Noonan

I read that the service won't be available until sometime tonight.

fumanstan

https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/18/17...t-pdt-downtime

tanman

It’s much more like a family console. The handheld portion is only one mode. Either way the thing is designed to have multiple players and should allow for multiple save slots. Even games on the WiiU started this unfortunate trend.

Decker

^ Thanks, guys. Will try again tonight.

While I stand by my earlier reply, I wanted to mention that Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition HD just launched and is on sale for 40% off at 17.99 until 9/20. I picked it up last night but haven't played it yet. Looks like a fun little isometric Action RPG for on-the-go play. Looks like it's worth it at the current price.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LRThOF7Sl30" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GswUBo5cYps" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

fujishig

It's basically a slimmed down FF XV (obviously with a completely different art style). It still a great deal, but if you wanted to play the "real" FF XV some day, this will basically spoil the entire story.

pinata242

Oh, Polygon, why would you put yourself in this position when commenting on a service provider's timeline. Is this their first service launch coverage?

fujishig

It went away a long time ago, maybe for space reasons but mainly to get you to buy multiple carts. I remember at least as far back as the original Pokemon because someone started a new game and erased my save.

Adam Tyner

Could you create a second (or third or...) profile and get an additional save slot that way? (I mean, I know we're talking about a game that isn't out yet, but does this work for other Switch titles?)

It's not ideal, obviously, but if that works, at least it's a better workaround than requiring a separate copy of a game or something.

Jay G.

Additional users on a Switch require a Family membership, which costs $34.99/year for up to 8 users.
https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news...ne-1202940076/
https://www.nintendo.com/switch/online-service/faq/

Jay G.

I think Pokemon may have been restricted to one save slot due to the ability to trade pokemon between GameBoys.

Decker

I didn't catch that. So my son can't play online unless he plays on my account? That just seems wrong since his account is under mine (and we only have one Switch between us.

I redeemed my code and got the year. Wonder if I can upgrade for the difference. I also ordered the NES controllers. Figured they'd be hard to get early on if I didn't jump on them right away.

Also, you can save $5 on a $50 eShop Digital Gift Card via Paypal Gifts. I bought two.
https://www.paypal.com/us/gifts/bran...ndo-egift-card

tanman

This is what really makes me mad. It's just a thinly veiled ploy for families to buy multiple carts. It's not like these are $5 apps or something like that. This software is expensive, especially when it's Switch games. Plus I don't think buying another cart would do anything as aren't the save states on the switch itself? Or at least tied to it? The first console game I really realized it on was Pikmin 3. I used to like copying a save state to a new slot if I wanted to beat that boss over and over or let my siblings play it through on their own. I guess that's impossible now without buying multiple consoles? That's just absurd. It's always one step forward and two steps back with Nintendo isn't it?

That's a good question. Anyone know if this works on a game like Mario Odyssey?

Well that kind of sucks. Not sure why they have to charge extra for a family membership. I guess that's good in a way that you can share it with people not in your household.

Now that makes sense and if there is a reason for it that's great. But this whole buggaboo about hijacked save states or whatever they've made up is just ridiculous. Just let us manage it on our own with a memory card.

tanman

So I went ahead and signed up for Nintendo online. $20/year isn't bad.

Went ahead and pre-ordered the NES controllers. That really sucked $60 + $5 tax + $5 shipping = $70 Just to use a proper D pad with the retro games. The cost of controllers with each subsequent gen is just getting more and more ridiculous. I can't believe this costs as much as the NES classic itself. On top of that they charge you right when you preorder it. They said it will ship the first or second week of December. The worst part for me though is when they release (hopefully) a proper virtual console the controllers will be outdated as you won't be able to play SNES games on them. They do have the tiny L and R buttons on the top though.

So I may or may not keep the pre-order. I guess depending on how collectible they may become.

I guess Nintendo still doesn't get it. If they give their fans what they want it will give them one less excuse to look to homebrew to solve their issues.

Decker

They bill you immediately. Don't know if you can cancel the preorder. Of course you could probably sell the set for $100 before Christmas if they are scarce.

I can't upgrade my membership to a family one so now I guess the best thing to do is buy my son a $20 one for the year and leave it at that, rather than spend another $35 on a family membership and wasting the $20 that I just spent. My daughter won't play online anyway so it's only a $5 loss at this point. Wish I had realized that before I preordered a subscription card last week.

Adam Tyner

I meant for saves, not for online. Or can you no longer create profiles without being billed?

steebo777

I'm wondering if the new Switch update will fix all the issues with any docks other than Nintendo's, specifically the Nyko one. I don't want to test it though as I don't want to brick mine.

fujishig

So what's the drawback of buying the family plan? Do they limit it somehow?

My daughter has taken over the switch and I'm contemplating getting a family plan so we can both have accounts to play Splatoon, Mario Kart, etc (at different times) and maybe eventually getting a second switch if we can actually move profiles/saves. Then maybe I'll add my brother (in another state). Should be no problem with that, right?

tanman

That really sucks. Have you tried contacting customer service?

It really seems like Nintendo gets worse and worse with convenient way to do things and becoming more restrictive. And I thought proprietary memory cards were a bad thing in the GCN days. Now they want you to buy each family member their own console and copy of the game. A good example of one step forward and two steps back is the two player online experience with the NES games. Awesome concept and execution so cool playing these classic games online. But why oh why can’t you play with a stranger? Why does it have to be with a friend. So now you have to make a plan with someone to play instead of spontaneously playing with someone online. But that may be my own social problem as I don’t have many friends at all who play video games. Maybe they’ll have that ability down the road but I’m not holding my breath. Also release Jackal for the NES!

pinata242

I'll be your friend, tanman.

Sonny Corinthos

Do you have to use the NES controllers to play the NES games on the Switch? Will the pro controller not work with them?

Mike86

I haven’t used the Pro Controller yet but the normal Joy Cons work fine so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.

I agree that it’s dumb that you can’t join a random person’s party and have to play with a friend for the NES multiplayer.

Maxflier

Pro controller works.

The Questyen

The NES controllers don't even come out until December so it should be pretty obvious they're not required.

Mike86

One minor thing I’d like with the online service is to have it keep a log of the specific NES games you play and how long you’ve played. The Switch keeps a log of other games but when you play an NES game it just shows as playing the NES app for however many hours rather than breaking down by individual games.

Sonny Corinthos

Thanks for the info everyone. I won't be buying the NES controllers if my Pro Controller will work with these games.