How do you feel about ports?

[Dude_Skillz]

I've always loved Galaxy(if it wasn't obvious), and want a 3 for the switch. Now, people are also talking about porting 1 and 2 to the switch, here's why I don't like this.
This may come off as rude, but I love Galaxy because it's an amazing game, and also because it shows how long I've been playing Nintendo games. I feel if they put that on the switch, it would lose the fact that it's one of those games that can still compete with modern ones.
what are your opinions?

 

[Mary]

I don’t know about Galaxy, but I do sometimes buy ports of my favorite games. For me it’s mostly a convenience thing - instead of dragging an old console/computer or whatever to college and back all the time, being able to have some of my old favorites on the switch means I’m way more likely to play them. Even if that means buying something twice, it’s worth it if it’s an absolute favorite of mine.

 

[Olly7]

They're cool IMO. People who didn't own the console they were previously on can play them, but those who did but don't want to have to keep their old consoles lying around (or want an excuse to play it again) can play it. I have Wind Waker HD and really want to play it, but my Wii U is packed away and I'm not getting it out for that, so I'd love it if it came to Switch

Also if they brought Galaxy 1 and 2 to Switch I'd definitely buy them, I'm much more likely to play them this way than on the Wii again.

 

[Corrie]

I love them! Usually I haven't played the game before so I am happy that I now can! I've played a lot of ports!

Sonic Adventure and Adventure 2 on Gamecube
Yoshi's Island on GBA
Any of the old Sonic games on Sega consoles like Sonic R or Sonic the Fighters on PS2 and Gamecube

Those are some favs of mine.

 

[dedenne]

i like ports! they make it way easier to play a game, and allow me to play games i wouldnt have been able to play. take persona 4 golden for example, i dont own a vita and dont plan to but now that its on steam i can actually play it! also the phoenix wright ace attorney trilogy, having it on my switch was so convenient, since the original ds versions cost quite a bit now and its kinda hard to find them second hand. id also rather have emulating as a last resort.

 

[marea]

I dont know about Galaxy since i never played it, but yes i like ports in general, or the few ones i tried at least. I bought some ported games on steam and i play them on my laptop.

 

[DarkDesertFox]

Here's the thing about Nintendo's ports... They can't charge $60 for old games they port over with making minor changes to. I really would love more if they could get the price right. For instance, I own both Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze and Super Mario Bros. U both of which I did not pay full price. They add Funky Kong to Tropical Freeze and 2 characters + the original DLC to Super Mario Bros. U slapping a $60 tag on it. I did buy the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe due to the battle mode revamp as well as Pokken Tournament DX because it added new characters, assists, a couple stages, and changes the Wii U never got for balance. I still don't think those should have been full price either, but I am less upset since it did add changes that are more significant.

 

[fluttershy300]

I didn’t play many Nintendo games or any other companies games growing up so there’s lots of games that I’ve missed that I would love to play.

 

[Romaki]

Great. Games should be available on all possible platforms.

 

[LuchaSloth]

Ports are great.

I generally don't like spending money on things I already own...but, I'm fine with it if the price is low...or if the content has been remastered in some way. Because, honestly...even if I already own something, having the ability to play it on the system that I'm currently using is always nice. If Switch got ports of things like Pokemon Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, Crystal, the GTA franchise, Windwaker, etc...I would buy them all for $5, $10, $20 each...respectively. Because, there are some games that I will always have an itch to revisit...no matter how old they get.

 

[Noctis]

I love ports. Having the switch has given me the privilege to play these games if I didn't have the console it released on. People whine about ports but they're so dumb just because they already played the game doesn't mean everyone else has.

 

[Belle T]

I mean, I don't know why anyone, even collectors/enthusiasts/purists/elitists who prefer to play on the original console, would ever dislike ports. As with any aspect of game creation, there's certainly good and bad ways to do it, and I've seen my fair share of ports that are just bad. But there is objectively nothing to hate about making a game more accessible to modern hardware and less expensive.

Charging full price for a port that adds very little if any additional value to the game is definitely something I can empathize with being terrible. For that reason, I usually don't buy ports unless-
1) The port adds considerable amount of content that makes it worth the purchase again.
2) I no longer have the original hardware on which the original game was released.
3) If the original version is no longer in print and is thus prohibitively expensive or hard to find.
4) I didn't buy the original the first time anyway, so I have no reason to care about playing it on original hardware.

Like, for example, I have two copies of Super Mario World. One on SNES and the other on GBA. The only reason I have the latter is because a friend gave it to me. Otherwise, even though there are some genuine gameplay and presentation enhancements in the GBA version, I probably wouldn't have bought it because my SNES version still works fine today. But if my SNES were to break, I'd probably get an updated copy. Maybe buy it on Virtual Conso-

Oh.

 

[Tao]

I like ports for various reasons.

1) It brings games I like to more modern hardware, reducing the necessity to have multiple systems either set up or easy to get to. Xenoblade Chronicles X for example is one I really want porting because it's the only Wii U exclusive that I care about which is still anchored to that system. If that got ported to Switch, I could slam my Wii U in storage never to be seen again, or even just sell it.

2) It can make limited print games accessible to a larger audience. The original Xenoblade Chronicles was notoriously difficult and expensive to get a hold of, Metroid Trilogy another, Wii versions Pikmin 1+2. Many people just won't play a game if it's difficult to find, less so if it costs and arm and a leg. At the time I bought Xenoblade it was £70, a price I would not have paid if I knew it was going to get ported and remastered a few years later.

3) It can iron out any flaws in the original. This is usually more of a remaster/remake point, but it still happens with regular ol' ports, especially when system hardware makes control methods or UI's physically impossible on the system something is being ported to. Mario Galaxy for example I would probably prefer as a Switch release due to the necessity to rework the motion controls to something more traditional.

4) It's overall good for everybody. Publishers get a bit of extra moolah from a fairly inexpensive release, existing fans get the option of having a newer and more convenient copy on relavent hardware, potential new fans are given an easier way to play these games rather than having to hunt down a working 15 year old console and a copy of the game that isn't scratched to hell.

 

[Manah]

I haven't had a Nintendo home console since the N64, so they're all new enough to me.

 

[Cress]

There's 2 issues I have with ports, but overall they're great.
1. If they're focusing too much on ports, and not having a good balance between ports and new games. The Switch when it first launched was like this is you were one of the few who had a Wii U. ARMS and Mario Odyssey were the only notable exclusives that I can remember at the moment, the rest was stuff I already played on the Wii U. The Switch is much better now, but at launch, ehhhhhh......
2. If the original relied too much on some gimmick exclusive to the console, translating that over to a new system could ruin some aspects of it. 999 and The World Ends with You are some good examples of that. Both games heavily relied on using both of the DS's screens. But after porting 999 to PC, and TWEWY to Switch, parts of each game had to be changed to accommodate for a single screen. This is also the reason for the few Wii U exclusives that are still left, most of them heavily utilized the gamepad, and it's gonna be difficult to translate that over to the Switch.

Even then, these are small annoyances. Other people get to play them for the first time and enjoy them!

 

[jvgsjeff]

One thing I don't like about ports is that Nintendo frequently uses them as a replacement for a new game. If Nintendo hadn't ported Mario Kart 8 to Switch, we'd surely be playing MK9 by now. Nearly 3.5 years into its lifespan, the Switch still doesn't have its own Mario Kart game. When's the last time that happened on a Nintendo console?

 

[therandompuppy]

I love the idea of ports because it gives more access to games that people wouldn’t have had otherwise