Switch 2 First Look Trailer Is Exactly What Nintendo Needed! | House Of Wolves Podcast - House Of Wolves Podcast

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Let them come.

(00:03):
This is their fate.
All right.
All right. Welcome back to the House of Wolves podcast.
I am your host, Deontay.
Here are my near and dear friends, Jaylen and Josh.
Today we got a special for you guys.
We wanted to wait until after the Xbox Direct to upload.

(00:27):
So we're going to be talking about that.
We're going to be talking about Xbox current strategy.
We're going to be talking about the switch to announcement
and much, much more.
So before we get started, per usual, Jaylen, Josh,
tell the people how you've been, what you've been up to,

(00:48):
what you've been playing, how's life going, any news you want to share,
anything that's going on.
Talk to the people.
Yeah. So it's been about it's been a minute since we all work together.
But me and the family have been doing all right, working as usual.

(01:11):
Brand new games.
Nothing probably going to be like that for a while for me, because I've been
when I have free time, I've mostly been playing Marvel rivals,
get on and do some challenges, stuff like that.
Pretty fun.
Not much has changed since because I think we talked about the last
two characters that came out,
Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic. Right.

(01:33):
They're both pretty fun to play. And.
Yeah, the game, I think, is in a good spot right now.
I will see how that goes, because they're they're playing in, you know,
quick drops of characters.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, they're saying it was for this season, right?
Yeah, for for the season, all of the fantastic four characters.
And I I don't know the cadence, but I think the season maybe like last

(01:57):
like three, I don't know, maybe like four months.
So it'll be like a character every like three weeks or something like that.
OK. Nice.
But yeah, we'll see.
But Marvel Rivals is fun.
And I was playing a RPG
at some point, a wayfinder.
Yeah, I was finishing up Wayfinder.

(02:18):
I talked about that a little bit a couple of weeks ago.
It's a pretty fun, like free, not free to play.
It used to be a live service, but now it's only like 20 bucks.
Diablo like looter RPG game.
I'm almost done with the main story and I'm going through all the characters
trying to make sure I level them all up because you can just switch

(02:40):
your weapons and items between characters.
So it makes it easy to like switch over and start level up the character
characters once I'm done with that.
I think I'm going to put the game down.
And then switch to something else.
But for me, it's kind of a slow season.
I'm going to get back to some games in my backlog
before buying anything new.
The new game I'm looking forward to, I guess, will be Monster Hunter.

(03:03):
But I still got another month and a half for that looks like.
But yeah, family's good.
It's getting a little warmer here in Japan, which is surprising.
And, you know, looking at certain parts of the U.S. is snowing.
So it's a crazy world.
Yeah, it really is.
It's freezing here

(03:25):
in this bed freezing for a while.
But I mean, let me stop before I start going into my spiel.
Jalen, talk to the people.
How you been? What you been up to?
Sure. Yeah.
What I've been out of so.
I really hasn't been playing metaphor.
I've been trying to beat that so far.

(03:47):
What day, you know, Pearl?
I think I'm all like August 20th or something.
August 20th. OK.
Yeah, I got about 40 hours on that.
So. But now.
Listen to that soundtrack.
Yeah, I want to be on that rival candidate.
Yeah, I was listening to it yesterday.

(04:07):
I'm like, man, this is hard, bro.
I'm like, hey, this is hard.
Hey, it's hard, bro.
I'm like, man, I was working on that.
The soundtrack is is like nonconventional or like kind of weird,
but they still cooking.
Yeah, they I'm not going to lie to you as much as I like all the persona songs

(04:28):
and so on. They got that little J-pop type stuff.
That royal candidate is probably topping all of them.
I'm looking like, man, it's tense, bro.
I'm like, this is some final boss music, bro.
Like the whole time, it ain't no final boss.
I'm looking like, man, I'm scared the final boss music
ain't going to hit as hard as this.
I'm like, that's not really cooking in there.

(04:48):
You know, we got the little people in the background and I'm like.
But aside from playing metaphor, I'm really trying to beat that game
like within the next like month or two.
I think I can do it in the next month or two.
So that I haven't really been planning, you know, still at the multiverse.

(05:09):
And six. Yeah, I'm going to waves in that game because, you know,
they'd be making me mad.
I'm like, man, they keep putting us in these unemployed lobby.
But I'm like, man, why don't I play this game like this?
I mean, I went up against.
Yeah, but I'm looking right now.
I'm like, we need to find people that got jobs, bro,
because these unemployed, they too sweet, bro.
I remember we went against like the second and fourth person

(05:31):
top in the world or whatever.
I'm just like, man, the way they're doing this, I just look like, man.
You're trying to play this, bro.
I think they're moralizing, bro.
And then they put us against them again.
Like we was like a week later, but we fought them again as a CD.
But I'm like, yeah, I'm like, bro, you got another reason to play this game.

(05:54):
We are number two and number four, bro.
Let's be real. The black Adam and Jake. So
we see what we see.
We're like, man, we fought them before, but they started doing us
this and combos again.
We're doing a whole bunch of watching.
They're not fighting, bro.
I'm like, I don't think we stand a chance, bro.
I don't even like to give up, bro.
So stand a chance against them.

(06:16):
Yeah, it will be like that sometimes.
Yeah, I just like for you.
I try and wait too hard on this game.
I relax, bro. I'm like, we'll get a job, bro.
Employed, bro.
So I did an alt versus metaphor.
Both stars with an M, same old, same old, because that's all I really been playing.
Other than that, man, I really just been chilling, still consistent working out.

(06:40):
This morning, I got to go hit day 14 of my workout sessions for the month.
And that's really about it, man.
I ain't got nothing like super plan.
I'm not usually be going somewhere like traveling, but I really ain't got nowhere to
to travel per se.
I mean, I can, but I ain't like pressed to go nowhere.

(07:00):
So, yeah, I mean, I think I was talking about going to Japan.
I got to touch base with Josh in every regard, but
I really just been saying, well, saying, well, trying to survive is cold.
Man, I'm like, man, it's cold as a beer, bro.
All right.
It is a win, bro.
You ever got hit with so bad, bro, you want to scream and just act

(07:22):
so well, like, why is you doing it?
Like, why you act like that?
Hmm. That's how I feel.
When brought out when the women make you teary eye.
Yeah, bro.
You should.
I can already I can only imagine that is probably terrible.
Here, we're both in.
It's like a seven minute walk to work, bro.

(07:43):
Oh, I'm like, man, this one is having its way, bro.
The I have I mean, I had gloves on when slicing through the label.
I mean, easy work, bro.
They're going straight through them, bro.
I hear the wind in my ear talking about.
Man, you can't do nothing, bro.
You easy work.
Watch this over here chopping through my blood.
I took my gloves off my hands in agony.

(08:05):
But I'm looking like I cannot move my hands right now.
But I had to soon as I walked in to work, bro, it's a hospital.
I'm on the first floor of the hospital, just standing there like looking at by
the same by the one I'm like, I can't move my hand, bro.
Like they froze.
And I'm like, this is crazy, bro.
I was getting mad, bro.
So, you know, ears getting sliced up, bro.
I'm looking like, man, they use a razor when.

(08:26):
Man, if you're seeing her, so Donzo will be using a vacuum bullets.
And they slice you up, bro.
I'm like, bro, it's bad out here, bro.
But everything cool, man.
It looks like it's warming up.
Yeah, that was like negative eight before the wind chill.
So, you know, I can't I'm getting all over.

(08:46):
I'm like, man, is when really having an impact?
I mean, not this way.
I mean, I guess that too, but the cold really have an impact on my boy.
I'm not going outside.
I got one trip in me, bro.
You don't ask me to do nothing.
It's freezing right now, bro.
So I don't blame you.
It tends to slow down around this time.
But yeah, it was definitely was definitely freezing.

(09:07):
I've been I've been shoveling snow way or more than I ever expected in where I stay.
Anyway, because it's normal, you know, where I used to stay in like Michigan, but it's not that normal here.
So but it is freezing now.
I mean, we always I'm always in a space where I get all the seasons or whatever.

(09:30):
But it's just never been this like cold constantly for this long, you know, so.
Definitely weird.
But yeah, anything else before I go into my stuff?
Just stay warm and make sure you protect your back when you show one, bro.
You know that back would go out.
Boy, well, I'm going to snowblower, but it is technically.

(09:54):
I mean, I don't like the shoveling part that's uncooked.
I went by snowblower like year or two.
I am a recent.
Yeah, but it is technically just throwing snow.
But but yeah, not for sure.
I don't all that extra work for no reason.
None of these tools work for you, baby.

(10:16):
Oh, thank you.
I don't need that extra workout right now.
So we are not cavemen.
Once we are not cavemen.
Yeah. But for me, I've been playing quite a bit of games.
I've been highly anticipating

(10:39):
the night agent and the recruit returning on Netflix.
I don't know if any of you are those shows, but I like my little CIA weird.
I don't know. I don't even know what to call it.
They just basically they entangled in CIA stuff and they do stuff to or FBI or

(10:59):
or spies or whatever.
And these two shows I was watching before it just came back.
Well, the recruit come back January 30th and then night agent dropped yesterday.
So I've been watching that and
the recruit looks very weird.
Not going to lie. Season two looks weird.
I don't think that that's actually going to be good.

