Nintendo Switch: Paid Online Subscription; No Miiverse

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Less services, higher cost.

Among the immediate criticisms to come out of last week's massive and important Nintendo presentation on the new Nintendo Switch coming out this March, is that online services will now be on a subscription-basis. In other words, this brings Nintendo in line with the other console manufacturers.

However, it's a new phenomenon for Nintendo users, and many don't know how to handle it. Myself included.

What does this subscription get you? Nintendo has a handy chart:

Source: Nintendo's online service page for the Nintendo Switch.

 

Assuming this chart represents everything the as-of-now-unspecified-in-amount-or-frequency subscription fees go to, there are some serious issues with it. That assumption may be flawed, since Nintendo's website says, “Check back for more details on the service and its features after the Nintendo Switch system launches.” Still, I'm going to commentate on what I got, on each row on their chart.

Bowser puts the Dad in King Dad: Parental Controls!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - King Dad is doing a great job raising his kids. I'd know.

In the absolutely important and news-making presentation that Nintendo had on January 12–13 about the Nintendo Switch (that we have covered, LIVE!, here), Nintendo also let slip a cute little video... featuring my dad, King Bowser Koopa! ...And that pest, Bowser Jr., who is technically my brother. But... I don't like to think in those terms.

It wasn't totally invisible — it has two million views right now on YouTube. But that pales in comparison with the over seven million views that Super Mario Odyssey's trailer has. (Don't worry, folks: We'll have an article just for that. Soon.)

Enough talk: We're obligated to embed and talk about the most Koopa-related thing that came out of last week. Here's the video explaining Parental Controls on the Nintendo Switch:

KoopaTV's Non-Live Reactions to Parts of Nintendo Treehouse Live: Nintendo Switch Edition

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - This isn't quite the same as how as usually handle Reaction Logs...

It turns out no one at KoopaTV was interested, or had the time, to devote a whole day to today's Nintendo Treehouse Live event, following yesterday's very important and relatively compact Nintendo Switch Presentation.

We didn't sit through over five hours of Nintendo Treehouse Live when it occurred live at 9:30 AM Eastern, and we're not going to watch it all now after-the-fact. We don't have the time or the desire. But if YOU want to, knock yourself out with the whole thing:

Since this IS a reaction log article, uh, then here's stuff from our [Koopa Keep] AIM chat... spread out over the whole day.

Live Reactions to THE Nintendo Switch Presentation!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Now with the actual live reaction included! Plus, vindication of an earlier article.

It's time to finally learn about the Nintendo Switch in-depth. We've waited a long time for this. It's time to separate the reliable sources you can trust (KoopaTV) and the FAKE NEWS sources that you cannot trust. You must learn not to trust them. Believe me. Read what happened and you'll know.

I'm Nintendork 13 13, Rawk is himself, and Vortexica is breezinabout.

Here is the whole presentation that you can watch for yourself, alongside our reactions:

Watch Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 from Nintendo on www.twitch.tv

(Apparently Nintendo deleted the YouTube embed, so you get this Twitch one. You'll need to skip ahead a bit to get to the starting point.)

We Received a DMCA Takedown Notice From “Nate Bihldorff”

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - It's really a “fakedown” notice. How we know it's fake, and how to protect yourself.

Once upon a time, it was a Sunday night. I was responding to your delightful KoopaTV comments, when I saw my e-mail account had a new e-mail. Hm, I wonder what it could be...

And then I was like, “WHAT?! NO!” when I saw the subject line: Takedown Notice Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. That's something that no webmaster wants to see.

Well, who the hell sent this? Apparently, it came from Nate Bihldorff representing Nintendo. Here's the full message:

KoopaTV Live Reacts to President Obama's Farewell Address

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Goodbye, President Barack Hussein Obama. ...Shoo.

