The Nintendo Thread of Jumping, Slashing, and Home Decorating
- Thread starter ZakuConvoy
- Start date
My guess is part of the deal to get Sora into Smash is Donald and Goofy are off-limits, hence why the DLC Spirit Board only contains characters that are exclusive to Kingdom Hearts (like Riku, Kairi, Axel, and Roxas). The Mickey keychain was probably left in to remind people who owns Sora.
Nintendo has revealed the cost of the Online expansion pack. In addition to a DLC for Animal Crossing, you also get access to the (relatively) paltry selection of N64 and Sega Genesis titles (More to Come Later!...supposedly). The cost for this "expansion"?
$50 for one year. The base online offering is just $20 per year.
Frankly, it's insulting. More than doubling the cost for DLC that not everyone is going to want and a couple more retro systems? I could see an extra $5-10, but at that price, Nintendo is just plain being greedy and/or stupid. The sad part is that I can see them "phasing out" the base plan in a few years and pushing everyone to the expanded tier.
$50 for one year. The base online offering is just $20 per year.
Frankly, it's insulting. More than doubling the cost for DLC that not everyone is going to want and a couple more retro systems? I could see an extra $5-10, but at that price, Nintendo is just plain being greedy and/or stupid. The sad part is that I can see them "phasing out" the base plan in a few years and pushing everyone to the expanded tier.
In reality it's their way of jumping alongside the competition. I'm just surprised it didn't happen sooner. The question is will the customer base jump on. There has been quite a bit of blowback so far.
30 more for the Animal Crossing DLC, N64 and Genesis games does seem a bit much, especially when their net service to begin with is pretty crap.
But considering the prices of what these games were on the previous Virtual Console releases the only real downside to me is the the annual fee of it.
30 more for the Animal Crossing DLC, N64 and Genesis games does seem a bit much, especially when their net service to begin with is pretty crap.
But considering the prices of what these games were on the previous Virtual Console releases the only real downside to me is the the annual fee of it.
So...if the Animal Crossing DLC is worth $25 on it's own, does that mean the Expanded Online service should be $25 WITHOUT the Animal Crossing DLC? And...are they going to change what DLC you get every year? Animal Crossing is hugely popular, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
And I notice on the video, that there's no option listed to only subscribe for a month or sixth months under the new plan, yet. Or are they going to have it so that it's a years subscription or nothing?
It wouldn't be so bad, if all the money meant Nintendo's Online service would actually be comparable to Playstation's or XBox's...but it most likely won't.
And...how many first-party games actually NEED Nintendo's Online service, even if they did improve it at this point? I hate to say it, but most of the games worth playing on the Switch are NOT the online games. There's Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Mario Maker....and that might be it that might benefit from better online. It feels like too late into the console's life cycle to make online games a bigger factor into it's success.
And most of the N64 games are first-party Nintendo games, anyway. The only cost to Nintendo for most of those games is maintaining the servers for people to download the ROMs. The Genesis games they probably have to pay liscence fees for, but it's not like Sega doesn't sell those a dozen different ways, anyway (Genesis Mini console, Sega Genesis Classics Collection Switch game).
But...people will probably still pay up. It's Nintendo. People might complain, but they'll still give them their money.
And I notice on the video, that there's no option listed to only subscribe for a month or sixth months under the new plan, yet. Or are they going to have it so that it's a years subscription or nothing?
It wouldn't be so bad, if all the money meant Nintendo's Online service would actually be comparable to Playstation's or XBox's...but it most likely won't.
And...how many first-party games actually NEED Nintendo's Online service, even if they did improve it at this point? I hate to say it, but most of the games worth playing on the Switch are NOT the online games. There's Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Mario Maker....and that might be it that might benefit from better online. It feels like too late into the console's life cycle to make online games a bigger factor into it's success.
And most of the N64 games are first-party Nintendo games, anyway. The only cost to Nintendo for most of those games is maintaining the servers for people to download the ROMs. The Genesis games they probably have to pay liscence fees for, but it's not like Sega doesn't sell those a dozen different ways, anyway (Genesis Mini console, Sega Genesis Classics Collection Switch game).
But...people will probably still pay up. It's Nintendo. People might complain, but they'll still give them their money.
There are rumors that sega actually wanted a decent chunk for licensing, as well as places like Konami, also don't forget, I seriously doubt getting Rare games were cheap.
As for the games that use online, a fair bit actually do. Remember just because "YOU" don't play it, don't pretend it's not used.
As for the games that use online, a fair bit actually do. Remember just because "YOU" don't play it, don't pretend it's not used.
Okay, looking over the list of N64 games:
en.wikipedia.org
It looks like there's only two non-Nintendo games: Banjo Kazooie and WinBack. Banjo-Kazooie probably DID cost a fair bit of money...I'm not so sure about WinBack. And to be fair, some of these are getting online play, too. So, some development time was spent to get them to run online. That might be jacking up the price a little.