(11:21):
But night agent, that's fire right now.
So I'm liking that.
I've been watching that and I played Star Wars Outlaws.
Star Wars Outlaws. I played and beat.
It's only it's not that long of a games like 13 hours.
If you just play strictly just a story, which I did.
I didn't play any side content.

(11:42):
I didn't help any factions.
I didn't care for all another systems.
I just played a Ubisoft game for the main story.
And I feel like that is how I should play all Ubisoft games moving forward
because most of the time they're over there.
They're they're overburdening the player when
and then you don't get to the actual fun part of their game.

(12:05):
So Star Wars Outlaw at least has a fun loop that they fixed after,
you know, taking away all that, you know, running around being a
always not being able to go into combat.
I played combat the entire time. I enjoy myself.
I really like the the mission designs and what we were doing in the missions.
They did get a little repetitive, but overall the scenery,

(12:29):
what you were going to do and some of the stuff
it almost had like a small Tomb Raider feel when you had different places
you were going and parkour and all that stuff.
So I felt as if it was fun and enjoyable that the whole 13 hours through
as long as I stayed on the beat it, I stayed on the actual path.
I didn't go off of it.
I enjoy Star Wars Outlaws a lot more than I expected.

(12:53):
Now, does that mean that you should run out and get it?
Maybe not. But I'm telling you that if you can get it for a cheaper price
and if you enjoy the Star Wars universe
and you like to see what it'd be like to be just a thief
or a outlaw in the Star Wars universe.
I think they do a really good job of capturing that feeling

(13:15):
through the main storyline without having to even go and do any side content.
Now, the side content is a great addition,
and it has intrigued me enough to go back into it to play a little bit of it.
But it was always secondary to the point of, you know,
just playing through the main game.
So really liked it that way.

(13:36):
I think I'm going to play Assassin's Creed, Shadows that way
and kind of just go from there when it comes to Ubisoft games.
I don't think that that should be the mindset of everybody
going into these games, because if you're, you know, you buy in the game,
you want the game to be in FUD in its entirety.
But everybody can't be Cyberpunk.
They don't even got the budget for that.

(13:57):
And you got to get used to these companies
reusing assets to kind of make ends meet, because again,
I don't like the Ubisoft formula.
I feel like it's old and dated, but they probably got the best balance sheet
more than likely due to the fact that they don't redo stuff a lot.
They kind of reuse the same stuff.
So I'm fine with playing a Ubisoft game for their story aspects and just moving on.

(14:23):
I think I think that we have to kind of normalize this space we're in now.
Where there's actually price to cost to make value
and what you're actually doing within said game.
I don't think over bloating it just to make a price tag
cut, make a price point is the fun way or the best way to go anymore.

(14:48):
We'll talk a little bit about that when we talk about Xbox.
But yeah, that was what I was playing.
And I've been playing a little bit more Spider-Man 2, Space Marine 2.
I've just been jumping around and then I recently started.
Well, I put a little bit more time.
So I'm like 15 hours in the metaphor now.

(15:10):
And I'm having a lot of fun with that game.
I am using a guide, honestly, because I'm not a fake gamer.
I promise it's just I don't really have the time to want to figure out.
I want to see everything without having to kind of think about it, to be honest.
So I think that's still a fun way to play it.
I understand that that may not be the best way to play these types of games.

(15:33):
But honestly, you know, those types of games have hidden systems all the time.
They have things you probably would never come across.
You never do. And you don't understand properly enough.
So again, I don't have a time to fumble around anymore.
I kind of have to have that experience and enjoy it in one go.
So that's why I'm using the guide.

(15:56):
But yeah, I'm still having fun.
I'm still enjoying it.
And yeah, I think that that that's going to be a great way to kind of experience
one time through. What else?
What else? I spot it.
I mean, family good is cold as heck outside, like like Jaylen said.
But the family good we get in snow suits.

(16:16):
This we're trying to find snow suits, bro.
Trying to find a snow suit for a kid right now is crazy.
You cannot find one.
We was even looking for like one use one on Facebook Marketplace
because we're trying to just take them out sledding.
Can't find one.
They are sold out everywhere.
And yeah, even at like the like sports shops.

(16:38):
Yes, even sports shops.
We was looking at like you talk about like Dix and stuff or stuff like that.
Yeah. Yeah. Like those are.
Yeah. Sold out still.
We couldn't find any and they like they take a long time to get here basically.
So I'm like, what the heck is going on with the snow suits?
And we barely could find some boots

(16:59):
because we had to get some new boots this year, too.
And but now we're going to just try to layer them all up
and go sledding this weekend.
But family good house good, you know, we just chilling, man.
We ain't we ain't got nothing going on.
Love to be around them and just hang out.
So that's what we've been doing.

(17:21):
Oh, but yeah, let's let's get to these topics.
We already been talking for a long time and we ain't gotten to nothing.
But let's start with because it's going to be a bulk of the conversation.
Xbox is so let's talk about switch first.
The switch to announcement.

(17:42):
Obviously, they were forced to put this out.
But I want to first before I give you any background.
I hopefully I watched at least that announcement trailer.
What are your thoughts on the announcement trailer?
For the switch to.
Oh, yeah, like like a lot of people have said or like echo when I watched it,

(18:06):
it I didn't like I watched it like while I was working
and I just watched out the corner of my eye because it was a very nonchalant
or like a matter of fact announcement.
Like here's what I would compare it to is like whenever Xbox puts out a new
controller, it's just like, oh, here's a controller.
We don't show you some, you know, different angles of it.
We'll probably pour some liquid to change the color.

(18:29):
And then that's the trailer of it.
And I actually didn't notice until going back and look at it
that the games they were showing were new.
And that's not like a dig at like, oh, on Nintendo games look the same.
It's just like, well, they didn't actually focus on it.
I didn't know that that Mario Kart footage was like brand new.

(18:49):
And it's nothing that you've seen before because they didn't focus on it.
They didn't highlight it. They didn't name anything.
I don't even know what text was on the screen.
Like there was no voiceover or anything.
It was just, you know, looking at some renders of the console.
So I think they're they're not like you said, they they were kind of responding

(19:10):
to like public, you know, trying to a PR release to get ahead of the conversation.
But it doesn't seem like a full like we're going directly into marketing
to show every every feature of the device is just yes, it exists.
And you'll see it in April.

(19:32):
Yeah. How you feel about the announcement, Jaylen?
Shoot. I honestly didn't see the commercial trailer.
I'll take that for it.
Dang. I seen people talking about it and I just heard that it's like Whackluster.

(19:52):
And some of the reasons that they had did it the way they did
it was because of all the leaks and stuff that came out about it.
I also heard a little bit of what Josh had said too, but
my personal, I haven't seen it personally, so.
Gotcha. So like I don't really need to see anything about it

(20:15):
to make a decision.
And then what was the thing I was going to say?
I mean, it's I kind of know what I'm I kind of know what to expect.
So they do something different than I'd be a surprise to me.
So yeah. Yeah.
It's a first look trailer.
And honestly, you're not missing much.
You can if you just look at the image of what the switch to looks like.

(20:38):
You're basically you got what they did in the in the in the in that reveal trailer.
So, yeah, you're not missing much there.
But my next question was, did it do anything for you guys?
And I'm assuming based off our responses and conversation,
it probably did not.
It did not move the needle either way.

(21:00):
It didn't make you hate it. It didn't make you like it.
It just made you, you know, curious about when they actually reveal it truly.
Is that pretty much the sentiment for you guys?
Yeah, for me, like, and it's part of a side effect of like we've
it's been rumored for like five years now and there have been so many different

(21:22):
types of leaks. So everything that's kind of a rumor is just confirmed.
For me, I just want to see the games in action.
Like show me what Zelda looks like.
Show you know, it's a new Mario Kart. Cool.
What what's what do they look like?
Also, I guess for me, I guess the backwards compatibility

(21:44):
is when I'm more interested in.
Like I do want the new games, of course, but it's like
like how big of an improvement is it over the original Switch?
And I think as long as I see that and it looks good, I'll be satisfied.
And, you know, by the console, probably when it comes out,
as long as it's not too expensive.
Yeah. Yeah.

(22:06):
Pretty much. I mean, the the the the
the idea of not owning a Switch 2 is pretty slim in my mind at this point.
It's not like I'm not going to own it.
It's just how much how useful will it actually be?
I think them.
So next, I want to kind of talk about them and their naming convention

(22:29):
and what they are truly doing with this generation.
And I spoke to a little bit on my channel.
But basically, the Nintendo Switch 2
is a continuation, not a nice.
That's not it's not to be innovative.
It's to be it's just to be to continue the success of the Switch.

(22:50):
It is meant to be a bridge between the Switch and the Switch 2.
It is not to be a a change or something that does not allow for games
to not only operate on the Switch, but operate also well on the Switch 2.
I don't feel like we're going to get the first big game

(23:10):
to be exclusive to the Switch 2 yet.
It may happen, but to me, them naming it the Switch 2,
them not changing the name any any different the formatting look
or the format and look to be that this similar in this the the same.
Only thing that's really going to be like significantly different is the internals.

