Games Acquired 2024

[Reprise]

There's a version with a slipcover? Damn, I just have a normal version without any slip cover I think.

Maybe it was like a first print thing? I don't really know. I see a lot of copies on ebay with no slip cover, but there's usually 1 or 2 that do have it.

Yeah, could be. I bought mine brand new and it didn't come with one, but it was a while after its release.

[ElkinFencer10]

Acquired in 2024 so far - 14 Games; 9 physical, 5 digital
(physical is in regular font, digital is in italics)

January (8 Games Acquired; 6 physical, 2 digital)

The Hundred Year Kingdom (Switch)
Persona 3 Portable (Switch)
Senren*Banka (Switch)
Akai Katana Shin (Switch)
Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (Switch)
Outbreak Collection Part 2 (Switch)
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties (Switch)
Silver Falls: Guardians and Metal Exterminators S (Switch)

February (6 Games Acquired; 3 physical, 3 digital)

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Switch)
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5)
Alan Wake 2 (PC)
The Imperial Capital Burns - Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse (Steam)
Star Trek: Resurgence (PS5)
Wanted: Dead (PS5)

New for February 15
Star Trek: Resurgence (PS5)
Wanted: Dead (PS5)

[Raging Justice]

I keep discovering interesting new Switch games every week and more are still being physically released even with rumors that it is on its last legs. The Switch may have one of the greatest libraries of all time.

Nintendo rumors are worthless. They're a dime a dozen and wrong 75% of the time. The Switch won't get replaced until at least 2025 or I'm an ignorant slut.

The real irony is that it feels more like the PS 5 is on its last legs

https://www.nme.com/en_asia/news/gaming ... ar-3587661

https://www.unilad.com/technology/news/ ... 1-20240214

https://www.eurogamer.net/playstation-b ... rowth-plan

Meanwhile, Microsoft is giving up its Xbox exclusives. They seem less and less interested in competing with Sony or Nintendo. If there is a console war going on, they've bowed out of it. We already had many Xbox games available on PC and now they are giving up whatever few exclusives they had. I don't know what is even the point of owning an Xbox console any more.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/15/microso ... soles.html

I don't know why people are talking so much about the end of the Switch all things considered. Nintendo is doing its own thing and doing quite well for itself, and they still have games that are truly exclusive, as Sony and Microsoft start moving away from that idea.

[REPO Man]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The console war is becoming less and less a part of the game industry's future. PlayStation and Xbox haven't hade many quantifiable differences since the PS3 and 360. Gamers are moving more and more towards PC, itself nearly devoid of any reliance on physical media. If Sony and Microsoft stay in the hardware game, they'll be more like how PC brands are, being less like the Atari and Coleco of the 21st century and being more like contemporaries like Asus or Razer. If PlayStation and Xbox have futures, it'll be as digital storefronts where their exclusive titles will be. But if Sony and Microsoft stay in the hardware game, they'll probably stick with the PC market.

Nintendo, on the other hand, will realistically adopt a more Apple-like approach, releasing modest hardware upgrades every few years much like the iPad does, and this hardware will be the exclusive home to their games. As such, the next Switch will be realistically just an upgraded model with higher specs, not unlike how they've approached the 3DS evolving into the New 3DS. You won't NEED to rush out and buy the next Switch every three years but depending on how you use your Switch, you may do just that.

Hopefully by then it'll be easier to recycle old hardware to avoid an excess of discarded hardware in landfills. And hopefully by then, we won't have companies literally nerfing their products over time with updates.

But my concern is with the uncertain nature of digital media in an era where entire swaths of content can be wiped away with no means of redownloading it. And don't get me started on "live-service games" whose futures can be snuffed out with a server closure.

[Reprise]

We really do need a Switch 2 though... There's no reason not to release one this year. It's been SEVEN YEARS. Hardware sales have definitely passed their peak and are on a decline, the only games on the horizon are crap like Princess Peach Super Adventures or whatever that rubbish is and a bunch of remasters/remakes like Luigi's Mansion 2 and Mario vs Donkey Kong. The hardware is clearly severely outdated at this point.

I'd rather they move full swing into the next generation whilst the Switch is still doing ok, instead of leaving it too late like they did when moving from the Wii to the Wii U. Waiting until the current console is well and truly dead before releasing the next one seems shortsighted. Those transition months are painful when it's clear the old system is already dead and I feel it harms the hype for the next one. I know the Wii U had a whole bunch of other problems, but I do believe that the attitude that the Wii was now 'old hat' and a 'fad' affected people's excitement for the next system. If you look at Sony, they always move into the next gen whilst the current console is still doing well and receiving decent releases.

