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Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

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Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#31

Looks cool! Will wait for a new Zelda game before diving into getting a Switch 2.

I feel like this is the sentiment I hear from most friends. But then the preorders sell out every time. I’m confused who is buying all these switches, but perhaps my local network isn’t a representative sample.

I ordered one. I'll play pretty much any Mario or Kirby game.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#32
post #5

I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80 even before paid DLCs inevitably get added on top. Plus if the last Mario Kart is any indication then the price will barely get reduced over the entire lifecycle of the Switch 2.

> I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80. At that point you can live a perfectly happy life only playing games that are years old and buying them deeply discounted or second hands for peanuts. It’s a mystery to me who spends 80 bucks on a game which is approximately the same than the previous one itself the same than the one before.

Unfortunately, Nintendo doesn’t really do sales. Not at the same scale as Microsoft, Sony or Steam.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#33
post #5

I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80 even before paid DLCs inevitably get added on top. Plus if the last Mario Kart is any indication then the price will barely get reduced over the entire lifecycle of the Switch 2.

This is why physical games are so important. The circular economy lets folks buy these experiences second hand.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#34
post #5

I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80 even before paid DLCs inevitably get added on top. Plus if the last Mario Kart is any indication then the price will barely get reduced over the entire lifecycle of the Switch 2.

> I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80. At that point you can live a perfectly happy life only playing games that are years old and buying them deeply discounted or second hands for peanuts. It’s a mystery to me who spends 80 bucks on a game which is approximately the same than the previous one itself the same than the one before.

It is actually kind of surprising to me that the convention of dropping prices after a couple years has persisted in games. I mean, it made sense in like 2005. Back then, an older game looked much worse and every game was bumping up against the limits of what was possible on the hardware/in the engine.

Nowadays a game from 4 years ago looks ~about the same as a current one, might have the same gameplay, and doesn’t suffer as much from the constant progress in monetization strategies. Plus you know if a community will grow around it. And, relatedly, mod support has developed if it ever will.

The only reason to play a game that just came out is if you are into a specific pseudo-competitive scene; the “recently released matchmaking game” genre (and, it should also be noted that this isn’t the real pro-competitive scene, that’s MOBAs and Counterstrike).

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#35
post #5

I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80 even before paid DLCs inevitably get added on top. Plus if the last Mario Kart is any indication then the price will barely get reduced over the entire lifecycle of the Switch 2.

$80 today is still cheaper than paying $60 a couple decades ago. https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Also games have only become more expensive to make since then and gamer expectations have only increased.

Make the price of houses $250K instead of $500K and I will gladly buy an $80 game.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#36
post #5

I'm sure it'll be fun, but I'm not thrilled about Nintendo bumping the price up to $80 even before paid DLCs inevitably get added on top. Plus if the last Mario Kart is any indication then the price will barely get reduced over the entire lifecycle of the Switch 2.

Does the price have to do w/ tariffs?

Its entirely because the value of the dollar has gone down. Inflation has happened for decades, but we've seen a noticeable, sharp rise post 2020. $50 in 2005 is worth as much as $82 today according to the inflation calculator.

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#37

No video game will ever get 80+ bucks from me without a physical book/guide or statue/figure. Need for Speed Underground changed to an open world with the second release and I hated everything about it.

I think maybe the best $70 I ever spent was on Secret of Mana in 1993, or about $150 in today's dollars, after saving up the most money I'd ever saved up in my entire life for it.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like this is the sentiment I hear from most friends. But then the preorders sell out every time. I’m confused who is buying all these switches, but perhaps my local network isn’t a representative sample.

There's rumors that Nintendo is flooding the retailers with Switch 2 units, will be interesting to see if they sell out this time/how much the demand is.

Some retailers are implementing purchase limits, which implies they will not be flooded and expect scalpers.

Re: Mario Kart designers had to rethink everything to make it open world

#40
post #20

No video game will ever get 80+ bucks from me without a physical book/guide or statue/figure. Need for Speed Underground changed to an open world with the second release and I hated everything about it.

As a counterpoint: I'd be irritated if I had to pay for anything physical with a game I'm buying. I'd perceive it as a waste of money and want a cheaper digital only version.

Also: until you play the game, you won’t know if you’re a big enough fan to want to display some merch for it
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