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GDC State of the Industry: Devs optimistic about Nintendo Switch, 3% developing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rösti
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Quoting myself for the new page

For comparison:

GDC State of the industry report of February 2013 (pool: 2,500 NA game developers)

http://www.gdconf.com/news/gdc_state_of_the_industry_rese/

GDC State of the industry report of January 2014 (pool: 2,600 NA game developers)

http://www.gdconf.com/news/gdc_state_of_the_industry_ps4_/

I've chosen the reports that would be the best fit for Switch's situation, even if the launch in March and not in November makes it more apple-to-orangish as a comparison than I'd like.
 
So DOA again? Other than the poor marketing of the Wii U to begin with, how is this any different? I also didn't realize development for the 3DS was so low, unless this is just the end of life cycle.
 
For comparison:

GDC State of the industry report of February 2013 (pool: 2,500 NA game developers)

http://www.gdconf.com/news/gdc_state_of_the_industry_rese/

GDC State of the industry report of January 2014 (pool: 2,600 NA game developers)

http://www.gdconf.com/news/gdc_state_of_the_industry_ps4_/

I've chosen the reports that would be the best fit for Switch's situation, even if the launch in March and not in November makes it more apple-to-orangish as a comparison than I'd like.

That's even worse, it's less than the Wii U and way below PS4 and XB1.

Wow that's truly an amazing feat
 
Damn, this unreleased console is doomed if not every devs isn't working on it, despite devkits being sent very cautiously !

EDIT : lmao I thought we were all trolling but there are seriously people thinking that
 
That would make for a weird survey would it not? Polling people from the same dev team, doesn't that skew the numbers?

I thought they did this survey on a team basis and not on an each separate individual on a team.

The understanding I had of it was that they polled individual people, so there might be crossover.
 
I am not sure I quite get the correlation about optimism and the 3% indication of developer participation. Now, Nintendo is probably being Nintendo again concerning distribution of dev kits but it's still not that great.
 
I suspect a lot of this has to do with how slow Nintendo's been at sending out dev kits, moreso than consumer demand.

EDIT: Then again, each developer may have different reasons for developing, and I don't feel the survey necessarily addresses that. That'd be something I--and hopefully Nintendo--would be interested in seeing.
 
Isn't 135 developers basically more than what Wii U had in its whole lifetime? Ok, adding all indie games, there was probably more on Wii U (all those shitty shovelware games had different devs), but on the other hand, they've had many years to add to the number for Wii U devs while Switch isn't even launched, and it already has over 135 developers working on it and many more probably having their next game on the system. That's pretty damn good, especially if there's lots of bigger developers (like there is according to that picture showing off the developers already on it).

If you're going to make this type of claim you have to give a link.
 
How in the fuck are there more AR game developers than Switch developers?

like several people have said, most developers haven't got access to the dev kit. that's why.

its an almost meaningless figure

plus there's going to be a lot of devs wanting to wait to see how successful it is before committing resources hoping it isn't another wii u
 
For comparison:

GDC State of the industry report of February 2013 (pool: 2,500 NA game developers)

http://www.gdconf.com/news/gdc_state_of_the_industry_rese/

GDC State of the industry report of January 2014 (pool: 2,600 NA game developers)

http://www.gdconf.com/news/gdc_state_of_the_industry_ps4_/

I've chosen the reports that would be the best fit for Switch's situation, even if the launch in March and not in November makes it more apple-to-orangish as a comparison than I'd like.

Thank you. So, 4.6% in the months after the Wii U's launch - which wasn't a bad launch window it should be noted, given it sold 3 million (about a quarter of its lifetime sales) in those first few months. So kinda comparable, and gonna be definitely dependent on how well the Switch does after its launch window has passed (since that's where the Wii U quickly turned sour).
 
Note that HoloLens is actually shrinking in the "are you developing for it" metric. It's popular in the "Interested" metric, but that seems like the least committed.

I didn't know that there was actual game content developed for it. I always saw gaming as an unusual use case for that.
 
Actually, I wouldn't call devs optimistic at all if 50% of them doesn't believe that it'll outperform Wii-U.

I mean, how dismal is that?
 