(23:33):
But that format and structure and the concept is all still rooted in Switch.
So I got two arguments here, but I kind of wanted to get your opinion on
what what this continuation means for the next, you know, seven, eight years for Switch 2.

(23:54):
What do you think it means or what they're trying to signal with this continuation?
Or do you think is the non-starter?
Do you think that they could possibly still be looking to break out of the Switch entirely?
Just real quick, I know Josh, I think that they have success

(24:18):
and they trying to stay within means of that success with the first Switch.
They had huge success with the Wii, but they didn't have huge success with the Wii U.
It came out the Switch had huge success.
So I feel like instead of trying to like diverter or something like that,
they just trying to stay within means.

(24:39):
And then I want to say necessary play a save play if they are going to play a save.
They got the name what the Switch 2 is going to do.
And then they might potentially add features or things that might make it way more distinct.
You know, it's a little bit of a little fun, little different things in there.

(25:00):
Yeah, I'm not conventional aspects of gaming in there.
So I'm not even saying that's going to happen just because they gave it a non-conventional
or a conventional name, I guess.
Like, I mean, it's a Switch 2 now.
You know what I mean?
Like they never had a game console where they kept everything that kept the name the same.
Even with the DS's.
Yeah, they never used to anything.

(25:21):
They never used to.
So I think they probably trying to be in a little bit safer market and then maybe put some of those things
and maybe a little bit later at a slower pace.
So that's what I think that they would do thinking about a non-conventional aspect
and this conventional name like Switch 2.
OK, yeah.

(25:42):
And I think the concept of the Switch, you know, docking it and taking it out is still the main quote unquote
gimmick that they're going with.
So I think that is they finally found a gimmick that works is the one of the biggest issues.
What? Well, a lot of issues like got naming convention issues, they got marketing issues,
they got, you know, releasing games on times issues.

(26:05):
But like one of the biggest issues is that they always have a gimmick for each console.
And sometimes gimmicks are innovative like the Wii when it came out, nobody's ever seen it.
And so a lot of people are excited about it and that changed the industry for a couple of years.
But what the Wii U is like, OK, we got a new gimmick,
but that gimmick that they had was not the gimmick that the industry was interested in,

(26:30):
which, you know, a tablet screen for your console when at that point we already had smartphones and stuff like that.
So I think they found a good gimmick that isn't too intrusive
that a lot of people could just ignore it or a lot of people to just exclusively use it handheld
and they decided to stick with it. And that's good.

(26:52):
Personally, I like when they have a more interesting name like Game Boy to Game Boy Advance
or Nintendo to Super Nintendo.
But I also understand that it's hard to do like Super Nintendo
and then you get to a new Super Nintendo or Super Super Nintendo, you know,
like it's a lot easier to go with numbers.

(27:14):
So personally, I think. If they name their next console, something different is not a Switch.
Maybe they can at least stick with numbers for a while to make it easy.
Yeah, yeah, I agree.
So the next seven years, we're going to be talking Switch to it gives the consumer a direct bridge between the Switch one and Switch to.

(27:39):
It's not like this. It's not confusing anyone. Nobody's going into the market.
OK, what's the difference between the we and the Wii U?
What was like? Nobody's going to have that problem.
They're going to know this was the original switch. This is just the switch to this is the new.
Technically, it's going into those conventions of what the Xbox and PlayStation will do.

(28:00):
And it works because people don't have to be confused at the store like the Xbox Series X.
Terrible names. But they did those and they went with the series versions for some reason.
But it is a confusing thing for consumers.
The average day consumer doesn't know anything about gaming.
They just want to know what's the newest version of that game or console and switch to being there.

(28:25):
Well, yeah, it is. It's related.
But like trying to try to look up Ninja Gaiden 2 on like where you can buy it or looking up Ninja Gaiden games.
And it's like Xbox one or Xbox one X or Xbox Series X.
And it's very hard to search for video games on the Xbox.

(28:46):
So that's why you only can look at the new stuff.
But yeah, hopefully with this change, Nintendo completely avoids confusing the consumer.
No, like just real quick, even with the Xbox, I have issues like, OK, this Xbox one.
Xbox one came out back in 2013 on this Xbox Series X.

(29:07):
You know what I mean?
Even with the DS's and stuff like that, I remember people having backlash about the DS Lite or the DSi coming out.
Is this like a lateral shift and they kind of switching to anything or is it like a whole new console?
And I remember people that was like, man, I hope they don't come out with a DSi or they make exclusive DSi games because like I just got my DS.

(29:31):
You know what I mean? So it just come in.
If you just have a number of things is way easier.
So, yeah. Yeah.
So that really tells me that they're actually thinking about stuff now in like succession and like continuation, which signals to me as well.
From their mistakes. That is exactly what I was trying to get to that they're learning something.

(29:57):
But also, maybe this, you know, truly is a.
Because, again, they're not fighting the power, the power game and are in that race.
They're not really even in the third party race.
People buy Nintendo Switches for Nintendo games, they might buy a Nintendo Switch to be their main game gaming system if they feel like it's it's it's it's sufficient.

(30:26):
But most people buying the Nintendo Switch either the only care about the games that Nintendo is putting out or they have another council that they can play more high quality third party published games.
Nintendo has built a brand around not supporting third parties in the best light.

(30:47):
And I don't think that that's going to change with the switch to unfortunately.
Now, do I feel like the bump and increase is going to make people want to be on their platform?
Absolutely. They need that.
They need that.
The the the the they need that voice in there. They need that. Then the enticing number to make third party publishers still want to make games for.

(31:15):
So this all just, you know, really makes sense and sets them up for success.
And it allows for them to continue off the success of the switch.
What I want to get to in is price point and exclusivity.
Let's talk exclusivity first.

(31:36):
That will tell me what the price will be, or at least tell me hints of what the price will be.
Exclusivity wise.
Do you feel like the first main Mario Kart is going to be Switch only?
Whatever this next one is Mario Kart nine, do you think it'll be switched to only or do you think it's going to be switch and switch to?

(32:01):
You only. Yeah, I think it'll be switched only.
They need they need that will be the smart choice to me.
I'm not saying that it's going to be the most lucrative choice, but I think it's the smart choice.
I think having a mainstay Mario Kart for every I don't think they ever did.
They double dipped, have they?

(32:23):
Outside of, you know, Mario Kart eight being sweet, you being trapped on Wii U and then they moving it to the switch.
Well, all the remasters, they kind of double dip.
But as far as like lunch, the only time they double dip was Zelda.
Twilight Princess.
It came out on GameCube and we at the same time, we're like, wow, as well, we you and switch.

(32:47):
Oh, yeah, that one, too. Well, yeah, Zelda was like cross gen Zelda was the only time that they typically do that.
Hmm. OK, I was trying to figure out if there's going to be a.
It's going to be a dividing a dividing factor and how quickly you think it'll come.

(33:08):
To me, I think that they're super nervous about switching off of the old, you know, they have a they have a built in, you know.
Council install base, yeah, it's all based right now.
I don't think they want to abandon it, but at the same time, how do we sell switch twos?
We need people to want to actually buy the next upgrade.

(33:31):
We also know that we're going to be providing them the opportunity to bring all their most of their games.
So they said there was some games that weren't going to be compatible, but most of their games are going to be on the switch to they're going to be able to play them day one when they buy it.
So they're already going to have Mario Kart.
They're already going to have these things.
Is there a necessary need for us to?

(33:57):
To lock it to this switch to council when we're already providing additional already already providing them the option to even choose because they can still play switch games on it.
So they want to buy the switch version and we buy this in it.
There's the switch to version.
There's different versions, but they both, you know, still compatible with the same device.
I don't know.

(34:18):
That's my that's my thought of on it is that they want to bridge that gap.
So I think smart, it would be smart to force people to kind of have a have their mainstay, you know, version of Mario Kart be this the definitive version of the game, but you can still have the opportunity to play the newer Mario Kart on this device as well.

(34:42):
Because there it's been a long time since they made a new Mario Kart, and they have gotten better at producing games on the on the switch, regardless of how old it is, you know.
So to me, they could possibly get Mario Kart, whatever that new one is on the old one.
Maybe one of the key things that Digital Foundry pointed out was that they had 24 cars on the track or at least 24 starting lines versus, you know, what is it normally like?

(35:13):
I don't remember.
I think it's 16.
I don't remember.
It's usually a number of different depending on the console.
But yeah, it's a 1216.
I think was the max.
Yeah.
So we saw the starting line when they were riding past it, they had like 24 lines for people to, you know, start up at or ready up at.

(35:34):
And that's maybe providing more features that the Switch 2 version can only do that the Switch version can't.
So I don't know if they're going to lean heavy into we're going to offer a feature set here that you can't play on the Switch, but you can get an opportunity to play that game with this version, because I don't know if they want to give it up.
Yeah, that's what I'm that's what I'm like.

(35:57):
That's my deciding point.
Now.
Yeah, that's what's going to tell me pricing, because if it's very comparable price to the current switch, there is no reason for anybody to ever want to go by the previous one.
This is just going to continue their success with the previous switch and the price point, because, again, they're still using old tech.

