Dragon Quest XI On Switch Will Arrive "Much Later" Than Other Versions

2021. Maybe 22.

Still exciting. My wife loves these, and she will be ready and waiting whenever they DO decide to release it! Yay!

And the droughts continues

But of course. They are terrible when it comes to porting games to us anyway.

@therealgamer Didn't we just get a game?

Well the Switch version is understandable, we hardly see it at all yet. Still there's no excuse not to localize the 3DS version. Dumb Square Enix and their Sony butt-licking attempt.

A shame the 3DS version won't make the cut. Having played through it on my Japanese 3DS I can attest to it being an absolute joy and one of the best JRPGs I've ever played.
I guess there's still a chance that Nintendo takes over and distributes the game as they usually do with Dragon Quest in the west, but I'm keeping my expectations in check.
It really does seem like Square Enix hates Nintendo outside of Japan...

Devastated we won't be getting the 3DS version. That was the version I most wanted and would have been a great way to end the 3DS library.

My guess is SE doesn't want to release the 3DS version in the West because they want all the Nintendo fans to buy the eventual Switch version. Sure, some would buy both, some will even just play the PS4 version. Either way it seems kinda stupid to develop a whole version of a game for just one region. It'll do great in Japan but, worldwide would sell millions on 3DS. Let's hope it drops on Switch before Holiday 2019. Lol

Looks like the PS4 version for me then. I don't want to wait "a long way to go" kinda wait. Sad because I wanted the portability. Maybe it will have extras that will make me want to double dip.

No 3DS version to the West? That's too bad... Not really surprising (as nearly everyone will have moved to Switch by then), but still bad news...
Let's hope the Switch version arrives by next year at least!

@Prof_Yoshtonics It would NOT sell "millions" on 3DS in the West. When was the last time a Dragon Quest game did that? I'll tell you when. NEVER.
https://dragon-quest.org/wiki/Worldwide_Dragon_Quest_Sales

"the new handheld version"
"on a handheld platform"

I only play my Switch docked, constantly calling it a "handheld" seems like something I would read on PS, or written by somebody who wants to get himself fired from NL. At least substitute "hybrid" for "handheld", handheld just seems insulting.

At this point I imagine the Switch version gets canceled, or maybe releases only on "New Switch" with slightly improved CPU and GPU like XC. A late port of a last gen game is one thing, a year late port of a current gen game seems kind of weak.

Of course the 3DS version not making it West, after how many old DQ games released in the West on the 3DS, is rather insulting. More insulting than constantly calling the Switch a handheld.

A real bad move that the 3DS version isn't getting localized. It was very different than the other versions.

Never had plans to buy it on the Switch, but PC version is a welcome upgrade over a PS4 version.

I'm incredibly disappointed, DQ XI on Switch was one of my most hyped games for this year. Of course there's still plenty of games to play in the meantime, but it just seems absurd. Square knows how well the Switch is selling, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 proved that JRPGs can find huge success on the system, yet they still prioritize the PS4 version. And they add a Steam version for some reason too? And they've been working on the Switch version since 2015, surely it's not so difficult that they can't even get it to run in four years? And they won't even localize the 3DS version either? Uggh.
At least we have Octopath Traveler to look forward to still.

@NicolausCamp statistics updated up to 2011. Did you even bother to check?

I can see why they wouldn't localize the 3DS version considering how that system is pretty much on its way out at this point and a Switch version would have much greater sales potential

@therealgamer I smell a troll

@gortsi
And what has changed since then with the series?

EDIT: The point is that Dragon Quest has never been a huge seller outside of Japan, and that's just facts. I wish it wasn't so as I'm a big fan of the series and want it to be as successful as possible, but it just isn't happening outside of Japan.

Not waiting - I'll just get it on PS4 or PC. Probably PC so can have it for ever and play it on work trips in the Hotel.

Playing it on 3DS was never an option for me. Would be like picking to play ZBOTW on a 3DS... Not how I want to play an expansive RPG world if there is a better option.

Ill wait for indies like BattleChasers. But not big games i really want to play.

Considering that we still have yet to see any footage of the Switch version, there was no way it was coming this year.

But the lack of a 3DS localization is a damn shame. The game is already complete; a translation is all that is needed.

Though to be fair, it's not like the 3DS software market is particularly healthy right now. Unless Nintendo offered to bundle DQXI with the 2DS, it's unlikely that it would sell much on the 3DS (not that I expect it to sell much on PS4/PC either).

