[Alcedor]

I hate when people say that achievements/trophies are optional. NO. THEY ARE NOT. They are intrinsically tied into every PlayStation, Steam, or Xbox game. They are literally FORCED onto to you. It's not like RetroAchievements where you have to make an account, sign into it, and then activate them in your emulator settings when playing retro games. THAT is what optional means.

I have no interest in RetroAchievements and putting them into my retro games, but at least what they offer is truly optional. You can play your games on original hardware or via emulation without worrying about them at all unless you specifically turn that feature on in an emulator and only if you have a RetroAchievements account.

 

[JORMBO]

I like having the option for achievements. I don't take them too seriously though. I try to get as many possible for games I love as long as they are reasonable. Sometimes they can breath some extra life into a game. For FF7Rebirth I looked at the list and did not bother even though that was my GOTY last year. For Elden Ring I spent some extra time 100%ing the game since the list was fun and reasonable. I'd like to see them added to Switch 2.

 

[Arkam]

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date just tipped — here's when you might be able to buy

A trusted restock tracker believes Switch 2 pre-orders will start next week

www.tomsguide.com

 

[ExpandKong]

There has only ever been one good achievement and it was the one in Portal 2 where you get to the part where he kills you

 

[cryptoadam]

Pre orders will start after the Direct. They will announce the launch date and take pre orders. I think that's pretty obvious.
Question is when will it launch. I think late may early June.

 

[Neil Young]

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order date just tipped — here's when you might be able to buy

A trusted restock tracker believes Switch 2 pre-orders will start next week

www.tomsguide.com

Nah, that's just a Walmart in Southern California.

 

[Arkam]

Pre orders will start after the Direct. They will announce the launch date and take pre orders. I think that's pretty obvious.
Question is when will it launch. I think late may early June.

June is a safe bet. The hands on events run through what, the second week in May? So I would think it would be after that (though Nintendo did do some hands on events after the OG switch launched....so who knows). But I think Summer is a where its at. Would be ideal to launch ahead of Summer Showcases, so they can be padded for content to seem like there are "so many" games and immediately start hyping the Holiday titles.

 

[LtGoose]

..........you get to the part where he kills you

 

[Epic Nemesis]

I don't care about pursuing achievements, but I like when the thing pops up that I got an achievement.

I hope they don't do a "preorder starting now" thing on Wednesday. It starts at 6AM my time and I'm busy getting the kids ready for school and getting ready for work by the time the "preorder now" thing would hit the internet.

 

[Hardensoul]

June is a safe bet. The hands on events run through what, the second week in May? So I would think it would be after that (though Nintendo did do some hands on events after the OG switch launched....so who knows). But I think Summer is a where its at. Would be ideal to launch ahead of Summer Showcases, so they can be padded for content to seem like there are "so many" games and immediately start hyping the Holiday titles.

May 15 is possibility. Because of the Nintendo Store grand opening in San Francisco.

Spoiler

Should have a poll on how long that store will open if laws don't change

 

[prag16]

Achievements are neat as an ingame concept. They can, as mentioned, drive players to play the game in different ways, be used to unlock bonus content, track completion, etc.

Achievements as a platform system though, are questionable. Making achievements into a generalized system invites the line of thinking where "why doesn't this game have achievements" seems like valid criticism. Which leads to developers throwing in achievements just to tick that checkbox, with no thought or purpose behind it, invalidating the good things that achievements bring to games, and bringing forward the bad ones - completionist achievement-hunting, obsession, boasting, etc.

It's a bit like the difference between faith and religion. The latter is supposed to promote the former, but instead just leads a lot of people into following the motions without actually understanding what it means and why it's important.

This puts into words exactly how I feel about achievements/trophies. Encapsulated within a game, they can do the things that @Arkam lauds in terms of encouraging different experiences and play styles etc, and when you're unlocking bonus content etc that can be cool/fun/worthwhile. It's the "social" aspect of achievments that make them suck. I know some people love this, love the dopamine hits, love the dick measuring, etc. But this all encourages the bad aspects of achievements to swamp any benefit of the good aspects in so many cases.

Achievements seemed neat for like the first couple months I owned a 360. After that I've just hated them and how they impact everything. People ruining online matches to "boost" achievements, the distracting popup and sound, the way my ps3 froze on "syncing trophies" if I ever touched the trophy screen, and just the way cool bonus content for doing something in game have been replaced by useless trophies/achievement points. Probably worst of all is it exists as just another thing to get people addicted to. Kind of lame that you can't even disable them and at best can disable the notifications.

Achievements encourage bad/lazy game design, and as was said above, they are NOT optional. Even if you turn off notifications completely etc they will still influence how people play the games and hence how games are designed, even if it's sometimes suble. I too thought it seemed neat, briefly. That didn't last long.

