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Topic: Publisher Report Card (judging third party support)

Posts 1 to 20 of 21

Magician

It's Friday, I'm enjoying my time with Dragon's Dogma. The Switch is barely into the third year of its life cycle. As I sit here listening to the April 24th podcast from Easy Allies I find myself looking over my Switch collection . I see some great games...and some...not so great games.

I'm feeling a little judgemental right now. So forgive me if this thread comes off like my own personal blog. But I'm passionate about the Switch, it's my current favorite platform for this hobby that I love. And I'd like a place to sound off on how I feel about game publishers and the games they're bringing to the platform, physical releases specifically.

Today? Merge Games - B+ Most recent physical release: Truberbrook.

I greatly appreciate Merge Games. One of the finest mid-tier publishers in the business. Most of the games they've chosen to publish physically for Switch are great, with Riot: Civil Unrest arguably being the weakest offering. But they've published some killers. Dead Cells, Moonlighter, Yonder, etc.

What about you? Do you have an opinion of a particular publisher in regards to their support (or nonsupport) of the Switch? Sound off. But until the next physical release, back to Dragon's Dogma I go.

Edited on by Magician

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

judaspete

Happy to see SNK on board. They've only released Tag Team Heroins so far, but Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters are on the way.

judaspete

My Nintendo: judaspete | Nintendo Network ID: judaspete

Anti-Matter

EA = F, will be A if they release The Sims 4 for Nintendo Switch

Konami = F, will be A+ if they release Dance Dance Revolution for Nintendo Switch.

Keen Games = B- , will be A if they fix the bug and upgrade the graphic and frame rate from 30fps to 60fps for their Portal Knights.

SquareEnix = B+, will be A if they port and remaster some Classic Final Fantasy series for Nintendo Switch and also released in physical media.

Edited on by Anti-Matter

Anti-Matter

Sisilly_G

Capcom are one of the worst with their half-hearted or complete lack of physical releases. I have had to import everything except the Street Fighter games, as they are the only Capcom games on Switch that had been issued a retail release in Australia.

I would have bought all of the Resident Evil games had they been issued a physical release, but I won't be buying any of the three "Origin" releases unless they get their act together.

Bethesda has also screwed all of their physical releases...
DOOM - Only single-playe campaign included on cartridge. No map editor (which would make more sense on a touch-based device like the Switch than the home consoles). Multiplayer content and bug fixes/patches require 8GB+ "update". Content not included on the cartridge should have been a la carte DLC instead of having a huge download imposed upon users. Perhaps the most insulting part of all is that the patch occupies 8GB of space and still demands that you fork over money for a NSO subscription.
Skyrim - Good for the most part, but persons from non-English speaking backgrounds may wish to download language packs (being about 3GB each). Ideally, this should have been included on a larger cartridge, or, like the old days, issue region-specific cartridges for each market.
Wolfenstein II - Half-cartridge nonsense. Game only partially playable without download.
Wolfenstein Youngblood - Download code in a case, even for the deluxe edition. Further downloads offered as a pre-order incentive for a download-only game sold at retail...

I have just bought a gaming PC (which I don't necessarily intend to use for gaming, at least not often) so I might opt for the PC versions of iD's games going forward, but for as long as the game is not provided in full on disc or cartridge, I will wait for a heavy discount.

Edited on by Sisilly_G

"Gee, that's really persuasive. Do you have any actual points to make other than to essentially say 'me Tarzan, physical bad, digital good'?"

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Aozz101x

Bethesda = A+, im liking the releases we're getting from them, there pretty much on board for the switch.
Capcom = C+ there getting us some games. Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, and Dogma are pretty good picks though. even if alot of those are ports.
Bandai Namco = A, there giving the switch pretty good support. so many games from them are coming to switch. let's keep that up Bandai Namco!
Square Enix = B+, great support from them, after the great sales octopath. it's clear that they see the switch as a big thing to bring their games. we got a new JRPG coming this summer from them.
EA = D, i'm just gonna pick their games up for PC or PS4. maybe down the road they will support switch? EA's support for switch seems pretty lackluster. there are a few games from them that have been released for it though.

Edited on by Aozz101x

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Magician

Square-Enix - A
Most recent release - Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age

Without a shadow of doubt, the best third party support for the Switch comes by way of Square-Enix. S-E has been contracting developers all over the place in order to port some of the most popular games in the S-E catalogue to the Switch asap. Dragon Quest XI was originally announced as the first Nintendo NX third party game in development before the platform was officially named the "Switch". And S-E delivered a console exclusive in Octopath Traveler, then soon afterwards hired additional staff to the studio that developed the game, unofficially investing more into Switch development.

