Nintendo Direct for once is huge! Good 3rd party surprises.

[Tanooki]

Bethesda drops 2 bombs and LA Noire is noted too among far more from Square-Enix and others.

 

Finally some solid third party support.

 

DOOM and Wolfenstein 2 the New Colossus -- LA Noire, Project Octopath, Dragon Quest Builders and more.

 

Honestly I'm blown away on DOOM and Wolfenstein. I knew the system could handle it (Vulkan engine here clearly being used from the looks of it) and does it nicely. It's nice to see Bethesda giving its all instead of a generation ago doing some childish jousting game for kids and nothing else. This is a huge welcome 180 in support. Stuff like THIS will make third parties care.

I did get Doom for PC on a discount awhile back, but I'd snap it up for portability sake and to support Bethesda, it feels right to give back if they're going to make a real effort.

Edited September 13, 2017 by Tanooki

[Atariboy]

Arcade Archives is what got my attention.

 

Starting September 27th, the following Nintendo arcade classics are slated to appear on the Switch.

• Vs. Super Mario Bros.
• Balloon Fight
• Ice Climber
• Pinball
• Clu Clu Land
• Punch-Out!!
• Mario Bros.

Let's hope that they're just the first of many. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are two notable absences for example.

Edited September 13, 2017 by Atariboy

[Good_Times]

Whoa, whoa, Punch-Out ?!?

 

....Never mind, sigh....looks like some sort of 'e-store' nonsense and not a physical cart....

[Tanooki]

I'll buy that series of arcade archives. I'd have gone in on Neo Geo but well you know.

[Atariboy]

I hope they release Donkey Kong soon, so that ownership rumors that fans spread around forums will be squashed once and for all.

 

It will be a pleasure to see that rumor killed now that Earthbound has been rereleased (Despite a single website convincing so many people that it would never reappear) and Super FX games are appearing on the SNES Classic Edition (Despite scores of fans that didn't even realize that the patents expired years ago, swearing that Nintendo doesn't own the Super FX chip and thus can't emulate it legally).

Edited September 13, 2017 by Atariboy

[omegadot]

Man, I'll be down for all the Bethesda games. I'd love them in portable mode and on the TV when kids are in bed.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Since the Switch launched in March I've been saying over and over that I'd buy one if it got a port of DOOM, and now that it's finally happened I think I'm obligated to put my money where my mouth is.

 

DOOM is one of the very small handful of current generation games that I've been desperately wanting to play, and it's enough to convince me to get a Switch. Between DOOM, Wolfenstein II, Sonic Mania, Breath of the Wild, and Mario Kart 8 I'll have plenty to keep me busy on the Switch for a good long while; and I'll probably revisit Skyrim while I'm at it.

 

Now the only catch is going to be affording one. I may end up unloading 90% of my 100+ game collection for the Game Boy / Color in the very near future.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Jin

[Flojomojo]

I forgot how many of those early NES games were originally from the arcade! TAKE ALL

[masschamber]

doom is good stuff though I hope if means we get the original doom and doom 2 at some point as well

[godslabrat]

Doom and Vs SMB are both amazing announcements for completely different reasons. I think I might have just moved my purchase up a few months.

[Austin]

DOOM and the Arcade Archives of Nintendo arcade games were the biggest surprises to me. I didn't think the Switch could handle DOOM, so I'll be interested to see how it performs. Will probably pick it up just because I can.

 

I'll probably snap up all of the arcade games.

[Rick Dangerous]

"DOOM is one of the very small handful of current generation games that I've been desperately wanting to play"

 

SAME! Totally stoked.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

The other big thing of interest for me from today's Nintendo Direct was the Super Mario Odyssey Switch system bundle:

 

 

 

 

 

I'm only kinda-sorta interested in paying Mario Odyssey, but would you look at those red joycons! To me they look absolutely awesome and I can definitely see myself playing some DOOM with those things, so that's the bundle I'll be going for when I buy a Switch this fall. Sadly the copy of Super Mario Odyssey that it comes with is just a digital download code and not a physical cart, so I'll be reselling the download code right away, but I totally dig those red joycons and it'll be nice to have a padded carrying case for the system right out of the box.