(36:26):
They're not going for the latest and greatest that old tech has been out there.
It has been utilized and they don't need to try to sell us an expensive console anymore.
They just need to continue success.
Would it make sense to price that switch to at the same price point as the old it right now and just let that be the new definitive switch to or the definitive, you know, council like.

(37:01):
That only makes sense if they're still having that parody doesn't make sense when they if they try to go up to parity with they they try to start selling sixty nine nine nine dollar games.
Then it doesn't make any sense.
But if they're doing parity between the games and they're actually trying to bridge the gap, it will only it will make the most sense for everybody on the market to be signaled.

(37:25):
Hey, this is we're giving you brand new good hardware for the same price you would have paid for this.
We don't lose value.
You can already tell we don't do we don't do sales, baby.
So this is what we got. And this is what you want to which is what you get.
Why not buy the new one? You know, that would be my thought.

(37:46):
If I'm making them, if I'm making the decisions, I want continuation.
I want I want immediate success.
I want this thing to sell like hotcakes.
I want to have abundant amount of them out there.
And I want them to just simply replace the switch original and basically be where the old leg goes down to the price of this regular switch and switch light stays the same.

(38:13):
And now we have the main stage switch to at that old price.
That made the most sense to me.
And I believe what the old that came out at what price point was this?
Yes, three fifty.
I mean, I think that's not reasonable.
I mean, I would say they have to probably make a big enough difference between us or to justify people buying the newer technology versus like, well, I just want to play the regular switch and just go get the other one or even just.

(38:47):
I don't think it's going to have a screen.
I don't think it's going to have a screen.
I don't think it's going to have a screen. So it's going to have an LED.
So they're going to save on that cost.
Or LCD screen. And so probably a higher quality is probably going to be like most of like the PS PlayStation portal.

(39:08):
We're actually good quality screen, but it's definitely not going to be all it.
They don't they don't say the old version to mark up later on down the line.
So I think 350 is a is a really good spot for them.
Not going on. I think if it's four hundred dollars, it's just like what justifies you being four hundred.

(39:30):
You kind of do the same thing I do.
So I think they have to think about that when they're going into pricing.
I think three fifty. I think three hundred will be amazing.
This thing would sell like hotcakes, but if it's three fifty, it makes sense.
That's what that's I mean, that's all I can say on it.

(39:52):
I mean, I'm not an insider. I don't know what they're doing,
but it seemed like they're at least trying to make the right calls.
And that's always good because they don't normally care.
They're trying to make the right decisions because they want it to be a success.
They do not want this, you know, see what they call it.

(40:14):
The sophomore slump.
They always have it with their their costs.
It's like they all they're in a constant sophomore slump.
So, yeah. What are your thoughts on around pricing?
Yeah, I'm one I'm conflicted.
I think they generally they try to like have separate generations where like you have backwards

(40:38):
compatibility, but as far as like the new stuff, it's always reserved for the new console.
That way, everybody has the desire to move over.
And that's been pretty consistent for all their consoles.
And the only time that it like maybe one or two launch games like day one games will be cross platform.

(41:00):
But then the next few months or the next year, you're not going to see any more cross platform games for first party stuff.
However, I think that with this thing being kind of rumored for so long and also them having a lot of announced games that have not come out yet.

(41:21):
For example, Metroid Prime 4 is the last trailer says Nintendo Switch doesn't say Nintendo Switch 2.
So that leads me to believe that Metroid Prime, I don't think it would be a launch game, but it will be one of those games that will be on both consoles.
So maybe we could see a situation that they do support the original switch for a while.

(41:45):
But on the other hand, when I said I'm conflicted is that they I guess the rumors says they have a good production amount like 20 million or something like that, that they want to do the first year.
So they're also expecting it to sell fast.
So I think that they have some some idea of like exclusivity like you.
We want people to buy this quickly, not necessarily linger too much on the old system.

(42:11):
So yeah, I'm conflicted as for pricing, I think under 400 will be best.
I personally don't think it will go down down to 300.
Just because all of Nintendo consoles, they usually hover between 350 450 range.
And they're also thinking about the next few years, like if they go 300 now.

(42:39):
What would that look like in the future.
As far as like inflation or like different economies and things like that, because game prices might increase over the next few years again.
I think that's something that they're factoring in whoever is doing the pricing is thinking that stuff.
So I think they're going to aim a little higher towards 400 personally, but I don't think they should go over 400.

(43:00):
Because not necessarily Nintendo is competing with anybody else directly, but they are competing with a lot of other technology at that price point.
And that makes it a lot harder to sell it to for two people.
You know, I can buy a $400 switch or I can buy a $400 Steam Deck or I can buy a $400 VR headset.

(43:23):
Like around Christmas time, that type of stuff comes up.
But if it's on the cheaper side, they might see more success personally.
Yeah, I think them undercutting themselves is the best smart is the smartest move.
If they're going to keep the old model on the market, it does not make sense for them to under price it.

(43:51):
And the old model is 350.
And that's a 2017 type system.
If they think that they don't get anybody to buy this thing at $500 and that is where they'll fail.
Period. They will fail. And I think that it will hurt them more on the long run than they ever could think.

(44:17):
Because all people will do is throughout four years of the generation, probably hold on to their switch.
And that is where you start to see the continued mistake of their previous past.
I don't think 400 is a bright idea simply due to the fact that you are pushing yourself in a space now where people have to contemplate.

(44:47):
Why is this? Why? Why does this become so much more expensive when it really still isn't doing?
You have to sell it at that point.
And that's a scary place to be because they only have their games and people have pretty comparable versions of a lot of their games right now.

(45:14):
Now, I don't I'm not saying that they can't sell games like on a switch to exclusively.
I just don't think that they're smart. And I don't think that's that's the that's the smart thing to do to just throw away that 150 million install base.
It's just like, I really need this to really work.
And the only way I see that working in my mind, at least if I'm thinking about it, iPhones and all that crap, they they get people to buy their new ones based off of subsidies due to the fact that, you know, people are getting them from there through exclusively.

(45:50):
They're not subsidies, but you kind of like they're they're getting them with their plans or whatever. And they get some money off with the old phone trading in or blah, blah, blah.
There's not that many systems out there built around swapping out console.
So for that continuation, I kind of really be as one to one or close to one to one as possible. I would think they will they would just swap it out for the original for the OLA pricing.

(46:19):
Drop that one down to three to two to ninety nine.
And now you have your switch to switch replacement, which is now going to be just a it's not longer to all that model is just the only model. And then you have your switch to and that would be the the three fifty dollars, three hundred and fifty.

(46:40):
And that would basically solidify them and me knowing that they're going to have major success that first year, because regardless, if anybody's buying a switch, they still have good sales on the switch.
Why would I buy the old one when this one costs just fifty dollars more? I'm buying that one.
It's like an easy win. So I don't know. But that's just my thought. I'm not in their board. I'm not on their and their meetings. I'm thinking from just a business aspect of how I want if I want continued success, I'm not going to out price my audience

(47:14):
and I'm not going to push myself into competition that I'm not never necessarily competing with. Now, there is a premium for just being a Tendo.
You know, they can make a premium, whatever they want it to be. But for them to have this smart of a move to have this amount of people have success for this long with this council and they have their solidified generation now, I don't think they want to mess up at the start.

(47:38):
But maybe I personally, I feel like they should. I don't say necessarily like quote unquote discontinued, but they need to try to do something where the switches, especially if they don't have like some type of adequate like backwards compatibility, they need to get rid of regular switches to get to know switches and people.
Yeah, I think what the type of people that's buying a switch like a lot of the people, they're not going to be trying to switch one or like to switch to or whatever they don't even know the difference between.

(48:04):
I don't know if it's a big enough difference, but if you're going to be offering the same games and what's features like how they have a Call of Duty Go situation where you couldn't play ground war on the 360, but you can play on the PS4 and stuff like that or the Xbox one.
And then you're going to get a little confused. You don't have people buying old consoles, thinking that's, oh, I don't need to switch to or something because they might look at it like a, again, I'm not saying that's what it's going to be. But I think it's a price to close you want people looking at as a

(48:37):
16 versus iPhone 16 pro situation if the price to close because people don't buy why would I pay $50 more for the same thing quote unquote right but now they got less longevity in a system that they get in and then they might have some type of regret to buy what they should have made that a little bit evident.
Obviously, salespeople can come in and stuff like that but most consoles. They're significantly cheaper. And they don't come out as late as like the old version of stuff that significantly cheaper than like, you know, a successor, so dropping the old way of price down to like 300

(49:11):
and adequate enough, especially if they price it at like 350 or 400 because it shouldn't even be half the price of what it is and on Nintendo they're not going to drop the price that much on the system that they have usually they discontinued or if they do decide to keep it like they did them
red weeds. Remember the old Mario Kart Wii like the little red one that came out when they had the Wii U and stuff like that. I think you'll be able to get those for like $100 like because they dropped them significantly versus, oh, can I get the Wii U or should I get the Wii? Well the Wii U 300, the regular Wii, I think that one was $100. So unless they do like something like that, I feel like it's going to cause some confusion especially for somebody to buy a $300 version of the Switch and outgated.

