Nintendo NX is now Switch (Official thread) (1 Viewer)

[Lord Dalek]

Reggie pretty much made Nintendo relevant again in the US home console market almost single handedly after the asleep at the wheel doldrums of the N64 and Gamecube days. If he feels the time is right to move on with the Switch rapidly outpacing the PS4 at the moment then more power to him. Here's to hoping Bowser doesn't screw the pooch.

 

[Bryan^H]

In all seriousness, how is that basically any different from literally any online multiplayer game? You go in, you can dropped in a random spot on a map, you are playing against random players who may be much better or much worse than you, and your chances of survival are kind of random.

. Much, much better chance to survive in a game of Fortnite if you are a decent player than Tetris 99.

If you are getting bricked from 20 other players at once, that's it game over. Nowhere to run or hide...just a game ending as quick as it starts.

 

[Steve Y]

I have to be online, I assume, to play Tetris 99?

That's correct. There's no offline mode as far as I can tell, and only one online mode. If it's popular enough, I suspect more modes could be added? It's developed by Akira, who were responsible for the great Endless Ocean series, so I think they have a pretty good relationship with Nintendo.

I play Tetris to get "in the zone," so hardcore competitive play has its limits for me. (The games only last a few minutes.) I made it to the top 3 (never #1) a few times the first week, but as with "real" battle royale games, I get burned out after less than an hour.

 

[DaveF]

I mostly play Switch in airplanes and hotel rooms. So online gaming doesn't fit my oddball use right now. I did give T99 a try in the hotel last week, and it didn't enthuse me.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Bryan - agreed that a decent player has a chance to make a lot of progress in a game like Fortnite. However, I also think a decent player has a chance to make a lot of progress in Tetris 99. What we may be disagreeing over is what a "decent" player is. Also, match-to-match, you will see a decent player place differently. I have gotten first place in Tetris 99 a half dozen times, but I've also gotten knocked out in the 80s. Battle royale games do that since a portion of the experience is luck (items you receive, opponent players, etc.).

Honestly, I think Tetris 99 is one of the best battle royale games because it takes the core appeal of Tetris, that it's easy to learn and hard to master, and applies that to the competitive genre. A game like Fortnite or PUBG has so many game-specific intricacies and complex controls that make it difficult for anyone but hardcore gamers to even decode what they're seeing on the screen, let alone actually play. Tetris is the same game that it's been for basically 30+ years. Tetris 99 is really just a 99-person variant on the Tetris DS online mode that existed like 10 years ago.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Nintendo announced last night the newest Labo kit. It's a VR kit including a viewer that attaches to the Switch and multiple cardboard housings, some shaped like animals. No video and not a lot of details, but it looks like some sort of viewer game (the viewer looks like a standard Google Cardboard-esque piece), a sea exploration/photo game (this looks like a camera, which was shown in the Labo announcement video early last year), a drawing game (the Labo kit looks like an elephant, with the face being where you put your head into the VR viewer and the trunk being the drawing apparatus), a flying game (looks like a bird with wings that you flap, but your face goes in...it's butt), and some sort of shooting game (the kit looks like a shotgun or tank barrel).

This was all rumored to be coming about a month or two ago and the rumor was spot on. But one aspect that wasn't shown/mentioned yet was compatibility with the VR kit and some other, already-released Switch games. So I'm really interested to see how that would pan out.

The Switch screen is only 720p and 60Hz, but the Labo kit either $80 for all of the pieces or a $40 base kit that has two $20 add-ons, so I think this is a simple sell for people/kids who are interested in tinkering around with this but not necessarily going all-out on a bigger VR rig/experience. The Garage mode is back and will include VR stuff but no word yet on what that means.