[Tanooki]

DOOM and the Arcade Archives of Nintendo arcade games were the biggest surprises to me. I didn't think the Switch could handle DOOM, so I'll be interested to see how it performs. Will probably pick it up just because I can.

 

I'll probably snap up all of the arcade games.

I did but only because once I got my Shield tablet and also then all the comparisons run against it, the 4K TV model, and the Switch the power of the hardware showed me what it could handle. It won't be as pretty as a PC at 1080p or a PS4 either, but run in 720 with some lower polygonal models where needed it can handle the Vulkan tech most properly and create a hell of an experience. Everyone whines how bad and underpowered the Switch is, and against poly for poly sure or against a 4K setup most definitely, but the hardware is more capable than a lot of people give it credit for.

 

Something to consider if you're really curious about why this works:

https://www.khronos.org/vulkan/ and https://vulkan-tutorial.com/

https://www.khronos.org/assets/uploads/developers/library/overview/vulkan-overview.pdf (easier slideshow laymans breakdown on vulkan)

 

Also youtube Vulkan vs OpenGLES and see how it works.

Vulkan basically goes very low level on the GPU as possible, also spreads out the hammering of output over multiple sources so you can have massively less overhead needed in clock cycles and memory use to get superior performance. Also uniquely Vulkan works over Windows, Linux and Android so you can stuff things between formats without a problem. Vulkan API in conjunction with Unity, that Bethesda engine, UE4, etc allows these beasts work on scaled hardware in style due to the savings. Stuff like Vulkan is why earlier on I was dropping my two cents on people saying Switch was a dud that it couldn't do the prettier graphics because Nintendo got in bed with them for Switch well before the hardware was out let alone finished.

 

Now the only catch is going to be affording one. I may end up unloading 90% of my 100+ game collection for the Game Boy / Color in the very near future.

I'll help if you got something I'm interested in.

[Flojomojo]

^^ agreed on the power of the Switch. Nvidia Shield was a beast, it could run full versions of Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Portal, Borderlands 2 and others ... more than 2 years ago. Switch is more powerful and possibly better designed for "to the metal" development. DOOM 2017 (or whenever it came out) should play fine and look good enough.

[Bill Loguidice]

Definitely much needed for the much platform. I'm not sure how many of the new batch I'll actually get, but it's encouraging for the future.

[ubersaurus]

Arcade Archives is what got my attention.

 

Starting September 27th, the following Nintendo arcade classics are slated to appear on the Switch.

• Vs. Super Mario Bros.
• Balloon Fight
• Ice Climber
• Pinball
• Clu Clu Land
• Punch-Out!!
• Mario Bros.

Let's hope that they're just the first of many. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are two notable absences for example.

That's what I'm looking forward to the most, though it's not necessarily just rumors re: DK, DK jr, Popeye and other early games being out of print. Ikegami Tsushinki did code most of those games, and it and Nintendo did go to court over the rights in the 80s after making DK Junior off of Donkey Kong's code base(before settling with undisclosed terms). Given that Nintendo's Arcade Archives so far are all games they did in-house, I wouldn't be surprised if there are additional rights/money issues that Hamster would need to hammer out with Ikegami before any of the older games could go up for sale again. I'd love it if they did - I adore Donkey Kong and would love to see an official release of stuff like Sheriff, Radarscope and Sky Skipper. If nothing else, though, there's still Super Punch Out, Donkey Kong 3, and a number of other Vs. system games that could get the nod.

Edited September 14, 2017 by ubersaurus

[Atariboy]

I know the backstory. But the trail goes cold circa 1990 since the lawsuit settlement over the ownership of the game code was never publicly revealed. Heck, I can't remember if we ever even had it confirmed that the court sided with Mr. Tsushinki. That's what my comment was in reference to.

