The dream of free online services for consoles games has reached the end. The Nintendo Switch’s online service will launch in the second half of September. Below are the pricing plans.
The plans are considerably cheaper than the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Their yearly plans are $60 but they have more games with online features than Nintendo. Their online service will include online play for their titles, save cloud data backup, special deals, and their mobile app for in-game communications. They will also have some free online games. It will launch with 20 NES games with online play features which allow you to play with others.
As long as you have the paid service, you can play the games whenever. It is interesting to see Nintendo have a huge price difference. If Nintendo Switch Online does extremely well and more players move to Nintendo to play online, it may lead to PlayStation and Xbox to reduce their rates. I don’t play any of my Nintendo games online but it will be interesting to see how the market reacts.
Didn’t watch the direct at 7am like most people?! Don’t worry, I have it covered in this TL; DW for the Nintendo Direct. The game shown was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and it showcased many new characters and info about the game. The animation was stellar in the direct.
New Characters!
Simon Belmont from the Castlevania series joins the list of fighters. His moveset is reminiscent of his NES/SNES whips, items, and attacks.
Echo fighter for Simon: Richter. The voice, animation, and a few moves are different.
King K. Rool joins the fray from the Donkey Kong series. Another big fan request! This fatty comes with his classic rifle, huge stomach strike, and castle!
Alucard is an assist trophy.
The Castlevaniastage featuring the monsters, bosses, and Dracula is Dracula’s Castle. If you hit the candles, it will release items! No wall chickens yet but Dracula only appears at specific times…
Chrom from Fire Emblems Awakening and Dark Samus from Metroid Prime join as Echo Fighters!
You can have echo fighters on the fighter select option
New Stages:
New Donk City Hall from Mario Odyssey. Platforms are rising and falling as you move around the stage. The musicians and Daisy appear as well. The theme of Odyssey will also appear
Returning stages from Melee will include some rebalance changes.
N64 stages are meant to be classic and nostalgic for players
There are now 103 stages to choose from. Every stage has an Omega and Battlefield form.
Every stage now has 8-player mode!
You can turn stage hazards off
A new option called Stage Morph! You can have a stage change midmatch and alter the time when it occurs. Just select two stages before the fight.
Not just Final Destination
Music:
Stages now have tracks based on the franchise. You will be able to hear different tracks and can change the frequency of how often it plays!
900 tracks! It is separated by franchises. You can make a playlist
You can listen to it with the screen turned off. Not sure anybody will be casually carrying their Switch to listen to music.
Turn up the jam!
New Battle Options and Rules
You can finally start with stock instead of time.
Whatever option you left it at before is saved.
Stamina battle is now a standard option
Stages are selected before fighters. This gives you the option to choose your character based on the stage if you play competitively.
You can make the option to have the loser choose the stage.
Sudden Death will cause the screen to zoom in to add drama and shorten the KO borders!
Final Smash Meter rather than a Smash Ball. It will charge as you fight but it will be weaker than a Final Smash Ball version
Final Smashes can’t occur at the same time! So no Samus vs Dark Samus Final Smash beam clash
The options are meant for competitive play so it’ll be interesting to see how the Smash community changes with these new options!
Battle Modes
Squad Strike: 5v5 or 3v3
Start team fights online with players choosing multiple characters. You can do it solo or with multiple players
Tourney Mode: Start your own tournament and brackets! IT can go up to 32 players.
Smashdown: After each round, those fighters are unselectable and you’ll have to choose different characters. It continues until there are no more characters left
Training Mode Map: It will show you how the characters fight and how they will react based on hits
Classic: Fight through a set number of characters and stages similar to Melee’s adventure mode
Solve for X
Items:
Banana gun: Shoots one strong bullet before becoming a banana peel
Killing Edge: Sword which will glow to grow stronger
Bomber: Lift it up and it’ll explode and damage enemies around you
Death’s Scythe: It kills you…if you’re badly damaged
Staff: shoots a laser but it deals more damage the further the enemy is from you
I’ve been playing Pokemon ever since I was four years old. I’ve played every generation of handhelds Pokemon series: From Yellow to Ultra Moon. Like every longtime fan, I’ve been waiting for a new big entry into the series for the consoles and when the Switch was announced, it was a dream come true. “A console that can also be a handheld?! This is perfect for Pokemon!” When Pokemon Let’s Go: Pikachu/Eevee Edition was announced, I was ecstatic as every Pokemon players dreams came too. As the game comes closer to release on November 16th, I hear more news which discourages me from buying the game.
