[Let’s Talk] Do you care about Switch home menu icons?

Much has been made about Switch icons over the past few months – particularly the way they look. Some system owners have been very vocal about the icons they feel just don’t look good. Snake Pass, LEGO Worlds, and SteamWorld Dig 2 are among the games players have requested to be changed.

I almost feel as though I’ve been living in an alternate reality watching this all unfold. Rather than focusing on what a quality game like SteamWorld Dig 2 is, some are instead fixated on that home menu icon. Personally, as long as I know which icon a game represents and the text is there, the actual design doesn’t matter much to me at all. But hey, I could be completely out of touch.

So let’s have a discussion about this. How important are Switch icons to you? I’m very curious as to how everyone feels about the topic since we haven’t covered it before, so share your thoughts with us below.

Highlights from last week’s topic: September 2017 Nintendo Direct reactions

Micbro

Clearly the show was all about Mario Odyssey but the road towards its new details was pretty jam packed.

During the 3DS section it just sucked for me to see Kirby Battle Royale and other titles on it since recently my 3DS broke and I have no plans to fix it since I bought a Switch.

The Switch announcements were really good with each major genre covered in some way but I liked the focus on pointing out games like Morphies Law and Arena of Valor since they are from well known genres but bring in something unique and interesting.

The big Bethesda announcements are really cool and are in the right direction for third party support but they aren’t really my cup of tea.

Xenoblade 2 seems interesting and I’ve gotten constant recommendations to play one of the Xenoblades so maybe it’s time to try it out.

Kirby Star Allies seems like the Kirby experience I’ve been waiting for. The first Kirby game I finished was Return to Dreamland on the Wii so I’m glad that Hal is coming back to multiplayer form after the 3DS titles [which were amazing but seeing multiplayer characters go in the background (Bandana Dee) or have their own story (King Dedede and Meta Knight) was pretty dissapointing]. Bringing back the Yoyo, Cleaning, ESP (skipped Robobot), combo abilities, and almost every enemy playable seems very smart as those were very big Kirby gameplay aspects. I just hope they add some smart puzzles and other new mechanics to make these returning abilities just seem like underlying features.

Mario Odyssey seems really fleshed out and amazing so I can’t wait to play it as my first 3D Mario title.

Now on the Japanese side…

Ultimate Chicken Horse got a release window (October)! I have a bunch of friends on PC who play this game and have constantly recommended it so I can’t wait to try it out.
Phantasy Star Online 2 Cloud was announced as well. If the servers work stateside I might try it out but otherwise its a solid announcement confirming more support from Sega (at least in Japan).

Overall the direct had what it needed but I’m sure it was more of a “rest of the holiday lineup” direct instead of a true look into 2018’s lineup (which will hopefully come with Nintendo World Championships, The Game Awards, and a late 2017 direct). Even though they are Nintendo games I’m anticipating like Smash Bros, there are many other indie and third party games that will cover that urge for me.

8/10

Auragar

I thought that the Direct was alright, nothing crazy but definitely not the worst direct that I’ve ever seen. Especially since I got exactly what I wanted in a new Pokemon USUM update which included new info, especially considering it announced 2 new ultra beasts which is crazy and awesome. I just expected forms but eh. I will take them haha. Still surprised that we didn’t see a third thing but eh whatever I’m not upset.

Jack Bankhead

It wasn’t amazing to me, but Doom being ported with a promise of the same 60fps shows to me that developing for the Switch isn’t that hard. Bethesda made a custom engine, and it doesn’t appear they are complaining, as there is also Wolfenstein II coming in 2018, and the PS4 and Xbox One versions aren’t out yet. I’m very happy Bethesda is supporting the Switch, as I was afraid they weren’t.

I appreciated the extended look at Morphie’s Law, which looks very fun to me and if it is priced right (I think it will) will have a large player base. Arena of Valor looks… interesting, but I’m glad to see more genres on the Switch.

Dragon Quest Builders wasn’t to me expected, but not a surprise because Dragon Quest Builders 2 is coming out. I’ll probably wait on Builders until 2 gets a better release window. Also, I’m very glad they explained more of what Octopath Traveler was, on top of having an immediate demo. Now I am very excited for the game. That’s really good marketing.

Having dates for Skyrim and Xenoblade 2 made me happy because I can now budget things (with Christmas coming up) better. More Mario Odyssey also is cool.

All the 3DS stuff was expected, but Minecraft for the New 3DS was not. Especially it not releasing it right then! Minecraft is practically on every modern thing.

My biggest complaint was that Snipperclips is getting 10 dollar DLC for a game that was barely worth 20 for me. I mean, no one needed DLC. If anything, 1-2 Switch does!

It was good, so a 7 for me in terms of the surprise that was Doom and Wolfenstein, but everything else was meh.

RoomB31

a competent yet satisfying direct. I’m happy with the bullet point system, effective and rapid. A good amount of surprises, not more because I’ve learned to shelve my overly creative wishes, and thus I can never be disappointed. However, there are things I would like to see and hear, but I’m patient.

Hidden Flare

Honestly thought it was pretty great. First games I’m glad to see, I personally like the mario party 3ds game, and i think it will still be a good game even though its on the 3ds. I also like the new kirby switch game and think it will be as good as the 3ds games and the wii game. I like Lyn in heroes so I’m glad to see her in fire emblem warriors. I like to see Doom is on the switch, I have considered it but I think I found where to buy the game if I want it. Oh and Mario Odessy reminds me why I want to buy it in October.I feel meh towards Xenoblade 2, it seems good to me but Im very unsure on it considering I played no games from the series. It’s long time in the direct didn’t really convince me. Octopath looks ok but I think I will have the demo show me how good it is. Though I’ll say I was disappointed with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon news, it feels like they haven’t shown anything special about this game.

Overall, some good, few meh, and a little bad but overall I think the direct was pretty great.