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Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

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Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#491

Post by etempleton »

ianlevesque wrote: post #464
rrrrrrrrrrrryan wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nintendo is a deeply Japanese company, and in Japanese animation, frame rate can be heavily deprioritized. If they have a limited budget, and have to choose between better art/design, or better frame rate, they'll choose the art every time. Nintendo also clings closely to its roots as a toy manufacturer - their primary goal is to build games that are fun to play. It shouldn't be surprising that their focus on creatin…

The sales agree with you, but none of the art or design choices get worse by having hardware that won't drop frames to that degree. I realize they do this every console generation, but since they're no longer passing along the savings to the consumer, I'm not going to keep apologizing for them.

I expect new hardware from Nintendo in 2024 or 2025. The immense sales of the Switch and the pandemic have kept it around longer than it probably was originally planned for.

It just keeps selling though. Sales have dipped, but not so much that Nintendo is in any hurry.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#492

Post by etempleton »

htag wrote: post #139
speeder wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are wrong there. Nintendo instead been always pushing the tech. The NES, SNES, N64 and GameCube were part of the "bits race" and kept pushing forward in hardware power. Mario 64 is credited along with Wing Commander for creating the AAA graphics race at all costs behavior in the industry. The Wii wasn't entirely a direction change, Nintendo felt competing on CPU power now was not interesting and went for motion c…

The Switch actually came out as an advanced handheld. The appeal was that it was a handheld advanced enough to play on a TV. It's just that (especially handheld) technology have advanced in the last 8 years. On the Switch, Nintendo is simply extending it's console's life. I think a Switch 2 is likely from Nintendo, but they are also likely to release some other idea. Nintendo console releases are highly variable. The…

The next console will be a follow up to the Switch. It probably has some kind of added gimmick, but I think the form factor will largely stay the same.

When Nintendo has a hit console they try to extend and expand on the idea for their next console and even the naming is typically very similar:

NES -> SNES

GB -> GBC

DS -> 3DS

Wii -> WiiU

When they have a flop they usually pivot hard, which is how we got the Wii. Hopefully they can avoid the terrible naming of the WiiU. I remember at the time a lot of confusion regarding if it was just an a tablet accessory for the Wii.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#493

Post by eru »

underdeserver wrote: post #351
eru wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even seven years ago the hardware was already quite underpowered, and only really made sense because it's a hybrid console. Yes, the game looks good. They also seem to have fixed some issues compared to BotW, eg the pop-in of objects isn't as jarring.

Why is every one saying seven years ago? I remember the Switch coming out around March 2017. We're in May 2023. That's six years (and change) ago, not seven.

> Why is every one saying seven years ago?

I don't know about everyone, but I'm just bad at arithmetic.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#494

Post by sbelskie »

cptcobalt wrote: post #261
Closi wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither the Wii, Wii U or Switch have anything powerful from a hardware perspective - the last time Nintendo released a product equally powered to the competition was the Game Cube but that was over 22 years ago now. This is the 'withered technologies' playbook in action - use underpowered/mature technology in new and fun ways rather than relying on cutting-edge graphics technologies. As an example when the switch wa…

This is the the best take. When the switch was new, this was a refreshing take—and using "older" technology means proven SDKs and lower costs for volume. It's just sad that the switch has become long in the tooth. Great for many, but now limiting. The problem is that Nintendo has tried and failed to succeed with spec bump consoles (see, the new Nintendo DS and the new Nintendo 3DS), so the fact that they haven't foll…

What is sad about having a 6 year old console that just had a title sell 10 million copies in 3 days?

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#495

Post by isitmadeofglass »

gretch wrote: post #376
timeimp wrote: post #9

For those out of the loop: think Garrys Mod (GMod) meets the Zelda series and yes, it was made by Nintendo themselves. The entire game is a fantastic example of well-designed map, gameplay, storyline / plot advancement, AND sandboxing all in one. Incredible to think that its also running on seven year old hardware. The emulation videos of the game running at 4K 60FPS on YouTube are astounding to watch.

> think Garrys Mod (GMod) meets the Zelda series This is the reason I don't find the game compelling. I don't want to sound like a hipster, so I'd like to recognize the incredible art direction and world design and that this is the first time console players are getting something like this. But honestly all of the physics builds I've seen for TotK were being done in garrys mod circa ~2008 in multiplayer. My friends a…

[dead]

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#496

Post by jquery »

bigbillheck wrote: post #375
jquery wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Gamecube and N64 were both nerfed by Nintendo's insistence on using proprietary storage formats. The N64 cartridge size ranged from 4mb to 64mb (64mb being the maximum at the end of the console's lifespan). The GameCube used minidvds that had only 30% of the storage space of standard dvds. The result was a generational game like FF7 was only possible on the PlayStation.

FF7 was a PS1 game and didn't use DVDs.

Yes and it used CDs that competed alongside the N64's low storage capacity.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#497

Post by kettlecorn »

martin82 wrote: post #489
kettlecorn wrote: post #187

I'm often discouraged by comments on Hacker News that downplay the importance of great design in a design-heavy medium. This game isn't succeeding primarily because of great marketing, franchise, or blind loyalty to Nintendo (though all of those help!). It's succeeding primarily because it's the follow-up to a game that critics and players universally found enormously fun. Before Breath of the Wild previous Zelda ent…

Previous Zelda games were released in a world where gaming was not yet a mainstream activity.

The Wii sold ~101 million units (the Switch is currently at ~120 million) and its two mainline Zelda games sold 7.4 million and 3.67 million.

Contrast that with BOTW at 30 million and ToTK at 10 million in 3 days.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#498

Post by HellDunkel »

Jochim wrote: post #208
raphaelj wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strange, I personally find it very enjoyable on the switch. Could be better obviously but I really like the art style and the gameplay is way more fluid than almost any other AAA games running at 60FPS on my PC.

It lags every time I open ultrahand.

It does but this performance drop is most likely fixable so there is hope.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#499

Post by highwaylights »

etempleton wrote: post #491
ianlevesque wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sales agree with you, but none of the art or design choices get worse by having hardware that won't drop frames to that degree. I realize they do this every console generation, but since they're no longer passing along the savings to the consumer, I'm not going to keep apologizing for them.

I expect new hardware from Nintendo in 2024 or 2025. The immense sales of the Switch and the pandemic have kept it around longer than it probably was originally planned for. It just keeps selling though. Sales have dipped, but not so much that Nintendo is in any hurry.

I expect new hardware in 2023, not because of how powerful the current chipset is or is not, but because Nintendo is very likely losing a massive percentage of sales to emulators now.

How many units would the game have sold if Yuzu/Ryujinx didn’t exist? It’s even more jarring when you’re a paying consumer running the game at 720p20 and someone else can quite easily download switch games for “free” and play a much better 4K60 unofficial PC version.

Those videos are all over YouTube and have been for a couple of years now. I’d always assumed Nintendo was just trying to get TOTK out the door, give it time to sell, then announce the new system with a new Mario later in the year.

Re: Legend of Zelda game sells 10M copies in three days

#500

Post by jdironman »

Fricken wrote: post #395
dkersten wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > more detail doesn't make a game better > Have you played red dead redemption 2? The detail elevates the game to one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Absolutely. Graphics do have their place, but most games don’t need to be that extreme level of detail. For one, I played RDR2 on a stock PS4 and the level of detail and immersion was incredible, despite the hardware already being underpowered by the time RD…

No video game has made it to the other side of the uncanny Valley. That's the trouble with realism.

There is one coming out I think called Unrecorded which to me looks quiet uncanny and close to actual body cam footage / realism. It's in dev anyways.
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