And, yeah, the Genesis side of this is ALL liscensed games.
As for the games that run online...I personally wouldn't count something like Pokemon, since any improvements might be barely noticeable and I'm not sure about something like Animal Crossing, but fair. I don't use online much, so I DO tend to underestimate it's appeal, but I suppose other people do. And a lot of games do have some online component, but I'm not sure if a improvement at this point would make a drastic difference in anyone's enjoyment. Too little, too late, in my mind, but maybe I'm wrong.
But, that's assuming the online experience gets ANY improvements whatsoever. Which they haven't mentioned AT ALL. If that was part of the cost, I wish they'd mention it. Part of me feels like they should have been making improvements to the online experience BEFORE they raised the price, just as a act of good faith after years (if not decades) of sub-par online services, but maybe that's unreasonable.
Still, I'd rather they give us a option to get rid of the Animal Crossing DLC in exchange for a lower price. That's probably not going to happen, since the AC DLC is probably just a band-aid to make this look like a better deal, but still. Or maybe at least give us a option between a few different DLC for different games.
List of Nintendo Switch Online games - Wikipedia
It looks like there's only two non-Nintendo games: Banjo Kazooie and WinBack. Banjo-Kazooie probably DID cost a fair bit of money...I'm not so sure about WinBack. And to be fair, some of these are getting online play, too. So, some development time was spent to get them to run online. That might be jacking up the price a little.
And, yeah, the Genesis side of this is ALL liscensed games.
As for the games that run online...I personally wouldn't count something like Pokemon, since any improvements might be barely noticeable and I'm not sure about something like Animal Crossing, but fair. I don't use online much, so I DO tend to underestimate it's appeal, but I suppose other people do. And a lot of games do have some online component, but I'm not sure if a improvement at this point would make a drastic difference in anyone's enjoyment. Too little, too late, in my mind, but maybe I'm wrong.
But, that's assuming the online experience gets ANY improvements whatsoever. Which they haven't mentioned AT ALL. If that was part of the cost, I wish they'd mention it. Part of me feels like they should have been making improvements to the online experience BEFORE they raised the price, just as a act of good faith after years (if not decades) of sub-par online services, but maybe that's unreasonable.
Still, I'd rather they give us a option to get rid of the Animal Crossing DLC in exchange for a lower price. That's probably not going to happen, since the AC DLC is probably just a band-aid to make this look like a better deal, but still. Or maybe at least give us a option between a few different DLC for different games.
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Honestly though... Most of the online games actually run fine. Most people focus on Smash and Mario Maker, but that's.. actually those games. I mean, Soul Calibur on Xbox I've -never- had a good game on. It's been laggy and such (just like Smash actually) all the time. Marvel Vs Capcom Ultimate was also famous for it.
There are plenty of online games that run just fine on the switch.
There are plenty of online games that run just fine on the switch.
Personally I'm eager to play MK64 Battle Mode Block Fort online. Always had fun with that and they've never made a better battle arena since. And Starfox 64 multiplayer online.... well it will be online and the other players won't hear me shattering their eardrums after I get shot down. 
Is it worth the effort to make OG Smash playable online if we can't get Ultimate right though? Will they even dare to put up Smash Bros?
Is it worth the effort to make OG Smash playable online if we can't get Ultimate right though? Will they even dare to put up Smash Bros?
Interestingly enough, depending on the kind of emulator usage *I do not have enough knowledge about it* Smash 64 could easily run smoother than Smash Ultimate.
Call me when Diddy Kong Racing is added.
I'd honestly forgot about it. Aside from some pre-loaded app that was on the system to show of the ability, the only game I honestly remember using the function at all was Kid Icarus Uprising. Even that was kind of an extras menu thing. I don't remember if it had any impact on the game itself. I'm pretty sure it was minimal if it had any at all.
I think Amiibo kinda took its place in a way insofar as using a physical collectable to make something pop into the game. But like you said, it was so under-utilized I honestly forgot it existed until you mentioned it.
I would have gotten more mileage out of it had there been a slot to store your cards when not in use.
Okay, I don't know why, but I did go ahead and got a year of the Online Expansion. It was a stupid impulse move that I knew I was going to regret. But I did get it. Soooo, here's a few positives, a few negatives. Let me just go app by app though.
Animal Crossing DLC
I don't play Animal Crossing. This is useless to me. I hope that maybe each month they have a different DLC pop up like how Sony introduces new games to their plus service each month. But that's just a hope. I don't know what Nintendo plans and as of right now, this is useless to me. What would have been better is if they'd put a bunch of different DLC options up and allowed you to choose one per month. But whatever. No positive here unless you actually own Animal Crossing.