Back to Kanto in the Wrong Way
The first generation Pokemon are classics. Their designs are great, simple, and appeal to every age. What isn’t a classic is Kanto. While Gold & Silver are revolutionary for including the Kanto region thanks to Iwada, the appeal was because players just played the first generation and it provided more opportunities to explore than Johto. Players want to explore more than one region, it doesn’t have to be Kanto. I think going back to Kanto and only having Kanto is a mistake.
I think starting with the first generation of Pokemon and simplifying the genre for potential new players is good, I wish it wasn’t the next big Pokemon game. While Gamefreaks (Developers of Pokemon) have confirmed they are working on the next generation for 2019, I am worried they believe having one big region to explore is what fans want.
The map looks amazing but if you filter through it, it’s just the same thing we have played before
Simplifying the Catching System
Pokemon Go completely changed how we catch Pokemon. Rather than clicking the button, we can now feel and throw the ball in Pokemon Let’s Go! However, catching them feels more like luck than strategy. While weakening Pokemon isn’t complex, it helps makes the player like they are working towards a higher success rate. The biggest annoyance in Pokemon Go is Pokemon running away after failing to catch. While curve throws and aiming are skill based, GameFreaks didn’t need to cut out the Pokemon battling portion. Both systems should be available but Junichi Masuda (Director of Pokemon) felt the game changes needed to be made for the Switch game.
Give me that Clefairy
Forcing Gym Battles to be easier
Siliconera showed a new screenshot regarding Gym battles. In front of most gyms, an NPC stands to give you advice on how to beat the Gym Leader with certain Pokemon types. In Pokemon Let’s Go, they won’t let you even challenge the leader until you have a Pokemon that is type effective against them. While it is great for new players to hear, it removes the freedom of gameplay. You should be allowed to challenge and play however you like in Pokemon. Letting players struggle should be an active learning experience.
Translate: You need a Water or Grass Type Pokemon to challenge
Conclusion:
I hope Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee does well. While I will most likely skip this game, I love the series. I think it may be a test to see how players respond to the changes before they consider finalizing the details on Pokemon 2019. Many of the changes are controversial to longtime players like me but perhaps the sales numbers and review responses will affect future gameplay changes. I like Pokemon Go but I treat it like a different game than the main series. I prefer the style of a console game to be different than a mobile game.
Last year, Nintendo set the gaming world on fire with the launch of the Switch. Within one year of its launch, it has sold more than 1.5 million units. Despite a very strong last year, 2018 has made fans and investors spectacle on the future of the Switch. Nintendo has stated they will sell 20 million units before the end of the consoles’ life cycle but investors are uneasy.
Investors POV
Nintendo rarely listens to investors or their insights. It took many years for them to start in the mobile market despite it being a multi-billion business. Gaming investors and shareholders generally push for companies to start in the mobile industry. After this year’s E3, Nintendo didn’t impress and their stocks dropped dramatically. Their highest this year was in March but has dropped by 34%. The drop is so drastic that Nintendo’s former President Tatsumi Kimishima had to reassure shareholders that Nintendo still has more games to be announced for 2018.
The two big games Nintendo has announced for 2018 are Pokemon Let’s Go and Super Smash Bros: Ultimate. Despite the new Pokemon entry, it is not a new mainstream Pokemon title. Smash is also more of an updated port of Smash 4 rather than an entirely new title. This has led to investors’ lack of confidence in the company. Despite this, Nintendo has made over three million dollars in profit from their new title, Pokemon Quest. Their other mobile games such as Mario Run, Fire Emblem HEROES!!!!!!! and Pokemon Go have also made millions in profit. Despite fears, GameStop has seen massive sales increase for the Switch.
Switch Sales grows at GameStop
While the digital purchases continue to grow, GameStop still remains a prevalent store for young consumers. After E3, Switch sales doubled over the course of the week. Super Smash Bros: and Pokemon received a multitude of pre-orders including the Pokeball accessories. However, the sales of the Nintendo Labo still remains to be heard but based on all of the boxes left at stores, I don’t think it is going well.
Opinion
I have complete faith in Nintendo. Despite the slow year, I am having a blast with the Nintendo Switch. Although many of their games this year have been ports, Nintendo will continue to work on great games. They take their time and are willing to take fan complaints without succumbing to pressure from investors or public demand. How well do you think Nintendo will finish their 2018?
The Gaming News Corner 