Mailbox: The Death Of GameCube, Mario Party Matchmaking, Tariffs - Nintendo Life Letters

Issue #18 - November 2024

by · Nintendo Life
Image: Nintendo Life

We're well into the back half of November and we're back once again to open up the Nintendo Life Mailbox.

Got something you want to get off your chest? We're ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings.

Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

So, grab your pipe, slippers, and cuppa as we go through the best of this month's correspondence.

Nintendo Life Mailbox - November 2024

"compelled to ask" (***STAR LETTER***)

Dear NL,
Due to recent election events, I feel compelled to ask the NL staff their thoughts on the matter. Do you believe this Will this push Nintendo to move manufacturing completely out of china? In doing so, do you think this will this affect the overall price of the switch and/or new successor? I believe this could negatively affect Nintendo's bottom line when they launch the new console in the US. Tariffs on just about everything leaves less for discretionary spending. Hard to look forward to Mario, Metroid, and Zelda, when I have to worry about keeping my family fed and housed. Since this is a rather pessimistic take and most of this has not come to pass yet, I'd like to optimistically assume that Nintendo-- with it's vast war chest of funds-- will weather out the next 4 years somewhat bruised but still intact. After all, the US isn't the only market they sell to.
MegaMari0

Hmm. At this stage, we can but speculate. For anyone unfamiliar with the situation, the incoming administration has promised US tariffs on Chinese imports which have the potential to massively affect the gaming industry in the coming months and years, significantly increasing hardware prices for consumers still reeling from a cost-of-living crisis.

One thing that is worth considering is what happened last time. Back in 2019 Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft sent a joint letter to the US government warning of severe disruption and negative effects for the video game sector should consoles not be exempt from similarly proposed tariffs. The letter remains relevant five years on and is worth reading.

Now, given the unpredictability of this particular administration, it's impossible to say for certain which way things will go this time. I'd like to 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.

Image: Nintendo Life

"different queues"

Like many of us, I have been thoroughly enjoying Super Mario Party Jamboree lately. However, I have a concern about the game’s long term success that I have seen mentioned elsewhere- the matchmaking system.
In Superstars, you selected your board preference, got matched with 3 other players at random, and then the board was chosen from all of your preferences. It could be annoying to not get the board you wanted several games in a row, but matchmaking was quick and efficient.
In Jamboree you select your board (7 options) rules (party or pro) and motion control (on or off) preference separately, and the game matches you with somebody who chose the exact same settings- that’s 28 different queues! If not enough opponents can be found, the lobby will be filled with bots instead, but now given custom names in order to trick players into not noticing (the signs are still there- e.g. they won’t have a party card or minigame records). As a result, I have yet to experience an online match with more than one human opponent. If you can only find bot games only two weeks after launch, I am worried about how the matchmaking will function under the current system when the servers become quieter in a few months.
Munchlax

Mario Party sells incredibly well, so it's disappointing to hear that matchmaking is a drag so close after launch. Perhaps Jamboree's approach was a response to gripes about the old system forcing you onto boards you didn't want to play. I can definitely relate to that feeling with Mario Kart.

Unfortunately, I just can't relate to this "thoroughly enjoying Super Mario Party Jamboree" phenomenon. I don't get it, and it's become a joke around NL Towers. Watching people I love and respect inducted into a patently wicked cult — one where playing 10 minutes of minigames in between 80 minutes of waiting and reading and inane, endorsed-by-the-man Fun™ is apparently a raucous time — leaves me totally confused. Each to their own, but it's like someone's slipping crazy pills in my coffee. I was promised a party, not... whatever this is! - Ed.

"museum-bound"

The GameCube is Dead?

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

I've got a 'Rule of Three (or Four)' whereby any console with three or four great exclusives is still worth the space it takes up in the wardrobe. The Wii U may be dead, but Nintendo Land, Affordable Space Adventures, and even the original Mario Maker, Splatoon, and a few others keep the system's spirit alive.

The GameCube died the moment the backwards-compatible Wii came out - it's absolutely a museum-grade artefact. Yet you're also talking to a man who owns six of the things. F-Zero, Rogue Leader, Eternal Darkness, a bit of Doshin, everything with the DK Bongos, Chibi-Robo, Wave Race, the best Mario Kart, dozens of games I never even played... No one's ever really gone, right? - Ed.