I will not be happy if Nintendo implements any kind of overarching system for the Switch 2. I have a feeling they won't. Hope I'm right.

 

[Rock And Roll]

There's no way Nintendo implements achievements. They don't even do a half ass attempt at them in their individual games anymore. It's funny because back in 2008 all the journos/gamers were saying Nintendo had to have achievements. Now the tide has changed and the majority don't care about achievements anymore. If Nintendo didn't give in back then, they definitely won't now when no one evens wants them anymore.

I actually like achievements when done right. It gets me trying different things in games. But yeah, sometimes the achievements are stupid (multiplayer ones especially). I think Mortal Kombat had an achievement where you had to have like to spend a total of 24 hours with a character. Bullshit grind is never fun. They did the same shit in the Panzer Dragoon remake and you had to leave your console on for 24 hours.

 

[cryptoadam]

June is a safe bet. The hands on events run through what, the second week in May? So I would think it would be after that (though Nintendo did do some hands on events after the OG switch launched....so who knows). But I think Summer is a where its at. Would be ideal to launch ahead of Summer Showcases, so they can be padded for content to seem like there are "so many" games and immediately start hyping the Holiday titles.

I think they might want the system out there for those last few hands on events. I think once they get through the initial few of em they would rather customers can buy the thing than just relying on more hands on events. At that point it will have been played and put on YT Twitch etc.. so they might kill their hype by having to many hands on events without people being able to buy the thing.

Though they could wait for all the hands on events to end but ya from May1st to July 1st seems like the time. Just probably depends on logistics and getting all the systems out there. I can't imagine that they wait too much longer after their events to launch the system

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

I absolutely despise achievements and will not buy a Switch 2 if it introduces that into the Nintendo ecosystem.

What makes Nintendo great, and occasionally frustrating as well to be fair, is that they DON'T do what everyone else does.

Damn homie, tell the court where the achievements touched you.

 

[Franky Family]

Anybody excited about the Joy Cons being a mouse now? I gotta tell ya, I don't care one bit about that. Controller over mouse every day of the week. I guess it would be great for surfing the internet though if you use your Switch 2 for that though…

 

[Asmonius]

Anybody excited about the Joy Cons being a mouse now? I gotta tell ya, I don't care one bit about that. Controller over mouse every day of the week. I guess it would be great for surfing the internet though if you use your Switch 2 for that though…

I've always said the Pikmin games would be even better with mouse controls, plus the chance of them being able to make a new Mario Paint or use it for Mario Maker stuff is awesome.

 

[prag16]

Anybody excited about the Joy Cons being a mouse now? I gotta tell ya, I don't care one bit about that. Controller over mouse every day of the week. I guess it would be great for surfing the internet though if you use your Switch 2 for that though…

RTS, FPS, and other types of games are vastly better with a mouse than a controller (if you think a joystick is better for FPS aiming, you are fooling yourself and probably relying on subtle or overt aim assist).

HOWEVER how many people will actually use it like this if they don't have to, for a device that is mostly used as a portable device by a large percentage of users? It doesn't really move the needle for me personally, even though I'm a HUGE proponent of mouse controls for shooters.

 

[cryptoadam]

Anybody excited about the Joy Cons being a mouse now? I gotta tell ya, I don't care one bit about that. Controller over mouse every day of the week. I guess it would be great for surfing the internet though if you use your Switch 2 for that though…

Mouse are a certain shape for a reason. I just think it will be a gimmick and not really a comfortable way to use the joycons. It will work but will most likely be niche. Also how many people are going to game with a table and a mouse pad ? If your playing on your TV you probably don't have a set up where you can comfortably use it as a mouse cause your coffee table isn't high enough and close enough.
It will be cooler in theory than in execution

 

[Epic Nemesis]

I just keep trying to envision using it as a mouse on a couch and I'm just not seeing how that will be in any way useful.

 

[Franky Family]

Mouse are a certain shape for a reason. I just think it will be a gimmick and not really a comfortable way to use the joycons. It will work but will most likely be niche. Also how many people are going to game with a table and a mouse pad ? If your playing on your TV you probably don't have a set up where you can comfortably use it as a mouse cause your coffee table isn't high enough and close enough.
It will be cooler in theory than in execution

It might be for artistic purposes maybe. I'm surprised at what kids can draw these days on computer programs and even what is whipped up in certain games. Maybe the mouse will make it easier for people to draw and create things. Not sure tbh, because I don't PC game or know much about using a mouse for games. Back when I was a young Brent Rambo, all I ever played in the computer lab was math games and word games plus typing practice. Shooters with mouse are supposed to be better, but I don't care I'll take controller over the mouse

 

[Franky Family]

I've always said the Pikmin games would be even better with mouse controls, plus the chance of them being able to make a new Mario Paint or use it for Mario Maker stuff is awesome.