(49:56):
With the handhelds, they just continue discontinued the old version like the DS came out and then the DSi they stopped selling DS and then the new DS came out and then a new 3DS. They will always discontinued the old version because they don't want you to buy the old version.
I think that that should be the case for the new system that they, yeah they want people to buy Switch games, but I don't think they want people to buy Switch consoles. They want them to buy Switch 2. You can still buy Switch games, but we want you to buy the new console.

(50:28):
Not to say that it's going to be completely disappear, but I think that they should maybe only offer two SKUs. Like you said, maybe the Switch OLED or even just Switch Lite and then Switch 2. That's it, those three. So it's the Switch Lite, which is the one where you, the form factor makes sense. It tells you what it is.

(50:51):
The, when it being light is like there is no, you know, document. That was only like $200. Yeah, it's very cheap. And then, then you have the other one, which is that Switch, the Switch OLED, which is not going to replace the Switch. That's at $300 and then the Switch 2 at $350.

(51:13):
If they do $400, I don't think they have a bad, it won't be a bad start. It's just going to be a conversation with people. Like it's not a no brainer at that point. It's like, I think the price point, I think that they have to meet that price point because they're going to, regardless of what we think of Nintendo Switch games, they have a winning formula of cost to cost of production to revenue return.

(51:42):
Return on investment. They have that formula down pat. They can make up their money either in software sales, but they're, I know that they're being greedy because they, they want it in hardware and software.
I don't believe the, the Switch Lite or the Switch 2 costs $300 to make at all. I know they want that extra kickback, but I feel like as these, these things, I know they already got a good price on these chips early on.

(52:14):
I think as they go continue on down the line, they have a new skew. I feel like they should give up a little bit of that income for now because what they're going to do is create even larger ability to sale to third parties to get their games on it.
Like, I just think that that's such a huge benefit that they don't understand and don't care for. I understand they don't have to because they have a lot of games, but I need them to see the success of having like really, really people going to try to capture that third party money from on their console.

(52:57):
And it's not, and not in such a subpar way. Like I don't, like some games do it well, but other games don't. And they're, they're, there's, then they're dealing with people out there.
Like the selling convention from the biggest selling point for them right now is that it's the branding. Like, um, I don't want them to lose sight of, they are going to continue to innovate in this handheld space with bigger, power, powerful PCs and Linux PCs.

(53:31):
They're going to continue to do that over the next year. You're at the life cycle of your council. They are going, going to go crazy. Then you, by the time you'll switch ends this life cycle, they're going to be three timing the power of what you capable of.
You have to understand that you losing third party support so early on in your council generation is a bad thing. So how do you combat that? You make it so freaking obvious that you have the biggest market share of handheld in the handheld space.

(54:03):
That they have no way to deny you. And you got to do that by pricing it accordingly. You cannot do that by making people have a thought to not buy it or to think about it in a different way. Cause I understand you're not competing directly.
You never will be, but you have to also understand that they are still going to continue to innovate. They're going to continue to make that thing special. And you got to combat the whole, you know, this, the only only only only time and only reason people pirate is because they don't like the either the platform or the access that you provide.

(54:43):
You have to understand that too. It is going to continue to be a problem because they're going to be able to run your council games on something else and not deal with your council. And it's like you want to capture a lot of that. And I'm not saying that they have to move in that way because they never have.
But to me, I'll be thinking about those things. Those will be factors in my price point and it'll be factors on how I move forward when it comes to that continuation of my success. So those things they have to think about regardless of how big they are or how much success the switch had.

(55:17):
They need to think about those things because it is going to be important to three years from now when you have the switch, the steam deck to and all these other things that are pushing for better features, better hardware.
And you're still stuck on that old because it's going to be old and outdated when it drops. So, yeah, I just feel like that that that has to be that has to be something.

(55:47):
I have to be a thought. Maybe not the biggest thought in their mind, but it has to be in there. So anyways, we'll see. That's a lot of talk about on the switch. But I do want to move on to get into the Xbox Direct.
And man, oh man. Well, let me let me let me make sure because I'm pretty sure I don't know. Did you guys see anything about the direct?

(56:17):
And if you did see anything, what did you see before I started to do much, Bill?
Well, Xbox, the favorite, my favorite console in the world. Yeah, it's my favorite favorite favorite favorite. What? What? I see.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I have to have to shy away from you, but I love it so much.

(56:39):
Yeah, I didn't watch it live, but I see the the announcements. OK. All right. So so, yeah, you don't have to necessarily watch it.
I guess the biggest thing you saw come out of it, if you guys have anything and then I kind of go into a recap.

(57:03):
What's the biggest thing you're excited for? I would say that. Yeah, I'd say the.
So personally, I'll just get to it. I don't really care for clear obscura, but it's a it's interesting looking idea IP.
So why not bring it to Xbox? South of Midnight looks great.

(57:25):
I'm interested in that. I don't know if we'll play that right away because it's it is an action game, but it's also kind of maybe like have some puzzle platformer elements to it.
Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of like puzzle platformers, but it looks good enough that I still want to give it my time when it comes out.

(57:46):
Doom Dark Ages, I'd say is my second is the number two on my list of what I'm excited for because I like the game games do internal.
I didn't like it as much as the first one, but it's still one of the best shooters that came out around that time.
And this also looks to continue that like craziness. I just hope that the game is all in that 30 hours.

(58:08):
It can be short and sweet. Yeah. And I guess the Ninja Gaiden two piece that they did, I guess that's what I'm most excited for because it's a it's not an exclusive game,
but it is a partnership with Koei Tecmo and they're bringing back Ninja Gaiden.
And it looks like they also are punching the cooperation and stuff that they had in the past.

(58:36):
So the game looks interesting. Ninja Gaiden four. It's been a long time since it was a game out.
And I like the Ninja Gaiden games personally a lot more than like other action games, not that they're necessarily the best, but they feel very good to play.
And it's very like straightforward with its ideas like you go through the levels, you fight ninjas, you fight Oni.

(59:01):
It's not overly complicated like Neo or anything like that. It's just straight fun.
And then they re-released Ninja Gaiden two. So, yeah, I think for me, those two were the biggest things I'm interested in.
I want to see more of Ninja Gaiden four, and especially since it's being developed by Platinum Games,
which Platinum Games has had a whole bunch of bad news in the last two years. And so this looks like their next home run, hopefully.

(59:32):
Yeah. Yeah. So that I mean, it was a lot of at least what I'll say about my I guess my experience and again, I don't want to step on anybody.
Jalen, if you have anything that you want to add, I think you say you didn't see any. You didn't see it.
Did you see anything that you were interested in talking about before I start?

(59:59):
Nah, you don't. You don't go ahead, man. Take it away.
Do my thing. Okay. Well, so from when I was watching it, I'm thinking, you know, obviously I'm thinking about X-Box strategy.
I'm thinking about Xbox is a whole, you know, brand and what they kind of what they're looking to do initially.
First start when you first start up, they started off with simply Xbox.

(01:00:23):
These are all coming to Xbox Game Pass Day one and boom.
You're when you these are Xbox play anywhere. That means if you buy it on the Xbox or Xbox's app on PC, you're going to have to be able to play it anywhere.
We're cross saving cross progression. That's just splash screens. Nothing else.
Splash screens at the media start that you know that, hey, these games not only will be coming to Game Pass, but you buy one copy.

(01:00:49):
You play it anywhere. Great. Great. Great to see. Great to hear.
Great to, you know, be able to understand and have that message be direct and not be convoluted.
And as they kind of show went on, we first initially going into Ninja Gaiden 4 and things like that.

(01:01:13):
It became abundantly clear once the first splash screen came up that it said it's coming to PS5.
They don't even care to hide that it's coming to PS5 anymore.
They like it's it's not their job to to to to to trick you and to believe in that this is a console exclusive.
This is it's just their job now to tell you the benefits of Game Pass and what it means to play on Xbox.

(01:01:39):
That signals to me their strategy is different and the signals to me that their strategy is not about which everybody already knows at this point.
If you don't know, then you probably just not been paying attention.
But their strategy is to play your play your games wherever you want.
And granted, the PC, the Xbox experience is great.

(01:02:02):
Obviously, I want that to also involve Steam, but they never going to do that.
So it is one of those things where you understand if you're buying on Xbox, if you have a PC and you have a Windows PC and you have a Xbox system,
you now have that ability to do that cross progression and it works seamlessly.
It's a really cool feature and everybody loves it.

(01:02:24):
But as that show went on and I saw that first splash screen, I saw Windows coming out release date and it said available on these consoles.
I said, hold on. Why are you doing PS5? Why are you promoting them?
I just don't think they care anymore. And that's fine.
That's that's really one of those things that never really made sense anyway.
Why are you hiding that it's going to be on other consoles? But it makes sense.

(01:02:47):
It's in your marketing. It's what you want.
And this is a stipulation. I don't think they stipulate them into do that anymore.
And it bodes well when you have a shadow drop like Ninja Gaiden 2 Black come out same day.
And one console gets it on Game Pass, a subscription, and one console gets it with a full tag price tag of fifty dollars.