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Farewell, friend

Iiiiiiz aliiiiiiive!!! — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

"more than just a video and a few articles/polls"

Dear NL,

As we get closer to the inevitable reveal of the next Nintendo console I was wondering if you guys have anything big planned for the website when the console is finally revealed? With so much widespread anticipation from all over the gaming landscape, it's like when the world was waiting for the ps2 to get revealed at E3!
P.S: if you don't have anything "big" planned then that's fine. But I feel that the occasion would warrant more than just a video and a few articles/polls.
Tanookduke

Oh, I think we might be able to stretch to two videos for this. A list, perhaps? You know, really push the boat out!

Ahem. If by 'big' you mean 'a total mother-of-a-Switch-2-blowout with the most in-depth features, reviews, news, and curio coverage for Nintendo fans anywhere on the web,' you can count on it.

If you mean formatting the site for circular screens only, changing the name to switch2niverse.com, and throwing a bacchanalian launch party in Kyoto with Shigsy doing the Macarena in a hot-air balloon shaped like Waluigi's face... I'll have to speak to the budget people. - Ed.

"a flop"

If you could choose any Nintendo series to get a fantastic new game, but the game is going to be a flop (despite being almost perfect), thus causing the series to be over forever, what would it be?
Mine would be FZero: It would get an amazing (new) game, but it not getting more after that wouldn't be much different than what we have now!
CaleBoi25

A masterpiece flop, eh? A poisoned chalice. In this bizarre scenario where an almost-perfect game is also a series-ending bomb, let's go with... er, Smash? Wave Race? Kid Icarus?

One for the comments, perhaps. What series do you love so much that you'd give it the Ol' Yeller treatment after one last blaze of glory? - Ed.

Bonus Letters

Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
"Hello. We want more remasters of 3D Sonic games like the Adventure games, unleashed, heroes and 06, but they will get redubbed by studiopolis." - Scottdevine53

Sonic fans want lots of things, Scott. Lots of wonderful, strange things. - Ed.

"I want to say the utmost thank you for the game publisher who really dedicated in providing more 3rd party kids games, Outright Games." - Anti-Matter

Outright? More like Allright Games, amirite? Hey, they put out the only Star Trek game on Switch. Good on 'em. - Ed.

"Can you please add Cars Race-o-Rama on the Wii to your database. It is unironically a great game that needs to be talked about more." - YunoboCo

I'll add it, but you'll have to do the talking bit. - Ed.

"I’ll still remember the earlier boss fights in the original SA (pretty cool, at the time), gliding as Knuckles to find emeralds, and the strange choice of making you play fishing sections as a character I think was called Big. (Is he still around?)" - Richardthedragon

"Pretty cool, at the time." That's the one-line review of Sonic Adventure, isn't it? Big worked at Billingsgate Market for a time, but got into a spot of bother. Last I heard, he's at an ESSO in Chelmsford. - Ed.

Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

That's all for this month! Thanks to everyone who wrote in, whether you were featured above or not.

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About Gavin Lane

Gavin first wrote for Nintendo Life in 2018 before joining the site full-time the following year, rising through the ranks to become Editor. He can currently be found squashed beneath a Switch backlog the size of Normandy.

Comments 76

Update: I have now had a match with 2 human players.

What series do you love so much that you'd give it the Ol' Yeller treatment after one last blaze of glory?

Golden Sun.

I initially read the headline wrong, weirdly forgetting that this is nintendo life.

I thought this contained nintendo "life letters," and I was like, "what the heck are those?"

That Sonic Adventure burn was good haha.

At this rate you're better off joining a MP discord specifically for matchmaking, much less overwhelming than you think!

There's a wide pool of people settling up rooms to join or setting up your own, and most importantly an option for just text chatting if you're too voice shy

Still lame how barren matchmaking is otherwise. I'm already noticing bots in the bowser island modes too, makes me all the more annoyed to remember I'm paying for this "online"

Ribbit King and Chibi Robo from GameCube should be brought back from the dead

Im very weary to talk politics online these days (specifically US) and with all the massively important topics floating around, I feel silly throwing my hands in the air shouting "BUT WHAT ABOUT MY VIDJAGAMES!?!?"
In economic areas where imported goods are rivaling domestic goods, the tariffs make sense to encourage buying within US, and raise supply/demand. But Sony/Nintendo will never be produced in the USA, and with the base prices already trending upwards, I do have concerns about being priced out of my hobby if I don't have the spare budget for it.
Additionally, near the end of Trump's last presidency, he gave a speech about the need to stop/substantially reduce violent games. Granted, nothing came of it, but it's still not very reassuring about where their thoughts on gaming culture lie.
I do find some comfort knowing that, for better or for worse, every politician all around the world will make empty promises to garner votes, that end up amounting to nothing.

