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Has switch met the checklist to attract 3rd partys?

H

Haines

Banned
I dont actually know what this list would be. It will certainly never have the power of the other consoles, but maybe ports arent what 3rd partys focus on.

Sales certainly come into play, and it looks like it will have that in the bag.

Do you think they should be jumping aboard or is there more critera nintendo needs to meet than what switch means in todays market?
 
N

NinjaCoachZ

Member
Japanese third parties are already starting to get on board. Western developers might wait and see how well Skyrim, FIFA etc. do in the holidays but I'd have to imagine the fact that it's topping NPD even after its release and in spite of its stock issues has to be attracting some eyeballs. We probably won't really see western AAA third-party support start to ramp up until mid-next year.
 
WhiteWaterM00se

WhiteWaterM00se

Member
Nintendo still needs to get its online straightened out, not only for consumers but for third parties as well. I'm referring to voice chat, friend match making, etc.

I still think major developers are still not fully onboard. Capcom, among others, still have a wait and see approach.
 
J

James Scott

Banned
If you're making a Japan centric release you'd be a bit nuts to not even consider Switch.
Hasn't become big enough to persuade western devs with big AAA properties
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Member
Yes and No.
There's probably going to be a bit of a wii situation going on. High sell numbers for the unit itself. But the power of the system itself is going to choke a lot of the bigger third party. However I don't see things being that bad this time around. Since while it's still a big jump I think the current tools at hand are easier to work with and that alone should help a lot.
 
S

SpiceMelange

Member
So far it doesn't feel like the big western publishers are jumping hard on the switch train. Another story for Japanese publishers though, they seem to have warmed up to it.
 
T

Tali'Zorah

Member
if Skyrim sells well I can see many more third parties looking to port last gen games to the Switch. As for new games, given the power disparity it looks unlikely that big, AAA games releasing on PS4/XB1 will be able to make their way to the Switch. Could we end up seeing games being made by third parties that are designed with the Switch in mind though? I don't see why not if sales continue the way they have been.
 
G

GunBR

Member
Japanese 3rd parties? Sure, the console is the successor of the 3DS and Vita is (slowly) dying even in Japan

Western 3rd parties? lol. Not even the Wii had a great support
 
J

J@hranimo

Banned
slorelli said:
I will predict half of gaf will say yes and the other half will say it's too early to tell.
Click to expand...

Cop out post, I like it :p

The criteria seems to usually be:

1. Strong, consistent sales of hardware
2. Varied userbase that shows decent sales of other smaller non-Nintendo games and 3rd party titles.
3. Hardware with capable specs and tools for porting.

First two seem to check out, but we may need to see more games to fill the third one imo.
 
G

Gotdatmoney

Member
For Western devs. It never will. For Japanese devs, the smart ones will jump on board if they value domestic sales. But still gonna be a battle with the current market.
 
JordanN

JordanN

Banned
IMO, the timing of the Switch kills it for 3rd party.

It launched in the middle of the generation. If smartphones, PS4, or Xbox get successors released in the next 1 or 2 years, it puts Nintendo further back.

If publishers want to support the system, it's because they have games they want to port later to it when the above devices go out of fashion.
 
M

MoonFrog

Member
Looks like it'll be the leading platform on the Japanese market and can accept games ported from or to PS4 better than Vita or PS3. There is also no Vita successor in sight. It should be incredibly attractive to Japanese companies that need/want a larger domestic audience than the PS4 can provide, both those that tended to put out on 3DS and those that have been doing PS4/Vita/PS3 cross-generation. They can hit PS4/Switch with ~one game now; have their game out on the most relevant console worldwide as well as the most relevant console at home.

I think plenty of Japan gets this and it should bring in support to supplement the 3DS legacy, which will suffer attrition to longer development times and mobile.

...

I don't think we have much reason to think that it will get much more western support than 3DS/Wii U got. We'll see how Fifa does. Maybe it'll get better sports support.

But I doubt we'll see TESVI (if that is even this generation), for example, even if Skyrim does well.
 
P

Platy

Member
JordanN said:
IMO, the timing of the Switch kills it for 3rd party.

It launched in the middle of the generation. If smartphones, PS4, or Xbox get successors released in the next 1 or 2 years, it puts Nintendo further back.

If publishers want to support the system, it's because they have games they want to port later to it when the above devices go out of fashion.
Click to expand...

Pro and Scorpio say they will wait more than 2 years at least
 
Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
It has met the checklist to attract half ass offerings from 3rd parties who don't wanna develop anything substantial when they'll have to compete with Mario and Zelda anyway.
 