(01:03:09):
It is like, OK, well, I could either buy it on this console if I wanted or I can try it out on Game Pass because I have a subscription service that's allow me to access in this day one.
Like immediately, it's the instant gratification of a subscription. It's the instant gratification of a system of a concept that they are creating that is going to continue to bode well throughout their strategy.

(01:03:40):
Like, you know, these games and like talk about a lineup, you're talking of their first half of the year, you're getting a vow. You're getting South of Midnight. You're getting Doom Dark Ages.
You're already gotten into Gaiden 2 Black remade in Unreal Engine five.
Like they're literally setting themselves up to have a great year. And it's not even halfway over yet. Like that is that is the that's what not that's what people aren't really like understanding as these as this kind of goes on.

(01:04:16):
That the fact that they can pull away from exclusivity and still provide value is crazy work. So to me, if it did feel like good to be able to see them actually do and you know, find success in this small scale game, upscale games

(01:04:45):
and like this triple A versus double A experience where you have different price points because we're going to talk about price now as we kind of go through this.
So South of Midnight, it's April 8th and that game is 40 bucks.
It's Xbox play anywhere. So you have copies on both ends and it's you can tell and as I was watching it, I could tell this is a passion project for the developers.

(01:05:21):
This is a project that seems as if and compulsion has always been accustomed to being like a small indie group. But when South of Midnight was first shown, it gave me the it gave me the indication that like it could be potentially a large budget game.
And I guess price pointing it does because I'll be honest when I watched the trailer and I watched it and I said, man, so I'm off. Something's off with this animation. Something's off with this.

(01:05:55):
With the way that her combat looks and I was like, man, what is what is up with this? Why is it off? They should have brought in somebody that kind of helped with the the the the the with the actual animation because it's like it's just it's not the all of it.
It's the stop motion that's really throwing me. But it's the stop motion with the lack of fluidity when it comes to a stop or like when when the character is at rest and when the character starts to begins to move, there is this very abrupt, weird animation that is going to be irritating to look at.

(01:06:29):
And then I realized it was only forty dollars and I was like, it does alleviate the the feeling of what is considered success for South of Midnight because what I do want this game to do is be successful because we need these types of games to be available to the masses.
We need these types of games to have this type of platform to have this ability to be able to be marketed in a large scale. So I wanted to find success and conceptually the story and everything is probably the most intriguing out of the bunch.

(01:07:03):
But I don't want them to fall flat on other areas and then still expect us to pay them 60 to 70 bucks.
Forty dollars is much more manageable. It's much more tolerable and it does fit to the concept of what Game Pass does and it does well.

(01:07:24):
It provides a space to just create to to build games that may be out there in a different format that maybe everybody is an intrigued in, but it doesn't have to be these triple a Hail Mary's that we've come so accustomed to that fall flat on their face

(01:07:50):
and don't really have a way to to to to rebuild after I don't want another concourse situation ever happen again.
I don't want to suicide squad a situation ever happen again.
I know they're in dire mode now.
They might still be on payroll, but Rocksteady is absolutely in a space right now where their next game has to be it or they will lose.

(01:08:18):
Like that should never be the case for any studio.
So I like the fact that I could be I can critique this and I know that that they are not going to be essentially put out of business because that price point tells me signals that hey, this is priced at a double a game.
This is an indie title double a and yes, the concept looks cool and you will allow people to you know, I want what the concept looks cool.

(01:08:47):
It is a access.
It's not an access issue anymore for them.
So it does put them in the best possible place to actually win and it's really and that's really good.
That's that's that's all you can truly ask for.
And I think that that bodes well.

(01:09:12):
But don't don't don't get me wrong.
We have doom sitting at 70 bucks because that is the triple a game that is the game that is the premium of for a gaming experience.
It is the most polished.
It is the most most most tailored and and customized to exactly what you want that game to be in it and it provides the value there as well.

(01:09:42):
And that really is what is starting to come to light for me because even if you go to Ninja Gaiden, the the remake is 50 bucks is priced at 50.
Yeah, you can say or not whether or not you feel like it should be 50 or not.
But at least they are understanding that that is just a remake that's going to be priced at that remakes price.

(01:10:07):
And then you have the Expedition 33, which I don't really know what the price is on that one.
I got to look that up.
So while you're looking it up, I'll comment on Ninja Gaiden.
Personally, I think it's a little too expensive.

(01:10:29):
Not that the game isn't fun, but it's mostly going to be a graphics update for someone like me who's played all the versions that I gained.
This is not the first release and then you got to come out on 60.
It was a launch title full price and it came out on the PS3 Ninja Gaiden to Sigma, which added more characters, rebalance stuff and stuff like that.

(01:10:55):
Then I think there was another re-release when it came to PS4 and Xbox One generation.
Yeah, I think they let the Sigma content be available on both consoles because at first it wasn't available on both consoles.
It was first exclusive to Xbox, then exclusive to PlayStation.
Now it's on both. And now we get a re-release of it again.

(01:11:18):
So the game is fun and the graphics look amazing. It looks very beautiful.
But this is the third kind of for free release of that game.
So $50 is a lot, but since it's also on Game Pass, somebody like me, I just want to play it.
Maybe I don't even finish it. I can just boot it up. That's cool.

(01:11:43):
Yeah, I mean, but yeah, it's not full price, you know, but now the games are 70.
50 is still a little high, even though it's what, like 20, 30 percent lower than $70.
Right. And then it does throw a monkey wrench in there when you look at Expedition 33 and that's $50.
That's a brand new experience, brand new concept, not the same.

(01:12:07):
Now, now, can you can you make an argument that maybe Ninja Gaiden V remade and remade
and Unreal Engine 5 isn't the best? But looking at some I did go ahead and look at some of the differences between the two.
I can understand why they would want that to be the premium definitive version of their game.
But they did bring Gord back. They bring a lot of the stuff back that people were upset about that game for.

(01:12:33):
So I understand, like, regardless of what I think, I think obviously Resident Evil 4 remake is a better game.
But that was 50 bucks as well. And and then you're looking at Ninja Gaiden 2.
This is the this is the this is the price point for when they think that they've done enough
in regards to a remaster or remake, just like Dead Rising, that I'm accustomed to this price point, I guess.

(01:13:02):
I'm not saying that it's the right one, but I'm accustomed to it.
But then there's, like I said, Expedition 33 being a $50 game.
And it bodes well when you're you're putting them on a platform, you know, where they're next to Doom
and they're still showing well and they're still providing people with excitement

(01:13:25):
because that that tells me they have fair variety in their studios, at least the people that they're working with.
Samfall is not I don't believe that's a studio that they own per se.
But their studios, at least the people that they are in close partnership with,
they understand the difference between what the value of a game is and the cost to make that said game.

(01:13:48):
And like understanding that is truly key to the next generation of games because it ain't pushing for triple A every time.
It's just not it's just not feasible. It doesn't make sense.
So Xbox strategy is coming to life in these prices.

(01:14:09):
It's coming to life in that instant gratification from my subscription.
And it's coming to life that we don't care that if you buy it on the PlayStation,
we just want you to play the game wherever you want to play it.
But we're going to keep offering you in this value.
So that is what truly was the winner for this direct for me.

(01:14:31):
And as they continue to go on, obviously, we got plenty of games to play.
It's a great time to be any type of gamer for real, for real.
I mean, I'm now just finished outlaws. I was going to go to Spider-Man,
but now I'm going to play Ninja Gaiden to our way through again, because that is just one of those games that I really, really loved.
And probably going to just now have the ability to kind of play a slasher.

(01:14:54):
And I was looking for some type of slasher like that not too long ago, honestly.
And I was thinking about playing Neo 2 again, but I was like, I don't really want to play it.
But so now I got something to play.
I got something I can actually play that's fun, enjoyable, and I actually know the game.
And that's just something that's really, really like I said,

(01:15:16):
instant gratification that make that feel good moment of when you know that the regardless of what you think about the company or whatever
they provide in value where others can't. So.
It's cool to see. Definitely cool to see.
But yeah, let's talk about some of the games. So south of midnight, I'm going to start there.

(01:15:40):
Again, I told you it was low point for me simply because I was judging the combat.
I need that combat to look fun throughout through and through.
And it wasn't given like Ori and a blind forest type polish for it.
And again, it was given very much so compulsion. And I was like, why didn't they work on a little bit more of these animations?

(01:16:03):
Now, again, this is over YouTube. This is compressed.
This is problematic in regards to what you may be representation of what you visually may see.
Hopefully, they may have 120 hertz mode and maybe that I will use that mode to play the game.
I don't know. But whatever I can do to kind of make the animation seem a little bit more seamless, I will try.

(01:16:24):
It wasn't about the fluidity when the animation began.
It was literally between animations that I felt like, OK, they need a little bit more polish here.
But that is like such a minute point when it comes to story, character building, concept and care, like art, art design and all that good jazz.

(01:16:45):
I think that they did a really, really good job of selling the world.
Do I feel like they did a good enough job bringing new people on that wasn't already interested?
No, I don't think that they did a good job.
But that's OK, because again, they have built in they have built in a failure net.