I usually get 2 or more real players in jamboree

I guess my swan song game would be Chibi-Robo, since it IS dead. So dead the creators are making their own spiritual successor. But I don't want a spiritual successor. I want the chibi man in another household fraught with a broken marriage and insane characters.

@nebzila Yes please to both of these games!! Just did a few rounds of frolf with friends last year when we fired up the GameCube.

My comments about the main letters:

  • also doubt it will be much different this time compared to the last one this happened, but of course we'll have to wait and see;
  • while both systems have their pros and cons I'd say the latter might be better in the long run to avoid games from straight up not starting if there aren't enough players at some point - not a fan of bots getting custom names at all, though;
  • yeah, the GameCube as in the system is one of the few ones currently not plugged in for me exactly because the Wii almost fully replaced it (the only thing I can think of not working on the latter is the Game Boy Player, but that got replaced by both official and unofficial emulators);
  • as much as I'm still enjoying my Switch, I'm so looking forward to the successor in itself, its exclusive games (and the potentially improved Switch ones) and also all the articles etc. about it here on Nintendo Life;
  • nope, can't think of an answer to this question even just hypothetically speaking as I hope we'll see more Nintendo series back for good, not for just one game and even less so due to it being a flop despite all its qualities!

@Zaruboggan You're lucky you have a copy. I lost mine years ago

I should of proof read my submission because the errors are eating me alive now haha. It's nice to see the variety of submissions and I always look forward to reading them.

Clearly the only correct answer for the 'one more game in the series'/perfect flop question is doshin the giant.

@Desrever I actually agree with Trump. Granted, I agree with him on a lot of things that I won't get into on this site (I did just vote for him, after all), but, specifically in relation to videogames:

1. Nintendo needs to move manufacturing back to Japan, in order to maintain quality products.

2. I would like to see a drastic decrease in violent games not only because of what they can do to your psyche, but how they cause adult gamers to view non violent games. I feel like the reason people still look down on Nintendo games and the like is because they have become so accustomed to 200 hour war campaigns that this, to them, is what gaming is (which couldn't be further from the truth).

@batmanbud2 Except they won't. Like every other corporation they will go with the cheaper route, and producing in Japan currently isn't that route due to their suffering economy.

Second, you are factually wrong. There are numerous studies that prove that video games cause no violent tendencies on the mind at all. Just because a celebrity (or person in power) says it, doesn't automatically warp logic and make it true. And if people really were looking down on Nintendo, it wouldn't be on the verge of being the best selling console of all time.

@batmanbud2
Trump wants a 20% tariff on all imports including Japan. Plus Japan has a serious labor shortage and could never produce things as cheap nor could the US. The whole tariff idea would be disastrous and not just for the game industry.

Without getting too deep into politics, if calm heads and common sense were going to prevail, Trump wouldn't have won in the first place. Trump's platform is pretty much the antithesis of calm heads and common sense. Furthermore, there have been multiple economists that have said Trump's tariff plan is going to be a disaster and may negatively affect both the U.S. and the entire world for decades. I wouldn't be surprised if this destroys the U.S. video game market (among other markets, but this is a video game site so let's focus on video games). The concerns seem VERY justified. I think Nintendo themselves will probably be okay but I do think a lot of U.S. gamers will be prices out of the industry and that market will see a MASSIVE decrease.

@Bolt_Strike the industry was in a downward spiral long before Trump.

@batmanbud2 IDK about that, the AAA market sure seems to be but I think Nintendo and the indie market are hanging in there. But Trump's tariffs will only accelerate the decline. Tariffs won't encourage corporations to move their manufacturing, that's not how you get them to make higher quality products. What they're going to do is keep the manufacturing where it is and pass the extra costs of the tariffs onto U.S. consumers. So it's going to have the opposite effect of what you think it will. It won't make video games higher quality and more affordable. It's just going to make them more expensive for a market that's already struggling to afford basic necessities, let alone video games.

