New Ninty Direct

Corholio

Animal Crossing Direct on Thursday 20th at 2pm Irish time.

https://twitter.com/NintendoUK/status/1229888649283751943?s=19

ERG89

I feel that Animal Crossing will be this years Pokemon where it's essentially the same game you played many times before but people will eat it up like cake.

manual_man

ERG89 wrote: »

I feel that Animal Crossing will be this years Pokemon where it's essentially the same game you played many times before but people will eat it up like cake.

Possibly, but i get the impression with games like Animal Crossing and Pokemon, it doesn't matter a whole lot, because there's always a stream of young new gamers coming on board who these games appeal to. So Nintendo is unlikely to mess with a proven formula.

Satturnfalls

Poop, it will sell systems but not for me. But anything that boosts sales for nintendo is alright by me.

RobbingBandit

I luv Animal Crossing Nook is my spirit animal but I'm not diving into this one my ideal island is deserted this sounds like a cash grab social soirée. I don't party well with others, no thanks much.

sligeach

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct (Nintendo Switch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woE240wJxnA

https://youtube.com/watch?v=woE240wJxnA

Just another 28 hours to go.

nintendoo

My two kids and some of their friends love Animal Crossing.
It's non violent and relaxing. Plus they can learn about economics
I think it's actually a nice game for kids to play.
I think relaxing games are underrated. Games that get kids/people stressed out/angry/frustrated/hyper-competitive are not good.

I am always amazed that game designers/artists can generated worlds and million/billion dollar franchises like this out of nothing.
Another one that springs to mind is Stardew Valley - AFAIK initially developed by one guy (game, music, engine, art).

However, Nintendo can piss off if there is a paywall on this game or some of the stuff in this game.

RobbingBandit

You'll definitely need Nintendo online as the 3ds version of Animal Crossing needed you to visit other players online to gain access to items and fruit this will be no different and seeing as the online sub is a paywall of sorts it's frustrating for many same as Pokemon sword and shield recently.

I'm gonna shut up now about anything else until I've seen the direct then let the rabble rabble RABBLE begin.

Chardee MacDennis

so are we just to assume there will be no new first party releases for the next 3-6 months at least? Release schedule looks very bare...

nintendoo

Platinum games major announcement and maybe a direct next week:
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/02/platinumgames_will_share_a_major_announcement_next_week

CastorTroy

Now I'm wondering was Animal Crossing delayed until March due to not having anything else planned

Mr E

This seems as good a place as any to post this.
Yacht Club Games are doing a presentation next week to announce some stuff.

https://twitter.com/YachtClubGames/status/1230208026969178112

Mr E

Nicked from Facebook:

Missed the Direct or just want a basic summary? Don't say I don't do anything for you

- You get to choose whether you want to live in the Northern or Southern hemisphere, which will dictate what seasons happen when
- Different activities depend on what season is currently happening, similar to Pocket Camp
- You can choose where to place animals' houses
- You can get recipes to learn what to craft
- You can place items absolutely anywhere
- You can customise items, for example changing bedsheets or pillows to your own custom designs or changing the colour of wood
- You can use the airport to fly to other islands or invite people to yours, either online or locally
- There's a broadcast everyday to tell you what's happening on any certain days
- You get a smartphone with basic apps, but more to come in the future
- Smartphone has quests similar to Pocket Camp in which you earn Miles, which can be spent
- There's a transport service if you get lost that takes you straight back to your house
- You start with a tent, but can build a house
- Can take photos anywhere at different angles
- You can spend Nook Miles on tickets which you can use to get on a plane to new, mini islands to gather materials and new fish, bugs etc before you go home
- 8 save slots on one game, but they all share the same island
- Up to 4-players playing at the same time on one Switch
- NookLink is a real life mobile app that allows you to scan QR codes from the 3DS games or online to save patterns in New Horizons
- You can use your real life phone as a keyboard to talk in-game, or use it for voice chat
- You can pick spots for future animals to live in and you can manually invite residents you meet. No animals will move in if you don't want them
- Museums, Able Sisters, Brewsters etc can be built on the island wherever you want
- You can build a campsite to recruit villagers
- ISABELLE IS BACK
- Tons of special visitors can come to the island, such as Celeste, Saharah, Mae, kicks etc. They offer special shops or events (fishing tourneys)
- Reptile villagers
- Free updates regularly
- Able to construct ladders, stairs, slope etc at your leisure. Pole jumping and portable ladders are also a thing
- You can pave your own paths made out of different material
- You can add new terrain over water or water over terrain
- You can knock down cliffs
- You can fully pick up and move trees
- The game supports all amiibo figures and cards from Animal Crossing, allowing you to invite new villagers or allow special animals to visit
- You can forbid people from using things like axes on your island, but you can add best friends that are able to do anything
- Save data is backed up and can be recovered if your console gets lost or damaged
- Free updates will be coming very regularly and Bunny Day will be added in April
- Pocket Camp and New Horizons will have a crossover event