Sounds like the fat smelly overweight American CEO is at it again, thinking PS4 is more popular in western countries than all Nintendo systems.

WOW!!!!!! I WANTED THE 3DS VERSION!! WHAT THE EVEN HECK?!?!?!

Meh, I can wait. Octopath and DQ Builders II will tide me over. I am considering importing the 3ds version as well though... i have not been a fan of the localization since 8.

@therealgamer what drought? Kirby just released and eShop gets dozens of releases each week.

That's a bit of a blow. I can understand the Switch version taking longer if development on it started later but I was very much looking forward to the 3DS version.

Well, Nintendo just lost Dragon Quest to Sony/PC then, with the 3DS version missing the western release (a real shame!) and the Switch version sales potential basically killed before the game was even shown. The worst part is that Dragon Quest XI is probably the biggest 3rd party game announced for the Switch so far, that doesn't bode well.

Day One (whenever that may be!)

Yeah, I figured this would happen, given we've heard pretty much zilch about the Switch version for years now.

@coleman83 I feel the same. I've been playing all Dragon Quest games on the DS line of consoles, and thought XI would be a great way to cap off the system. Plus, everything I've heard from people who played the Japanese version, it's the best version of the game.

Good thing I have a PS4, I thought the game wouldn't be technically demanding considering the art style but clearly I was wrong.

@ilikeike "add a Steam version for some reason"

Square Enix have been one of the companies leading the JRPG charge on PC the last few years and see it is definitely worth their time to release on the biggest gaming platform on the planet.

@Jayvir thinks means more on the big release games. Waiting 3 months and getting a "meh" Kirby is a bit crazy. This has been a drought for some.

Pretty bummed for that decision. The 3DS version was pretty unique on it's own way and i was hoping for playing that version. Heck i would gladly buy both versions and i rarely do that.

We don't even have DQ10 yet in the UK?

@Hikingguy Beat ya to it, post #12, but you were a bit nicer about it.

Well they lost my interest. I really prefer my RPGS portable. No 3DS and Switch being a nebulous release quite a while from now...my life may be a lot busier and my backlog certainly not much smaller....

Buzz off Sqaure Enix until you don’t screw up constantly with portables/Localization and don’t take an eternity to release or localize the games that actually happen.

I don't know about you guys but I'm done with the third-parties effing around with Nintendo fans. Anyone interested in starting a campaign akin to OpRainfall to get more games on the Switch let me know!

Calling Switch a ‘handheld’ is inaccurate, at least officially

@KilleyMC What sucks the most is that as long as "we get SMASH" the Nintendo fans won't give a damn.

I also say year 2 for Switch has been a bummer so far, at least compared to the amazing year 1. Here we have another disappointment. Kirby was ok, Labo might be good but its for kids, and everything else is basically ports, great if you haven't played them, probably not worth double dipping if you have.

Can't wait for E3! A Metroid prime trilogy will keep me occupied for a long time since I haven't played any. FE and Smash will be nice too. Anything else announced is icing on the cake.

I don't think they should have made two versions at once. They should have either chosen the Nintendo 3DS version, or the console version so development wasn't split.

I definitely not gonna buy PS4 version. I have no desire to sit in front of a TV and play RPG's anymore. If it's not on handheld I am not buying. I will wait for switch version

SE’s handling of this game’s platforms and localizations has been a flaming mess from beginning to end: still with not even a screenshot to show for the Switch version it announced development for years ago, now over half a year after the game’s initial launch; taking over a year to localize any version of the game; and now just throwing away an entire completed, heavily unique code branch and sales opportunities in their 3DS version.

This would be barely forgiveable for a cash-strapped indie fumbling through rookie mistakes and growing pains. It’s beyond the pale for one of the largest titans in the industry. Square Enix, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Well, that saved me about $60.00. There are plenty of other companies that want my money out there. I will give it to them instead.

Not a problem for me. I will pick it up on PC instead, with achievements. Going to pick up Builders 2 on Switch for sure tho.

Guess I'm going to buy this on PS4 :/

Keeping in mind how the game was released for the system well before we even knew what the Switch would end up being, this truly is a farce.
At least give the people the 3DS version as an option in the meanwhile. :-/

@Menchi187 I am well aware of the benefits of releasing the game in Steam. I just think it's strange that they would bring the game to a new platform rather than focus on platforms that they had already announced, like the Switch. Besides, Switch and 3DS have both proven to be great homes for JRPGs; then why ignore them?

