This weekend I’m mostly going to be playing Final Fantasy XIV, which I’ve fallen back into hardcore since getting a PS4 Pro and putting my Bloodborne run on hiatus ‘til my buddy gets a PS4 (gotta love co-op); I just hit level 30 as an archer and 15 as a pugilist, so now I’m a bard. Woohoo!

I’m glad this is gaining some traction. I’m a big fan of Nintendo software in general and the Switch in particular, but this anti-consumer nonsense is really getting me down. There’s no reason to lock this feature aside from greed.

I think it’s intended to mean discounts on eShop games for subscribers (going by a previous officially translated chart I’d seen).

I think paying for online games on consoles is a pretty standard function at this point. It’s a shame that consoles aren’t like PC, where online play is not gated behind a paywall, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt when they’re running console-specific servers rather than going P2P.

Save backups are nice, but it’s a shame to see Nintendo charging for a feature that should be standard at this point. Being able to backup to an SD card at minimum - I get charging for cloud saves, like Sony does - would be a nice, pro-consumer alternative to a paid subscription service.

This is kind of unfortunate news. Not a massive disappointment for me personally - I bought my Switch with the assumption that I was primarily investing in hardware for new first party and indie releases - but a lot of people were looking forward to a feature they’d come to expect in the Nintendo ecosystem. I’m more…

That’s a very good point. I’d probably agree. An alternative reading of the end chapter, though, might be the realization that seeking paradise at all - rather than working through the complexities of fixing some serious conflicts, environmental and otherwise - is a fool’s errand. That seeking the perfect might be the…

That’s a great setup! We use ours for DVDs too. Also your keyboard sounds slick as heck.

Whew, that’s really something isn’t it?

I won’t. Though...

Redcliffe looks so different in DA: Origins than it would eventually look in DA: Inquisition. Have you played the latter?

Glad to hear that you wrapped up Xenoblade Chronicles 2. I really enjoyed the last chapter and ending, so it’s hard to imagine me appreciating it more without the major last-act twist. I’d be interested in reading more about this “Psycho-Pass Syndrome” though!

I adore Seed of a Giant Tree and both enjoyed having it used on me as well as using it on others. To be honest, I hadn’t thought of it for the purpose you mentioned but I can’t imagine anyone being offended; if they’re trying to goad you into an enemy-infested area, they could do with a little retaliation :)

Yaaaay, can’t wait to buy and read that Third Edition Zelda book when it comes out. The first one is fantastic. Enjoy yourself in Breath of the Wild!

It’s a game that I respect quite a bit but just can’t play. Its tone is entirely fitting, but I found it relentlessly bleak. The combat also tended to result in me getting my butt whooped, not least because I wasn’t willing to put in the time to research enemy weaknesses. It was, however, the most beautiful game I’ve…

I’ve never seen this music video before - you have made my day.

I’ll never get over that guidebook. I think it remains one of the worst purchases I’ve ever made.

Huh, I’d never done any of that in FFIX. What a beautifully dense game!

I always love the bizarre decision to not animate mouths moving at all in the Dark Souls games, in spite of voiced dialogue. It wouldn’t work for a more narrative/character-oriented game like FF, but it never fails to make me chuckle.

Super cool! I haven’t been following The Good Life, but I’m sure I’ll appreciate it when it gets released. Swery is a genuinely unique artist.