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THQ Nordic kinda disappointed by the Switch's power
- Thread starter Nere
- Start date
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Kittehkraken
Member
We keep circling back to this. That's not what the interview said, or what others have said who take shots at the Switch. They imply the consoles lack of performance, not a lack of time and money required for development. Two very different things. If the hardware can't handle the game, no amount of time and money can fix that unless you start over from scratch. The Switch's hardware is perfectly capable of AAA gaming. Now how capable are some of the LazyDevs using that hardware? I imagine it varies quite greatly.
But the game was a marvel, a swan song for a system devs had extensive experience with and where you could squeeze out every single cycle to make that game happen at all. Plus the right budget that was justified by an appropriate target audience with an engine that was already existent.
No, that's not what I'm saying. But games can be scalable. Except for some technical marvels that really push the limits of their hardware, most games this gen should be able to run on the switch.
I don't accept that all of a sudden, this gen has seen this massive step up in AI, physics, scope etc... over the previous that games can't be scaled down to a lesser hardware.
crazy monkey
Banned
May be they can use established tools which can make game cheaper.
StrongBlackVine
Banned
That is a lot of extra work for possible minimal gains though.
Elex is so much more graphically and AI intensive than what Breath of the Wild and Odyssey are doing.
It's by Piranha Bytes. They make very complex games.
FinaruDensetsu
Member
It's never been common for games to be developed such that console games can be scalable to a handheld. Look at the games that came out on ps4 and vita, mostly Indies and a few lower budget japanese games.
excelsiorlef
Member
But the PS3 and 360 had much larger installer bases than the Switch.
And just because they ported from PS4/XBOX ONE to PS3/360 doesn't mean going from that to Switch is was easy.
Take a look.
Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One and 360.
Doesn't look that bad on 360 right?
And that's a console that has 8 times less RAM than a Switch, way slower CPU and GPU and rather ancient stuff inside.
I imagine pretty much any Xbox One/PS4/PC game could be ported to the Switch.
The question is "Is it worth it?" The Switch doesn't have a very high userbase right now (while it's selling pretty well we don't know how long it will continue to sell well, and what it's normal sales will settle down to when the initial rush for the system is over), it's likely going to cost a lot more and take more time to port a game to the Switch than PS4, Xbox One and PC due to the large power gap, and the physical cards for Switch seem to cost enough more than blu rays that many publishers are charging more for physical Switch versions. It's probably just not worth it at this point for most developers and publishers.
Plus I imagine enough publishers were burned by Nintendo or poor sales of games on Nintendo systems in the past that they're somewhat weary of putting games on the Switch and I can't really blame them.
Most devs stopped optimizing in 2013, because X1 and PS4 (and PC to a certain extent) are so similar they haven't needed to.
Switch is worse than X1 but better than 360, no way it can't run a game, even if they have to cut graphics. Zelda (on both WiiU and Switch) is the proof you can make an open world with no loading times and a great graphic even on that tablet.
Switch is worse than X1 but better than 360, no way it can't run a game, even if they have to cut graphics. Zelda (on both WiiU and Switch) is the proof you can make an open world with no loading times and a great graphic even on that tablet.
Well, reading the article, I wouldn't say they meant that it was "disappointing". I do understand why they are weary to port to a system that is significantly less powerful than your target. If you port from PC to PS4/XB1, there may be small frame rate and resolution cuts you have to make, but from those three to switch will require much more investment. And if they can't sell enough copies on the Switch, then the port won't even have been worth it.
It's still an open question the support third parties will give and receive on the Switch. We all know of the history between third parties and Nintendo, but there did seem to be some genuine effort to change that. Of course, the power gap will always restrict newer games coming onto the Switch, despite what devs and Nintendo do or do not want.
It's still an open question the support third parties will give and receive on the Switch. We all know of the history between third parties and Nintendo, but there did seem to be some genuine effort to change that. Of course, the power gap will always restrict newer games coming onto the Switch, despite what devs and Nintendo do or do not want.
Kittehkraken
Member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzUMUUzXpaM
This game?
That isn't even in the same league as BotW in terms of Ai or Physics. It looks just like any other open world RPG.
ryanofcall
Member
Well it's harder to make games for consoles with limited power because you can't waste ressources with stupid code. It is however possible. That's why Nintendo Games often are the best looking games on Nintendo platforms. They use tricks to save ressources. It's actually one of the main things you learn at most Game design schools.
This actually gives you a pretty good idea on how it can work
So the more creative you get, the more resources you can save. Of course this is time and money consuming so it's easier/less time consuming to develop on a platform with a shitload of resources.
This actually gives you a pretty good idea on how it can work
So the more creative you get, the more resources you can save. Of course this is time and money consuming so it's easier/less time consuming to develop on a platform with a shitload of resources.