M

Mr_Moogle

Member
Didn't Nintendo poison the well with third parties decades ago? The Wii was a smash hit selling over 100 million consoles and third parties still didn't give a shit about it. Why would the Switch be any different?
 
A

AzaK

Member
As mentioned, Western devs (apart from Indies) are probably still waiting. The thing that I fear is that they see the potential but fill that with just the big casuals (FIFA), indies and games that are portable-centric. I really want to see Tomb Raider and all that stuff on there but alas I don't think it will get those. Most people wanting those games have another console/PC and those big blockbuster experiences are best played on a TV/Monitor anyway.
 
F

Fukuzatsu

Member
MoonFrog said:
Looks like it'll be the leading platform on the Japanese market and can accept games ported from or to PS4 better than Vita or PS3. There is also no Vita successor in sight. It should be incredibly attractive to Japanese companies that need/want a larger domestic audience than the PS4 can provide, both those that tended to put out on 3DS and those that have been doing PS4/Vita/PS3 cross-generation. They can hit PS4/Switch with ~one game now; have their game out on the most relevant console worldwide as well as the most relevant console at home.

I think plenty of Japan gets this and it should bring in support to supplement the 3DS legacy, which will suffer attrition to longer development times and mobile.

...

I don't think we have much reason to think that it will get much more western support than 3DS/Wii U got. We'll see how Fifa does. Maybe it'll get better sports support.

But I doubt we'll see TESVI (if that is even this generation), for example, even if Skyrim does well.
Click to expand...

Even this seems to vary by title though. For example, the follow-up to Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (a Vita game with a later PS4 port) isn't coming to Switch, and other Vita/PS4 titles still seem to be following this pattern (The Lost Child, Tokyo Xanadu, Danganronpa, Legend of Heroes, etc.)

A few exceptions like Fate, Dragon Quest, and Puyo Puyo Tetris stand out, but Switch still has a ways to go before it can even brag about the sort of 3rd party support the Vita had. On the inside front though, I'd say it's more or less already there.
 
D

Defuser

Member
As long as Nintendo's hardware is not up to par where western third parties they can port their CoD/BF/AC or any of their AAA IP with equal parity to their Xbox/PS counterparts. The west developers will never support Nintendo.
 
T

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Western indies and Japanese studios already seem onboard. Western large studios are probably going to still stay away just because this thing can't run Red Dead or Wolfenstein II
 
L

Lord of Ostia

Member
It'll get the majority of multiplats coming out of Japan (this has already started to happen). As for Western support, indies will support it, mid-sized publishers will support it with smaller games (THQ Nordic, for example), and big publishers will put the occasional game out for it that is either tailored to the console (Mario+Rabbids) or is a more casual/family friendly experience (Just Dance, Fifa, NBA2K, Rayman, Fe).
 
D

DeuceGamer

Member
Fukuzatsu said:
Even this seems to vary by title though. For example, the follow-up to Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth (a Vita game with a later PS4 port) isn't coming to Switch, and other Vita/PS4 titles still seem to be following this pattern (The Lost Child, Tokyo Xanadu, Danganronpa, Legend of Heroes, etc.)

A few exceptions like Fate, Dragon Quest, and Puyo Puyo Tetris stand out, but Switch still has a ways to go before it can even brag about the sort of 3rd party support the Vita had. On the inside front though, I'd say it's more or less already there.
Click to expand...

Most of those games were planned long ago. Games that are getting approved by Japanese Publishers now are far more likely to have a Switch version than just a few months ago. With the sales in Japan most Publishers would be crazy not to seriously consider a Switch version if they want good sales in Japan.
 
S

shawnbuddy

Member
No. For an easy port they need to be similar enough in specs to the others. Xbox One and PS4 are basically underpowered PCs in smaller boxes. The Switch is more like a mobile device, even using Tegra.
 
E

Effect

Member
For major or semi major western 3rd parties? No. It will never meet whatever checklist they have. It will actually be a checklist that always keeps moving further and further away no matter what Nintendo accomplishes with the Switch or ends up being run on the system.

For those outside of them? I think it might if it hasn't already.
 
F

Fukuzatsu

Member
DeuceGamer said:
Most of those games were planned long ago. Games that are getting approved by Japanese Publishers now are far more likely to have a Switch version than just a few months ago. With the sales in Japan most Publishers would be crazy not to seriously consider a Switch version if they want good sales in Japan.
Click to expand...