_____
GAME SELECTION
Genesis App
I double checked. The only game on here that is not already on the Genesis Mini and/or the already existing Genesis collection is Musha. A decent shmup, but still, if you're going to be charging premium prices for this expansion, it would be nice to have more than one game that's not already widely available on other collections. But we already knew this, so let's get into the real meat and potatoes.
Nintendo 64 App
Okay, let's just go through this. I already have Ocarina of Time, Starfox 64 and Mario 64 in several different ways. I would imagine most people do. Between 3DS Remasters for Zelda and Star Fox, Switch Remaster for Mario and Virtual Console releases for all 3; these are the most recently widely available games from the N64 era. But of course they were going to put these on there. In fact, they were right to put them on there. Those are core games that absolutely belong. So enough about them.
Doctor Mario seems like how they put up Super Mario Allstars up on their SNES App when they already had all three Mario games on the NES App. Is it a better version? Sure! But it still feels like a game that could have waited a bit and given the slot to a more deserving game.
I will say I don't have, and like the inclusion of: Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Win Back and Sin and Punishment. To be honest, it was probably Sin and Punishment that tipped me over into subscribing. It's one of those games I've never played but heard a lot about.
Over All
Game selection really just isn't that great. There's a few on the N64 that I'm glad are there. Now I know that more games are going to be added. But there's a question of what and when. We know some of the upcoming games. But if the recent months of releases on the NES and SNES apps are anything to go by, Nintendo has not had a great track record. We'll release new games whenever the hell we feel like it and who knows, one of them might actually be somewhat decent!
D+ There are some games I like. And this can be revisited once more games have come out. But for the money I just put into it, they're going to need to really make this library a priority if I'm going to renew next year.
_____
GRAPHICS
Now I know, these are several generation old games. What could I possibly be expecting. Well, I wasn't expecting much, which is why I was honestly pleasantly surprised.
If anyone's seen my ranking on Zelda, you know that I absolutely love Ocarina of Time. But one thing about it is that the graphics just have not aged well. Before the boards were destroyed, I even made a list of all the N64 games I owned and how they held up. One of my common complaints among the games were that the graphics just didn't hold up and some of them were even headache inducing. Ocarina of Time was one of the ones I claimed as headache inducing.
So I was surprised when I started playing Ocarina of time and...it actually looked pretty good. I mean, they didn't do any updating of the graphics or anything like that. It's still the same blocky early polygon graphics it's always been. But if only by uprezing it from CRT to HD, It honestly made it much easier to look at. I've been playing it for a bit and it hasn't even started to give me any of those headaches.
So for that alone, I have to give this some credit. It actually looks pretty good.
B+ It's still very much N64 graphics, but if only for a decent uprez from CRT to HD screens, my eyes are so grateful.
_____
CONTROLS
This is honestly actually where things get kinda bad. I mean, look, I know these games were made for the N64 controller and that it is probably the most...unique...controller ever made. But that didn't stop getting some damn good ports to the 3DS...and its controller is much more limited than the pro-controller or even the joy-cons. So I don't know. I mean, I'm getting used to it. But the darn right stick keeps getting in the way and I keep using items I don't mean to use...which can be troublesome not only in keeping items stocked, but getting yourself in trouble in the heat of battle. And I don't see any way of remapping either.
Sure there's a 64 controller specially made for these that you can buy. But for one thing, I'm not sure what the price tag is, but wasn't it in the neighborhood of $50? That's if you can find one. Scalpers are already having a field day with these.
Now, yes, I am getting used to it, kinda. The right stick still isn't great for c-buttons. But I guess looking at the controller, what else could they do. But "what else could they do" still leaves me with some non-intuitive controls.
C+ There's not much else they could do and I am getting used to it. But it's not nearly as comfortable as playing games on the other apps.
____
Over all.
This isn't even the first month. There is a lot of room for improvement. If they're smart (big if, but hear me out), Nintendo will hopefully make the available DLC more appealing to more people than just those playing Animal Crossing. They also need to vastly improve the game libraries.
Is it worth it?
Eh! Game selection is slightly better on the N64 app than Genesis. You'll notice I didn't even bother talking about Genesis for most of it. I'm also happy that the uprez from CRT to HD makes these games much easier on the eyes. But for $30 more than the base price for the normal Nintendo Online service.....?
Just wait. Honestly just wait. It's possible that as they add games and make different DLC's available...maybe it'll be worth the extra cost. But as it is right now, don't do what I did. It just isn't worth it. And if things don't improve drastically by the time my renew date is here, I'll most likely go back to basic.
Animal Crossing DLC
I don't play Animal Crossing. This is useless to me. I hope that maybe each month they have a different DLC pop up like how Sony introduces new games to their plus service each month. But that's just a hope. I don't know what Nintendo plans and as of right now, this is useless to me. What would have been better is if they'd put a bunch of different DLC options up and allowed you to choose one per month. But whatever. No positive here unless you actually own Animal Crossing.
