The Thursday letters page is impressed by Mario Kart World on Nintendo Switch 2, as readers are concerned about game prices on the new console.
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High-end showcase
Some quick reactions to the Switch 2 reveal:
- Mario Kart World looks very nice and definitely couldn’t run on the Switch. Looks like Nintendo are going to push it as a social game, especially with the ‘C’ button screen sharing, etc. I’m not personally that interested in that aspect, but it looks quite good.
- Surprised that the Welcome Tour has to be paid for separately? Maybe the mini-games are fun but otherwise I’ll give it a miss.
- Metroid Prime 4 on Switch 2 looks very impressive. I note that they left it out of the list of upgrades, i.e. you can’t buy it for Switch 1 and then upgrade to Switch 2, at least not at launch. I guess that’s to push Switch 2 buyers to buy the Switch 2 edition.
- GameCube games on Nintendo Switch Online from day one is definitely a plus for me: The Wind Waker at the very least will keep me going.
- Lots of third party support; I need to check back later on what’s coming out at launch. I’ve been holding out on playing Cyberpunk 2077 to see if a Switch 2 edition would come out, as it’s a lot more convenient for me than on home console, so that’ll do me nicely.
- The new FromSoftware game looks like it runs better than Elden Ring, which can hardly be right – looks very interesting though.
- The console price is pretty reasonable – I think it’s quite a bit less than the official price of the PlayStation 5 (the current Astro Bot deal notwithstanding)? By comparison, the original Switch was a bit more expensive than PlayStation 4 was at the time, if I recall correctly.
- The game prices are by contrast pretty steep and I’m surprised that Nintendo are offering digital at a discount to physical, which they’ve never done before. What that means is that those game cards must be pretty expensive – hopefully the loading times make it worth it. Personally, I think I’ll be waiting for the digital sales for a lot of these games.
Overall, this was at the higher end of my expectations for the Direct, wonder what other people thought?
Mickah
Switch 2 awakens
Well, that was an underwhelming presentation. Graphically I felt it a major letdown, with very poor water splashes seen in Mario Kart. My fault in part, as I’d hoped for a Matrix Awakens level of graphics but those reports around PlayStation 4 level look to be spot on.
Then those insane prices. Oh and the Welcome Tour game (also known as an instruction manual) which you have to buy… I think that ‘C’ button stands for cash, as you’ll need a lot of it for this system. Don’t get me wrong I love Nintendo, but I’ll wait five years for an updated version and hopefully better and cheaper software.
Rob
Shifting opinions
The Nintendo Switch 2 reveal.
A refined version of the Switch and that’s a good thing.
Mario Kart World looks like fun but not exactly a system seller in my opinion and halfway through the trailer I thought I won’t get one at launch, I’ll wait awhile.
Then FromSoftware appeared on screen. The Duskbloods, exclusive to the Switch 2.
I had a sudden change of mind then saw it’s out next year.
TL;DR. I’ll buy one next year. It looks a good console.
Chevy Malibu
Kinect V2
So the Switch 2 ‘C’ button is for chat. All those predictions of what it might be for and it’s a very simple idea, now we know what it is.
Controllers as a mouse and upgraded games if you pay extra for what you already own (same as Sony did for the PlayStation 5 games)
And they are bringing out a camera that puts you in the game and control your movement and voice in the game. We all know how Kinect turned out for Microsoft and the eye camera for the Playstation.
Don’t get me wrong I’m a huge Nintendo fan, but nothing made me go wow, I really need this. Recycled ideas that hopefully work out better than the first time around.
Cassius2K
Welcome home, good hunter
That Mario Kart looks absolutely amazing but that looked like Bloodborne 2 (unofficial)! If Sony aren’t interested then Nintendo will be and suddenly I feel the need to clear my credit card ready for June.
Just to add: I wasn’t the only one, from reading through some of the comments, that said how the thing basically crashed around Cyberpunk and was showing a different game!
Also, Donkey Kong looked fantastic and I’m glad it looked like there are platform levels in the game.
Simon
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Sega+ Direct
I hope I’m wrong, but it seems like a decent chunk of Sega games seem to be leaving Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium in recent months. I am going to make a wild prediction that Sega is going to announce their own subscription service.
Maybe this will coincide with being available on the Switch 2 as well? Seeing that GameCube games are being predicted on the Switch 2, and these would be an upgrade on the NES, SNES and N64 games on the original Switch, there are already Mega Drive games on the Switch, so maybe Sega will do something similar.
I look forwards to the Switch 2 part of this prediction being proved wrong by the time people read this…but I like to think the Xbox and PlayStation 5 versions could potentially happen, given Sega’s (quite surprising) decent library of games. Thoughts GC?
NatorDom
GC: It’s a plausible idea, but we think Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut was the only Sega game in the Direct.
Go berserk for it
I was extremely surprised by just how awesome The First Berserker: Khazan is. If, like me, you hadn’t heard of this game until a week or so ago, it’s basically a hybrid Souls/ Sekiro/Nioh game.
Everything about it is superb: the enemies, customisation, difficulty, gear sets, build options. The best part though is the combat which is so good. All the bosses are challenging but doable. And the level design is quite linear but I actually like the gauntlet style – after a 250+ Elden Ring run including the DLC exploring every nook, it is nice just to have a high level of action throughout (although there are secrets to unlock and find).