Thanks for adding that game to the database Ed

@Bolt_Strike we will see what happens. Best not to assume anything right now.

My 3.2 cents:

  • Trump wants a 60% tariff on all goods coming from China, and 20% on every other country.
  • There will be mid-term elections in the States in 2026, for the Senate and House. I don't know how many of each party's seats will be in play. In most cases historically, the Executive branch's party loses seats in Congress in the mid-terms, sometimes a substantial number. If inflation goes up, not down as the Republicans ran on, the Republicans will take it in the shorts. Elections are won via appeal to emotion and money.
  • Trump also wants to mass-deport illegal immigrants. That was their other tent-pole issue, going so far as to scuttle a bi-partisan bill to reform the immigration process so it would not see progress before the election. Some 73% of U.S. farm workers/harvesters are illegals. If they do deport, that, coupled with the tariffs on Mexican produce, will limit food availability and send prices up sharply. Video games will become a back-burner expense for a lot of people.
  • I can't imagine manufacturers relocating entire factories, giving up sweetheart deals with the PRC, in light of what may be a two year issue, though granted the effects will be felt longer, of course.
  • Games: lower inventory; higher prices; corporate profits and executive compensation remain high (look at what happened during COVID); gaming industry layoffs increase.

All this will likely pass Congress, seeing as we have an imbalanced government, but there will be challenges in the courts and traditional red-tape delaying. That the judicial system has been skewed conservative will certainly not benefit consumers if it goes that far.

As is being said, we'll see, but I'm not optimistic in the near term.

On the other hand, I've never played a Mario Party game. Maybe this is the time to grab Jamboree and see if my wife likes the random nature of the whole deal.

Removed - inappropriate

@Bolt_Strike Thank you! Exactly, that's what I've been telling some friends as well. Just because the tariffs are there, it doesn't give them any other incentive to come to the US. You want them to come here and help us be more prosperous? Give them a deal they can't refuse. All this is going to do is have them make more money off our sorry butts in the end, because we can't be bothered to actually learn the processes that our society functions off of.

The price of consoles (and other goods) is driven by how much the manufacturers think people are going to pay for the goods. If good become more expensive to produce, it'll eat into their profit margins but raising the selling price won't do much good if they can't convince us to pay.

@Nancyboy Bold of you to assume the U.S. will even have elections anymore the way Trump's politics are. We can't take ANYTHING for granted about the U.S. anymore.

GameCube is dead?

Hey, my Game Boy Player is a fantastic device I should some day find time to play more of.

@Arcsol Honestly that isn't even the solution. The reason the average person in the U.S. is suffering is because of the massive power that the wealthy and large corporations have over U.S. life. They're minimizing worker pay and maximizing prices so that corporate executives and investors can keep as much of the profits for themselves, as well as controlling media and politics to keep the system rigged in their favor. It's all about unchecked greed leading to massive inequality. Better offers to corporations isn't even the solution, that's still playing into the problem. The solution is making the wealthy pay their fair share and enacting tougher regulations to keep them from exploiting the system for their own personal gain.

Well, much depends on when the switch 2 launches, but if it’s as early as summer or even say September of next year, then I think it’s I likely tariffs will not be in effect that soon. Despite Trump claims to the contrary, most likely sweeping, large tariffs will need to pass through congress. This will not happen overnight. And congressional representatives for their own reasons will be hesitant to pass tariffs that are two high. The real purpose of this policy I think is simply as a bargaining chip. I.e. China you better cooperate on xyz or else tariffs. Better stay away from Taiwan or else big tariffs! Etc. if this is effective I wouldn’t be surprised if these tariffs never actually materialize or are much smaller and milder than some are expecting.

Regardless by the time this all pans out I expect Nintendo will have already launched the Switch 2 and be stuck with whatever price they chose.

@UltimateOtaku91 This is the correct answer. I’d love to see this series end on a high note, even if it was all we got.

Hopefully with whatever Trump is planning it doesn't effect Asian developers releasing their games in the West. Atleast still release them in Europe 🙏.

@Kazman2007 I still don't get why they abandoned the series, the first two games sold over a million each which a lot of jrpgs these days struggle to do, and they got some impressive metacritic ratings. Surely the series is worth taking a gamble on.

The Ed's replies sound extra 90s mag like this month.
Top stuff.

