@mbun said in Best Video Game Console - Tournament:

The thing is, as people mentioned before, there were literal years the Wii U was still the focus before Switch launched, years where the Wii U content were very, very thin. They had plenty of time to take their time designing and developing during all this.

Nintendo 64 lifespan - 5 years, 3 months
GameCube lifespan - 5 years, 2 months
Wii lifespan - 6 years
Wii U lifespan - 4 years, 4 months

The handheld and console divisions were unified, but the added complexity of the JoyCons may have cancelled that out. In any case, they may still have been expecting a 5 year timeline while developing the Switch.

There's also the massive hardware security bug and spotty JoyCon wireless connections to add credence to a rushed launch. Nintendo hardware has never had this quantity of defects before.

Whether or not you like BotW's weapon durability, or in fact the game as a whole, depends on whether you're a passive or active gamer.

An active gamer requires constant stimulus. A tightly focused experience where you don't have to do a lot of thinking. The point of a game handed to them on a platter. Take this sword! Kill that enemy! Get key to open dungeon! Solve puzzle! Beat boss! Better sword! Hint for next dungeon location!

A passive gamer is willing for a game to be more vague, for the point of it to creep up on them. There's nothing around? Better go looking! What does this do? Better experiment! This area seems kind of pointless...but it has great vibes.

@mbun said in Best Video Game Console - Tournament:

and the Wii U had all kinds of other experiments going on the Switch doesn't begin to touch.

IMO, Labo is worth more than all the Wii U's experiments put together. I also initially thought HD Rumble was going to be pointless, but it actually feels very satisfying.

By far Switch's biggest problem is the hardware design faults (Pro Controller D-pad, stick drift, dock scratching screens, iffy JoyCon rails). I'm positive that most if not all are due to rushing it to market after Wii U tanked.

@Mbun

The Wii U is a bit too much of a mixed bag for me to deeply appreciate. Yes, it had some very good games, full Wii BC, Miiverse, and occasional good uses for the second screen. But it was also unappealing in a few ways.

The OS was incredibly slow. Switching between different system menus took more than a few ticks, and downloading/installing updates took ages. The build quality of the Gamepad felt a bit below par, with a thin-feeling faceplate, rattling buttons, and unsatisfying button presses. The default battery also drained quickly.

Nintendo put out some memorable games for it (Mario Kart 8, Pikmin 3, DKCTF, Splatoon, Wind Waker HD, Super Mario Maker, BotW, Bayonetta 2, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Captain Toad, Yoshi's Woolly World, Pokkén Tournament), but some felt like 'checking a franchise box' (Super Mario 3D World, Smash), some were just 'there' (Nintendoland, Twilight Princess HD, Tokyo Mirage Sessions), and some were wholly unsatisfying (Star Fox Zero, Mario Tennis, Paper Mario...Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival -_-). And because of the invisible (even by Nintendo's standards) third-party support, the release schedule for these games always felt like more than a comfortable wait.

But what really put the nail in the Wii U's coffin of notoriety is that, with the announcement of Pikmin 3 Deluxe, the Switch now has a port, sequel, or better franchise installment of just about all the top games I listed (except Wind Waker HD, and Yoshi is debatable), as well as most of the other Nintendo published games. The Switch also feels like a fleshed-out Wii U, being a more portable, more satisfying to use Gamepad. All it's missing is OS features like Netflix, Miiverse, and the internet browser. But I'll take a speedy OS over a packed one, and you're likely to be too busy playing awesome games to care about the missing features much.

EDIT

The NES had it's faults, but it revived the North American gaming industry, and birthed many industry-defining franchises. And though not a ton of games used it, it was still responsible for popularizing battery-backed saves.

Kyle was interviewed by friend and German streamer/podcaster KyloÄnn about how Gamescom Opening Night Live was produced.

Also, brief thoughts about the Avengers beta:

Youtube Video

@Mbun I went and made a hefty list of swell Nintendo 64 games.

Also @Shoulderguy @Lotias , shouldn't this thread be in the Gaming section?

Nintendo first-party games:

Super Mario 64
Pilotwings 64
Mario Kart 64
Wave Race 64
Star Fox 64
1080° Snowboarding
F-Zero X
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Nintendo second-party games:

Cruis'n USA
Mario Party
Mario Party 2
Super Smash Bros.
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Pokémon Snap
Pokémon Stadium
Pokémon Stadium 2
Paper Mario

Rareware games:

Blast Corps
GoldenEye 007
Diddy Kong Racing
Banjo-Kazooie
Jet Force Gemini
Donkey Kong 64
Banjo-Tooie
Perfect Dark
Conker's Bad Fur Day

Star Wars games:

Shadows of the Empire
Rogue Squadron
Episode I: Racer
Battle for Naboo

Third-party racing games:

Top Gear Rally
Extreme-G
Extreme-G 2
San Francisco Rush
Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA
Beetle Adventure Racing
Hydro Thunder

Other third-party games:

Bomberman 64
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Robotron 64
Gex 64: Enter The Gecko
Worms Armageddon
Harvest Moon 64
Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Resident Evil 2

Games I haven't played but are well-regarded:

Space Station Silicon Valley
Mischief Makers
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Rocket: Robot On Wheels
WWF No Mercy

Add your favorites. :)

5 looks pretty dang loaded.

Youtube Video

Right now, I maintain a ranked list of my top 40 games of all time. When it was shorter, I included scores, but not currently.

Going back many years, I used to periodically post a list of my top 100 favorite songs of all time on various forums. Eventually, it felt kind of self-serving. It also got overwhelmed with video game tracks. Since this forum has a "Blogs" section where it feels more comfortable to post things like long, personal lists, I did recently put up my top 75 video game tracks.

As for how I rank my game list, the things that stand out the most for me in games are art style, production values, ease of use, atmosphere, breadth of features/options, freedom, visual effects, soundtrack, and how well defined as "its own thing" it is. Games that blend into a crowd, whatever that crowd is, aren't likely to get on the list.

And why do I rank these things? My favorite video games and music are constantly swirling around in my head, so I can't help but organize them. Nostalgia is also a motivator.