[Raging Justice]

I guess I don't represent the average gamer. I like retro games, indie games, and niche Japanese games. I generally don't care about whatever the latest AAA, mainstream game with a bloated budget is, so the Switch doesn't feel outdated to me given the types of games I'm playing on it. Also, I very much enjoy the remasters and remakes. I'm a retro gamer and I'm enjoying playing the remastered Tomb Raider games and Mario vs Donkey Kong. I like re-experiencing these games with some modern quality of life improvements and cleaned up graphics (though the TR remasters can be switched to the original graphics with just a touch of a button). For me, the Switch could just keep doing what it's doing for another 10 years and I'd be fine with that. I don't really care about the Switch 2 as much as some people do, beyond some mild curiosity.

I don't see the Princess Peach game being crap since it's a first party title. That's not to say it'll be to everyone's taste, or that I will like it myself, but I imagine there will be a certain level of quality that you normally expect from a 1st party, Nintendo IP.

If you look at Sony, they always move into the next gen whilst the current console is still doing well and receiving decent releases.

That hasn't exactly worked out in their favor. Many feel that they rushed the PS 5 to market with hardly any games and not even enough systems for everyone to buy. It's ironic that Sony bigwigs are already saying that the system is in its twilight phase when most gamers feel like the PS 5 never even hit its stride in the first place. It's like watching a race car break down before even finishing its first lap. I think the PS 5 will be remembered as the biggest failure of the Playstation brand. I think one can count on just one hand how many classic games released for PS 5, and I'm talking about actual exclusives, not souped up PS 4 games. It also doesn't help that Sony has done a lot of things during the PS 5 era to piss off a lot of gamers like their stringent censorship policies and anti-Japanese stance. Sony feels like a much less fun company than they were during the PS 4 days.

Meanwhile, Xbox hasn't been great since it's 360 era. The Xbox brand really only had one great run.

Nintendo is feeling more and more like the only game in town for console gamers right now. I don't think they need to rush out a new Switch system personally

[Reprise]

That hasn't exactly worked out in their favor. Many feel that they rushed the PS 5 to market with hardly any games and not even enough systems for everyone to buy.

I blame the pandemic for that, to be honest. I don't feel they rushed. The PS4 already felt pretty old. It had been out 7 or 8 years.

I also don't think Nintendo will make that mistake. They were wise to just skip the Switch Pro and wait for the chip shortage to sort itself out. It's just speculation on my part, but I would be shocked if they don't have some huge games for the Switch 2, like the proper next 3D Mario title, already nearing completion.

I don't see the Princess Peach game being crap since it's a first party title. That's not to say it'll be to everyone's taste, or that I will like it myself, but I imagine there will be a certain level of quality that you normally expect from a 1st party, Nintendo IP.

It will be a typical 7/10 Nintendo game like the rest of their 'b level range'.

It's fine if it's the kind of thing you enjoy, but I can't see it being a particular great game.

It's ironic that Sony bigwigs are already saying that the system is in its twilight phase when most gamers feel like the PS 5 never even hit its stride in the first place.

Yeah, I don't really buy that to be honest. Seems like a few comments stating the obvious and turning it into clickbait articles (PS5 has been out well over 3 years now and nearing it's 4th year. It has obviously reached the half way point in its lifespan - that doesn't mean it's "basically dead")

I do agree the PS5 never really hit its stride, but I also feel the same was true for the PS4 and also Covid had a massive impact. Video games just aren't that exciting anymore though and I expect we will see huge changes moving forward. REPO Man makes some good points.

Nintendo is feeling more and more like the only game in town for console gamers right now. I don't think they need to rush out a new Switch system personally

I do kinda agree, but I just personally think it's better to strike whilst the iron is still hot and continue with newer hardware. I don't expect a revolutionary new console. I just want to play the same kind of amazing games as before, but with better performance and graphics. Give me Xenoblade Chronicles and Zelda with less blurriness and a better framerate. Give me the option to play FPSs in 60fps. I love Doom 2016, for example, and I actually played it to completion on my Switch instead of on PS4, because the Switch is so convenient! I played a lot of it handheld instead of docked. Great game on Switch, but why wouldn't I want the option to play games like that on a hypothetical Switch 2 with less blurry graphics and a higher framerate?

Hell, if they could deliver a console that's on par with a PS4 or PS4 Pro, then it just opens up a world of opportunities for developers compared to what the current Switch hardware offers.

On topic, I picked up Return Fire this week

[prfsnl_gmr]

Niiiiiiiice. Return Fire is a solid game. (One of the greatest of all time according to EGM 100!) The single player campaign is fun, but it really picks up when you play it with a friend. It is one of the 3DO’s best games, like Road Rash, and I’m glad it was ported to the PS1 so that more people could play it.

[Reprise]

Thanks! Yeah, funnily enough, I noticed it was in the EGM top 100 after I had bought it and I happened to browse the topic.

The game does look like a ton of fun. I won't have a chance to play the two player for a while, but I did try a bit of the single player campaign yesterday. It seems really good. I am a big fan of console strategy style games. Herzog Zwei is one of my favourite games, for example.

[prfsnl_gmr]

There’s nothing quite like rocking out to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries while turning enemy bases into smoldering craters with your attack chopper!

Also, those PAL PS1 games are sexy! I have a few PAL games, and I love those cases.