I mean, the follow-up I'm referring to (Hacker's Memory) and The Lost Child aren't even out yet while Fate is well, a released game. So I find it hard to believe the point of contention here is necessarily just development windows. Another example from Spike Chunsoft for example is Virtue's Last Reward. Out on 3DS but Switch isn't getting a new then port for Nonary Games and/or Zero Time Dilemma like PS4 is.
 
S

Shaanyboi

Banned
Not with a system that is as underpowered as it is. Western third parties will continue to stay away, and Japanese lower budget titles and indies will have to fill the void.

But even if power wasn't a concern, Nintendo is still barely showing that third parties can find an audience with the kinds of games they make. Splatoon doing well atleast shows an online shooter can be popular, but that doesn't suddenly mean they're going "looking good! Start porting Destiny 2!"
 
D

DeuceGamer

Member
Fukuzatsu said:
I mean, the follow-up I'm referring to (Hacker's Memory) and The Lost Child aren't even out yet while Fate is well, a released game. So I find it hard to believe the point of contention here is necessarily just development windows. Another example from Spike Chunsoft for example is Virtue's Last Reward. Out on 3DS but Switch isn't getting a new then port for Nonary Games and/or Zero Time Dilemma like PS4 is.
Click to expand...

When those games were greenlit, the Switch was not the phenomenon it is in Japan. The majority of Japanese Publishers will take a long hard look at Switch with any project that is greenlit moving forward. Obviously it won't get all releases, but it will get the majority once the games that are currently entering development are released.
 
N

Nessus

Member
I sorta feel like one of the items that would need to be on that checklist is "no Nintendo games to compete with".
 
…

……forgetit

Member
It's winning over indies and japan, but don't expect the AAA western games on it any time soon. I mean it wont see destiny 2 for example if that's what you're asking.
 
D

DJIzana

Member
Have a feeling the next major 3rd party game we'll see will be the next Yakuza game that's getting announced this week.
 
C

chrisPjelly

Member
Ehhh not really. However, I'm expecting all the ports to do UNUSUALLY well, due to the sheer novelty of it being on a handheld, and I can imagine a lot more coming down line shortly after. However, it should be enough for most JP developers, so I think we'll see Vita/3ds levels of support from that front.
 
Jubenhimer

Jubenhimer

Member
Well it's a successful platform that's easy to develop for, has continuously great sales, and a concept that developers can actually understand. I'd say Nintendo's off to a good start so far. As for power, well honestly, it doesn't really matter. Developers for the most part are fine with under-powered hardware as long as it's both easy to program for and had the sales to offset it. The Nintendo DS was a souped up Nintendo 64 in terms of specs, yet that thing got a GTA game. Sure, you may not see Red Dead 2 on the Swtich anytime soon, but there should be plenty of other content to enjoy, and plenty of reason for developers to make an exclusive or 2 every year.
 
W

watdaeff4

Member
Haines said:
I dont actually know what this list would be. It will certainly never have the power of the other consoles, but maybe ports arent what 3rd partys focus on.

Sales certainly come into play, and it looks like it will have that in the bag.

Do you think they should be jumping aboard or is there more critera nintendo needs to meet than what switch means in todays market?
Click to expand...

The checklist for AAA third parties is probably pretty much:

1) Did Nintendo really piss us off in the past? (from what I surmise there are still some devs/publishers bitter about Nintendo's policies and attitudes from the NES/SNES days)

2) Can this game sell well enough on the Switch platform to justify?

And frankly, I think it is too early to tell. Just a pulling out of my butt guess - I'm guessing many devs are going to see how FIFA, NBA2K, Skyrim sell before taking that leap.

Like it or not, Nintendo consoles have pretty much been a secondary Nintendo exclusive-only consoles for many consumers (me included). So even with the initial promising sales of the Switch, that doesn't mean 3rd party games will sell well.

Also, the Switch doesn't have the horsepower and similar development requirements of the other platforms (PC/Xbox/PS4) that these companies produce for and I"m guessing will increase dev time (and cost) to try to make a Switch version - further eroding profits with a potentially small base that would buy it for that. (i.e. Someone like me who has multiple consoles - I'm less likely to buy Call of Duty on the Switch)

If it makes you feel any better, I double-dipped on Shovel Knight to get it on the Switch and bought Sonic Mania on the Switch. And plan on buying at least FIFA and NBA on the switch instead of XBox or PS4. I might double dip on Skyrim again to have it on the go. But I'm crazy and the exception, not the norm.
 
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