 

[Bryan^H]

I love Nintendo, but the Labo kits need to end. I honestly thought the initial sets were a flop, but then again $70 for a box of cardboard, if they sold a hundred they probably made a profit.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

IIRC, Nintendo said that Labo didn't sell as well as they had hoped but still sold well enough for them to continue. I think it's a pretty fantastic idea and is WAY better than selling a bunch of plastic toys. These are aimed at kids and expanding the novelty of the Switch beyond just Mario or Zelda. And it seems to have generally worked. I think the price is relatively fair considering you're getting the kits and the software, even if it's just cardboard. We already know that most consumer electronics, particular Apple and Samsung products, have extreme markup well beyond the cost of parts. A regular Switch game is $60, so paying another $10-20 for the cardboard is still a better value than most other pieces of tech or entertainment.

Bryan - did you buy/play around with any of the Labo kits?

 

[Bryan^H]

IIRC, Nintendo said that Labo didn't sell as well as they had hoped but still sold well enough for them to continue. I think it's a pretty fantastic idea and is WAY better than selling a bunch of plastic toys. These are aimed at kids and expanding the novelty of the Switch beyond just Mario or Zelda. And it seems to have generally worked. I think the price is relatively fair considering you're getting the kits and the software, even if it's just cardboard. We already know that most consumer electronics, particular Apple and Samsung products, have extreme markup well beyond the cost of parts. A regular Switch game is $60, so paying another $10-20 for the cardboard is still a better value than most other pieces of tech or entertainment.

Bryan - did you buy/play around with any of the Labo kits?

No. I have no interest in them. I guess for the right person these would be fun assembly/construction. But I hear the time involved to build a bigger set is two to four hours. That is a deal killer for me, and I don't care for the construction of cardboard concept.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If they don't appeal to you, then that's one thing. But I don't know why that means "they need to end" or why you think they're a flop.

 

[Bryan^H]

If they don't appeal to you, then that's one thing. But I don't know why that means "they need to end" or why you think they're a flop.

I saw them clearance at Wal-Mart shortly after they launched. That to me indicated poor sales. But maybe not. If they sold well, more power to them, if not why are they dragging it out. End it!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

By the end of 2018 (so, about 8 months on the market) Labo had sold just under 1.5 million units between the 3 kits available. That's not HUGE, but considering it's a child-focused niche product it's still pretty good. The Labo stuff hasn't even been on the market for a full year.

Yeah, a bunch of stores were heavily discounting the Labo stuff to clear it out, but that didn't happen until near the end of last year or the last couple months. I'm not sure what timeframe you're referring to as "shortly after they launched." For comparison, multiple game stores have been giving away Fallout 76 for free with minor purchases, just to clear the inventory out of the stores. Labo is still doing better than that.

 

[Clinton McClure]

No interest here in Labo, but I’m not Nintendo’s target market. If I were a kid, I would be all over it.

 

[DaveF]

If I had kids and they gamed, I imagine Labo could be highly giftable and fun for parent-kid projects.

But for me: zero interest.

 

[DaveF]

Maybe a dumb question as I've searched the Switch online store, but is there a conventional Tetris game available? Playing Tetris 99 isn't really my thing, but makes me want to play classic Tetris. I'd pay a few bucks to have it on the Switch. But I can't find it.

 

[Bryan^H]

Maybe a dumb question as I've searched the Switch online store, but is there a conventional Tetris game available? Playing Tetris 99 isn't really my thing, but makes me want to play classic Tetris. I'd pay a few bucks to have it on the Switch. But I can't find it.

Puyo Puyo Tetris which does have a single player Tetris mode.

 

[Clinton McClure]

What Bryan said: PuyoPuyo is the closest you’re gonna get, Dave. I didn’t buy it when I had my Switch but it was rated very highly.

 

[DaveF]

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

 

[Sam Posten]

Anyone tried Ape Out?

 

[DaveF]

Nintendo confirms smaller, portable-er Switch coming for $200.

"Nintendo confirms portable-only, $200 “Switch Lite” for September [Updated] | Ars Technica" (https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019...-portable-only-200-switch-lite-for-september/)