Hmmm. I'll wait, however when it does finally release it'll be much reduced on PS4. So I can see a scenario where you'll have a choice between £20 on PS4 and £50 on Switch. It's kind of a similar situation to Ys, however that game was very niche ( although I think it could be huge on Switch), so the PS4 version hasn't lost too much of it's new sale value. They could sweeten the deal by including any DLC, but as the Switch now established I can't see that happening.

@Agramonte #37 Yeah, now that you mention it things have been pretty slow as of lately. At least gaming wise for me, the last two games I bought were Monster Hunter World and Super Mario Odyssey.

Sigh.
People blame the developer and not the hardware.
Anytime something launches on PS4 first it's 'Sony are paying to keep it off Switch'... .

Day 1 purchase on PS4. My second most anticipated game of the year, after God of War.
I was so sure Square would delay this. No chance KH3 is 2018 though.

I'll check it out when it's ready. When it comes to the Switch, Square has been a lot of talk and not much else.

Ok, I'll take a look at this game when it's released God knows when.

"...the new handheld version is a long way from completion."
You should check your sources again, because the 3DS version was released ages ago in Japan.

So, my thing is, just about the entire DQ western fan-base has pretty much solely been on the DS/3DS for...how long now? I think it’s a huge shame not to finish the console off strong, and, maybe speaking for myself, but I’d assume most DQ fans at this point would absolutely buy the 3DS version first instead of waiting till 2019/2020 for the Switch.

While a totally different company, reminds me of what happened with the original Ni no Kuni which also did not make me a happy man. Bought the JP DS version and it's beyond delightful + so different than the PS3 version.

I’m in that entitled gamer mode where 75% of me is jumping up and down because, “HELL YEAH, DQ XI!!!”, but then the other 25% is not completely satiated and will whine endlessly about it while hating myself every step of the way. Yay?

@rjejr Well, if you look at it purely technically, the tablet unit holds all the important bits, but you can only use touch-screen on it. So you need the Joy-Cons to make any use of it, which then translates to tabletop or handheld. Add the dock, and you can have your TV work with it.

I can't fault people for calling it a handheld. Hell, some people in one of my Discord communities didn't even know it had a dock, until I told them

Maybe more people will recognize and credit it as a home-console if they improve the dock to provide more than it does now?

This is the most disappointing news I’ve heard in a while since this is the game I have been looking forward to most. Seems any chance of a 2018 release is out the window. Now I just wonder how much later “much later” is...

@JKRiki Personally I do think we'll get the Switch version in 2019. But in a way, I guess I should have expected this. Ironically I get the feeling the issues might not even be adapting the graphics to Switch version(by all accounts sofar... "downscaling graphics" sound like it's less complicated than sometimes expected) but rather fitting it all on a Switch cartridge.

Especially with 5 languages(English, french, Japanese, Russian, etc) worth of voice acting localization to fits.

I wouldn't be surprised if the largest culprit was there, considering Skyrim had to actually offer non-English localizations as DLC on Switch because they weight about as much as the base game+english voice acting by themselves.

I can wait, shame about the 3DS version but if it was digital only I would probably nab it

@Supadav03 Same.

Hopefully it might be something like spring-summer 2019 rather than any later year.

In a fashion though I'm wondering if that might not be a blessing in disguise that would give the like of Octopath Traveller more time to shine.

I'm half tempted to feel like voice acting may be the reason for the delay. The original Japanese version had no voice acting but the western version is localized in five different languages and voice acted.

For the Switch that may very well be an issue. Skyrim itself had to offer non-English localizations as "DLCs" because by themselves they weighted as much as the entire game+it's English localization. Which shows how "heavy" voice acted localization files are in term of game sizes. No wonders so many "modern" AAA games on Steam are so heavy to download.

I get the feeling the issues with the Switch port's development might lie less in trying to figure how to downscale it's graphics assets(which even the likes of ARK's developpers mention may be easier than expected) and more figuring how to fit it in a Switch's cartridge.

Especially with that dose of voice acting we're getting in the west likely further bloating the "file size weight" of the game so to speak.