Wait, how would a mouse make Pikmin better though? Mario Paint I can see. Not sure if I would play Pikmin with the mouse feature or not even if better

 

[Arkam]

Wait, how would a mouse make Pikmin better though? Mario Paint I can see. Not sure if I would play Pikmin with the mouse feature or not even if better

By letting them completely revamp the IP into a good RTS game. I played the OG game and never finished cuz I was looking for an RTS....and it is not one. Though Nintendo has lots of IPs they could turn into RTS games.

 

[Asmonius]

Wait, how would a mouse make Pikmin better though? Mario Paint I can see. Not sure if I would play Pikmin with the mouse feature or not even if better

By being able to call and control groups more freely like an RTS, instead of having to (kind of clumsily) move a cursor around for calling groups of Pikmin.

 

[Franky Family]

By letting them completely revamp the IP into a good RTS game.

You don't like Pikmin? It's not anything super stimulating or max strategy oriented or needed but these are fine games. Even Pikmin 4, which was a bit more casual friendly and easier imo, that game is a lot of fun. Not the best it could be, but these games are still great

 

[Arkam]

You don't like Pikmin? It's not anything super stimulating or max strategy oriented or needed but these are fine games. Even Pikmin 4, which was a bit more casual friendly and easier imo, that game is a lot of fun. Not the best it could be, but these games are still great

Like I said, i gave it a try. It wasn't for me. Maps were small, objectives were meh and the "combat" felt funky.

It scratched neither my RTS nor my Lemmings itch.

 

[Rock And Roll]

Anybody excited about the Joy Cons being a mouse now? I gotta tell ya, I don't care one bit about that. Controller over mouse every day of the week. I guess it would be great for surfing the internet though if you use your Switch 2 for that though…

Like @cryptoadam mentioned, it'll be for a gimmick. If dual mouse is actually a thing, I'd expect a pack in title with the system to show off the potential. Will be great for shooters, I'd rather play splatoon with a mouse than gyro. That being said, I'd rather play with IR than either of those. Pointer controls on the Wii were flawed but the potential we saw was the tip of the iceberg.

And once again, I'll reiterate, I think if nothing else we get a new Star Fox title because of a new potential control scheme.

 

[Spiders]

I hate when people say that achievements/trophies are optional. NO. THEY ARE NOT. They are intrinsically tied into every PlayStation, Steam, or Xbox game. They are literally FORCED onto to you. It's not like RetroAchievements where you have to make an account, sign into it, and then activate them in your emulator settings when playing retro games. THAT is what optional means.

I have no interest in RetroAchievements and putting them into my retro games, but at least what they offer is truly optional. You can play your games on original hardware or via emulation without worrying about them at all unless you specifically turn that feature on in an emulator and only if you have a RetroAchievements account.

Achievements are lame Gang. Leaderboards or GTFO.

 

[Grinchy]

The mouse thing sounds like it would be really damn good for Mario Maker. That's without know how well it really works and how comfy it is to use in anyone's particular setup.

 

[prag16]

By being able to call and control groups more freely like an RTS, instead of having to (kind of clumsily) move a cursor around for calling groups of Pikmin.

The Wii U gamepad touch controls for Pikmin 3 were halfway there, but kind of still a bit limited.

 

[cryptoadam]

I think they bring back Mario paint as the casual game to show off the mouse capabilities.
Like they has 1 2 Switch.
I am sure it will have uses but the thin profile and lack of desk when gaming makes it very situational when you will use it. But it's a very Nintendo thing to do.
I can see it working for kids since there small and can sit right up to a living room coffee table. But for adults it would be a very awkward position to game in. It's not like a PC where yre sitting at a desk to game.
Probably most usefull in table top mode.

 

[Franky Family]

If it was announced that the launch titles are 3D Super Mario / Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and F-Zero then I'm one-hundred percent satisfied. GOAT tier Platformer + Sci-Fi FPS + Racer to start things off. I would also love to see Fire Emblem start the NS2 off if it can't be Mario or if the Mario game is set for a later season

 

[CrispyBoar]

I hate when people say that achievements/trophies are optional. NO. THEY ARE NOT. They are intrinsically tied into every PlayStation, Steam, or Xbox game. They are literally FORCED onto to you. It's not like RetroAchievements where you have to make an account, sign into it, and then activate them in your emulator settings when playing retro games. THAT is what optional means.

I have no interest in RetroAchievements and putting them into my retro games, but at least what they offer is truly optional. You can play your games on original hardware or via emulation without worrying about them at all unless you specifically turn that feature on in an emulator and only if you have a RetroAchievements account.

