This billboard, paid for in part by the kindly folks that brought you Cards Against Humanity in an effort to combat the far less original efforts of Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey, manages to sum up the man in his entirety. Hanzo is a sniper character in Blizzard’s recent smash hit, Overwatch, played frequently by people who refuse to shift to other characters to suit the situation, as they think playing Hanzo makes them look cool. Trump is that person. He refuses to play the great game of politics for anyone other than himself. Not the Republican Party, nor the American people, and not even the spirit of the ideas that made him so important.
Over the past couple of weeks, and during the last couple of debates, he’s made moves that have wound his base up to a fever pitch, but don’t seem to be getting him elected. In the second debate, he quipped/threatened that Clinton would be in jail if he were President, and starting with the final debate, he’s begun to sow the seeds of discord in the event he loses, because to him, he never loses. Victory is merely taken from him by riggers.
Absolutely none of this is new material, and absolutely all of this should have killed his run before it began, but he tapped on the right vein of primary voters who want their voice, and only their voice, to be heard. My own theory goes that the shift to a service economy, and the increased relevance of LGBT rights and general “political correctness” has led to the idea that the world has left blue-collar white Christians unwilling or unable to adapt to the shifting landscape behind. What’s more, thanks to a spirited propaganda and obstructionist effort by Republicans and Fox News, these people regard a Mid-Left, carefully spoken, politically correct, 7/10 president to be the literal spawn of Liberal Satan.
In this environment, Trump coming down that escalator and into the Republican nomination seems completely goddamn normal. For a few months there, the GOP went along with it, using the Convention as a way to satiate his massive ego and keep him in line and on message, while adopting the wall and the most Anti-LGBT stance in years into their official platform. Of course, his responses to Khizr Khan’s DNC speech, his poor debate performances, the crappy direct-to-video sequel playing out right now have destroyed his general election prospects. And that’s alright to me.
Even if Trump’s doomed to lose, he doesn’t lose the megaphone that comes with being a major political figure until long after November comes and goes, especially given that he is the kind of individual who likes to put his name on giant buildings.
In other news...
So the Nintendo Switch, formerly known as the codename "NX," was revealed the day after the final debate, and managed to jam a needle full of adrenaline into an exhausted online community, who are still spending hours and hours examining a 3-minute trailer for hidden details.
In a nutshell, the Nintendo Switch appears to be a home console with the approximate power of the PS4 or Xbox One packed into a tablet-sized space, able to be played on an HDTV with a TV dock or on a self-contained LCD screen. It's got controller called a Joy-Con that can be fitted onto the tablet itself, onto a console controller style grip, held separately like the Wii’s Remote and Nunchuck. It can even be split into two distinct controllers to be held like a sideways Wii Remote for out-of-the-box multiplayer with specific games like an undefined Mario Kart and NBA Live. And it looks pretty darn cool.
And right off the bat, Nintendo revealed a “sampling” of partnered game developers in a naked effort to fix their home console’s greatest weakness: a lack of third-party involvement, leading to a lack of engagement with the ecosystem until Nintendo puts out a major title.
Skyrim, a major, well-known game, which has a remastered version dropping on modern consoles the day this article runs, was shown in the reveal trailer alongside a new 3D Mario, a Kart game and a port of the well-regarded multiplayer game Splatoon. This picture implies at least a huge cavalcade of ports, many of whom can greatly benefit from a handheld style experience. Atlus’ highly anticipated Persona 5 and the former flop Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE spring to mind, along with From Software’s Dark Souls series, Platinum’s Bayonetta games, Square Enix’s sundry Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games and much, much more.
People are wondering where the game-changing hardware gimmick is, like the DS and Wii lines that made Nintendo so stupidly rich last time around. I think a bit differently in this regard. The early success of the PS4 proved that there’s a market for just being able to play games in a simple and convenient fashion, and a development desire for consoles that are easy to work with and port to, both of which were dearly lacking in the Wii U. The Switch appears to simply be a way to play games in a new, even more convenient way, without actually requiring a steep new learning curve.
Console-quality games on the go was what the Playstation Vita tried and failed to be. Unnecessary complications with its gimmicks and pricing left it to become a very niche console that’s still kicking to this day with some quality titles under its belt, but hardly offering “Call O Dooty 2 Go” like promised. The Switch makes that dream a reality by rolling back on the effort required to understand it.
If I wanted to roll someone through the process of understanding the Playstation Vita, I’d have to do a bit too much spin work to make it seem appealing. Pricey memory cards and a digital-centric ecosystem filled with indie games and Japanese imports of variable quality make for an unappealing casual experience. Even the diamonds among that library need explaining, because the layman will never have heard of them.
The Switch has portable Skyrim. Everyone knows Skyrim, everyone loves Skyrim.
Logan Graham is a junior studying media arts with a focus in games and animation at Ohio University. Are you excited about The Switch? Let him know by emailing him at lg261813@ohio.edu.
