#compared to switch/ps system? wild

[alienaiver]

hhHHH GOT BOTH LITTLE WITCH NOBETA AND BALDURS GATE 3 :3333

[almorica]

I did this elsewhere, so I’ll add it here too. here’s a VN/adventure game rec list even if my taste is often at odds with critics and popular consensus alike. I live to be contrary (derogatory).

after the first few of “made a significant impression on me recently” titles, it’s in no special order. contains a lot of horror and mystery, from 12+ to 18+ titles, and from free to paid. if you’re interested in one but want some specific content warnings, I can offer that.

Death Mark is my favorite of the last 4 years. let’s go ghost hunting with a cursed cast of mainly adults! really good, intense and graphic supernatural horror (18+). it’s on multiple systems and steam (but you get more save files on the PS systems. I have like 30 save files on my Vita). there are good LPs if you get curious!

Spirit Hunter: NG is a sequel to Death Mark with a different cast, so you could easily play one and not the other. the focus is on the older teenager characters this time, and everyone’s shady but sympathetic somehow. also intense supernatural horror (18+) and on multiple systems! (same save file consideration applies.) 

the most recent addition to the List is MAMIYA - A Shared Illusion of the World’s End. it's a depressing but kind of cathartic tale without being even remotely as graphic as the first two (I’d recommend 16+). a mature and stable mindset is key to enjoying it. it's still kiiiiind of supernatural horror but largely psychological. no fun(?) ghost hunting. available for PC.

Hashihime of the Old Book Town is quite a bit like MAMIYA, but more suspense focused. explicitly M/M with a cast age 20+. mostly about the mystery/psychological/horror aspects, however. if you connect to any of these characters, it will hurt.

across languages, it's already on PC on multiple sites, Vita (JP only), and in JP/CN/EN for Switch! 18+ except for Switch, which cuts some content.

Lux-Pain is a 2008 DS title involving people with powers fighting mind parasites. ALSO a mystery revolving around heavy topics like dark states of mind (13+ official rating). canon queer, but awkward about it.

you're better off playing this in JP if you can read it, because the EN localization was poor, but sometimes you Love It Anyway (me).

Kara no Shoujo, a very dark and gritty murder mystery. 18+ in multiple respects; available on PC. fascinating if you like experiencing unflinchingly twisted and challenging storylines, otherwise you should /really/ give it a pass. I am serious.

the protagonist, while ultimately trying to be a good person, is really morally not. a reprehensible man only overshadowed by the ones killing people, lol. nobody’s really likeable, but I found it an interesting look into the potential darkness in people’s hearts.

Fatal Twelve, another teen-friendly title. Is it still a Death Game if you're already dead? a F/F VN (mostly plot-focused) with a wonderfully imperfect and sympathetic love interest. it involves some questionable stereotypes of the characters from nations outside Japan, but the fucked up American is justified tbh. available on PC, switch, and PS4.

Lake of Voices, a free survival horror-type game. great atmosphere and a wlw romance option. difficult, but satisfying to 100%. available on PC.

Trace Memory/Another Code: Two Memories. my first VN-type mystery/puzzle game! cing was a total gateway into all this. it's only a few hours long, but the music is excellent and the story is poignant. available on the DS.

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly: also a tragic mystery grappling with grief! my fav Vita game after the Spirit Hunters. Incredible somber atmosphere and beautiful art that I think about a lot. also available on PC.

I've mostly seen people criticize this one and love the second in the series (Ashen Hawk). but after playing the second, I can only recommend it if you want to see a game speedrun getting as boldly problematic as possible (it is kind of entertaining how comparatively Wild it gets).

Zero Escape: 999 and VLR (The Nonary Games): actually pretty popular. 999 is top notch horror, and VLR top notch sci-fi. I played them both on 3/DS, but they have other options, like PC and mobile and vita. 18+ for graphic gore and violence.

there's a 3rd (ZTD), but I have a wide definition of Visual Novel and it still doesn't fit. it is also not Good in actual story quality like the first two, but the bloody horror is a fun time.

Hatoful Boyfriend: romance birds! have a weird time that only gets weirder! multiple systems? PC for sure.

Theresia: Dear Emile: a DS horror game that's mostly puzzle/adventure, but unfolds the story VN-style. A lot like a more relaxed Amnesia TDD with no chasers, but a lot of inanimate objects will hurt you. (major cw: parental abuse. recommended for 18+)

playing Theresia when I was younger solidified SO much of what I've loved in horror games ever since. I've replayed it enough to have many puzzle solutions memorized.

Neighbor: short, sweet, old-fashioned supernatural horror VN. the subject matter can be heavy, but it's not particularly adult. available on PC.

Cinderella Phenomenon: free fairy tale-based otome game that still took me 30 hours. while not sugary sweet, the most chill of the entire list.

the main dealbreaker might be that there's a step-brother route (and it’s weird in how it goes about it even if that's /not/ a trigger for you), but you can avoid it and still clear everyone else.

Root Letter: mystery game with a complex adult cast. a good balance of chill music + setting and suspense. 24 hrs playtime for me; a great game to pick up on sale.

the protagonist is not afraid to be seriously, verbally MEAN (like about someone's weight) to get them to talk, which you may want to consider if you’re not in the mood to play that kind of person. on many systems, depending on what language you want to play in.

Without a Voice: short free F/F VN (I clocked in 3 hours). a bit supernatural, a bit horror-y, all visually beautiful. available on PC.