This is a shame. Guess it shows that 7 and 8 didn't sell very well. I would much rather the 3ds version (maybe both in fact)

@MrBlacky Yeah, but being already released in Japan mean it's not a "new" handheld version but the "old" handheld version when the Switch port is coming

Teasing but I won't lie the new was quite the bummer for me. I have no interest in buying a PS4 for only one or two games, and while my PC could certainly run it, it's suffering from a mighty need to get defragmented/etc as well as a major dust off(with the size of my computer's tower and the exact graphic card case design used... that's something I'm not looking forward to).

@therealgamer I know it's terrible isn't it? All that pocket money and nothing to spend it on. You could go out and play on the swings though.

Eh, the fact that it's coming at all is enough for me. Never played a DQ game, so I'm not impatient.

Just bring the 3DS version here already!

@PsylockeRules I half wonder if with DQXI nonetheless getting released in the west in September for PS4/PC, if the Switch might still get a chance to get the remakes of 1-2-3 soon after nonetheless.

When XI got released in Japan last year, just one month or before they also released the remakes for all of 1-2-3 as well on both PS4 and PC and I'd been wondering if such a thing might happen in the west too(basically a "You saw the latest game, now see where it came from!" deal).

DQXI might be a way off for the Switch, but I wonder if Square Enix might not adopt a sort of "Remakes re-release" strategy to sort of buffer up the time before the release of XI on Switch while trying to also maintain/continue building some form of interest.

It certainly would be easier to port these titles and a lot of the localization already exists in mobile releases(whereas the more recent remales, despite using the same classic sprite art, at least also went back to more classic game menus instead of what the mobile versions uses).

I still have doubts such a thing might happen as they might instead favor releasing them after XI is out because they're such old titles they might rather prefer to get them out only after XI is out to build "interest" in the franchise, but then again it sounds like Dragon Quest Builders didn't do half bad here(it even outsold Xenosaga Chronicles 2 on the eshop it sounds like and I know a friend who's considering buying another Switch just so both he and his wife can play the game without piggybacking each other's playtime so much they both love it)... so perhaps with Builders 1&2 there might be enough "Dragon Quest" interest buildup to start considering releasing remakes of the original games.

Sad thing though I wonder if the Switch delays might even be literally because of the decision to add voice acting for the west and five different localization.
Skyrim is such an heavy games with localization files being so heavy because of voice acting audio, all non-English localizations of Skyrim actually had to be offered up as free "DLC" on the eshop because to include them all would have made the game likely too large to fit on a Switch cartridge(literally, all the non-English localizations weight almost as much as the entire game plus it's original English voice acting/localization).

5 languages worth of voice acted cutscenes probably beefed up a lot the weight of DQXI that the challenge might be less figuring how to downgrade it's graphics than even just fitting the entire thing in the Switch cartridge in the first place. Unless they decided to just see if they can wait for a larger cartridge to come up while also doing this optimization effort.

@MFD Well the body of it is a tablet, I've been calling it a tablet since they announced it, much to the chagrin of most people on here. But for Nintendo it's sold as a tablet, Joycon and dock in a box, which makes that tablet body into a hybrid console, with both home and portable uses. Hard to call it a handheld and DQXI on it a handheld game when there is the handheld 3DS which also has a version of the game. As long as Nintendo keeps selling the 3DS and the occasional game for it keeping it alive that is their handheld portable system. Switch is a tablet based hybrid system.

Honestly I had to read the paragraph about handheld twice to see if he was talking about the 3DS or Switch version so even in context the use of handheld for Switch is confusing with the game also being on 3DS.

I'm usually not opposed to people calling Switch a portable, people say things, and I fully expect a Switch Portable Edition to go on sale for $200-250, but the current Switch is Nintendo's console for both home and portable gaming. We don't even know if Switch is getting the PS4/PC version or the 3DS version. If it is getting the home version can't call that the "handheld" or "portable" version, that version is on 3DS, which would make the article factually inaccurate.

And I might have let it slide once, but the 2nd time seemed a bit much, like the author was trying to make a point.

im predicting a 2019 release date

@rjejr I see your point. Personally, the Switch feels more like the 3DS successor to me, than the Wii-U's success, but that's because of how the important bits are housed in a tablet. Function is great and all, but it's just missing something without form, and even when docked, it's still a handheld in a holder

But well, tablet, handheld, home-console or not, this will be Nintendo's only machine in the near future, so if you want their games, you're left without a choice.