We have something very important to tell you, KoopaTV readers! ...But it'll have to wait, because President Barack Hussein Obama has taken over the airwaves of every TV station once more. No, it's not another State of the Union... it's his Farewell Address! That means, it will be the last time KoopaTV will have a reaction log dedicated to President Barack Hussein Obama. No more after this! ...Or so we're told by the Constitution of the United States. (But as the speaker points out, it is a mere piece of parchment that he is free to ignore.)

Your KoopaTV staffers live reacting to this once-in-a-lifetime event are Ludwig, as Nintendork 13 13, and Vortexica, as that breezinabout dude.

KoopaTV 2016 GOTY Awards!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - And other categories.

Some people out there believe that 2016 was nothing but a disaster. KoopaTV, your source of boundless optimism (...lol), would like to disagree with you (if you think that way). And, so, we're going to prove there's lots of good in 2016: Not only from the gaming industry, but also KoopaTV itself... with our AWARDS!

It's not a totally disorganised process, of course. We published our list of Nominations right here. (And this article is structurally the same as the nominations article.)

We will now begin with our videogame-related awards for 2016, which will include the Game of THAT Year 2016... and then move to KoopaTV's own set of awards for our site. It's all very prestigious and official, I promise you. And voted on by the staff members that bothered to participate.

KoopaTV's 2016 GOTY Nominations!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - And other categories.

These were decided and talked about in our [Koopa Keep] AOL Instant Messenger Blast. Behold!

The déjà vu from years past is intentional. (To be eligible, those running have to start their existence in America from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.)

And just so you remember, that stands for "Game of THAT Year". That's the KoopaTV touch.

But yeah, this isn't just about gaming, but also ourselves. 'cause we're art to be recognised and applauded, too.

This article is such a rehash of the 2015 one that I just drew over the 5 to make it a 6!

As Nintendo Switch Approaches, Wii U Virtual Console Selection Expands

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - It's less of a drip feed and more of a digital content pump. Featuring Pokémon Snap as of today.

Pretty much since the release of Paper Mario: Color Splash, Nintendo has had nothing new to offer Wii U owners. I mean, their Wii U release schedule between that and the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild slated for... sometime this year, is literally empty.

HOWEVER! Just because they've had nothing NEW to offer doesn't mean they don't have OLD stuff! And that's not even talking about the NES: NES Classic Edition. (Well, that wasn't really “offered” in that no one could find where to buy one.) ...And I shouldn't talk about that, since this is just about the Wii U.

The Virtual Console exists, in part, to make up for droughts in new software titles. What happens when you have an indefinite drought until they decide to stop supporting the Wii U altogether? All of the Virtual Console titles people have been wanting for years (besides EarthBound, 'cause that already came out) are finally coming out, rapid-fire! (Leaving little time to actually play them.) Look at this list:

Post-Brexit Optimistic Growth Ahead For UK Game Industry

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Observe the differences in enthusiasm pre-Brexit and post-Brexit.

The Independent Game Developers Association, better known as TIGA, has released some highlights from their Business Opinion Survey 2017. Since we haven't talked about their 2016 survey, or any other survey from TIGA on KoopaTV before (they're like the United Kingdom version of the United States's Electronic Software Association, better known as the ESA), I'd like to briefly compare the headlines for the 2016 survey (released January 2016) and the 2017 survey (released January 2017 — aka now).

I would hyperlink the press releases, but TIGA's Terms & Conditions on their website say I may not hyperlink to any page on their site besides their homepage at www.tiga.org. Other than having a great top-level domain, these guys (which KoopaTV has no association with) are a bunch of clowns when it comes to sharing information.

ANYWAY, just put these headlines with quotes around them into your favourite search engine if you want to see the press releases from TIGA:

UK Video Games Industry Set to Grow in 2016 
UK Video Games Industry Set to Grow Strongly in 2017 

Do you... see the difference between those two, besides the year at the end? The 2017 one is going to grow STRONGLY. The 2016 one is just growing with no further elaboration. Why? Because the 2017 results are actually good.