Shin Hayarigami 1+2: intense horror VNs on the graphic level of Spirit Hunter or higher (18+). mostly only JP, but the first chapter of 1 is localized for mobile, and a bit more is available in translated LPs.

another one you play as a godawful person (this time a mean policewoman). I find all kinds of protagonists can be interesting to read!

Hotel Dusk: excellent mystery puzzle/adventure/VN for the DS, and a lot of people would agree. the protagonist is an endearing middle aged guy who is easily pleased by paperclips.

the second one (Last Window) is all right. I've played it twice and still cannot remember a thing about the new characters or story. kind of impressive.

anyhow, do hotel dusk for them?

[historyofhandheldconsoles]

The Nintendo Switch: 2010s

On March 3, 2017, the Nintendo Switch was released worldwide (excluding India and China) alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a launch title31. The system proceeded to sell 41 million units in two and a half years32, bringing with it multiple innovative concepts that brought together the best of handheld and home console gaming, as well as the more recent addition of mobile markets, in the first-ever hybrid console.

Between 2004 and 2017

The Switch was preceded by two other consoles made by Nintendo. One was the Nintendo 3DS (2011), which was a handheld game console and successor to the Nintendo DS. The 3DS was a greatly improved DS (with a similar clamshell design and lower touchscreen) featuring improved graphics, a larger screen and a Circle Pad located above the D-Pad that allowed for analog input and more delicate directional controls33. The console was a moderate success, and was designed as a portable complement to Nintendo’s then home console, the Wii U.

The Wii U was released in 2012 and was intended to serve the home gaming market. Its GamePad controller served as a second screen while the main hardware was connected to a television output, and on certain games could be used entirely separately so the television could be displaying one programme while the GamePad could be playing something completely different34. Parallels can be drawn to the DS, with the GamePad’s use of two different screens on one console and a resistive touchscreen on the bottom, and to its successor the Switch, with its design being visually very similar. 

The Wii U would fail as a console, only achieving 13.56 million units sold by 201635 and having the worst sales of any Nintendo console. Despite this setback, the Wii U would sow the seeds for the Switch five years later. Reggie Fils-Aimé, the then-President of Nintendo of America, even considered the Wii U to be a ‘necessary step in order to get to Nintendo Switch’36. 

Innovations 

When the Switch (codenamed the NX) launched after its 5-year gestation period, the failures of the most recent console were the foremost drivers in creating a system that would take these failures and clarify them so that the mistakes wouldn’t happen again37. With this in mind, new features were added, with the most obvious one being the ability for the Switch to change from Handheld to Tabletop to TV mode.

The ability for the individual controllers (referred to as Joy-Cons) to detach from the unit is how the Handheld, Tabletop and TV modes exist and are the greatest innovations utilised for the Switch. They can be used paired as a single control system, but can also function as two separate controllers when re-oriented to their sides, thus enabling multiplayer functionality with a single system.

Within the Joy-Cons are an accelerometre and a gyroscope, allowing for the use of motion controls in different games, as well as haptic feedback. The technology behind the haptic feedback is very precise, ‘enough for you to feel the difference between one, two and three ice cubes rattling in a glass’38 and utilises Linear Resonant Actuators (LRAs)39 in order to achieve this ‘rumble’ effect (referred to as HD Rumble). Similar technology had not been used before this in any other console, making it a first in the industry.

All in all, the system’s main draw was its status as a fully-fledged home console that could be taken out of the home and used as a portable handheld console40. This hybridity is especially of note, as in order to run processing-intensive games like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and The Outer Worlds, the system is required to have a CPU that is up to the task while also keeping the unit portable and not decimating battery life. As such, the Switch utilises four ARM Cortex A57 cores as its CPU41. As we have seen in a trend across the Nintendo Game Boy and DS, the CPU is nowhere near as powerful as its competitors the PlayStation PS4 (running two x86-64 quad-core modules for a total of eight cores) and the Microsoft XBox One (running Custom 1.75 GHz AMD 8-core APU (2 quad-core Jaguar modules), but the fact that games previously locked to the home can be taken out and about is a powerful draw to the system. 

The innovations present in the Switch have led to a marked change in the handheld gaming industry and to the gaming industry as a whole. No other consoles currently in the market are capable of this hybrid, home-handheld concept. While other companies appear to have wound down production of handheld consoles in favour of focusing on home consoles42, the fact that Nintendo is currently attempting to challenge the mobile gaming market is certainly of note.

The future of handheld gaming is up in the air as the Switch shows no signs of stopping and other companies aside Nintendo appear to have no more interest in handhelds, but with Nintendo’s excellent track record in handheld game consoles, whatever comes next will be the product of pure innovation, creativity and a genuine wish to improve gaming.

Footnotes

31: O'Brien, Lucy. “Zelda Wii U Delayed to 2017, Also Coming to NX.” IGN Southeast Asia, April 27, 2016. https://sea.ign.com/the-legend-of-zelda-hd-wii-u-wii-u/104103/news/zelda-wii-u-delayed-to-2017-also-coming-to-nx.

32: Grubb, Jeff. “Nintendo Switch Sales Surpass 41 Million.” VentureBeat. VentureBeat, November 1, 2019. https://venturebeat.com/2019/10/31/nintendo-switch-sales/.

33: Cangeloso, Sal. “Video: Nintendo 3DS Compared to the DS Lite.” Geek.com, March 24, 2011. https://www.geek.com/games/video-nintendo-3ds-compared-to-the-ds-lite-1331371/.

