it’s just the Switch but bigger and a bit rounder. The UI is virtually identical and still a bit shit.

Mario Kart is nice but what else is there to play? Fuck all. They desperately needed that Donkey Kong game really for variety. Maybe in a few months, but I doubt MKW will keep most people going until then. I was thinking about playing the new Deltarune but it’s £3 more than on the PlayStation so nope. Still at least I can continue playing Xenoblade Chronicles X on it and the transfer of data was pretty seamless. But no Switch 2 upgrade for any of the Xeno games despite being first party titles? Kinda annoying.

The console makes beeping noises but so fucking what when you can use the Switch 1 Pro controller but it no longer wakes up the console so you’ve got to go over and finger the Switch to turn it on.

Overall, early adopters get shafted with nothing much to play on a very underwhelming console. It feels like a new phone release than a new Nintendo console release.

You must have known all this before you bought it, though?

Sat doesn't like it. Things are looking good for Nintendo!

Genuine question and I'm not trying to be spiky but what were you expecting from unboxing, and when was the last time you had a brilliant unboxing experience? Unboxing things can be exciting but has it become too much of an overblown 'thing' thanks to all the videos etc?





That's really, powerfully, damning as a statement for me, 'cos new phone releases are just so uninspiring now.

‘Spiky’ is a great word in this context!

Unwrapping the Xbox Series S was lovely. Felt like a really premium product. Ironically, it's the cheap version.

Yeah, in this context, it’s the Xbox Series X. It was the closest to opening an Apple product. The packaging itself was premium, all fits tightly together, and displays the product in the centre like a big reveal when it opens all wrapped in black.

Opening the Switch 2 felt like buying a toy from Toys R Us. Loose plastic wrapping, tiny box, and even the dock feels really cheap with a cheap thin plastic back that fell straight off mine.

I’m sure it’ll turn out to be worth having for those Nintendo games you can’t get elsewhere, mind.

Yeah, the box tasted better than the actual console too.

I’d say one of the more premium feeling ‘unboxing experiences ‘ that I’ve had, was when we bought a couple of iMacs for work last year, the box and packaging design is neat - thoughtful and polished. Opening the box expands the packaging outward, like it was presenting the contents to me.

As nice as it was, ultimately it all ended up in the compactor with the other cardboard.

The iMacs themselves weren’t terribly exciting as they were just replacing older ones, but I do like that new - tech smell.

Oh yeah, I forgotten about the Series X. Maybe because it was a pain in arse to reassemble. I unboxed it to set it up for The Boy so Christmas Day wasn't just downloads and updates, and squeezing that fucker back into it's coffin was a chore. Lovely experience to open though.

Even the cheapest Samsung phones come wrapped in a lovely paper condom now, which is nice. I get to "unbox" dozens of those fuckers at work

My (gngh) unboxing experience of the Nintendo Switch 2 was mainly me boggling about how incredibly space efficient the box was. There's not a cm wasted, so much so that when I tried to put it all back in the box to take to a friend's house for Mario Kart I was given a free baffling puzzle minigame in how everything fit back together. Anyway, I think (shockingly) that Satsuma is wrong and that it feels nice in the hands, with the joycons a decent size now for single joycon play in multiplayer.

Game wise, yeah, I kind of feel they should have worked hard to get Metroid Prime 4 in there alongside Mario Kart for launch. Still, I've never played Yakuza 0 or Cyberpunk, so those are options. Fast Fusion is proving good fun also, and revisiting Mario Odyssey to find missing moons with the new lovely upgraded graphics is a pure joy.

There's a new update for Splatoon 3 tomorrow which adds a new map, upgrades the graphics and adds a bunch of weapons so I'll be getting back into that quite a bit I think. Other than that I'm still guiltily trying to finish the massive Persona 5. I think I'm going to have to swear off ridiculously long games for a bit, I loved Xenoblade 3 but I've too much burn-out from that to consider XC2 or XCX just yet.

Fancy screen protectors arriving on Saturday as I'm terrified about damaging the huge screen. I predict I'll waste them both AGAIN trying to get them attached dust free. I'm the world's worst at applying screen protectors.

Shockingly, I never said it didn’t feel nice in the hands.

I like it bigger, fnaar fnaar.