The relationship between S-E and Nintendo still doesn't compared to the SNES days, but it's the strongest I've seen since.

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Qwertyninty

Activision FFF. Bethesda A+

Qwertyninty

Magician

PM Studios - B
http://www.pm-studios.com/
Most recent release: Cytus Alpha

They're best known for publishing music/rhythm games. Superbeat Xonic, Deemo, Musynx, Voez, etc. But over the past year or so they've been branching out, publishing games outside of the music/rhythm genre. Mercenaries Saga Chronicles, WILL: A Wonderful World, Horizon Chase Turbo, etc. I appreciate them almost as much as Merge Games, although I feel that Merge Games choices' of which games to publish is slightly better.

Edited on by Magician

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Ryu_Niiyama

EA = F: I respect that they had to retool FIFA but there are other games they could have brought over by now. Where is ME TRILOGY, where is Dragon Age Origins- Inquisition? Or Mirror's Edge? (Perhaps only the 360 game though). No Sims games...even the my sims spin offs. They feel barely there and while I could understand that when the switch first launched I don't have any sympathy for them now. The good thing is my annoyance with them overall means I'm not buying any EA games on my other systems either. So helps my bottom line.

Capcom= C: I like their output really I do but some of the business choices are perplexing (some of this is across the board and not just switch) In general their ports have been good, and well optimized to the switch. However the trickle is frustrating. Why not an onimusha trilogy or even all three for 20 each? I mean that is what is going to happen anyway so why not just get it out of the way? Why no Ultra Street Fighter 4? (I understand why no 5), Capcom has enough games that skipped nintendo systems but are well loved that they could pad the switch library and come up with new entries at some point.

Bamco = C-: I respect the work done with smash but I really wish bamco would put more of their original works. Where is tekken (port TTT2 if you must), where is Soul Calibur (Or at least IIHD)? Like with capcom, I am hoping for more next year.

SEGA/Atlus D= Sega drags the curve down a bit, however I do expect Atlus to port persona 5 the Royal at some point because the Joker entry is starting to sting a little. Sega as sega, is pretty disappointing all around. I am still hoping for Yakuza at some point (even if it is port of the wiiu game) and if they ever bring back VF I'll take everything back but for now. If it weren't for Atlus and SMT I'd lump them with EA.
I'll add as I think of it.

I will say I do miss the wii/wiiu days when we got unique IPs/entries from 3rd parties. Don't get me wrong I appreciate the ports but new, unique experiences I hope are in the pipe line for year 3

Edited on by Ryu_Niiyama

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Magician

Ryu_Niiyama wrote:

Bamco = C-

Hmm, a little bit harsh I think. Bamco has supported the Switch nearly as well as Square Enix has. It's true that the Switch hasn't received some of Bamco's heavy hitters, Tekken, Ace Combat, Ridge Racer, etc. But if you're a fan of anime games, Bamco has been delivering nonstop. Super Robot Wars T, multiple Dragon Ball games, multiple One Piece games, Sword Art Online, God Eater, My Hero Academia, etc. Never mind them also delivering more niche games such as Katamari Damacy, Taiko Drum Master, Little Nightmares, Dark Souls, Tales of Vesperia, etc.

Consider cutting Bamco a little more slack.
Edit: Sentence cleanup.

Edited on by Magician

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Magician

Sega - B
Most recent release: Team Sonic Racing

Pretty jolly vibes from Sega in general. They've embraced the Switch as a platform, delivering day-and-date releases for Shining Resonance Refrain, Valkryia Chronicles 4, Sonic Forces, and now Team Sonic Racing. Then you have the Switch-exclusive Sega Ages series of games that are part port, part remake as every game has quality of life updates that make them worth purchasing in addition to the Sega Genesis Collection. And finally, Sega has a new initiative of making more of their catalogue multiplatform following an atrocious financial report.

Over the next year I expect Sega's support of the Switch to ramp up. Catherine: Full Body, Dragon's Crown Pro, Alien: Isolation, Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, Odin Sphere: Leiftrasir, Shenmue I & II, etc. Sorry Yakuza and Persona fans, those games will probably stay on PlayStation platforms.

Edited on by Magician

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Heavyarms55

I am annoyed with Bethesda for them not bringing anything but the mobile Fallout game to Switch. I would be ecstatic to play FO3 and/New Vegas on the go.

And I am annoyed that in general we don't have a good COD or Battlefield style military shooter on Switch. I don't see the need to have the yearly entry on Switch like the other platforms, but I would love to see either a Battlefield or COD title actually built for the Switch.