34: Caoili, Eric. “Nintendo Reveals Wii U's Miiverse, New Hardware Specifics.” Gamasutra Article. Accessed November 13, 2019. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/171695/Nintendo_reveals_Wii_Us_Miiverse_new_hardware_specifics.php.

35: “IR Information: Sales Data - Dedicated Video Game Sales Units.” Nintendo Co., Ltd. Accessed November 13, 2019. https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/index.html.

36: Peckham, Matt. “Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime On the Switch.” Time. Time, January 15, 2017. https://time.com/4635415/nintendo-switch-online-reggie-fils-amie/.

37: Yurieff, Kaya. “Nintendo Exec: Failed Wii U Is Responsible for Switch's Success.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network. Accessed November 13, 2019. https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/09/technology/nintendo-switch-wii-u/index.html.

38: Van Boom, Daniel. “Nintendo's Joy-Con Controllers Are Insane.” CNET. CNET, January 13, 2017. https://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-joy-con-switch-controllers-announced/.

39: Porter, Jon. “Meet the Minds behind Nintendo Switch's HD Rumble Tech.” TechRadar. TechRadar, February 7, 2017. https://www.techradar.com/news/meet-the-minds-behind-nintendo-switchs-hd-rumble-tech.

40: Statt, Nick. “Why the Nintendo Switch Is the Most Innovative Game Console in Years.” The Verge. The Verge, December 21, 2017. https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/21/16804406/nintendo-switch-console-business-saved-zelda-mario.

41: Walton, Mark. “Nintendo Switch Uses Nvidia Tegra X1 SoC, Clock Speeds Outed.” Ars Technica, December 20, 2016. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/12/nintendo-switch-nvidia-tegra-x1-specs-speed/.

42: Romano, Sal. “PS Vita Production Ended in Japan.” Gematsu, March 7, 2019. https://gematsu.com/2019/03/ps-vita-production-ended-in-japan.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S2 Ep 29: Everything Explodes, Cranes Fall, Everyone Drowns, Kaiba Gets Real Freakin Weird(er)

Happy Halloween everyone, I’m waiting for the trick or treaters that will never arrive at my house on a hill without any streetlights. As an adult, it’s not really a thing to go party hopping on a Wednesday (I don’t even know why we celebrate Wednesday Halloweens, they’re the very worst ones), so, lets talk about a ghost story tonight and recap a very long episode of Yugioh.

Bro was just steeped in excitement for my reaction on this one, because this is his favorite episode, I guess, and he did tell me “listen, this is peak Yugioh. It’s all downhill from here” and I was like “when were we uphill? Have we not been launched rapidly downhill straight from a Sonic-the-Hedgehog-style spinner since this series has started, whisking Yugi’s Grandpa’s soul through a VCR tape? Isn’t watching this series spiral out of control the whole point?”

Anyway, he gave me fair warning and I’m still not quite sure what happened this episode.

I mean I know what happened, I was here, I watched it, I watched it again to cap it, wrote some copy, edited it over with bro a bit, talked it out...

I’m still not sure what happened this episode.

Again, I get WHAT happened...it’s more...I don’t get...the laws of physics? Or Why certain people did certain things or...this episode, but that’s OK because it splattered all over the wall into this Rorcshach Test...and I don't know if the writers even want to bother explaining it. I mean...why bother at this point? We’re watching Yugioh. The main character is 50-99% definitely a ghost, don’t think about it.

First off, Marik’s boat.

Not pictured here: this room of this boat only has three walls. Marik is facing a steep drop into the sea, meaning that if there’s an rain or any waves or whatever, it just crashes directly into this room. If anything picks up the boat and kinda slams it around a bit, you just fly right out of this room and right out the back. I don't get this boat. I don’t get how you keep this room clean and free of nasty ass seagulls.

I don’t like boats and I don’t spend too much time on boats, so if this is normal and natural boat behavior, my bad.

In case you forgot, Joey is about to murder Yugi.

Every character on this show has run out of ideas and is onto their very last wit.

It’s just a whole lot of everyone pointing a card-shaped gun at each other and themselves and just shouting at the top of their lungs.

(read more under the cut)

And then the show does a sweeping half-episode review of every duel you have seen so far that had a Joey cameo in it. I mean...I guess it works. But it kinda feels like one of those filler episodes of Friends where they couldn’t come up with new content so they just did a “remember this cool thing that happened last season? haha, this isn’t a real episode” and so initially I was like “bro, I dunno if this episode is going to be as weird as you say it is.”

And so Joey decided he’s not going to kill his friend, but don’t be fooled, he’s still going to punch out many more people in the episodes to come, I am absolutely sure of it.

This is the first time Yugi’s decided to attempt to mind wipe someone without using Pharaoh. Aw. Kind of sweet, look at him grow up to be just like his Ghost Dad.

PS I just realized this, but why didn’t Yugi just mind wipe Joey!? It’s been heavily implied that he already has so many times--this seems like the one time Joey would have been totally OK with it. If I had a Marik situation in my brain, I would have been like, yes, please use the pharaoh ghost to break my brain into pieces, I’ll figure that whole recovery situation later, but at least I won’t be a murderer.

But whatever, they’re going to do it without magic, although Friendship is also magic in this universe. But the semantics are better.

Yugi uses his millennium cell phone signals to face chat with Marik. Kind of. This was probably just a visual analogy. I never know with this show, although Pharoah really did do a Shadow-world face chat with Pegasus last season like it wasn’t any big deal. Twice.

This whole 4 episode arc was just Yugi realizing last minute that Marik was wasting everyone’s time.