_____
GAME SELECTION
Genesis App
I double checked. The only game on here that is not already on the Genesis Mini and/or the already existing Genesis collection is Musha. A decent shmup, but still, if you're going to be charging premium prices for this expansion, it would be nice to have more than one game that's not already widely available on other collections. But we already knew this, so let's get into the real meat and potatoes.
Nintendo 64 App
Okay, let's just go through this. I already have Ocarina of Time, Starfox 64 and Mario 64 in several different ways. I would imagine most people do. Between 3DS Remasters for Zelda and Star Fox, Switch Remaster for Mario and Virtual Console releases for all 3; these are the most recently widely available games from the N64 era. But of course they were going to put these on there. In fact, they were right to put them on there. Those are core games that absolutely belong. So enough about them.
Doctor Mario seems like how they put up Super Mario Allstars up on their SNES App when they already had all three Mario games on the NES App. Is it a better version? Sure! But it still feels like a game that could have waited a bit and given the slot to a more deserving game.
I will say I don't have, and like the inclusion of: Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Win Back and Sin and Punishment. To be honest, it was probably Sin and Punishment that tipped me over into subscribing. It's one of those games I've never played but heard a lot about.
Over All
Game selection really just isn't that great. There's a few on the N64 that I'm glad are there. Now I know that more games are going to be added. But there's a question of what and when. We know some of the upcoming games. But if the recent months of releases on the NES and SNES apps are anything to go by, Nintendo has not had a great track record. We'll release new games whenever the hell we feel like it and who knows, one of them might actually be somewhat decent!
D+ There are some games I like. And this can be revisited once more games have come out. But for the money I just put into it, they're going to need to really make this library a priority if I'm going to renew next year.
_____
GRAPHICS
Now I know, these are several generation old games. What could I possibly be expecting. Well, I wasn't expecting much, which is why I was honestly pleasantly surprised.
If anyone's seen my ranking on Zelda, you know that I absolutely love Ocarina of Time. But one thing about it is that the graphics just have not aged well. Before the boards were destroyed, I even made a list of all the N64 games I owned and how they held up. One of my common complaints among the games were that the graphics just didn't hold up and some of them were even headache inducing. Ocarina of Time was one of the ones I claimed as headache inducing.
So I was surprised when I started playing Ocarina of time and...it actually looked pretty good. I mean, they didn't do any updating of the graphics or anything like that. It's still the same blocky early polygon graphics it's always been. But if only by uprezing it from CRT to HD, It honestly made it much easier to look at. I've been playing it for a bit and it hasn't even started to give me any of those headaches.
So for that alone, I have to give this some credit. It actually looks pretty good.
B+ It's still very much N64 graphics, but if only for a decent uprez from CRT to HD screens, my eyes are so grateful.
_____
CONTROLS
This is honestly actually where things get kinda bad. I mean, look, I know these games were made for the N64 controller and that it is probably the most...unique...controller ever made. But that didn't stop getting some damn good ports to the 3DS...and its controller is much more limited than the pro-controller or even the joy-cons. So I don't know. I mean, I'm getting used to it. But the darn right stick keeps getting in the way and I keep using items I don't mean to use...which can be troublesome not only in keeping items stocked, but getting yourself in trouble in the heat of battle. And I don't see any way of remapping either.
Sure there's a 64 controller specially made for these that you can buy. But for one thing, I'm not sure what the price tag is, but wasn't it in the neighborhood of $50? That's if you can find one. Scalpers are already having a field day with these.
Now, yes, I am getting used to it, kinda. The right stick still isn't great for c-buttons. But I guess looking at the controller, what else could they do. But "what else could they do" still leaves me with some non-intuitive controls.
C+ There's not much else they could do and I am getting used to it. But it's not nearly as comfortable as playing games on the other apps.
____
Over all.
This isn't even the first month. There is a lot of room for improvement. If they're smart (big if, but hear me out), Nintendo will hopefully make the available DLC more appealing to more people than just those playing Animal Crossing. They also need to vastly improve the game libraries.
Is it worth it?
Eh! Game selection is slightly better on the N64 app than Genesis. You'll notice I didn't even bother talking about Genesis for most of it. I'm also happy that the uprez from CRT to HD makes these games much easier on the eyes. But for $30 more than the base price for the normal Nintendo Online service.....?
Just wait. Honestly just wait. It's possible that as they add games and make different DLC's available...maybe it'll be worth the extra cost. But as it is right now, don't do what I did. It just isn't worth it. And if things don't improve drastically by the time my renew date is here, I'll most likely go back to basic.
Going to have some fun tonight. My wife hasn't played in like a year, while I've been playing daily the entire time. She's coming back to check out the new stuff, but...
Feel free to join us!
Feel free to join us!