I mean they clearly don't have the money or ressources to port or optimize graphical more demanding game to Switch.. Can't blame that for that.
The fact that the have to include a Switch tax on every of their releases says it all. Unless you are indie or a big publisher with lots of mainstream IPs Switch ports might not be the most interesting platform for you.
The fact that the have to include a Switch tax on every of their releases says it all. Unless you are indie or a big publisher with lots of mainstream IPs Switch ports might not be the most interesting platform for you.
I swear, diminishing returns and advance in mobile tech will do wonders in the next few years.Take a look.
Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One and 360.
Doesn't look that bad on 360 right?
And that's a console that has 8 times less RAM than a Switch, way slower CPU and GPU and rather ancient stuff inside.
Nintendo apparently made the right call by choosing Nvidia with Tegra tech as their technological partner, I hope they'll be able to leverage on it (and solve those horrible production issues as soon as possible)
Retro Edge
Member
Great style, yes, great actual real graphic, man, I don't know, what exactly is "great"? It's pretty average for me. For what the switch, theoretically, technically has to offer, it could be twice as nice.
Yes, thats for sure....especially once we see future Switch revisions with more powerful hardware and full BC, that eco system is def. here to stay. Probably the reason why some devs who didnt are before are ready to slowly get involved with Nintendo again because it will result in a longterm pay-off.
For pubs/devs who are more less flexible it makes sense that they would be more disappointment since porting their high end PS4/XBO games will be too difficult.
But it doesn't matter one bit in this case if the Switch is selling well or not, if Nintendo made the right decision or not or what its actual draw is. These devs are seemingly disappointed with what it has to offer hardware power wise and that's pretty much it I guess? It's just their opinion.
You can tell them that this was the best possible outcome for what Nintendo wanted to achieve and whatnot and they'll still tell you they're disappointed with it specs. Wether you agree with it or not is another thing and entirely up to you.
PS2 ran GTA3 how come it doesn't get ports anymore?
Also unless developers are allowed to run dock only games the only specs that should be referenced in regards to ports are the handheld mode. That's what developers have to squeeze their games in to.
Can't go on and on about the form factor and portability but then pretend the docked specs are the portable specs.
On that subject it's rather convenient that when talking specs switch becomes strictly a handheld but when it comes to sales it becomes a console and compared to Wii U instead of 3DS, GB and DS.
Also unless developers are allowed to run dock only games the only specs that should be referenced in regards to ports are the handheld mode. That's what developers have to squeeze their games in to.
Can't go on and on about the form factor and portability but then pretend the docked specs are the portable specs.
On that subject it's rather convenient that when talking specs switch becomes strictly a handheld but when it comes to sales it becomes a console and compared to Wii U instead of 3DS, GB and DS.
I have no idea what you are talking about - Switch sales gets compared to 3DS sales on Sales-GAF all the time.
Its a 300 dollar device that can function as a homeconsole as well - so obv. the comparing it to homeconsole makes sense since its replacing WiiU for now and 3DS is still selling.
Prithee Be Careful
Industry Professional
As usual, most arguments in the Switch's favour hinge on regarding it as a portable, rather than a home console.
However, while Nintendo continues to refer to Switch as a home console and provide consistent support for 3/2DS (including new hardware revisions and 1st-party exclusives), I think people are justified in drawing comparisons between Switch and the PS4, rather than the Switch and PS Vita.
That said, I don't personally think Switch's problems with third parties will be primarily 'power' related. I think the under-developed online infrastructure, digital storefront and the limited internal storage will make it hard work for publishers who now rely on DLC (a single COD: IW expansion is 10GB), MTX and always-online service-driven models (Destiny for example) for long-tail monetisation.
However, while Nintendo continues to refer to Switch as a home console and provide consistent support for 3/2DS (including new hardware revisions and 1st-party exclusives), I think people are justified in drawing comparisons between Switch and the PS4, rather than the Switch and PS Vita.
That said, I don't personally think Switch's problems with third parties will be primarily 'power' related. I think the under-developed online infrastructure, digital storefront and the limited internal storage will make it hard work for publishers who now rely on DLC (a single COD: IW expansion is 10GB), MTX and always-online service-driven models (Destiny for example) for long-tail monetisation.
Retro Edge
Member
Developers, or we the players should have the option to use the full power in handheld mode if we want to. I don't care about a warm handheld or an active fan, let me choose, the power is there inside the handheld, the dock does nothing, let me use the full power.
If the switch ever get hacked, this is the option I hope people will unlock for us.
Then the battery would last for like an hour.