And once Yugi’s baited Marik into killing him before the time runs out, Joey lit up with bolts of crazy ass electricity as the Power of Friendship mindwiped saved Joey.

Almost half this episode is when the clock is at 30 seconds. There comes a point when you have to explain why your clock got stuck. Anyways, lets see what else we can do in 30 seconds:

So what will be the plan of Seto Kaiba, boy genius? What is this great master plan of the boy who can hack any system, who has a computer installed into every piece of clothing he owns down to his dockers and socks? The boy who once hacked a satellite and used it to crash all of the digital security systems in North America?

Blue Eyes’ only effective form: as a vehicle for a real nasty papercut. This will the only time I’ll accept a Blue Eyes win as canon.

I did a lot of math last episode that I don’t want to do right now, but how hard do you have to throw a card to do that much damage, and how fast would Seto Kaiba’s baseball pitch be, and how fast is that compared to the baseball pitches of My Hero Academia? I mean we have the stats on all of these things.

It’s a good thing for every one else on this cast that Seto Kaiba has never figured out what dating is. He would destroy them. Of course this is me saying that anyone on this show knows what dating is. Which they don’t.

Also, off screen he threw himself at the mook who is prone on the bottom right corner there. Kaiba just went ape out of no where. He stood perfectly still for about 3 episodes and then he just completely lost his nut all for...Tea?

Because Mokuba’s like “We owe Tea a favor because she failed to climb a bunch of empty boxes?” Like uhhhh way to really awkwardly over-return that favorrrr

Like we have to address the elephant in the room here wearing about 9 belts on all four of his limbs and torso. Seto may have a God card now, but he’s so enamored by his dragon that he’s still in this awkward phase where he really wants to cosplay as his dragon literally all the time but he’s hoping he can pass it off as normal fashion and no one will notice. Kaiba is clearly more involved with his Blue Eyes than anyone else on this show is involved with any other card.

So, the hell is he doing risking his literally irreplaceable Blue Eyes that launched the events of the entire first season?

I’m sure the creators didn’t intend for this to happen. I’m sure they were like “and then he threw his Blue Eyes, because that would be funny!” but when you break this action down, it makes Seto Kaiba--who is supposed to be The Worst--outshine Yugi this episode.

Like first off--Tea? Yugi x Tea is supposed to be the flagship of the show. But Yugi’s kind of tied up right now, so instead, Seto saved her? That pairing just came out of nowhere. And I’ll be honest with you, Kaiba x Tea makes more sense to me than Yugi x Tea, and that is pretty wild that this show made me think about those two in any context.

I mean, it’s not going to happen, the writers would rather just toss a ton of explosions at it rather than leave any space for anyone to talk to each other and say “What the hell do you think you’re doing!? Did you just seriously do that?!” That conversation would have been absolutely hilarious, but it did not happen.

This crane blew up not once, but TWICE.

PS, we have more proof here that this chair was really just a kinky chair because um...look how easy it is to get out of that thing. This is not a real lock.

And second weird thing about Seto tossing his Blue Eyes...

This entire card arc was about Yugi giving away that puzzle to Joey as this beautiful symbol. Yugi said “Listen, Joey, I’ve known you forever, you’re my best friend and you are the sun and moon to me, have the most precious thing I own, even if you throw it into the ocean and destroy it”

But, then on the other side of the harbor Kaiba’s like “Listen, person who’s name I don’t recall, I don’t really know you, I don’t care about you at all, have the most precious thing I own, and I’ll just throw it out over the ocean myself, and on top of that--I’ll destroy one of my own helicopters, too.”

Makes Yugi’s sacrifice look real chump, I gotta be real. Again, I don’t think this was intentional on the writers part, but it sure is a thing that happened and is canon now.

And then no one thanks him. They thank Mokuba instead. No wonder Seto freakin hates them all so much.

And while I was watching, I was thinking “well, Seto’s doing all this because he needs to save Yugi to duel him later” much like Seto’s been trying to do for nearly 10 episodes, but that whole thing where Seto followed Yugi around and was like “I will be dueling you after this is over” is no longer a thing. He gave up on Yugi after saving Tea. No explanation.

You know it feels like every 20 episodes or so, Kaiba will do something real nice and then immediately run away from the situation and switch back to being a jerk again. He’s kind of like a reverse Bakura, but without the ability to force everyone to forget. He’ll be awkwardly hanging back here for the rest of the episode pretending like he doesn’t like these people while Yugi’s off being the worst on the other side of the harbor. 

Remember, that Joey’s just snapped out of it, and a low flying helicopter caused a crane to freakin explode behind Yugi without any explanation. Twice. The crane exploded twice.

And then Yugi throws a fireball at himself before the timer hit zero.

I guess he had to do something to show up Seto Kaiba and the only other option left was death.

It was very tragic, and for once, Pharaoh wasn’t there to say anything. I guess the Pharaoh batteries have finally run out, and I’ll be real, the lack of Pharaoh in this episode does more to make this sad than if he was there saying how sad he was. It really is just Yugi there at that moment and we rarely get to see Yugi as just Yugi. I guess that was the way he wanted to be remembered rather than just a vessel for a ghost.

To be clear, this took like ten more minutes and the timer was at like 3 seconds for all of that but in context of the show, he died riiiight before both were tossed into the sea.

So this is exactly Seto and Mokuba S1, right? Like Seto was like “I will jump off his ledge to save my brother’s life!” and Pharaoh was like “WHAT TYPE OF ASSHOLE DOES THIS!?” ya, just checking.