sligeach

Didn't bother watching the AC Direct. I've never bothered with the series even though I bought some of the games. Might watch it later, if I hear there's any DLC or microtransactions then I'll never care about this.

pasta-solo

sligeach wrote: »

I've never bothered with the series even though I bought some of the games. Might watch it later, if I hear there's any DLC or microtransactions then I'll never care about this.

You have to admit its strange to buy games and never play them, but refuse to buy them if they offer optional paid extras? Each to their own I guess.

So far they only mentioned free updates I believe, no paid DLC or microstransactions mentioned. I'd expect some paid DLC at some point if this sells well to be honest.

RobbingBandit

Thanks Mr E that's a great synopsis of what's happening from the get go I'm definitely gonna buy it day one after seeing I can finally jump over the ledges cliffs and rivers and the amiibo support I have loads of the animal crossing cards so being able to bring my favourite animals in again is great news.

nintendoo

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Thanks Mr E that's a great synopsis of what's happening from the get go I'm definitely gonna buy it day one after seeing I can finally jump over the ledges cliffs and rivers and the amiibo support I have loads of the animal crossing cards so being able to bring my favourite animals in again is great news.

Someone was asking on another thread about the appeal of Animal Crossing. They are on the wrong thread! AC fans seem to be lapping up the new direct on Reddit etc Must finally give it a proper go this time. I think with all the **** news at the moment people will need this game.

nintendoo

So, Nintendo will restore your AC lost save ... once ???!!! WTF Surely their is a law against this kind of thing.

sligeach

nintendoo wrote: »

So, Nintendo will restore your AC lost save ... once ???!!! WTF Surely their is a law against this kind of thing.

It's Nintendo's system so they can do whatever they like, no matter how frustrating or infuriating it is. The Switch could have a web browser, but no. They shouldn't be charging for online, but they do. You should be able to cancel pre-orders, but you can't. You should be able to backup saves without paying for a cloud service, but you can't. You should be able to retrieve your save file whenever you like but you can't. There's other frustrations, but Nintendo don't care, unless it hits them in the pocket or there's major negative publicity, they'll carry on regardless.

sligeach

pasta-solo wrote: »

You have to admit its strange to buy games and never play them, but refuse to buy them if they offer optional paid extras? Each to their own I guess.

So far they only mentioned free updates I believe, no paid DLC or microstransactions mentioned. I'd expect some paid DLC at some point if this sells well to be honest.

I've played a couple of them a bit, maybe they're not my thing. Maybe I need to play them more, but then could become a major time sinkhole.

Whether or not to do DLC is decided before a game comes out. I think there will be microtransactions, Nintendo probably won't announce it officially before the game comes out, because it will be received negatively.

The Nintendo site originally said there were, then no, now yes again. Why would you keep changing it? They removed it after an initial backlash, but maybe they have to let customers know before it comes out, for fear of another lawsuit. Who knows what's going on there?

https://gonintendo.com/stories/355335-nintendo-s-animal-crossing-new-horizons-hub-page-adds-back-in-me

sligeach

It's 3 weeks since I posted this story below.

Nintendo Direct wait is now the longest since Switch launched
ONLY 2016 SAW A LARGER GAP BETWEEN FULL PRESENTATIONS, WHEN DIRECT SKIPPED E3

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/nintendo-direct-wait-is-now-the-longest-since-switch-launched/

"Only 2016 saw a larger gap between Directs (183 days between March and September) since the initiative started in 2011, and that was only due to Nintendo’s decision not to hold a presentation at that year’s E3."

We're now 1 day away from equalling the all-time record. Think about it, it's 6 months since the last general Direct.

pasta-solo

I was so sure we'd get a general Direct in February. It feels like all bets are off now, maybe they won't do anything until e3. They have nothing formally announced after March 20, which is kinda crazy.