While it is interesting to ask how government policies will affect the gaming scene, it’s a bit naive to think that affecting the industry is more important than what is considered an existential threat to the nation in rising Chinese militance.
Not that I have any idea how real that threat is: half the time you hear they are poised to defeat America and the rest of the time you hear they’re a paper tiger. So who knows what’s true.

„the best Mario Kart“ 💕

Honestly, US gamers can't complain too much if game hardware is effected. In Canada gaming has become very expensive due to multiple factors. A new AAA title on the east coast is $102 taxes in which is absurd.

@Bolt_Strike Yeah, I know, but we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.

@Bolt_Strike There will still be another US presidential election in four years. Trump is far from what the media tries to make him out to be. I say this as an Independent who has done dozens of hours of research across both Right and Left-wing news sources, comparing and contrasting the information and trying to draw as close to an objective conclusion as possible. Don't fall for the propaganda, but also don't just take my word for it because I could be lying to you just like CNN or MSNBC. (Fox peddles lies too though, for the record; don't think I'm saying they don't also perpetuate misinformation). God bless.

@Not_Soos Trump has said with his own words that he wants to be a dictator on Day 1, that he wants generals that are blindly obedient like Hitler's generals, and that you only had to vote in this election and you'll never have to vote again. There's no misinformation about it, we know who he is straight from the man himself. It's reasonable to be concerned about the future of U.S. democracy when you have that kind of rhetoric.

@Bolt_Strike Except you're taking those lines entirely out of context. I'm far from a Trump fanatic, but you are taking the dictator on day one quote way too literally. He was referring to how there was a lot he wants to do on day one, not that he literally wants to be a dictator. I'm not familiar with the other lines you're referencing, but the idea there will no longer be elections is absurd. That's not how U.S. politics works at all. If you disagree, please explain specifically what legislation they will pass to accomplish this.

@Scottdevine53 A Sonic Adventure remake/remaster (if done right) would be great, a 06 port for laughs would be fine, Heroes NEEDS a good remake (it's my least favorite Sonic game), and a Unleashed remaster similar to SxSG would be fine, BUT the original voice cast and acting is fine. Don't remove the original acting, it would be really disrespectful to Jason Griffith. Perfectly fine Sonic and Shadow that went through too many bad Sonic games.

@Anti-Matter I love you man. Glad you like those smaller games.

@Richardthedragon The original SA had it's moments, didn't it? A little flawed by today's standards, but it can be fun. Need to replay one day.

@CaleBoi25 If I had to pick one... Mega Man Legends 3 would be great. To end the Legends sub-series, at least. I wouldn't want Mega Man as a whole to end (if anyone makes a comment on how Mega Man's already dead, I'll teleport to your house, destroy you, then steal your power). Edit: oh, only a Nintendo series. Well in that case... don't know. All I know is that we need Legends 3.

Yay...!
Thank you Nintendolfe for choosing my letter about my favorite video game publisher Outright Games for their contribution of 3rd party kids games on multi platform. 😄

And thank you very much for Outright Games to provide Barbie: Project Friendship, my GOTY 2024 on PS5. 😊

@konicstar
Well, that's why there is always the audience for the games by Outright Games. 😉

@Bolt_Strike Have you listened to his full speech in any of those instances, or just 10-second clips?

'I'd like to 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."

You obviously haven't followed the last 8 years very closely if you expect "calm heads" and "common sense."

@Bigmanfan Executive orders and a Supreme Court that twists logic to fit what they want rather than any kind of legal philosophy.

@Not_Soos I've seen the full clips. The context doesn't really make it much better. And there's really no context that would make them any more acceptable. Those kinds of statements are very dangerous and need to be taken seriously.

@Ultimapunch Exactly. The last 8 years of U.S. politics have shown that calm heads and common sense have LOST if anything.

@Bolt_Strike So, you can't change election rules on an executive order. It would need to be a constitutional amendment to even have a chance. Yes, the supreme Court would shut it down. Because it's not remotely close to being constitutional.

@Bigmanfan Trump wants to suspend the Constitution and the Supreme Court will come up with a BS excuse to let him. They've already made rulings that are not in line with any Constitutional philosophy like the executive immunity ruling, they'll pull something out of their behinds to justify what Trump is doing.