I was also impressed with the price. Via CD Keys I got the deluxe edition for £47! That is very good value these days, for a highly polished game devoid of microtransactions and bugs. I imagine I’ll easily get 100+ hours out of it.
Would strongly recommend it anyway!
Tom
GC: It’s derivative but we really liked it too.
Hardware bundle
I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the Switch 2 presentation. I had even set my alarm to it.
Mario Kart World looks amazing (and similar to Forza Horizon 2, where you have to drive from race to race yourself).
I was hoping for a reveal of a new 2D Mario but came to accept we had had enough in the new Kart game for now.
As the price of the console wasn’t revealed in the presentation, I got it from GameCentral and the £395.99 isn’t too bad.
I did personally say in the Underbox (before the comments section disappeared) it’d be £399.
It’s the apparent pricing of the games that concerns me.
£74.99 (for Mario Kart World) is quite a jump from the Switch1’s £49.99 and though I can afford it, I don’t think I can justify it with my wallet.
Second-hand will see prices still high at about £60 to £65.
I’ll keep an eye on these game prices to see if people disagree about paying that much.
For now, I’ll work on my Switch 1 backlog.
LeighDappa
PS: The Switch 2 game cards are red. How cool is that?
GC: It’s only the physical edition that’s £75. You can get the digital edition for just £34 if you buy it with the console.
Turtle-y worth it
RE: Hubert and his wondering about the longevity of modern retro scrolling beat ‘em-ups. Having played Streets Of Rage 4 and actually owning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, I would say, as a fan of this genre and as a fan of the Ninja Turtles, that these games should hold your interest. TMNT particularly, because I actually have it, I can say you get four turtles, Master Splinter, April O’ Neil, Casey Jones and the Samurai Bunny from the Edo dimension.
So eight characters to play as and Mona Lisa and Mondo Gecko as more paid-for DLC, if ya want even more. They each have 10 levels to hack, slash, spin, and hover up to, each level unlocking new super moves to snash the Foot with, as well as new skins and probably more besides, awesome boss fights and crucially that just one more go gameplay hook.
Compared to the old arcade version, Turtles In Time, which I played very recently and the assortment of attacks, special moves, throws, rolls/slides and jump and float attacks is a massive step up. The old one had literally three attacks, (attack, jump attack, and a two button jump-swipe). They can of course be played online, but you would likely need to find a dedicated group to arrange something. But, of course, if you had guests, especially with kids, then they’ll love it.
big boy bent
Moo Moo Switch too
No dual screen options is sad and a separate camera is a weird choice. Nintendo expecting people to pay for the Welcome Tour is a massive miss by them.
Little more than a tech demo and should have been included. Also, a cow on a bike was not on my bingo card. Who knew.
Solabound
Half right
Well, I got some of those predictions right (letters page prior to the launch event). Not that they were especially out there. But Nintendo does seem to be fully leaning into the ecosystem model, as testified by the showcase of special editions, GameCube (including F-Zero GX!) on day one and backwards compatibility. It explains the timing of last week’s Direct.
They always say that they’re not in competition with Sony and Microsoft, but they really seem to be gunning for third party support here, with an impressive range of games from such publishers. This perhaps explains the paltry first party offering of, the admittedly great looking, Mario Kart World. But the new Donkey game is out close to launch, so as good as day one too. (That Firaxis tease had me thinking for a moment they were going to announce a new or special edition XCOM. Damn it!).
It’s disappointing that Metroid Prime 4 isn’t day one. As someone who owns a PlayStation 5 with access to games like Split Fiction, there’s nothing really to get thoroughly immersed in. I’m sure there will be many others who feel the same. Omitting it from the launch roster strikes me as a misstep, but again understandable if they want to encourage people to purchase third party software.
I’m also disappointed that Super Mario Universe wasn’t shown or a day one release. Given how long it’s been since EAD last published a game, assuming they are behind the new Donkey Kong (is this confirmed?), there’s a good chance they’ll have a new Super Mario ready soon. But I can’t see it being released this Christmas, as they’ll be looking to drum up sales of Donkey Kong which it would be in competition with. Maybe the following year.
My sense is that they’ll be drip feeding new games over the coming months, including, of course, Metroid Prime 4. But I wonder what the big holiday season release will be. Surely not Prime or Pokémon? They’re no doubt holding something back. Maybe Animal Crossing?
The console, though, looks great: HDR, 1080p and 4K resolutions, up to 120fps. Visually, many of the games looked amazing. Though no news on battery length.
I’ve already pre-ordered one (pre-orders are open now where I live). The price of both console and software doesn’t seem unreasonable to me, but then I can afford it. Beyond the launch window, they could struggle, though, to match sales of the Switch 1 at this price.
Ciara
GC: At time of writing, we don’t know who the Donkey Kong developer is. There’s a lot of games with a 2025 release date but nothing more, so it’s hard to say if there’s a big Christmas release being kept secret or if they hope that multiple smaller titles will make up for the lack of one.
Inbox also-rans
From an anon, insider info. Switch 2 will be out mid-May, it will cost £350, and at least sux games will be out on release day.
Anon
GC: Umm…
The Nintendo Swirch 2 Direct blew my mind although, if a game costs 75 quid a pop, I’m unsure whether I’ll get one. Cheers, and thanks for all the great work you do.
Nick P
GC: Thank you.
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