Polygon’s Patch Notes is a weekly newsletter that tells you the best things to watch, play and read. Let our team of editorial experts simplify your plans – subscribe here!
In the mid-2000s, Wii Sports was the biggest game on the planet. If Activision, EA or Ubisoft had published the collection of mini-games, we would have had a dozen sequels and reboots by now – maybe an animated Nickelodeon show. For better or worse, Wii Sports is a Nintendo franchise, so instead we have a sequel, a remake and a decade of radio silence.
As a fan of the title, I was disappointed every time Nintendo finished a press conference or Nintendo Direct without mentioning controlled motion bowling. But as an editor who reflects this rhythm from the days of the Wii, I understood the business logic of everything. Nintendo has so many favorite studios that they could cannibalize each other if each series gets the sequels that fans think they deserve.
So, I waited. And I was waiting. And I was waiting.
When the publisher announced Nintendo Switch Sports last year, I almost lost hope. I figured that if Nintendo wanted to use the Wii Sports formula, it would create another Switch package. I was wrong in every way.
As the sales figures (and empty shelves at my local Target) show, Nintendo didn’t need a batch game to sell the Switch. And where Wii Sports helped sell the Nintendo Wiis, the success of the Switch has the potential to make Nintendo Switch Sports a colossal hit. This year alone, the Switch surpassed the Wii in total sales, surpassing 100 million units sold. That is, the potential audience for Nintendo Switch Sports is huge. And if Nintendo Switch Sports makes the classic Nintendo game, garnering huge sales in a few years, then the game will keep the Switch up to date as it enters the golden years of its hardware life cycle.
Once again, Nintendo has proven that patience is a virtue. We saw a similar situation last year with Metroid Dread, a project that began and came out of development in 2005. Whether the publisher is waiting for the right moment to revive a series or keeps a project in hell for development, the end result is the same: sustainable quality that his peers don’t respond (and probably never will).
Until recently, the quote “slow play is ultimately good, but fast-paced play is forever bad” was mistakenly attributed to Nintendo icon and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. However, the quote is much more likely to be just a common phrase in the gaming industry, a kind of aphorism that helps creators repel the accounting team for another month or two. I prefer the idea that Miyamoto did not invent the phrase, because that would mean that every major publisher in the gaming industry knows that this mantra is true. Only Nintendo consistently lives with it.
This week on YouTube Why does the recent harvest of science fiction video games sound so … rustic? Do they have anything more in common than a simple soundtrack fried in the countryside? Clayton Ashley is investigating this landfill classic!
Five stories to read
Image: TT Games / WB Games / Disney / Lucasfilm Games
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is at its best when it deviates from the movies | “Do I need another trench run to the Death Star?” Is this really a pod race? I know the Gungan side is important in the battle against the droid army, but is it a fun level to play? The answer to all these questions is no, and Lego Star Wars is best when it deviates meaningfully from the source material of cinema. “
MCU was not created for a show like Moon Knight The style of Marvel’s house limits emotion and drama, discouraging what should be a bold story for Oscar Isaac.
Syndication continues to gain momentum in gaming studios This week, BioWare QA employees took steps to unite, potentially organizing performers on the Dragon Age and Mass Effect teams. Activision QA employees at Raven Software won an NLRB decision, clearing the way for a union vote in April.
Rogue Legacy 2 Easter Egg is a generous nod of a neglected gem | FMF Fan gives players free gold. But what does that mean?
The controversial Eurotrash sex franchise on Netflix becomes soft in 365 days: this day Is this the first movie to include “sex golf”?
Five things to watch
Image: Netflix
Netflix Balloon One day you wake up and there is a post-apocalyptic science fiction parkour reef for the Little Mermaid by Ataka vs. Titan director waiting to be seen.
10 Recent Nicholas Cage Movies to Watch | The star of “The Unbearable Weight of Huge Talent” is putting together one of the strangest and most enjoyable filmographies of the last decade.
Canceled on Amazon Prime Season 2 of this amazing animated show asks: Is time travel the best therapy of all?
Bars on HBO Max | HBO’s comedy is back to make you laugh – but not too much.
The 13 Batman movies ranked We apologize in advance for putting Batman & Robin, an underestimated catastrophe of shiny commercialism. Signed, the guide.
Also new for streaming: The Godfather Trilogy is back! And 12 great movies coming out of streaming in late April.
Three games to play
Image: Analgetic Productions
Sefoni This 3D platformer is inspired by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Spyro the Dragon … and Tetris! Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PC, Linux and Mac OS.
The Iron Oath The landfill recommends A mix of Darkest Dungeon, XCOM and Divinity: Original Sin, this could be the next great turn-based tactical game. Available on a Windows computer.
Warframe | For many years in the life of the shooter, his new updates remain constantly strange, fun and fascinating. Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC.
Free game of the week
Image: Bethesda Softworks
The Elder Scrolls 1 and 2 | Bethesda shuts down the Bethesda.net launchpad and moves its catalog to Steam. To mark the occasion, the publisher made the first two recordings of the Elder Scrolls series free. Now you can play the classic games that cleared the trail for Morrowind and Skyrim, without having to wonder if it’s a good use of your money when you can just buy Skyrim for the tenth time. Available on Steam for Windows computers.
The best of the rest
Image: Daniel Warren Johnson, Juan Gedon / DC Comics
Add Comment