Maybe its related to coronavirus in some way, as in they don't want to announce dates for anything right now as those dates might change if production can't be guaranteed? But that's pure, uneducated conjecture on my part to be honest.

That said, I'll still be checking Twitter every day at 2pm for an announcement!

sligeach

pasta-solo wrote: »

I was so sure we'd get a general Direct in February. It feels like all bets are off now, maybe they won't do anything until e3. They have nothing formally announced after March 20, which is kinda crazy.

Maybe its related to coronavirus in some way, as in they don't want to announce dates for anything right now as those dates might change if production can't be guaranteed? But that's pure, uneducated conjecture on my part to be honest.

That said, I'll still be checking Twitter every day at 2pm for an announcement!

They've the Xenoblade Chronicles remaster, but it's a port of a Wii game. And that's it.

pasta-solo

sligeach wrote: »

They've the Xenoblade Chronicles remaster, but it's a port of a Wii game. And that's it.

We don't even have a release date for that though, aside from 2020? Could be anytime this year, or even delayed.

Gonzo

Nintendo are really starting to drop the ball this year, looking at the eShop coming soon section is a wash with mobile games and indie games, very few games ive ever heard of on the list and barely any major releases on the horizon apart from Animal Crossing.

Either Nintendo have very little planned for this year or they have a huge direct coming with loads of releases to fill the rest of the year. I really hope it's the latter.

With new xbox and playstation next gen consoles on the horizon for the all important Winter and Christmas season, this is Nintendo's time to really hit hard between now and next November.

tbahh

Gonzo wrote: »

Nintendo are really starting to drop the ball this year, looking at the eShop coming soon section is a wash with mobile games and indie games, very few games ive ever heard of on the list and barely any major releases on the horizon apart from Animal Crossing.

Either Nintendo have very little planned for this year or they have a huge direct coming with loads of releases to fill the rest of the year. I really hope it's the latter.

With new xbox and playstation next gen consoles on the horizon for the all important Winter and Christmas season, this is Nintendo's time to really hit hard between now and next November.

They'll probably host a general Direct in March. I've noticed Nintendo likes to break their pattern. We had one in Jan 2018, let's do one in Feb 2019. Hmm since we had one in Feb 2019, let's go for March 2020.
Since Iwata's passing, and more notably with Reggie's retirement, there hasn't really been a new face to represent the whole of Nintendo. I'm not counting Sakurai as he focuses on Smash only, and plus his company is independent of Nintendo. Even Miyamoto is appearing less and less frequently. I know there is Doug Bowser but I haven't seen much of him apart from last year's E3. A shoutout to Bill Trinen though, who seems like a cool guy. I just feel Nintendo's presence is not as strong as it used to be.

As for what they've planned this year, a lot has not been announced. I think we'll get Xenoblade Remaster May/June of this year to celebrate the game's tenth anniversary. Bayonetta 3 I think will finally come out this year. I have a feeling we might also get another new Pokémon game (Diamond/Pearl remakes or Let's Go Johto!) It's too much for money for Nintendo/The Pokémon Company to ignore. I'm hoping BOTW2 comes out but I've a feeling it won't be until next year. A Mario 3D platformer is due so either a 3D World remake, Galaxy 1 and 2, or Odyssey 2; I can't seem them creating a whole new Mario platformer for the Switch, rather a continuation.

I don't see PS5 or the next Xbox as direct competition to the Switch. It actually turns 3 tomorrow so we're probably in for another two years of good content followed by a final year of a couple of new games before the focus shifts to the Switch 2

Star Lord

Imagine for the third birthday they got generous and released Super Mario All Stars 2, with Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and both Super Mario Galaxy games...


We can but dream...

sligeach

Star Lord wrote: »

Imagine for the third birthday they got generous and released Super Mario All Stars 2, with Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and both Super Mario Galaxy games...


We can but dream...

You're talking about Nintendo, right? The same company that charges to backup save files. And for online, even though they do nothing whatsoever for that money.

That’s a really nice dream, but no way they'd do that. They would sell it piecemeal, as they'd make more money that way.

sligeach

So here we are, it's now officially the longest gap ever between general Directs. 184 days.

Mr E

The next one better be a doozy.