@Bolt_Strike I'm sorry, but that just doesn't add up. While the executive immunity ruling is a little bit of a stretch, it's nowhere near the level of suspending the constitution. If this did happen (which it never would), elections would be the least of concerns, considering it would be such an unprecedented move it would likely trigger an all out civil war.

Tariffs are not what you think they are.

Nintendo doesn't pay squat, you pay the tariff ... or in general, a tariff on goods never hurts the people making the goods, it hurts the general public of the country imposing the tariff (as they will pay more for goods), while benefiting a very select group of suppliers and manufacturers.

Let's break it down.

A tariff is an import tax. It is paid by the importing party to the government. This means that the importing company has two options; they can pass the increased cost on to the consumer, or they can absorb it. Guess which one they go with 100% of the time!

But, you say, everything I hear from my perfectly fair and balanced new source says tariffs are basically us winning at trade! Wont they mean everyone will buy and manufacture in the USA!

Well, a company is always going to make products where it's the cheapest to do so. Tariffs don't make it any cheaper to manufacture in the US, they just make it more expensive to manufacture in China. So consider:

Right now, something costs $100 to make in China and $130 to make in the USA. it sells for $150.

If you add a tariff of $25, then it's still made in China, only now it sells for $175, to offset the tariff.

If you add a tariff of $35, then it's made in the USA, but now it sells for $180, to offset the increased cost of manufacturing in the US.

There is no possible scenario where the customer wins. The only "winner" is the manufacturing companies that might pick up new contracts because they no longer have to compete on a level playing field.

So what impact with a US tariff have on Nintendo? None. It might raise the price of the next console in the US, and the US only. No other countries will be impacted, nor will Nintendo's overall logistics policy.

@HeadPirate Yeah, Nintendo themselves will probably be fine. But if you're a gamer living in the U.S., there's not much consolation here. They're who are really going to suffer from this. Honestly at this point everyone who can afford to leave the U.S. should, I don't see any way that a regular old U.S. citizen is going to benefit from this administration and MULTIPLE ways that they're going to suffer. The U.S. ... just does not feel like it's going to be a good place to live anymore.

Whoa, we're talking politics on here now? Wuuut?

@Bolt_Strike

While I appreciate what you are saying and don't disagree, for me it's just about the knowledge gap, not any political reality. The very (very) little I can do is try to inform people's opinions, so that maybe they can see past the gaslighting and start to understand how things like this actually work, and the impact they have.

I try to concern myself as little as possible with the beliefs that people end up forming, but as much as possible with how they formed those beliefs. We only know what we know. I do my best not to view people as "bad" because they see the world in a given way, but rather as victims of propaganda causing them to make self-distractive decisions based on misinformation.

@HeadPirate I have Facebook friends posting after the election how they can't believe that half the country are hateful, evil people, and I'm just thinking, maybe if you took some time to understand their views and concerns you wouldn't assume they're all hateful and evil. You wouldn't agree with them, I expect, but you'd at least understand them.

(By "you" I mean my Facebook friends, of course.)

@Dr_Corndog

What I said doesn't exclude people from being hateful and evil, nor am I suggesting such people should be tolerated. But the free flow of correct information in the first step to a solution.

There are people who believe that tariffs are something they absolutely are not, and have been brainwashed into thinking that without them the US is doomed! That jobs will be lost, that economic dominance will shift, and everything they love will fall apart. This is a case of a potentially good person making a bad decision because they were lied to.

There are also people who just hate China and want nothing more then to see the people who live their suffer, wither away, and die for having the audacity to not be born American. They support tariffs because they have been told they "hurt" China, and they like to hurt people. It makes them feel good knowing they are a small part in causing someone else's suffering. That's an example of an evil, hateful person making the same bad decision based on misinformation, just different misinformation.

I can't stop people from being evil and hateful. But I can teach them that tariffs don't hurt anyone but themselves, and maybe that will cause them to make some good decisions for the wrong reasons, instead of bad ones for the wrong reason.

And, critically, if all I know about someone is that they support tariffs, I don't know which of these two groups they belong to. That doesn't mean I support or accept both groups.

RE: "museum-bound"

There is 1 game preventing me from packing away our Wii U.

Nintendo Land.

My family still gets a kick out of playing it.

I sure hope Switch 2 has some sort of ability to bring Nintendo Land back.

As for our Game Cube . . . because the Wii was able to play Game Cube games, we basically stopped using it.