So, ways to defeat Yugi Muto:

Threaten to kill yourself, Steal his stuff mid fight, Rock Paper Scissors, or threaten to kill Joey.

I just want to note that before Yugi tossed that fireball, he finally took the duel disk off. He was like “I gotta die, but I don’t want to die in that.”

Joey, who was very upset by Yugi’s brash decision, desperately looked for a way to save both of them did something that I don’t understand at all.

I’m not sure why the Red eyes attacked Joey (I guess it was a special skill?) But--the game’s over! You can’t lose after you’ve won! What even is the rules of this freakin game?

Whatever, it didn’t matter, Yugi absolutely cannot get hit by fireballs, it’s a real weakness for him. He is out for the count and cannot reach his own key.

Serenity, sensing her brother’s bravery, whisks off her bandages, and this is the first thing she sees.

Ya so.........

..........Yugi’s great wonderful sacrifice of his own life.....

....didn’t matter. Joey went in anyway.....

And that’s how Yugi got upstaged by Kaiba, yet again, in the same episode.

At least the person Kaiba successfully saved is here to start screaming at the ocean instead of like...swimming

In Joey’s defense, he was not there for the long, detailed explanation of how the key system works. He didn’t really know it wasn’t a one key fits all situation.

He’d be the smallest Whole Set in the world but the kid cannot sink. Like look at this. Look at how high this kid treads water without even trying. He’s got his armpits out of the water even. Should have given up the cards and gone to polo.

I love how we went through all that work to get Tristan here and he didn’t even do anything. He jumped in, pushed Yugi a little bit (who as I said before is a natural floater, it’s very impressive), and then Serenity did all the heavy lifting because I guess no one else on this show can swim?

Don’t they live in Japan? An Island? Isn’t it a requirement when you live on an island that gets tsunamis every so often that you must learn how to swim? Like I live in California that only has one coast and we learn how to swim real good. Like we learn all about rip tides and water safety, and we all end up doing the part-time lifeguarding job at least once.

Every single one of these people should be in the water and going after Joey, what is this bystander effect nonsense?

Hey so........she’s fully healed now?

RIP Kaiba x Tea, it was a very weird 2 minutes.

Which, if this guy ever dated, would probably be the tagline of all of his relationships.

Yes, this really was the moment Joey realized his sister could see. AFTER she dove in the ocean to pick him out.

This is real nitpicky but I just noticed the pier that Tea was gone is absent in all of these shots. Maybe they didn’t want to draw the aftermath of what happened to that crane.

Seto doing that anime thing where he’s hiding his eyes because he’s gettin freakin emotional in the back.

He’s all over the place this episode...I don’t know what happened.

And then to cap it off, they decided to watch a romantic sunset at the place where they got abducted, held in a warehouse, possessed by a cult, strapped to a bunch of bondage death devices, and then were nearly murdered at.

Also that ghost ship is still there and way spookier at night. Only Yugioh would be like “a perfect happy tapestry for friendship!”

Not only is Pharaoh still inexplicably here, but so is Kaiba. I guess he decided to hang out with them for like an hour until, at the first instance of Duke saying “CAN WE PLEASE JUST EAT DINNER LIKE NORMS!?” Seto very quickly spun on his heels and ran away as quickly as he could.

Ah, so the tourney continues tomorrow...it’s...this wasn’t the finale? Sure felt like it.

I just realized...the only thing you get is the chance to win a bunch of cards and just a title--a title that Yugi already owns, so if he hadn’t gone into the competition, then you’d have two people with the same title.

Like...is this entire tourney just a honeypot? But for cards? Is this whole tourney just a honeypot tourney?

Kaiba really is a cop.

Anyway, if you just got to these reviews, here’s a link to read them from Episode1 Season1, knock yourself out, it’s Halloween on a Wednesday, I know you’re not doing anything else.

[jacksonhenry297]

Nintendo Switch vs. PlayStation 5: Which One to Choose?

Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 are two gaming consoles that belong to massive companies. Comparatively, Nintendo Switch is not as powerful as the PlayStation 5. Soon, the PlayStation 5 will be rolling out in the market. It will stand among one of the most powerful gaming consoles. The significant difference between the consoles is that the PS5 is not portable and it is the most-heavy console ever made.

A few months ago, Sony announced that the PS5 would be available in two varieties, and the price difference between the variation will be $100 only. One of the variants won’t have the optical drive and will require digital downloads. On the other hand, the Nintendo Switch is an excellent device for playing the best and latest third-party games. To get more details about both the devices, check the comparison guide below:

Specs

Starting with the comparison, the Nintendo Switch doesn’t match up to the power of variant PS5. The PlayStation 5 is powered with robust Solid-State Drives that reduces the game loading time and streams the game faster. This ensures that you won’t have to spend time waiting for your favorite resource-consuming games to start.

Nintendo Switch aims to offer the best out of its games with the limited system power, which is immensely satisfying. You will experience smooth gameplay, even in fighter games, on the Nintendo Switch. When it comes to loading the third-party games, it fails to load them successfully at once. Due to the lack of power, Nintendo Switch fails miserably to appreciate third-party games. However, one can easily carry it around and seamlessly switch screens. Since it cannot support massive games, it ensures that the players can start playing on a modern system while using the Nintendo Switch as their secondary device.