There's no way Nintendo implements achievements. They don't even do a half ass attempt at them in their individual games anymore. It's funny because back in 2008 all the journos/gamers were saying Nintendo had to have achievements. Now the tide has changed and the majority don't care about achievements anymore. If Nintendo didn't give in back then, they definitely won't now when no one evens wants them anymore.

I'm glad that Nintendo didn't give into the achievement or trophy fad like Microsoft, Sony & Valve had done in which they've forced all 3rd party & indie publishers & developers to include them in all of their games.

They literally serve no real purpose in gaming whatsoever. People just want to get through the games & move on like in the older days of gaming just like we all used to do.

Both Switch and PS2 (Japan) were released in March. Regardless of when it launches, Switch 2 is going to be constantly sold out until next year. Might as well get it out soon and start the transition to the new gen.

I'm hoping that Nintendo themselves offer pre-orders through their official Nintendo sites online, too.

 

[fatty]

As someone who has never been interested in Achievements, I can still see their value if done right. I kind of think of it like the star coins from New Super Mario Bros., they can be there for those who want more of a challenge and if integrated in the game play where it makes sense. Again, they need to be done right.

I actually did try to get the star coins on NSMB (still never finished the game), but there hasn't been an achievement that has made me want to try to get it.

 

[Spiders]

I just keep trying to envision using it as a mouse on a couch and I'm just not seeing how that will be in any way useful.

I use an optical mouse on my couch arm.

As someone who has never been interested in Achievements, I can still see their value if done right. I kind of think of it like the star coins from New Super Mario Bros., they can be there for those who want more of a challenge and if integrated in the game play where it makes sense. Again, they need to be done right.

I actually did try to get the star coins on NSMB (still never finished the game), but there hasn't been an achievement that has made me want to try to get it.

That's probably the best case, that hunting for achievements can inform you of non-obvious challenges. Also they expose metrics like how many players got so far… not sure if his is a good or bad thing, but it's interesting.

The problem is they're mostly participation trophies (i.e. "Holy Mackerel! " Jumped for the First Time), completely redundant (i.e. "Immersion Be Damned" Completed Level 2) or OCD completion trophies (i.e. "Who Needs A Job?" Collected Every Upgrade).

This all creates a bigger issue of, well, why aren't the rewards intrinsic to the game?

Achievements are essentially social media-esque hooks that recontextualize games.

I think that's something Nintendo has been really strong with in overall ecosystem design, is understanding the attention economy and how immersion breaking meta-elements like achievements are. I still surprised they let YouTube and Hulu onto their platform.

 

[Mickmrly]

If it was announced that the launch titles are 3D Super Mario / Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, and F-Zero then I'm one-hundred percent satisfied. GOAT tier Platformer + Sci-Fi FPS + Racer to start things off. I would also love to see Fire Emblem start the NS2 off if it can't be Mario or if the Mario game is set for a later season

I just hope that their second year is a lot more populated than the Switch's second year. After BOTW and Super Mario Odyssey came out in 2017, 2018 basically just had Splatoon 2. Luckily FE Three Houses was worth the wait, but there was a bit too long of a gap between first party releases.

 

[Rock And Roll]

I just hope that their second year is a lot more populated than the Switch's second year. After BOTW and Super Mario Odyssey came out in 2017, 2018 basically just had Splatoon 2. Luckily FE Three Houses was worth the wait, but there was a bit too long of a gap between first party releases.

Splatoon was July 17. It filled the gap from Botw to Odyssey. I think 18 was quiet until the holiday when they launched Smash and the let's go Pokemon game. So yeah, not a good year. I think the indies helped a lot that year.

 

[Franky Family]

The Nintendo Switch started to shine in late 2018-2019 and it only picked up more steam from there. Bought mine in January 2019 and it was literally like the perfect time to get one, perfect timing

 

[Grinchy]

I use an optical mouse on my couch arm.

I use mine right on the couch cushion next to me. I don't do any intense gaming that way, but the comfy couch setup with a wireless mouse and keyboard is so great.

I'd use a joycon mouse the same way as long as it works on the fabric

 

[Yawnson]

Indie boom and news saved switch in the early where stories of huge indie sales were happening compared to other systems

 

[Spiders]

Indie boom and news saved switch in the early where stories of huge indie sales were happening compared to other systems

2017-2018 was strategically staggered Nintendo "tent poles" and amazing indies on the go. Blaster Master Zero, Stardew Valley, Danmaku Unlimited 3, Monster Boy, Hollow Knight, Into The Breach… for a gamer of taste, it was an amazing run.

Was there a "big" third-party publisher game besides Mario X Rabbids? Can't even remember.