 

So it's entirely possible that Nintendo has held clear title to the original code for the past quarter of a century (The trademark to the Donkey Kong name and the copyright to the game concept were never in doubt). Yet fans bring this story up as proof that Nintendo doesn't own the affected games and thus can't rerelease them via emulation, when it's not proof at all.

 

I also can't prove this, but I think it's very possible that ownership was resolved with this lawsuit settlement. Ikegami Tsushinki couldn't do anything with these properties since he only ever claimed ownership of the code itself. So the only value there to him would be in turning over his rights to Nintendo in exchange for an even greater settlement, assuming that his ownership claim was vindicated by the court.

 

I suspect that we'll see Donkey Kong in time. Even if there is an ownership issue there in 2017, a 3rd party like Hamster might be just what it takes to secure all the necessary permissions. Donkey Kong is high profile enough where I'm sure that they'll be trying to make it happen.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Atariboy

[Atariboy2600]

Arcade Archives is what got my attention.

 

Starting September 27th, the following Nintendo arcade classics are slated to appear on the Switch.

• Vs. Super Mario Bros.
• Balloon Fight
• Ice Climber
• Pinball
• Clu Clu Land
• Punch-Out!!
• Mario Bros.

Let's hope that they're just the first of many. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are two notable absences for example.

 

As far as I know I had never seen anything Nintendo released any of there original arcade line up that's not an NES port and yet other gaming companies some are as follow:

 

Atari Anthology

Activision Anthology

Intellivision Lives

Pinball Hall of Fame: Gotlieb Collection

Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection

Sega Classics Collection

Sega Genesis Collection

Sonic Mega Collection Plus

Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection

Mega Man Collection

Mega Man X collection

Capcom Classics Collection

Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2

SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1

Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol 1

Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol 2

Midway Arcade Treasures Vol 1

Midway Arcade Treasures Vol 2

Midway Arcade Treasures Vol 3

Taito Legends

Taito Legends 2

Namco Museum

Metal Slug Anthology

World Heroes Anthology

and one more thing in there Nintendo Arcade Line ups wheres Donkey Kong, DKJr and even DK3? And what about Popeye?

Edited September 14, 2017 by Atariboy2600

[Atariboy]

Popeye has an additional layer of rights, so that one is problematic. They'll have to get the King Features Syndicate on board to make that happen. And that usually means for classic arcade games that you shouldn't hold your breath, since it probably isn't going to happen.

 

But I hope that Donkey Kong is coming down the road. They really only needed one iconic arcade game here for the initial announcement of what's hopefully just the first wave of releases. So Mario Bros. fills that bill just fine. It makes sense to spread the big three around, so hopefully it's not a sign that it's not planned (Then again, Donkey Kong is the biggest one of them all, so it seems the logical choice to kick things off with).

 

And it's not emulation, but the original Donkey Kong was recreated almost 100% on Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64. That's the closest we've come to seeing Nintendo's arcade heritage outside of aged NES ports be represented on 1990's/2000's Nintendo home hardware.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Atariboy

[Tanooki]

^^ agreed on the power of the Switch. Nvidia Shield was a beast, it could run full versions of Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Portal, Borderlands 2 and others ... more than 2 years ago. Switch is more powerful and possibly better designed for "to the metal" development. DOOM 2017 (or whenever it came out) should play fine and look good enough.

The Switch while clocked a hair lower (more undocked) is based largely upon the 2017 Tegra chip meant for 4K HD support shield mini console. There's plenty of power in there and either highly scalable engine and highly capable on lowly hardware to still look solid (idtech6 and vulkan) can really tap the lowest level bits of hardware your stock switch/android coding won't. The stuff Bethesda is doing on all 3 games is quite well telling there's room there and this early room to grow too with engine upgrades.

 

 

And another close one about DK, there's that download only 'original edition' which is the NES version adding in the missing stage. While not a VS game, it's something worth remembering. I think they have rights but just don't really care to push on them. Popeye though I'd hate to say so but is a lost cause.