(01:17:07):
Like when you when you when you understand how to budget and how to plan for the concept of your game, there is no real lose here.
They already are being published on Game Pass.
They already have a bag.
It's now looking to get more people intrigued in the value of their concepts so they can be greenlit for another game to return.

(01:17:31):
But that already embedded safety net is such a good feeling when you're just trying to be creative and create something.
You don't want to feel like you just pressure to meet a number.
So to me, that will showcase in the sound design when what they decide to do with their the music in the fusion of like even they were talking about how the music gets to get amped up and has that Louisiana style to it.

(01:18:01):
And I guess I just like the I just like the concept of this game way more than the gameplay could ever deter me from playing it.
I just wanted that to all be hitting on all cylinders because I wanted to see that when I thought it was 70 bucks or 60 bucks.

(01:18:22):
But when it now is at that free price tag, I can understand some cutbacks.
I can understand why it's just being a more educated consumer.
So I don't know if you read on it.
Saw anything to add to that one before I move on to the next.

(01:18:45):
No.
So next thing I wanted to talk about was Doom.
My bad, my bad. I was muted really quick.
I was just going to echo what you said.
I think the game looks good. I'm excited for the story.
I think it looks intriguing.
But I personally didn't have any negative points from watching both trailers.

(01:19:09):
The game, the combat looks fine.
Like it's not. I'm not expecting good combat from it. And I don't mean in like a bad way, but I'm not expecting it to be deep.
I think it's more of a challenge where you learn what the ability is they give you. You do it correctly. You get through the challenge and you get to the next part of the story.
So but yeah, I would say it I think it reflects of the price tag. Right. Yeah, absolutely.

(01:19:36):
And in some cases, it exceeds it, especially when it comes to like the storytelling and like the design of these characters. I really like the these these different monsters and how they look.
And even the choice of animation makes it all feel like a really it's like a cool concept.
So sometimes it does break out of that 40 shell to me. Like like I said, Ori and the Blind Forest and Will the Wisps are really great concepts to me and how they were able to nail some really, really fluid and precise gaming gameplay.

(01:20:14):
And, you know, the cool art design and the painted effect all made it just stand out above the rest of the games.
And you felt like this is a premium game for this price point. You know what I'm saying? That's what this sometimes hits.
I just wanted to do that with the gameplay, because again, my focus most of the time is gameplay, but storytelling, because I've played plenty of games that didn't have the greatest story.

(01:20:45):
I mean, game straight greatest gameplay. I think the story tell will just outshine it. So I don't want to discredit too much.
That's what I guess that's what I'm trying to clean it up a little bit, but definitely super excited for it for sure.
So moving on to the next, let's move on to Expedition 33. And honestly, I think I will like this game.

(01:21:16):
Well, at least what I was watching and what they were telling me about it, we have individual within our character, actual playable character that can turn into any monster we have defeated.
Really persona like aspect to it. You have these real time triggers and real time events that kind of coincide with your JRPG elements. So you always have a reason to be paying attention.

(01:21:46):
Granted, that may not be the funnest concept, but you can basically what they were trying to say is that they tuned it enough. So if you're really bad at real time events occurring and parrying on time, you have enough strategy and potions to be able to to basically just ignore it and still win.

(01:22:07):
But another thing that they were also talking about is the customization of the characters and the very much so that story and the world that they have built.
And they've worked on that story for about six years or so, which is really cool to see because they had a conceptual story at the beginning of the game.
They didn't have a game and then tried to make a story around it, which mostly most games always should start with a story.

(01:22:31):
But this one was one of those things where the world was built up around that story.
And for me, I'm not so much intrigued about this concept of this painter coming and killing everybody.
I'm more so intrigued about just what that does to the livelihoods of most people.

(01:22:57):
And obviously, this is Expedition 33. I really wanted I really wanted more of experiences with the people in that said world.
And I think that we're going to get it because what I was seeing during that is you're you're moving around, you're going to different hubs.
But at the same time, when they showed the overworld, they were basically saying that, yeah, it's explorable areas, but it's not as, you know, townsie as I would want it to be.

(01:23:26):
You know, I want to go to a town, do some side quests and see some of the impacts of this person painting and killing everyone.
You know what I'm saying? I don't think we're going to get a lot of that.
But I do think the story is going to be well knitted and tight to the point where it feels good to experience.
So two things that really stood out to me and probably where I'll be playing it is they use a lot of upscaling to around the hair.

(01:23:56):
I was like, there's a lot of articles and artifacts there.
And I was like, yeah, I'm play some PC because if they're going to be going to be like FSR to it, it was our three heavy and it really has a low input, low, low resolution.
I'm going to get annoyed. So I'm probably going to play on PC, which is good because they give you the option to play it wherever you want to play it.

(01:24:20):
But I'm playing on PC simply due to the fact that I don't really like the whole artifact thing I never have.
But I never will. And I think if that is what's what's. I don't think they haven't finished again.
They said they said you shouldn't take this as final code.
But I'm like, yeah, all right, sure. But if it is still looking like that on the console, I probably will just end up playing on my PC, which is totally fine.

(01:24:49):
And other key takeaway for me is that is a much bigger than I expected.
It's a much bigger game conceptually and things that you can go into and do in the game that I thought it was going to be.
I didn't think it was going to be as big. So it does provide me a little bit of comfort that they're going to have more to their game.
It's going to be deeper than I expected.

(01:25:12):
There's a lot of different builds that you can do within the game.
And there's a bunch of different skills that they provided for each character.
So I didn't think it was going to be on like a large scale of of of of a of a game like persona per se.
But it does seem like it has the deepness of it from the character that can turn into different monsters from the from the different character customizations to these different.

(01:25:45):
Like you can equip certain modifiers to your to your players and things like that as well.
So it does feel as if they are not only going to be providing a great story, but they're also going to have deep combat or deep gameplay.
And that that that is fun. And if it's engaging enough, I would definitely go around and try to fight all the secret bosses and things like that, which you normally wouldn't do in these types of games.

(01:26:13):
I'm expecting this to be a silent hit just from the based off of that.
And I don't really know. I don't really have anything else.
I think the world itself is just super creative and I want to kind of live in it for a little bit.
But really, if they were to if they were to nail the the not only that concept or at least the story, but also provide meaningful side quests to that story and what how it tied all together.

(01:26:47):
I think that is more interesting to me. I want to see how that impacts their lives.
But they already said they're going to explore that with the main characters.
But just seeing that from a different aspect, it's really cool, too. So I don't want everybody to be sad all the time.
That's what I'm trying to get at. I don't need every character in the game to be sad because they don't die.

(01:27:08):
So I need some people to have hope, which they said some people will have hope.
And then I need to I need to live vicariously through quest lines because I don't really want a non-cherry companion or person around me all the damn time.
So that's just how I like to play my games is how I like them to be introduced.
That's what there is. There's a reason why you always have a hero as your main character, because he's always cheery and a very doom and gloom world.

(01:27:35):
I don't want doom and gloom always around me, if that makes sense.
But what are your thoughts on if you saw anything about Expedition 33 or any thoughts around what I just talked about?
Yeah, I looked at the trailer. I think that, like you said, the world is larger and I do like how they've set up the art style to make it.

(01:28:01):
It's still like a very fantasy look, but it's also calling back to like old like Final Fantasy RPGs, like flying around the world, like the overworld and stuff like that.
Yeah. And I think it looks interesting personally. However, I don't think it's a game for me. Yep.
Because it reminds me a lot of well, two things. I don't like the character designs. I don't like the character art styles.

(01:28:28):
OK, it's just it's a personal preference. Like obviously, Final Fantasy and things like that are anime inspired.
This is not anime inspired. They're more realistic, but they're also in like a very cartoony, like sort of doll size, like not normal adult like human size.
They seem like like toys looking. I know personally, I don't like that.

(01:28:53):
And the gameplay, I think it's interesting, but it also reminds me a lot of other Xbox 360 RPGs that I play like 360 had a whole bunch of RPGs like this where they have like
Quick Time Events in the combat or it's very flashy or things like that. And they were fun, but

(01:29:15):
I don't think it's going to get me to play this over something like Lost Odyssey, which I still haven't played or other games that I played on the 360 that were fun, but probably looked graphically or artistically more interesting.
But that being said, I don't think the game looks bad at all.

(01:29:36):
What I would say is I hope that the game is successful and then companies like Square Enix can use this as an example to do something more interesting with their remakes.
Like, you know, go ahead and remake Final Fantasy 9 like this instead of like a what's the game Octopath Traveler like HD 2D thing.

(01:29:59):
Like personally, I think the HD 2D thing is kind of tired and dry concept. They've been doing it too much. So yeah, you can remake your old games, but do it in an interesting way. Like it's the old style, but you really just made the whole world look very high definition.
You know, as long as it fits with like the art style, you know, you got to completely change it. But I think this is a good example to show a classic JRPG with modern graphics.

(01:30:26):
Gotcha. Yep. So this one is $50 and it comes out in May. I'm trying to find that. No, it's April 24th.
So not that far from here where you'll be able to play this game as well.