On the other hand I appreciate seeing many classic Final Fantasy titles on Switch. Though I would love to see something more, like Final Fantasy Tactics (new or a port of the old ones)

Switch has some stellar indie support, and despite what some people say, that IS third party support. Games like Stardew Valley, Wargroove, Celeste, Hollow Knight etc... game on!

I love that we got Civ 6 and Cities Skylines. Though neither are totally perfect ports, I've put dozens of hours into each.

Edited on by Heavyarms55

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Magician

Nicalis - A
Most recent release: Crystal Crisis

Nicalis has been steadily building its cache as a publisher on Switch. Most of the games they've published have received physical releases, usually packed with additional goodies (sans the subsequent print runs for The Binding of Isaac which pack in no extras). The range of games they publish is wide, metroidvania, action/platformer, action/adventure, racing, brawler, beat'em up, shump, and now the puzzler Crystal Crisis. However, they've been surprisingly quiet as of late, with nothing past Umihara Kawase Fresh announced.

'90s Super GP will probably be a 2020 release, but what will come after that?

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Anti-Matter

EA = F
I will change from F into AAA if EA bring The Sims 4 for Nintendo Switch with exactly same contents as PS4 / XBOX ONE version.

Anti-Matter

Magician

Anti-Matter wrote:

EA = F
I will change from F into AAA if EA bring The Sims 4 for Nintendo Switch with exactly same contents as PS4 / XBOX ONE version.

Yeah, EA has made their opinion of the Switch known. Year three of the Switch being on the market and there still isn't a port of Madden or NHL? Unacceptable. From that perspective, even the PS Vita received better support from EA than the Switch has. Will this be the year that EA finally ports more games to the Switch, or does EA still feel burned from the years they supported the Wii U?

Switch Physical Collection - 1,241 games (as of March 23rd, 2024)
Favorite Quote: "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." -Edna St. Vincent Millay

Kyloctopus

Thunderful/Rising Star: A+. Really great selection of games, some have been absolute favorites of mine to play. Early supporter of the platform.

Jackbox Games: A+. Maybe it's a bit of a copout to give Jackbox such a high grade, but all of their games are high quality and have either made it on Switch very early in it's life or at the launch of their newly released games. Their games also often go on sale too, which is a nice boost.

Bethesda: A. Probably the best of the AAA publishers. All their ports are of good quality, excluding the required download for a few of them. Their bigger games are being released at the launch of the system, Fallout Shelter is a pretty good on Free to Start standards. And they were nice enough to spare Switch users of Fallout 76.

Square Enix: A. It's recently been a Final Fantasy Extravaganza, but The World Ends With You and Octopath are particular favorites of mine. The Tokyo RPG Factory are good inclusions as well. But please Square Enix, I want to play Life Is Strange on Switch, preferably with HD Rumble.

Merge Games: A. You can definitely feel that they are dedicated to publishing high quality Switch games. I'm not a fan of the entire catalogue, but they definitely aren't the scams that other publishers are throwing on the eShop.

WB Games: A-. It's a good list of games. Scribblenauts, a handful of LEGO games, Cars 3: Driven to Win and their biggest release yet, Mortal Kombat 11. MK11 is a good sign that things are turning around for Third Party Switch development and it's great that WB is one of the developers kicking that off.

Ubisoft: A-. Roughly 20 games in a matter of just over 2 years ain't bad at all. Some really great ones including the South Park games, Mario + Rabbids, Just Dance and Valiant Hearts. But it still feels like most of their games are part of their back catalog. I mean it's great that Ubisoft wants to put games on Switch, but it doesn't mean we want Hungry Shark World.

Konami: A-. Super Bomberman R is an early favorite Switch game of mine, but also seeing these great recent ports of their catalog, alongside Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy of the Duelist coming out soon. It's also really cool to see Snake and Bomberman in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Playism: B+. There are alot of weird ones published. But it's a good mix. I'd still recommend people to play Kero Blaster and Astebreed.

HAMSTER: B+. Excellent ports on games and collections. Worked with Nintendo on some arcade games previously not released for 35+ years. The quality of the games themselves are far from perfect though.

City Connection/Zerodiv: B. Pumping out alot of great classic ports, even if they could've added new functionalities. Physical releases are also cool, despite them being region exclusive.

Cyberstep: B. Mostly ok Free to Start games. Dawn of the Breakers does have a Mobile-Switch Cross-Save function though, which is pretty cool to see.