Performance

By now, you have learned that the Nintendo Switch is not a powerhouse by any means, and it can only run games created for Wii U or the Xbox 360. It offers better performance and smooth gameplay if you play an original game on it. It cannot even support most of the third-party games, but you can run Doom on it. But again, you have to compromise on the frame rate while playing Doom on this console. It can also show two resolutions based on its docking. If the games are docked, the Nintendo Switch can display the game in 1080p (its maximum limit) when connected to a TV screen. If you are using the latest Nintendo Switch Lite system, note that you cannot dock it and remain restricted to playing games at 720p only.

In contrast, the PlayStation 5 gives way better performance, speed, and display resolution than the Nintendo Switch. The PS5 can display the games in 8K resolution while reducing the game loading time. It is all because of replacing the HDD with an SSD. People who received exclusive hands on the console reported that they never experienced their games to lag or take anything more than 5 seconds to load. This console also extends support for ray tracing – a graphical feature. Overall, the company has got better in their device production if compared with the PS4.

Storage

Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch has only 32GB of flash storage that is not enough to install a digital version of a few games. You might have to invest in getting physical cartridges for the console, yet there would be a little space for the game you might want to install on the machine. Since it doesn’t have any disc, it doesn’t ask you to install the games before playing. You can also connect a microSDXC card to the console and extend its storage space to up to 512GB. If you get the Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can access the cloud to save your game progress and resume from where you left. The cloud will automatically take game data backups. You can cancel this membership anytime, but you will lose access to the saved data with cancellation. After six months of membership cancellation, you can access the data, and beyond that limit, it will permanently get deleted.

PlayStation 5

The PS5 will have an 825GB SSD that will responsibly load your games faster. All the games will run similar to the PS4, but you can access the games saved in the cloud and get game data backups if you have a PS Plus subscription. If you choose to cancel your PS Plus subscription, you will lose all the saved data from the cloud, but you can get access to it until the next six months. Your data will permanently get deleted beyond that period. If you don’t want to re-subscribe to their cloud services ever again, then load all the data on a USB device. You might experience a problem if you want to expand the storage of PS5 as the drive used in it is not accessible for regular customers.

Available Games

Over the years, the Nintendo Switch has expanded its gaming library. You can find exclusive first-party and third-party games on gaming consoles and PC. Following are some of the noteworthy games on Nintendo Switch:

Super Mario Odyssey

Mario+ Rabbids Kingdom Battle

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Pokémon: Let’s Go

Pokémon Sword and Shield

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition

Doom

Fortnite

In contrast, the PS5 also has an excellent set of games like Demon’s Souls, Resident Evil Village, Ratchet, and Clank: Rift Apart, God of War: Ragnarok, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, etc. All these games will launch on PS5 over the next few years.

Conclusion

After all the comparisons, it can be concluded that both the consoles serve different purposes. Nintendo Switch offers portability and high-quality Nintendo-supported games. In contrast, the PS5 is adding new heights to Sony’s consoles. It provides unmatched robust performance and stunning graphics.

Soource-Nintendo Switch vs. PlayStation 5

[ranmagender]

The importance of marketing

Despite our hatred for ads, they are an important part of the capital driven world we live in now and a good marketing campaign can make and break a product. 

The PS Vita is by all accounts a better handheld than the 3DS but the 3DS was marketed way better than the PS Vita was ever, which is why the PS Vita has only sold 15 million units while the 3DS is sitting at 66 million.

As an example I’m gonna take two other Nintendo consoles.

This is one of the big commercials they made for the Wii U and right off the bat you see the problem. When you have a name like Wii U and have a commercial like that that only shows the gamepad, a wii looking console and wiimotes, its gonna confuse your customer.

People for many years thought the Wii U was a gamepad addon for the Wii and honestly who could blame them. 

Then there’s of course that they put too much emphasis on making this a children’s platform, an important market but as Nintendo learned the hard way kids don’t have disposable income and aren’t a viable market to focus on, you need the young adult demographic.

Between this and the fact that they barely ran ads on TV and did a promotion with Pottery Barn of all places lead to the Wii U’s downfall.

Compare it to this commercial for the Nintendo Switch. Right off the bat you can see how Nintendo improved in the marketing department. The name distances itself from the previous consoles by having a totally different name.

The ad shows what the Switch is, what the uniqueness of it is, how its used and shows gameplay of one of the system’s big titles, Breath of the Wild.

That combined with the kickass Imagine Dragons song cut so that the music drops when he puts it in the dock emphasizing the whole hybrid nature of the system was brilliant. 

That and the guy in the ad is in his late 20s, early 30s which is a good thing since young adults are more likely than children to have disposable income to buy your product making them a good demographic to focus on.

It’s a 30 second ad that managed to do more than several of the Wii U commercials ever could.

Also Nintendo has gone from barely showing an ad on TV with the Wii U to HAVING A SUPER BOWL AD. That’s the biggest platform for advertising there is, companies fight for ad spots and Nintendo decided to dish out the cash for a spot reaching more people and benefiting them as a business in the long run.

Just the improved marketing alone is going to make the Switch a better seller than the Wii U and I’m happy Nintendo learned their lesson that their name alone can’t sell consoles, they have to put effort into it.

[frozendoorgaming]

Morning Mist #26

Announcements, Releases, Trailers

Koei Tecmo is conjuring up a Fairy Tail RPG for 2020

Is Nintendo Teasing Switch Fit?