Keep in mind less developers were asked. And Nintendo have probably been much tighter with dev kits this time considering their secrecy
That's not some sort of excuse that's an outright negative. There's no good reason for them to be tighter with the dev kits, stuff still leaked. It's a case of messed up priorities.
 
If nintendo are tight with devkits, thats a pretty stupid move. Like...WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THAT? Its the opposite of what they should do.
 
Is 'nintendo is being extraordinarily tight with devkits' the new 'everyone is under NDA'?

They are tight with dev kits. This is a fact. They aren't letting anyone get them now, and will open them up in a couple of months.

I wanted to get an NS dev kit since I have a Wii U kit and I can't get one yet. There are lots of others who are in the same boat. Gotta wait for them to open it up for us to get them.
 
The numbers are what they are but I'm not sure asking developers in February-March 2016 what they were doing with the Switch was going to get much of a response. Especially when over Half of GDC attendees tend to say they are indie developers.
 
I didn't know that there was actual game content developed for it. I always saw gaming as an unusual use case for that.

I can't believe MS wasted a segment of an E3 presentation to show off gaming on Hololens. Way too early. Reeked of filler at the time.
 
Isn't 135 developers basically more than what Wii U had in its whole lifetime? Ok, adding all indie games, there was probably more on Wii U (all those shitty shovelware games had different devs), but on the other hand, they've had many years to add to the number for Wii U devs while Switch isn't even launched, and it already has over 135 developers working on it and many more probably having their next game on the system. That's pretty damn good, especially if there's lots of bigger developers (like there is according to that picture showing off the developers already on it).
This isn't 1 developer = 1 studio, this is 1 developer = 1 person.
 
I think this will definitely do better that the Wii U for sure. Nintendo just needs to provide the games, ensure that it's a reliable as all their past hardware, and put forth a much stronger effort in 3rd party support.

Whatever you hear or see in this thread or over the next few days, just remember that price is key. This will be the most important factor before the features then games.


The Nintendo Switch's main advantage is it's versatility in how it can be used to game, which no other device can offer. They are really good in providing highly enjoyable 1st party content, which MOST mobile game cannot come close to matching terms of long last experience. If they have 3rd developers who can deliver successful ports, this console will have even more long last experiences for gamers to enjoy.

Not only am I excited for the 1st party games, but the potential to be play RPGs on the Go. I think that there are a lot of Vita owners who would agree that being able to play FFX on the go was a pretty satisfying experience.

Other things I personally really like is:

The overall size of the device

Uses Micro SD, which my phone uses

Uses USB C, which is a fantastic standard and what my Windows tablet uses

If this device ends up being easy to use and not clunky/buggy (that would be un characteristic of Nintendo) that will be and other big plus
 
Switch is suppose to come out in few weeks right? Withholding dev-kits to prevent leaks is not the best approach. This pretty much guarantees that there are going to be droughts right out of the gate.


What was there to gain from not having have full reveal last year anyway? It's not like Sony and Microsoft are clamouring to make a similar product. And Wii U was treated worst than a red-headed step child during the Holiday season.
 
Not particularly surprising, but its hard to gauge how meaningful it is other than it being less than the competitors which everyone would expect. The PS4 numbers already tell us that most there are not traditional games developers, and I would imagine a large percentage of the PS4 respondants are indie devs who may or may not even have access to the Switch at this point in time.

Also fair to consider that the brunt of whatever 3rd party support the Switch will get would be from Japanese devs who would not be at this event.
 
They are tight with dev kits. This is a fact. They aren't letting anyone get them now, and will open them up in a couple of months.

I wanted to get an NS dev kit since I have a Wii U kit and I can't get one yet. There are lots of others who are in the same boat. Gotta wait for them to open it up for us to get them.

Why are they doing this?
 
Wii U + 3DS + Switch = Is there any reason why Nintendo won't dominate the world?

Why are they doing this?

It's better this way. You don't want them to end up like Sony, where every dirty ex-con with a record is developing games for it like it was some public water fountain.
 
Actually, I wouldn't call devs optimistic at all if 50% of them doesn't believe that it'll outperform Wii-U.

I mean, how dismal is that?

With all those technical specs that were available in February-March 2016 and all that surety about what kind of device it was going to be, or even what form factor it would be.

SAD!
 
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