Kresnik258
Member
Ehh. I had hoped with Switch seemingly being the closest-to-home-console-in-power handheld ever we'd be seeing a lot more possible ports make their way across, but it seems like PSP is always going to be the high watermark for home console -> handheld from western devs.
Kinda disappointed. I had hoped we could have started seeing these sort of Euro-jank RPG's that I secretly love making their way to a handheld for the first time ever, stuff like Elex or Technomancer etc. What a shame. Oh well, guess I'm still playing them on PS4 for now!
In contact for more than a year but didn't manage to get Lock's Quest out for Switch
Kinda disappointed. I had hoped we could have started seeing these sort of Euro-jank RPG's that I secretly love making their way to a handheld for the first time ever, stuff like Elex or Technomancer etc. What a shame. Oh well, guess I'm still playing them on PS4 for now!
In contact for more than a year but didn't manage to get Lock's Quest out for Switch
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
What's not being considered is Microsoft footing the bill for the development of the 360 version.
Alexander DeLarge
Member
Third party games released for PS3/Xbox 360 when the Wii U was more powerful than both.
Hmm get a PS4 or Xbox or PC I guess? Nintendo console are notorious for having poor western 3rd parties
It means games that they cant port to Switch wont appear on it - so yeah the same as with every other publisher.
That comicbook inspired game + Sine Mora are appearing on it, so there is that.
Their remasters of PS2/PS360/Wii games should be possible, so should their smaller indie-like efforts. So a lot of their games should be possible on Switch.
Shin Johnpv
Member
It's the chicken and the egg situation here. You need to develop a fan base from the start or else there won't be one for your games down the road. If you want to find success on a platform when it's big you need to support it at the beginning. People look for logos of companies they trust, and have delivered a good product/game to them before.
As far as I understand those specs are actually fairly close when you factor in the decreased graphics workload in portable mode due to the way the system was engineered.
I mean, it's not like Zelda BotW is going to look like Ocarina of Time when switching (no pun intended) to handheld mode.
I believe they did a very nice job with what they got... mostly thanks to what Nvidia gave them by the way.
Well, it is what it is: a hybrid using a mobile chip that's decently powerful so that it can be used in a home console-like scenario.
You're going to see *a lot* of those comparisons due to its nature (and hopefully its improved sales pattern).
Well, while I surely expect very nice things from mobile tech in the coming years, I think those pubs/devs will need to see a sustainable market before they start supporting the Nintendo ecosystem in a decent way.
Hopefully the next 12-18 months will dictate how things are going to evolve in the mid term.
Retro Edge
Member
With my 30000mah powerbanks? I don't think so.
Everyone should have one if you own a switch, it's small, it's simple, it's the perfect battery solution.
Frank West
Banned
I just had to look what games THQ nordic made before. I couldn't care less tbh. No loss for gamers. If you don't like the hardware, please move on. No one cares.
And look at all their visual demanding games....lol.
And look at all their visual demanding games....lol.
Retro Edge
Member
Frank West
Banned
Eh... no, lol. Look at the list of games they released. There is no reason to be salty at all.
Majmun
Member
"You won't make games for my system of choice? No one cares anyway, your games sucks!!!"
- generic nfanboy since 1997
excelsiorlef
Member
They can hook a fanbase in via the PS4 and Xbox One without having to create a completely different port that requires extra resources and time and may will inevitably not be as good.
Sorry but the idea that they were expecting it to be 3DS successor but then question its specs when it has among the best that mobile devices can provide while actually being affordable is just absurd.
Could it be more powerful? Sure. Would that be possible? Sure. Would it be affordable? God no.
Could it be more powerful? Sure. Would that be possible? Sure. Would it be affordable? God no.
Except the very thread this game is about looks great.
I can't roll my eyes any harder at your post.
The fuck are you even talking about, THQ made some great games.
Stop pushing your silly opinion as a fact down everyone's throat.
Frank West
Banned
I have no idea what's wrong with some people like you. I've never said it's a fact. Of course it's my fucking opinion so don't be salty that I don't like anything THQ Nordic has made. I don't care about this fucking company at all.
Stop insulting me for having a opinion. "Silly opinion"....how ignorant, unbelievable.
LordRaptor
Member
So you and that other poster are on the same page, THQ Nordics catalogue is:
- Arcania: Fall of Setarrif
- A Vampire Tale
- Dungeon Lords MMXII
- Painkiller: Recurring Evil
- Painkiller: Hell & Damnation
- SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny
- The Book of Unwritten Tales
- The Book of Unwritten Tales: The Critter Chronicles
- Deadfall Adventures
- MX vs. ATV Supercross
- SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
- Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition
[*]Legend of Kay Anniversary
[*]Darksiders: Warmastered Edition - This Is the Police