@Hikingguy 3 or 4 years from now, or launch? 4 years from now would be 5 years from launch, which would be time for Switch 2, hopefully called "The Switcheroo". 😆 3 years from launch would be only 2 years from now, which seems about right for an upgrade. Around the time of PS5 and X2 to stay in the news cycle. Though I don't think it will be a huge upgrade to the Tegra X2 or anything substantial like the X1X, more of a speed boost like PS4 Pro or New 3DS. Sony doesn't have any Pro exclusives but Nintendo will. They will have to in order for New Switch to play PS5 and X2 multiplats.

@NicolausCamp I dunno. For example Octopath Traveller's release in July will be a worldwide one rather than "Japan only, the rest of the world can bugger off until later".

Same with the port of DQ Builders 1, where we even got the port one month before Japan did.

I'm half wondering if the SNAFU with Dragon Quest XI might not be because of it's development itself.

I mean... the game was developed on not one but two different consoles in a completely different visual style if not even engine(in fact, the 3DS version itself is basically almost two versions as well, coming with both 3D and 2D graphic styles.

And not only that, but when releasing it in Japan last year they did so without voice acting. Meanwhile Square Enix decided to localize the game for the west not just in English but in five different languages.
And not only localizes it in five different languages, but to also add voice acting on top of that as well. Meaning not just going through the process of translating text in five languages but of doing casting calls, audio sessions, recordings/etc to produce voice acting(that was until then inexistant) for those five different languages.

That decision alone might even play in the reason the Switch version is getting so delayed too.
Voice acting means audio files, and such audio files often mean uncompressed files for the best audio quality.

Zelda managed to fit both voice acting and a game in a single cartridge but it's also a wonder of optimization such that when you look around, you can also see everywhere textures uses a lower resolution, or models feature more limited amount of polygons specifically to optimize both performance and file size.

Meanwhile, DQXI was built as a PS4 game first with the file size bloat that blueray discs allows meaning they not only have to optimize performances but radically cut file sizes.

Which may have been okay... had they not decided to throw voice acting into it to boot.

Just look a Skyrim, one of the best port of the game is on Switch. But to fit it into a cartridge, they actually had to cut all the non-English localizations of the game and instead make them available as free "DLCs".
Because they're so heavy, including them would literally have doubled the size of the game.

So while I might eat crow later.... I wouldn't even be surprised in the slightest if the decision to add voice acting to the west(and the standard of "uncompressed audio for best quality") had an end in how delayed the Switch version has been so far, especially for a game whose initial development was already split between 3DS and PS4.

In fact, it's already been almost confirmed that Smash Bros for WiiU/3DS likely didn't get a Subspace Emissary/Adventure Mode-like gamemode specifically because of the way development on two wildly different consoles split their ressources such that the best they could do was to give the 3DS version that "Smash Run" gamemode using what assets they did manage to complete before they realized the game would not be ready on time if they still decided to develop such a gamemode.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Switch port and it's delays was a victim of similar SNAFU ontop of the potential filesize(and possible hand of voice acting) issues.

For all I know, they might have realized that to make the game on Switch, they need to make yet another version from the ground up to make sure it's properly optimized for it :/

Kind of hope we still end up getting it sooner in 2019 rather than later but I guess what I wonder is if it was basically a pipe dream to expect "Dragon Quest XI Switch in 2018" considering what their development must have been like in the first place.

@Gentiana Same. I just hope it's more like "Spring 2019"(I feel like "Winter 2019" is very unlikely) rather than "Holidays 2019".

At least I'm looking forward to Octopath Traveler in a few months and hoping that perhaps it'll be a blessing in disguise preventing both Octopath and DQXI from stepping on each other's toes and thus allowing each a chance at success that wouldn't be undercut by the other releasing too close from each others.

Nintendo leaves no other option to people that want to play the 3ds version than to jailbreak their console and play a fan-made translation? Like Final Fantarsy- Zero on PSP. And why? Ok 3ds is dying but Is the cost of translation, programming and release more than the profits they will make?

@dimi The feeling I get is that, in the west, the answer might be "yes".

Japan still holds strong to the 3DS, but I get the feeling that the west is just even more ready to basically "move on" away from the 3DS, the sooner the better almost(at least is the impression I get from many).

Diehard fans may still get the game, but I fear that still would be too little people to provide a critical success necessary for profit.

