Topic: The port begging needs to stop!

@JayJ
You know, i want to play The Sims 4, Final Fantasy XIII, games from Steam on the go.

It should be worth pointing out that the main resource consumed when developing games is money. Technically there's a finite pool of talent and a finite amount of studios but there's still plenty of room to expand. More money allows publishers and developers to expand and make more content.

It isn't a zero sum game where Nintendo porting New SMB U means they're not working on the next Zelda. That Nintendo are cashing in now on the Switch with things like ports of New SMB U means they can afford to expand, make more content and take bigger risks. Put simply if games like the New Play Control series on Wii weren't made or if they hadn't ported Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to the Wii U? Nintendo wouldn't have been able to take as many risks when developing Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. Especially when at a time those paychecks were going out their main home console platform was tanking.

High profit margin content like ports are what allow Nintendo to roll the dice on riskier and higher budget projects. It also helps that it allows people who missed these games to give them a try without having to buy old hardware. And if you've already brought these games nobody is forcing you to buy them again. It's a win for everyone and nobody loses, so bring on the ports I'd argue.

@Anti-Matter They already have PC streaming devices for that, but I know what you mean, and that is honestly different. You are talking about current generation ports which is fine and is not even the kind of ports that I am talking about.

This.

It's not begging and there is nothing wrong with wanting ports as well as new games. New games are expected and we don't know what they will be. We can't ask for things we don't yet know about. And once a new game is confirmed, we don't need to ask for it anymore.

@JayJ You're absolutely right !

This is a position that I stand from the start... people don't understand that they are changing the future when they buy million copies of ports.
They're showing to the industry something like : " Hey Mister developers, do not create new games we just want to buy the same games again and again and again..."

I never experienced so much ports in a short period than the last two years... :/

@Harmonie ”Yeah, it just seems ridiculous that we've had three very recent articles on this website about most wanted games, and they're all three just a list of ports.”

That had more to do with slow news days than anything else. Articles like those generates clicks and comments, which equals easy money.

Anyway... I don’t really understand what ”port begging” means. Maybe it’s that I associate begging with someone being forced to go on an extreme route in order to survive, begging for food, money or shelter. Begging in the context of wanting ports of video games just sounds strange to me, and a little disrespectful against those who actually needs to beg to survive.

Also I don’t understand why it’s bad wanting to play games that’s been on other systems before, whether it’s old retro games a la Virtual Console or more recent titles. Wishing for something is not demanding it. And if people are willing to pay for it...

I welcome a mix of new and old games on all systems. Ports should not replace new games, but there’s no indication that’s happening on Switch (or the PS4 to make a comparison to another system with a healthy library of both old and new). There has been a lot of ports, but as I pointed out in another thread recently, there has been many more new games than ports on the console since launch.

@skywake Great post, as always!

@Cobalt
Benefit of ports = I can play FF XII, FF X/X-2 HD, World of Final Fantasy Maxima, Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles, etc on Nintendo Switch with portability and i don't need the PS4 version once i got the Switch version.
For me, Ports = Awesome. 👍

Fighting for a world without ports is like fighting for a world without refried beans.

It does effect us if Nintendo gives us a port in a series instead of a new game in a series. I think it has the potential to cause poverty of ambition.

They’ve had plenty of time to make another 2d Mario. Do we get a new one? No, we get another port (NSMBU) @subpopz

@Bevinator Is that all it comes down to? The amount of time? Are you a new to owning a Nintendo console?

Not at all lol. NSMBU was released in 2012. If there hasn’t been enough time to make a new instalment instead of a port by now
Well I don’t know what to say 😂 @GrailUK

Nintendo know that they can rerelease 6 year old games for 50 quid and people will gobble it up. This stifles creativity and the production of new games. Why bother making a new game in a series under those conditions?

@Bevinator All their ideas for gaming have gone into other projects. It's best to view Nintendo holistically rather than particular franchises. The last idea they had for a 2D Mario game was Mario Maker which was (er) 2015 (I think lol). By putting out NSMBU and even possibly Mario maker later, it gives them much more time to come up with a new idea for the series, instead of regurgitating old ideas with a new lick of paint; Nintendo are better than that.

@Bevinator By the way...you win the mums.

I enjoyed Mario maker. I’m hoping for a Mario maker 2 on the switch to be honest. I’m really hoping they don’t just port the original lol. This never used to be a problem in the SNES/N64/Cube days 😂 @GrailUK

Haha fellow LOG fan I take it? You’re my wife now! @GrailUK

@Bevinator Mario All-Stars on SNES? Same games...new lick of paint...bought them time to come up with Yoshi's Island. So, they defo have method in their madness.

Fair enough. Felt like the exception not the rule back then though. We get so many ports these days. Guess I’m a bit jaded with it all 😉 @GrailUK