Video Games
Remap Save Point 2024
The fine folks at Remap (formerly from WayPoint and GiantBomb) are back together in person for a good cause at this year’s Save Point.
It seems like a different lifetime when the guys from GiantBomb used to all be together in the same room streaming videogames. We didn’t know how good we had it! Ever since everyone moved home, this type of content just isn’t the same.
While remote work is great, and allowed these content creators to have a much better work/life balance, I won’t lie and say that I don’t miss the in-person vibes. The current streams with floating heads don’t hit the same way. These yearly streams are precious now since we get so little videos of actual people in a room together.
I also wish that Nextlander did something like this once a year. I follow their streams more than Remap and just miss seeing them together.
Some Thoughts on Nintendo Music
Nintendo has always excelled in filling its games and consoles with memorable music and sounds. This care can be seen in the big theme songs that everyone remembers, but also in the small bits and bops that play whenever a button is pressed on a system menu.
That didn’t make it less surprising when Nintendo decided to announce a Spotify like music app dedicated just to their music. More surprising yet is that it’s actually pretty good!
At first, it seems a bit superfluous to have a separate app for something that could just be an artist page or category on an existing music streaming service. But Nintendo put a lot of its charm into this specific music app that makes it unique and appealing.
What jumped at me first was how the search is separated by default by console. Essentially, this means you can travel through time to previous generations of consoles if you want to indulge in some nostalgia, including hearing the great system music that Nintendo has made. Currently, only Wii system music is available, hopefully more are added soon. Another highlight of the search panel is how it shows the games present in your Nintendo account right at the start. This is something that couldn’t be done without this bespoke app and that has a lot of potential.
Besides the search, I’m also enjoying the default playlists Nintendo has created, like mood specific, character/game based and thematic ones (like just Zelda dungeon music). Trying to put my four-month-old baby to sleep using Nintendo slow jams was not in my plans.
I would say that, apart from the catalog still missing games and songs, the biggest knock against the app is how it doesn’t contain any credits for the songs. No artists or musicians are mentioned or searchable. Everything is made by “Nintendo” in a sad erasure of individual artists. Not only is it a disservice to these artists, but it’s also a missing opportunity for fans to discover interesting connections of their favourite songs and games. I would like if Nintendo rectified this.
Overall the release of this app was a pleasant surprise and I have been using it often. However, it’s only a first version and Nintendo should keep improving it and adding to it. If you have a Nintendo Online Subscription, give it a try!
(As a side note, hearing all this game music also reminded me that I play too many games on mute, and I’m probably missing a lot of good music and sounds)