2K: B-. One of the bigger Western developers supporting Switch. Their NBA2K and Civ 6 ports have been pretty good for the most part. Enough to forgive them over the godawful WWE2K Port. 2K Playgrounds is riddled with microtransactions for little reason and Carnival Games is just an outdated game by this point that's quality was debated upon since it's first release on Wii. Very mixed bag of published works.

Wired Productions: B-. They've been rather good at supporting Switch, but alot of their ports feel like 2nd Class. I'm talking about Victor Vran, Shaq Fu and Grip Combat Racing

Focus Home Interactive: B-. Alot of their titles are either avoiding Switch, or coming out much later than release, such as Vampyr and Mud Runner. Their ports could be better as well.

FTE Games: C+. If you're looking for good arcade games to buy on Switch, there are several other interfaces I would recommend beyond Johnny Turbo's Arcade, but is a Data East gem or two in there to check out.

EA: C+. We're missing out on alot and I'm getting the impression that it's for petty reasons. But it at least looks like things might be turning around, after Fe, Unravel 2 and this new game from Velan Studios that sounds intruiging.

Ratalaika: C. Alot of games, none of them particularly great.

GreyBox: C-. Rime was given multiple delays for the Switch version, alongside a $10 price hike compared to other versions. Upon release Rime was a pretty substandard port at launch, especially in handheld mode. Their apology gift was little bonuses in Dreadnaught, a PC game that I didn't care about. If I wanted gifts in Dreadnaught, chances are I would be a PC gamer and therefore probably wouldn't have even considered Rime in the first place. Their efforts have been a mess. Eventually, the Switch version did receive a worthy performance boost though.

Edited on by Kyloctopus

Kyloctopus

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RR529

Bandai Namco: A. They seem to have a pretty steady release schedule, and while most of their original series have only appeared on the system in the form of last gen ports (Dark Souls Remastered, Katamari Damacy Reroll, Tales of Vesperia DE, and their arcade classics), they've released tons of their anime catalogue on the system (three Dragon Ball titles, one of which is exclusive I believe, a Naruto trilogy, two One Piece games, soon to be two Sword Art Online RPGs, and a My Hero Academia fighter), many of which are current gen. Oh, they also have Taiko no Tatsujin too, which was a new release, and coming soon the current gen release of God Eater 3.

Square Enix: A. The Final Fantasy floodgates are open with numerous main entries and spinoffs released on the system, plus there's been pretty decent Dragon Quest support with the two Builders titles, and soon what's expected to be the definitive version of DQXI. You also had the, timed, exclusive in the form of Octopath Traveller, and some smaller RPGs like I am Setsuna, Lost Sphere, and the imenent Oninaki. It looks like they're still interested in bringing even more of their back catalogue to the system as well, with the confirmation that the system is getting a remaster of the remake of the first Star Ocean game.

Capcom: A-. They've pretty much been releasing a steady stream of games ever since the launch of the system. Sure, there hasn't been much in the way of new releases, but the system now has numerous entries in classic franchises such as Mega Man, Resident Evil, & Street Fighter, cult classics like Dragon's Dogma & Okami, and they're even starting to bring over series that have never been on Nintendo systems before, such as Onimusha & Devil May Cry. It doesn't look like they're about to stop anytime soon, either.

Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)

BruceCM

Heavyarms55 wrote:

On the other hand I appreciate seeing many classic Final Fantasy titles on Switch. Though I would love to see something more, like Final Fantasy Tactics (new or a port of the old ones)

& FFIV Complete Collection, particularly, please....

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Dogorilla

Nobody's mentioned THQ Nordic yet but I'd give them an A-. Looking at their list of published games on Wikipedia, they've released a lot of great ports and remasters on Switch, including Darksiders, de Blob, Sine Mora EX and the upcoming Red Faction Guerrila and Pillars of Eternity II. Their games have all been reasonably priced too, as far as I've seen. They'd get an A or A+ if they were to release their upcoming original games like Biomutant (an action RPG) and Scarf (a 3D platformer - I hadn't heard of this before but it looks pretty good) on Switch alongside other platforms.

"Remember, Funky's the Monkey!"

Funky Kong

Krull

Another one that nobody has really mentioned: Atlus. Got to be a big fat F so far...

Shin Megami Tensei V - promised since before the Switch's launch more than two years ago - could definitely bring it up to a C, but I'm little surprised that we haven't seen more, or even a promise of more. Even Persona 5 Scramble is really a Koei Tecmo title. I'm glad Atlus has supported the 3DS for so long, but surely it could have tarted up Radiant Historia or one of the Vanillaware titles for Switch by now.

Switch ID: 5948-6652-1589
3DS ID: 2492-5142-7789

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