Celeste Developers Forms Extremely OK Games, Chapter 9 Celeste Next Week

Horror Visual Novel “Raging Loop” Gets a PC Port on December 5

DayZ PS4 and Xbox One physical edition launches October 15

The Sinking City creeps onto Nintendo Switch next week

Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX second trailer

New demo from updated Final Fantasy 15 engine shows 'path tracing' graphics tech

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 introduces the politically influential Camarilla faction

New Darksiders Genesis Trailer Introduces War

Natsuki Chronicles due out in late 2019 in Japan

Guild Wars 2’s Living World magazine teases Bound with Blood, hardmode episode encounters

Milestones, Industry

PAX West 2019: Elder Scrolls Online’s Rich Lambert on performance, LFG, and dragons

IGF 2020 Inspiration: Star Maid's Nuovo Award-winning Cibele

Developers and industry legends on the games that defined the last 20 years

Tim Schafer says Double Fine Presents may shut down, but it'll live on in spirit

Can Snap Generate $350 Million in Annual Gaming Revenue by 2022?

Microsoft will test xCloud game streaming in Korea next month

The Games Industry Is Wrestling With Multiple New Allegations of Abuse

Gaming's #MeToo Moment and the Tyranny of Male Fragility

VESA added a new HDR certification tier for extremely bright monitors

Deals, Freeware

Abzû and The End is Nigh are currently free on the Epic Store

Lovecraftian Horror Adventure Conarium Is Free On The Epic Store Next Week

7/11 Canada is hosting a Switch giveaway with Link's Awakening Slurpee cups

Prime Owners Dont Forget To Claim Twitch Prime Perk For Nintendo Switch Online (ps: free Amazon Prime Trial here)

Mario Odyssey Starter Pack With Strategy Guide $50

Save 10% on almost anything right now at eBay

Get your first 2 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $2

Gold PS4 DualShock 4 Wireless Controller $38

Information

Divinity: Original Sin 2 Out on Switch With PC Cross-Saves and New Gift Bag

Steam is running a beta for its new library system starting on September 17

Microsoft details Gears 5's live-service-style post-launch multiplayer Operations

Gears 5 Accessibility Options Include Colorblind Modes, Target Lock

Blizzard is currently seeing if cross-play 'makes sense' for Overwatch on Switch

BioWare would like you to know that Anthem has not been abandoned

2v2 RTS A Year of Rain is now taking signups for a closed beta

Daemon x Machina 'Prologue' demo available now on Nintendo Switch

Tekken 7 DLC Character Zafina and 3.0 Update Launch September 10

Days Gone's long-awaited New Game Plus mode arrives next week

Lenovo made an Avengers game for its Mirage AR headset

Yakuza 7 devs explain the new combat system, say it could be twice the length of previous games

Super Mega Baseball 2 adds cross-platform support to PlayStation 4

Etc

Gears 5 is the latest blockbuster game to welcome the LGBTQ+ gaming community

Eve Online to add “grief counselling” for players bereft of ships

YouTube kids: how unboxing, gaming and toy reviews took over

Sonic, Street Fighter and the 'golden age' of gaming magazines

Acer's $20,000 Gaming Throne Is A Battle Station On Steroids

A fix is coming for a ‘high CPU usage’ bug caused by a recent Windows 10 update

What Remains Of Edith Finch's house rebuilt in The Sims 4 is wild

Someone Managed to Make Duck Hunt in Super Mario Maker 2

The top 50 PS4 games according to Reddit compared to their critical reception

[geektified]

New Post has been published on http://www.geektified.com/2017/04/21/nintendo-switch-overview/

Nintendo Switch Overview

By Patrick Hawes-DeFrias

A bit over a month into the Switch’s life, I’ve had plenty of hands-on time with Nintendo’s latest console… handheld? Let’s just go with “game system” for now. Today we’ll take a look at the Switch’s design, compare it with control styles of other systems, and analyze its features. Let’s begin!

The first question most prospective buyers of the Switch will have is “how small are those controllers?”

The answer? Pretty darn small, actually.

Here we have the right Joy-Con compared with (from left to right) a 3DS cartridge, a Switch cartridge, and lastly a PS Vita cartridge. Thus, you can see how small the Joy-Con is- about 3 1/2 3DS carts long. Interestingly, the Vita cart is actually a bit skinnier than the Switch cart, while the thickness of the 3DS and Switch carts is about the same. Though, Vita carts are a tiny bit wider than Switch carts. Here’s a comparison with my hand:

As you can see, I’ve got fairly chunky hands, but my fingers aren’t all that long. I was shocked to find out that the controllers didn’t feel too out-of-place in my hands, but I can tell that it’d be incredibly awkward for anyone with hands even a little bigger than mine. Most users, I’d imagine, will want to use the Pro Controller, or the Joy-Con Grip … speaking of which:

Here we see the Joy-Cons in the Grip next to a PS4 controller. The awkward shape of a square on top of a normal controller grip initially looks like it’ll be a nightmare, but in practice it works fairly well. Buttons being used as a d-pad allows for good precision, though the triggers are really just buttons, which makes games that utilize them such as Breath of the Wild feel a bit strange until you get used to them. Near the bottom of either Joy-Con, you’ll see a button- on the right is the home button, which just like the PS4 and Xbox One, brings you back to the home screen. On the left is the capture button, which I didn’t even know the Switch was going to have. Pressing it takes a screenshot, which is added to a gallery in the home screen for viewing or sharing. The Joy-Cons/Grip are a tad slimmer than the PS4 controller, and they’re noticeably lighter, making them a bit odd to those used to contemporary controllers, but not a bad showing all-around. I’d guess that either handheld mode or this controller layout will end up being the most widely-used option Switch users will operate the system with going forward.

