Letterbox: The Death of the GameCube, Mario Matchmaking Party, Tariffs – Nintendo Life Letters

We’ve entered the second half of November and we’re back to opening again Nintendo Life Mailbox.

Do you have something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read your gaming-related thoughts.

Each month we will highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to Our Ad-Free Support program. See submission instructions at the bottom of this page.

So grab your pipes, slippers and drinking glasses as we take a look at this month’s best letters.

Nintendo Life Mailbox – November 2024

“must ask” (***STAR LETTER***)

Dear NL,
In light of recent election events, I felt compelled to ask the NL staff their thoughts on this issue. Do you believe this? Will this push Nintendo to move production completely out of China? In doing so, do you think this will affect the overall price of the new switch and/or successor? I believe this could negatively impact Nintendo’s profits as they launch new consoles in the US. Tariffs on everything lead to less discretionary spending. It’s hard to look forward to Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, when I have to worry about feeding my family. Since this is a pretty pessimistic decision and most of this has yet to come to fruition, I’d like to optimistically assume that Nintendo– with its massive war chest of funds– will make it through the next 4 years somewhat bruised but still intact. . After all, the US is not the only market they sell to.
MegaMari0

Um. At this stage, we can only speculate. For anyone unfamiliar with the situation, the incoming administration has promised that US tariffs on Chinese imports have the potential to great influence on the gaming industry In the coming months and years, hardware prices will increase significantly for consumers still reeling from the cost of living crisis.

One thing that To be worth considering is what happened last time. Back to 2019 Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft submitted a joint letter in response to the US government’s warning of severe disruption and negative impacts to the video games sector if consoles are not exempt from similar proposed tariffs. The letter is still relevant after 5 years and is well worth reading.

Currently, due to the unpredictable nature of this particular administration, it is impossible to say with certainty which way things will go this time. I’d imagine calm heads and common sense will prevail and three years from now we won’t be looking back at the good ol’ days of $700 PS5 Pros. – Ed.

“different queue”

Like many of us, I’ve been enjoying Super Mario Party Jamboree lately. However, I have concerns about the game’s long-term success that I’ve seen elsewhere – the matchmaking system.
In Superstars, you chose your board option, were randomly matched with 3 other players, and then the board was chosen from all of your options. It can be frustrating not getting the board you want for several games in a row, but matchmaking is quick and efficient.
In Jamboree, you individually choose the board rules (7 options) (team or pro) and motion control options (on or off) and the game will pair you with someone who has chosen the same settings – that’s 28 Different queues! If not enough opponents are found, the lobby will instead be filled with bots, but now with custom names to trick inattentive players (the signs are still there – for example, they won’t have a team tag or minigame profile). As a result, I have yet to experience an online match with more than one human opponent. If you can only find bot games just two weeks after launch, I’m worried about how matchmaking will work in the current system when the servers get quieter in a few months.
Munchlax

Mario Party sells well, so it’s disappointing to hear that matchmaking became so difficult after launch. Perhaps Jamboree’s approach is a response to complaints about the old system forcing you to play on boards you don’t want to play on. I can definitely relate to that feeling with Mario Kart.

Unfortunately, I can’t relate to this “thoroughly enjoying Super Mario Party Jamboree” phenomenon. I didn’t understand and it became a joke around NL Towers. Watching people I love and respect get taken into a clearly evil cult – a cult in which 10-minute mini-games are played for about 80 minutes of wait And read And crazy, endorsed by the Fun™ man It was clearly a noisy time – leaving me completely confused. Each has its own thing, but it’s like someone is putting crazy pills in my coffee. I was promised a party, not… whatever this To be! – Ed.

“for museums”

GameCube is dead?

You recently wrote that Xenoblade has reached the end of its life for the Wii U.
With all the great remakes and new game versions, what would you think of the GameCube as the museum attached to it?
For me it would be remakes, new games or re-releases of Wind Waker, NFL Street 2 and F-Zero.
Juan

I have a ‘Rule of Three (or Four)’, according to which any console with three or four great exclusive features is still worth the space it takes up in the closet. The Wii U may be dead, but Nintendo Land, Affordable Space Adventures, and even the original Mario Maker, Splatoon, and a few other games keep the spirit of the system alive.

The GameCube died as soon as the backwards compatible Wii came out – it’s absolutely a museum-grade artifact. But you’re also talking to someone who owns six of those things. F-Zero, Rogue Leader, Eternal Darkness, a little Doshin, everything with DK Bongos, Chibi-Robo, Wave Race, the best Mario Kart, dozens of games I’ve never played… No one has ever played Actually gone, right? – Ed.