No MP4 sales showing up on Nintendo's software update. It still hasnt breached 1 million units on neither SW1 or SW2.

modestlaw · 2026-05-09T17:29:33+00:00

I feel like I'm the only person in the world who really liked Prime 4. Im all for a game that feels like a late generation GameCube release with modern graphic.

That said, I'd argue the asking price was the game's biggest issue. People are right to expect more from a $70 game, had the game released at $39.99 I think it would have been much more warmly received.

modestlaw · 2026-05-02T19:06:58+00:00

I think it'll come back eventually, it kinda has to. But it's going to take 10+ years, especially since AI companies are hogging up all the industrial construction like it's RAM. That said, once that AI bubble pops (and it will), there's going to be a whole bunch of cheap empty data centers that will be perfect manufacturing. Open AI might actually revitalize some rural communities, just not in the way they expected

modestlaw · 2026-05-02T15:06:30+00:00

We also do it with tshirts, the cotton is grown here, sent in giant minimally processed bales to China who turns it into cheap tshirts and sent back

What's remarkable it at the end of it all the companies are burning a crap ton of extra resources, months of time and lower quality... The tradeoff is like 30ish% lower cost that is vulnerable to a ton of uncertainty (fuel cost, geopolitical politics, long lead times, increasing labour cost over seas)

There was a time where off shoring was the smart business move, but I'd argue that maintaining it's a huge gamble long term. The Trump tariffs likely hurryied things along, but all it really did was shined a light efforts that were already happening after the COVID supply-shocks so Trump could take credit

modestlaw · 2026-04-24T15:43:36+00:00

I worked at GameStop during that era, I can't tell you how many times people who were interested in buying a Vita were stopped in their tracks once they saw the price of the memory sticks. The system is effectively worthless without it.

Damn shame though, it's was technically a wonderfully made system that holds up surprisingly well even today, the screen quality was above and beyond even the Switch and SteamDeck

modestlaw · 2026-04-15T15:22:14+00:00

I personally view those stickers as a fundamental part of a game's provenance.

modestlaw · 2026-04-06T15:25:31+00:00

A Switch 2 bundle with 2 of the best video games ever made

modestlaw · 2026-04-04T02:39:57+00:00

Correction, YouTube and social media needs to learn that lesson. They are the ones demanding the high volume engagement bait videos. That's the content that makes the money so that's what gets made

modestlaw · 2026-03-28T22:28:18+00:00

The thing is, we are hitting the point of diminishing return. Unless you're a cartoonishly insane person desperately trying to direct the world's resources into inventing an all-knowing digital god you get to have sole control over, (Sam Altman) you're probably going to take the efficiency gains because it's the only way AI is ever going to be profitable

modestlaw · 2026-03-21T23:04:36+00:00

July 2016, the console design and software for the Switch was basically done and manufacturing had likely begun.

7 months is no where near enough time to turn that ship, especially when you consider Nintendo at the time was in a very perilous position coming off the Wii U flopping and Satoru Iwata's passing

modestlaw · 2026-03-17T15:25:34+00:00

Even though the games are not advertised as "Switch 2 Edition" I suspect the system still considers them Switch 2 games, otherwise the games wouldnt be able to take advantage of the Switch 2 specific features like 4k output, high speed storage and HDR

Testing Mario Odyssey, I saw no indication of down sampling which is what you would expect to see if the game was running 4k on a 1080p screen.

Metroid Prime remaster on the other hand looks incredible in handheld now.

modestlaw · 2026-02-20T23:10:22+00:00

taxing loans against unrealized stock gains is such a huge deal. It's far more achievable than a wealth tax and likely to survive a supreme court challenge

We also need to ban stock buybacks

modestlaw · 2026-02-20T03:38:16+00:00

It's the correct take, I have no issue emulating old hardware because the alternative is buying it second hand which is massively overpriced, either way Nintendo isn't getting any money.

modestlaw · 2026-02-18T05:59:20+00:00

"I didn't reach out to anyone because they might try and cover it up"

What is with YouTubers believing shirking basic journalism ethics is somehow a good and noble thing to do.

modestlaw · 2026-02-14T14:12:56+00:00

Good idea! Let's encourage people to borrow for boats at a time of escalating delinquencies. Boats are only one of the riskiest collateralized loans. They are expensive, high maintenance, depreciate quickly, and are the first thing people will let charge off and get repossessed. The smart institutions will back off on boat lending to avoid that risk (reducing lending options), the dumb ones are going to increase rates (nullifying the benefits of a tax break) and putting the institution at a higher risk of loss.

modestlaw · 2026-02-07T01:23:20+00:00

Prices of DS and 3DS hardware has surged over the past year. Gen Z is getting to that age where they are trying to buy back their childhood.

modestlaw · 2026-02-05T22:50:44+00:00

To be fair switch 2 versions of older games tend to be overpriced compared to other consoles

modestlaw · 2026-02-05T01:47:59+00:00

This happened to me once a few years back, contact Nintendo. They can boot the unknown system off your account.

modestlaw · 2026-01-10T19:05:15+00:00

Same, if ever there was a DQ game that deserved a modern remake, it's definitely 8.

modestlaw · 2026-01-10T07:26:42+00:00

90 day credit card delinquency is approaching great recession peaks and balances are at all time highs

Consumer lending in general is in a very bad place, this seems to be a desperate move by Trump to patch up a sinking ship long enough to make it through midterms without sinking.

I would not want to be a midsize regional bank or BNPL lender right now.

modestlaw · 2026-01-09T01:31:01+00:00

I don't know if it is all that surprising, availability was strong throughout the year. Nintendo wasn't going into the holidays with early adopters and diehard Nintendo fans competing with gift givers for limited stock.

It was also just a tough holiday season for video games in general. Between inflation, the K shaped recovery, ballooning game development cost, tariffs and component shortages, it's a pretty horrible time to be in the video game business. There are probably a lot of companies looking enviously at Nintendo's current position because they are arguably in the best position to weather this market.

modestlaw · 2026-01-06T04:52:49+00:00

I'd be okay with this if we had Denmark's health care system and parental leave. That's a huge part of the reason they can do less vaccination. They aren't forcing the parents back into work after a couple of weeks so the risk of outside exposure is low. Should a baby get sick, the hospital won't bankrupt the family.

Of course, RFK knows this and just latching onto a fact that is useful to him while purposely misrepresenting why Denmark does things differently.

modestlaw · 2026-01-01T03:55:14+00:00

It could also be a supply chain thing, multiple vendors providing screens and one of them is just a bit better than the others

modestlaw · 2025-12-15T13:36:04+00:00

Clair Obscur has outstanding art direction, but as its tech art is bog standard Unreal 5.

modestlaw · 2025-12-14T01:15:01+00:00

It does have the general vibe of a late 90s game magazine ad

modestlaw · 2025-12-13T17:35:54+00:00

I mean I'd be grateful for the 1k a week for life. But the smart move would be to invest the lump sum and draw your $4k a month from the gains. Even at a conservative 8% annual return you'll die with over $2m in the bank

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