(01:30:47):
So next up, let's talk Ninja Gaiden. I'm going to talk about it briefly. Ninja Gaiden 2 is sorry, Ninja Gaiden 4 seems to be really good for one reason.
Platinum. I'm not saying that. I'm not saying whatever they did on Rage of the Edge. Yeah, y'all can keep it. It was artificial difficulty. I felt like, yeah, I didn't like that game.

(01:31:17):
But Ninja Gaiden 4 seems as if they're going back to a normalcy of what because, you know, the Ninja Gaiden has always been weight and stock and kind of like more so very block fight, block fight kind of situation. It wasn't always like a bunch of rapid movement.
It did have those moments, but it was kind of like you had to chain those things together. And I feel like with Ninja Gaiden 4, we're going to have Platinum put their spin on what that means and what that feels like.

(01:31:52):
And I also feel like they had two different play styles in there. Ryu is essentially what Ninja Gaiden or, you know, Team Ninja did. And then Kaden or I forget his name. I think his name Raiden.
Raiden. I don't remember his name. The guy that they are introducing because you're going to have two main characters. And he's more Platinum with all of his large open big, big, big, big surrounding hits and his basically area effect damage versus what Ryu was able to do.

(01:32:30):
Now, obviously, Ryu get Spears and then you're off to the races. But it's one of those things where I felt like there was almost two different studios making these two different characters.
If that makes sense, as I was watching the gameplay, at least. So I really do find that that is the most intriguing part. I'm not saying that I'm not excited for this Ninja Gaiden 4, but at the same time, it was really poor.

(01:33:00):
It was really poor game the last time they tried one and I didn't like it. So I'm just happy that not only are they bringing in Ninja Gaiden again, but they're also bringing in a new team of passionate action that creates action games that will be able to help with this hack and slash become more modern.

(01:33:27):
So really excited about that. Really happy to see that they're, you know, that Ninja Gaiden is back in full effect, especially with two already being released. And now we have four as well.
Any thoughts on that? Because that's pretty much all I have. It's priced probably at 70 bucks, supposed to be AAA. So.

(01:33:51):
Yeah, the two characters are very different. Ryu is very classic. Ninja Gaiden gameplay, same weapons in the trailer that he had before, same moves. But the new guy, yeah, he's got a giant sword and he's doing like very like more anime stuff than Ryu.
Ryu is a very like, obviously anime ninja, but he's doing more like fighting game like moves, whereas this guy he's doing, you know, flaming dragon swords and flips and triple kicks and stuff like that.

(01:34:23):
So yeah, two very different gameplay styles. I think it's cool because maybe they did run into, I guess, creative block with the Ninja Gaiden 3, like they kind of didn't have any new ideas and the ideas they tried weren't very good.
So having a new character able to try brand new stuff and also offering Ryu for people who just want that classic experience is probably the best way to go about it.

(01:34:49):
Yeah, I think Platinum like all their games pretty much they're they're good at combat. And I think Ninja Gaiden fits their style. So yeah, happy to see it. I'm glad that it didn't go the way of like a we're going to slow down Ninja Gaiden.
We're going to make it like Neo, you know, it's still Ninja Gaiden with some extra stuff sprinkled on top. Yeah, for sure. So definitely glad about that as well.

(01:35:14):
So that's what I'm really enjoying about that. And then we had that Doom Dark Ages.
And man, is it big and like it's big and slower, which is kind of crazy. So when I was watching it, I kept going back and I was thinking in my head, I was like the first Doom game I played was like very long ago.

(01:35:37):
And all I did was strafe in that game. And then as soon as I saw and I was like, dang, he's strafing a lot. He said it right after he said that he was like, we're basically forcing you to be to fight.
We don't want you jumping around. We don't want you doing this. We want this to be a totally different experience from Doom internal. And we want it to totally be a different experience from running gunplay.

(01:36:02):
So I really like this concept of just stop and be some like tank walking around in the other field. I thought the shield was a really cool concept.
I thought that the shield having a parry option is crazy work. I really like to parry stuff. So it's going to have like this this juggling effect of feeling of being strong, being big, being powerful, but also having like a bunch of defensive options as well.

(01:36:38):
So the from what I got from all of this is the fact that they're redoing the kind of the gameplay each time is kind of fun and kind of enjoyable in itself.
But not only just redoing it to redo it, but actually bringing in meaningful changes that make it feel even more Doom inspired and it already was.

(01:37:04):
So the strength combat big thing in Doom, they are bringing that back. The obviously the shield is a little bit different, but they also have like now they're doing the mech and I forget the name of the flying.
The flying it. Mountable, I forget the name of it, but they and then on top of that, they're expanding exploration and you don't necessarily have to do things in order, which really sold me on.

(01:37:39):
Okay, but what do you go into Doom and look for? Like I was like, cool. It's explore exploration. But you know, you know, when you're when you're going down those, you know, I guess linear paths.
Yeah, there's some exploration there and it's fun to do that. But I don't know. How do you make that fun and engaging the entire time? You know what I'm saying?

(01:38:03):
I don't want to be out to fall off the beaten path and I'm not running into enemies and then all of a sudden I'm surrounded by these things.
So then they don't feel like, you know, just explorable things. They may just feel like, you know, additional small dungeons per se than anything.
So I don't know. I like the idea of exploration in games. I do.

(01:38:25):
But sometimes a tightly knit, you know, experience goes a long way, too. So I'm a little cautious about that, but I have never seen.
A doom this look this inspired, especially when it comes to like the art style and what they have running around and roaming.

(01:38:47):
I feel like they just they in a bag right now. So I really do give them the benefit of the doubt. Like, I'm not going to doubt them at all.
So that those are the things that really, you know, help me feel like, yeah, this is going to be a great game.
Anything that stood out for you or you guys?

(01:39:09):
Yeah, so like I like 2016 a lot and I think it was a good balance of classic doom and new ideas.
Eternal I also enjoy, but like you said, with the straight you play and also having like 10 different weapons and every enemy having specific weaknesses.
And then there are 50 enemies in the room and they all spawn at different rates. It became very.

(01:39:35):
And that's that can be fun, but also the game is very long, like a very long campaign, like many, many different levels.
So with this, I'm hoping that by not necessarily slowing it down, but engine it where you're not necessarily having to juggle 12 different weapons to kill three enemies is a good idea.

(01:39:57):
And the exploration, I'm personally hoping that means that the changes can be spread out because in eternal, like you're doing a lot of platforming and stuff like that.
But then you get to like a room and then the doors lock and 50 enemies.
So I'm hoping that with the exploration, they can spread some of that out. So it doesn't feel like just condensed rooms.

(01:40:22):
Yeah, yeah, like I'm not expecting like, you know, real deep side quests or stuff like that, you know, maybe some power ups and stuff like that.
So, yeah, hopefully don't overdo it on the expiration. But the bigger spaces, I would say, I guess, is what I'm hoping that changes the pace of game.
Yeah, for the better. Yeah, but it looks great.

(01:40:44):
Yep. Combat wise, with the melee and the malice and all that stuff, it does feel like you got like just it's just it's more just on the ground combat.
I'm used to in juggling, maybe a few different inputs to kind of parry and things like that.

(01:41:07):
But it's going to be a different way to play this game. And obviously they took away the glory kills because they wanted it to be seamless transition between a glory kill and continuing the fight.
So it's just going to I feel like they're doing the they're tightening up the experience to the point where it is just just fun to play.

(01:41:28):
So that's what I want to see. That's why I'm looking forward to and going back to their roots of what Doom is is always great to see.
So I think I think for sure this is probably going to be the more interesting one for me, because again, I liked Doom and Doom Eternal was a lot.

(01:41:53):
But Doom 20 was 2016. I forget. I forget when it came out. But when that one initially came out, it was a lot fun.
I just you know, it became a point of where I never finished it.
So I'm thinking that this was going to be the very first one that I actually finished all the way through.

(01:42:15):
But yeah, I mean, I didn't want to spend too much time on all this, which I did already. So it is what it is.
But those were what we're going to be able to talk about today because we are out of time.
Anything else you want to add before I wrap this up?

(01:42:36):
No, we got a good amount of stuff in. It's almost February. So yeah, also Hunter. But I guess again, I want to ask you, is there anything that you're looking forward to that comes out soon?
About now, I'm only looking forward to about people are saying it is good. So I was on my radar.

(01:42:59):
It does come on like 24 days. OK. Yeah. About release date is February 13.
OK. Yeah. Very close. I'm not looking at stuff for I just want to go in fresh. But yeah, it's very soon.

(01:43:20):
So we got like I said, we're eating good, man. February, then going to be March and then April. And then we got all those games coming. And then we got May and that's doing.
And it's going to feel like time is flying if you're actually playing these games. But yeah, that's pretty much it.
I want to thank you guys for listening and watching or whatever you're doing, how you getting this. You can always check us out on the BCD Universe channel.

(01:43:50):
You can also check this out wherever you get your podcast, Spotify, Apple. You know the deal. If you got to this part, you the real OG. Just want to thank you as always.
But we'll be back next week with more topics, more things to discuss. So until next time. Peace.

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Switch 2 First Look Trailer Is Exactly What Nintendo Needed! | House Of Wolves Podcast

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Switch 2 First Look Trailer Is Exactly What Nintendo Needed! | House Of Wolves Podcast