Of special note: the Joy-Cons charge by being attached to the Switch. Meaning, you CAN’T charge them while using the Grip, or just while using them apart from the Switch. So, if one or both Joy-Cons runs out of power, you’ll either need to play in handheld mode, change controllers, or stop playing for a while. There is a version of the Joy-Con Grip called the Joy-Con Charging Grip, which can be plugged in. I haven’t felt the need to get one yet because the Joy-Cons do last for several hours before needing a charge,but it is something worth considering for a new customer.

Here, we see the Switch in comparison with the Vita, which I thought was the most comparable with the Switch’s handheld mode in terms of design and size. The Switch is definitely bigger, screen included. It’s also here that we see how asymmetrical the Joy-Cons are, similar to the Xbox line of controllers. This leads to a problem for certain multiplayer games, but we’ll discuss that more later on. One final system comparison:

Now, I never got the New 3DS, 3DSXL, or New 3DSXL, or a 2DS, so the final comparison I have for tonight is my original 3DS. Here we see just how much bigger the Switch is over its handheld predecessor, which makes sense as this system is no longer using a clamshell design or dual-screen technology. This does, however, bring up a problem- the Switch is far less portable-friendly than the 3DS. With a screen as big and as powerful as the one used by the Switch, you’ll want to invest in a screen protector and/or a carrying case if you plan on bringing it out and about. This, of course, is a necessary compromise to make the Switch a true visual upgrade from the 3DS, which by now is well-known for its “meh” resolution, and certainly a change had to be put in place to make the Switch powerful enough to be usable as a home console. Thus, less protection from the elements in exchange for an overall more powerful system. This change I understand, but the next… well, you’ll see in just a moment.

Here, we see the Switch’s kickstand, which allows it to stay upright on a table or other flat surface. Notice that port inside it? That’s the slot for a micro SD card memory expansion. So, if you want to use the kickstand, which will likely be in an outdoor environment, you’ll also be exposing the SD card slot to the elements, so be careful where you put it. This decision baffles me, to be frank. What’s more, the kickstand just doesn’t feel good. It’s made out of a very thin plastic, and you have to push it a bit too roughly for my taste to get it to snap into place. Every time you use this stand, you’re going to feel as if it’s about to break. One last thing about the kickstand- for some reason, the stand is on the right side of the Switch, rather than in the middle as you’d expect it. Meaning, on top of it feeling flimsy and exposing your micro SD card, it ends up being pretty easy to tip the system over anyway. Unlike the console being rendered less portable in exchange for sheer power, I feel like this was a compromise where nobody really won out.

Let’s take a closer look at those Joy-Cons. Here, you can see that since each Joy-Con is a controller in and of itself, they each have little bumpers at the top. Now this is a bit awkward, but that’s where these attachments come in:

These are the Joy-Con Straps, which extend the controllers a little bit, make the bumpers less awkward, and of course give the controllers safety straps just like the Wiimote. They slide on using the same rail system that attaches the Joy-Cons to the Switch and Grip, and they also have a white tab that helps lock it in place. Here’s a picture of one close-up:

So as you can see on the right, there’s the white tab conveniently labeled LOCK. Now, I would like to use these attachments, because sometimes I feel like using the Joy-Cons without the Grip, and the added size the straps give makes them feel better in my hand, but there is a slight issue with the lock. When you push the lock in, it causes the two pins in the strap to move in, locking it onto the rail. Problem- the pins never fully retract even when unlocked, meaning that you kinda have to force them off, and again, I end up feeling like I’m going to break something. Two final things to note about the Joy-Cons. The controllers are, of course, asymmetrical, in order to work as both one combined and two separate controllers. Well, unfortunately this leads to an issue with the right Joy-Con. The analog stick is in the middle of the controller, so if you’re playing a multiplayer game, whoever gets that controller will have an awkward time. Lastly, the Switch, as you probably know already, has an NFC reader just like the WiiU. But the reader is in a very bizarre place, the right analog stick. So for all you Amiibo collectors out there be warned- it’s incredibly difficult to use the reader if you keep your Amiibo in the box. You’ll have to bend the bottom of the box and line it up just right. Now, if you’re using a Switch Pro controller, thankfully the NFC point is right in the middle of the controller, so there’s likely far less hassle.

The final thing I wanted to discuss was the charging port, which uses standard Micro USB 3.0. I can’t confirm this, but I’ve been told that the Switch has been known to brick when using a charging cable other than the one included. So just to be safe, if you take the Switch out with you DON’T use a phone charger. Unplug the Switch power cable from the dock and bring that with you. Of course, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo starts selling them individually, so if you felt like dropping the cash for it I’m sure you could grab a spare eventually. Oh, and one more thing- as you can see here, the port is on the bottom of the Switch, so charging while playing will be awkward, and charging while using the kickstand is basically impossible.

The verdict? The Nintendo Switch is a fascinating and revolutionary piece of hardware, but being the first of its kind has also rendered it quite awkward. There’s several design decisions that work against the system, but this is balanced by the fact that the base concept is just so strong. Is it worth getting the Switch right now? I personally don’t have any regrets getting it day one, but there’s merit to holding off. If you don’t have a WiiU and want to play Breath of the Wild, I’d say sure, go for it, since you’ll get so many hours of enjoyment from that game it’ll be time for the next Switch release before you know it. Otherwise it would probably be a better idea to wait until more games come out, because by then I’m sure the Switch will start being sold in bundles, such as with Super Mario Odyssey, and you’ll be able to get a better deal.