I keep it plugged in in my workshop, attached to a 14" Tube TV.

Yeah . . . if I'm in my workshop and get bored I'll fire it up. But it's plugged in mainly to keep the RTC battery from going dead.

@Dr_Corndog We know exactly what those people are thinking. It doesn't exactly make them look any better. The ones that aren't downright evil are at the very least, misinformed to put it nicely. Nothing about Trump's platform is positive to anyone but the wealthy if you apply the slightest bit of logic and reason. What they think he's going to help them with he actually won't, the "good ideas" they think he has are just hypocritical bluster. The only thing that allows a platform like Trump's to succeed is ignorance, whether it be of the malicious variety or the naive variety, but neither one is good. Now maybe the naive variety is easier to reason with and find common ground with, but they will still need to move from this platform to actually get what they want.

@konicstar Don't worry. Jason will be fine for Sonic 06. But would Unleashed get redubbed like SxSG?

I really hate the fact because of the USA's decision the whole world has to suffer, from the price of items to more important things.

They can destroy themselves idk. Leave the rest of us out of it.

@Dee123 There's a lot of people in the U.S. that didn't make that decision and are going to suffer even worse than the rest of the world. I live in the U.S. and wanted nothing to do with Trump's nonsense, I didn't vote for him in ANY of the elections he ran in but I'm still forced to put up with him because the rest of my country doesn't seem to know any better. I want out of this country so badly.

@HeadPirate My respect for you has shot up dramatically.

I don't believe in intolerance cannot be tolerated... because that's just fighting hate with hate. Only love can fight hate and leave the world a better place.

This comment section is interesting. Seems like it’ll age poorly when we look back at this in the future. Feels like there’s some unnecessary dooming. Stay calm and remember to keep context for full understanding!

Anyways, I’d like to see one last Chibi Robo game. I never played the GameCube one but I’d imagine a game similar to that one would be cool!

@Bolt_Strike You’ll never get through to them. It’s a cult-like mentality where nobody wants to admit they might possibly have backed a psychotic horse. Starts at ‘don’t assume we’re all evil’ level fake floating voters to them slowly spouting more and more hateful rhetoric until they’re entirely indistinguishable from the true believers.

@Scottdevine53 I wouldn't be surprised if SEGA did it, much to the fanbase's dismay.

I wouldn't be surprised if A new hedgehog character might appear if Sonic Adventure 3 happens.

Cars Race-O-Rama is a pretty good game. The Cars video game series is actually pretty good, some of the best games from Disney.

@nessisonett Yeah, I would like to reason with them if possible but I don't have much hope. This country feels too far gone, there's a lot of deep-seated issues and we've reached the tipping point where I don't think they can be overcome. Again, anyone that can get out of the U.S., should.

@Bolt_Strike It's actually my plan. And since my grandmother was originally from Czechoslovakia, I could gain Czech citizenship through declaration. That means I could then get EU citizenship and then freely live and work anywhere in the European Union. I'm thinking Ireland, because it is one of the nations in Europe with the highest percentage of English speakers (besides the United Kingdom).

Some have said that I should move to Italy, because they're practically giving houses away, but that's not an option for me either, because a couple years ago, they elected their most extreme prime minister since Benito Mussolini. Besides, the houses are dilapidated, and I'd rather live in something somewhat nice.

If I am correct, doesn't china pay their workers terrible wages? If we want workers to be paid a fair wage then how can we be upset about this? It kinda contradicts itself.

We all survived Trump's first four years. You will all survive the next

I'm completely sick of the mudslinging and fearmongering that comes from every corner of my country's politics, so I mostly just try to ignore it. But I will say I am 100% on board with decreasing our dependence on China. All our talk of social progress counts for nothing as long as we're just outsourcing our human rights violations to the other side of the world, and given how they treat their neighbors and citizens, I really don't want to give them any more power than we already have. If we can't get our toys and gadgets without betraying our values, then we don't deserve them.

@Anachronism Sure. Tell that to Tim Cook et al.

@prw_88
There were a million who did not survive Trump's first four years.

@Nancyboy Don't even get me started on smartphones with their rampant invasion of privacy and planned obsolescence on top of their manufacturing conditions, not to mention the damage social media and the constant entertainment pipeline have done to our collective psyche. Suffice to say I certainly won't mind if the tech giants get knocked for a loop as a result of their own greed.

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