 

Personally more interesting enough is the larger VS library line-up and in turn the compatible Playchoice 10. There were some really solid VS games like VS Castlevania and others that just were PC-10 titles that were slightly (less so than VS) tweaked NES titles too in arcade style. In a worst case scenario back on Nintendo... If DK were a wash, sequels aren't but would they bother when they'd be sour on the first.

[ubersaurus]

I know the backstory. But the trail goes cold circa 1990 since the lawsuit settlement over the ownership of the game code was never publicly revealed. Heck, I can't remember if we ever even had it confirmed that the court sided with Mr. Tsushinki. That's what my comment was in reference to.

 

So it's entirely possible that Nintendo has held clear title to the original code for the past quarter of a century (The trademark to the Donkey Kong name and the copyright to the game concept were never in doubt). Yet fans bring this story up as proof that Nintendo doesn't own the affected games and thus can't rerelease them via emulation, when it's not proof at all.

 

I also can't prove this, but I think it's very possible that ownership was resolved with this lawsuit settlement. Ikegami Tsushinki couldn't do anything with these properties since he only ever claimed ownership of the code itself. So the only value there to him would be in turning over his rights to Nintendo in exchange for an even greater settlement, assuming that his ownership claim was vindicated by the court.

 

I suspect that we'll see Donkey Kong in time. Even if there is an ownership issue there in 2017, a 3rd party like Hamster might be just what it takes to secure all the necessary permissions. Donkey Kong is high profile enough where I'm sure that they'll be trying to make it happen.

Ikegami Tsushinki is a company name and yeah, since they settled there wouldn't be a court ruling or any public details unless one party wanted to say anything about it. So my guess would be that for the games Ikegami did Hamster would need to get the license there too for the code base - which I'm sure they will at least try to. Not that Nintendo has ever been a good steward of their arcade games, but it's true that they love leading these reissue projects with Donkey Kong, so I would think there is an additional hurdle.

 

Has Hamster done any arcade re-releases digital or otherwise with licensed characters? I don't think they have; Popeye is probably a goner because of that.

[Atariboy]

Oops

 

All these years I thought it was a single individual that was working for Nintendo under contract that handled the programming chores for Donkey Kong. I imagine we'll at least get Donkey Kong 3 though, even if rights issues remain over the original.

 

If I remember right, it was Nintendo recycling some of the code from the original Donkey Kong as they programmed Donkey Kong Jr. in-house, that led to the start of all the troubles (i.e., Ikegami Tsushinki wanted a slice of the pie since their work was incorporated into it as well). So in light of that, it seems reasonable to suspect that there was no cooperation between the two firms during the development of Donkey Kong 3 or hint of the original DK code.

 

Then again if only the final game appeared, it might cause more trouble than it's worth for Hamster and Nintendo. People will be angry that DK3 is present but the two high profile predecessors are AWOL.

Edited September 15, 2017 by Atariboy

[Mord]

Whoa, whoa, Punch-Out ?!?

 

....Never mind, sigh....looks like some sort of 'e-store' nonsense and not a physical cart....

 

While I usually agree with the sentiment, little games like this I don't particularly mind having digitally. Price pending I might eventually pick up Mario Bros and Punch Out from the initial list. If they release donkey kong and the like later on I'll likely consider those as well.

[Tanooki]

 

While I usually agree with the sentiment, little games like this I don't particularly mind having digitally. Price pending I might eventually pick up Mario Bros and Punch Out from the initial list. If they release donkey kong and the like later on I'll likely consider those as well.

I think the ACA Neo Geo games go for around the range of $6-8 so it should be around there too I'd think. If it were Nintendo alone I would even guess $5 but they're sharing the profit on those. I'm in on those vs games as I remember playing enough of them back then as the differences from the NES make them great. You can not get comfortable because if you play from NES memory you'll get in trouble at times so it makes you think.