@Fight_Teza_Fight DQ XI is using UE4, a engine that is already on the Switch. A engine were we have indies getting a working a prototype of ports from the PS4 of their game in terms of weeks if not days.

Here, we have Abstraction Games, a much smaller studio:

...created a Switch port of the hit PC game in a matter of weeks - much to the delight of Ark creators Studio Wildcard.

From the CEO of Abstraction Games:

"Most companies usually have a Plan A and a Plan B, and it's Plan B that they're banking on. But we delivered Plan A, and they didn't expect it. They wanted a first playable at this point, but we actually have created something you could almost send for certification. That's how we try to operate. They didn't expect that...

And we have Sumo Digital here

"We got the code across onto Switch - or at least certain parts of it - in a matter of hours, so we started becoming more confident that we could achieve what we wanted and within the timescales we were looking at. Within seven days, we had it fully playable."

So, no it shouldn't take that long for a Switch Port nor is it on the Hardware like you claim. So, please get your fact right.

Thanks.

Not very surprising, but I am disappointed. The 3DS version with the dual screens showing sprites and 3D at the same time looked really fun / unique. I'll probably wait for the Switch version. Portability is the biggest factor for me with RPGs, and I'm not in a super rush to play it. I current have a backlog of 159 games, including five other DQs that I'd want to beat ahead of time.

Just remember everyone, this is the AAA support from developers everyone seems to be begging for. Where as indies are making just as good of games that we can play today, but lots of people ignore them and just complain about how this is Nintendo’s fault for not begging for more games from AAA developers.

@BinaryFragger @NicolausCamp about sales figures though it appears dragon quest popularity may be on the rise though globally if you look at this http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Quest that has some newer statistics for dragon quest builders which as of when this was updated had sold around 500k copies worldwide to around 600k in JP. Granted some of that might be due to the minecraftesque play of it, but still of note that it feels like dragon quest has gotten a bit more popular in the last few years. Also success of other JRPG's seem to have been on the rise lately when you look at something like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 already having sold over a million copies.

@Kalmaro We got Builders last month, yup.

I'm half expecting that the issue with the Switch is less graphic hardware but that met by other ports, basically "fitting the whole thing into a Switch cartridge". Localization in five different languages and voice acting to boot is probably not helping.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly why we're getting a delayed release for DQXI but a worldwide simultaneous release for Octopath Traveller in July.

I mean, DQXI had to be both developed as PS4 and 3DS games just to get released in Japan, meanwhile Octopath was made for and only for the Switch from the get-go. Meaning that before even bothering with ports or "porting optimization"(which wouldn't even be so hard later, in term of fitting other hardware), Octopath could start straight away on localizing the game in parallel whilst hosting casting calls/recording sessions for it's own voice acting(which is only in English in the demo, iirc, even with other language settings).

Meanwhile porting to Switch meant both downscaling the game for a Switch cartridge and likely figuring how to fit voice acting that wasn't in the original release as well(for an example: For Skyrim on Switch, non-English localizations have to be downloaded as separate free DLCs because of the sheer weight of voice acted audio making all localizations weight as much together than the base game+english voice acting).

In a way, it might very well be suffering from not just "aiming too high" with the original release, but making it even harder because of stuff added to the western release ontop of things.

And really it's Japanese gamers who may be angry about this too. The Switch sells like crazy there so I doubt Japanese Switch gamers are pleased about the situation either. I get the feeling that whoever's in charge of this at Square-Enix Japan must be regularly getting a fair amount of an earful when the Switch just sold three times the amount of consoles last week than the PS4(of course PS4's already established, but the numbers are not to be scoffed at. Even as a new console such sales present a form of momentum that is best acted upon when you can catch it in time).

Yeah because they aregoing to implement ps4 ver on docked mode and 3ds ver on handheld mode

Man can dream lol

@Malakai This said even Ark's creator have noted the challenge is not creating the port.

It's making it fit inside a Switch cartridge. With Square Enix deciding to localize DQXI in five different languages for the west and add voice acting that's not even part of the original version... I get the feeling that might very well be the challenge, especially if there's just "enough" of voice acting to be an issue.

Talking about an extreme case here(because of Skyrim's decision to voice act everything) but Skyrim on Switch might fit on a Switch cartridge.... but only by basically removing anything that isn't the English version and cutting it up to redistribute as free localization "DLCs". All these localizations(and the uncompressed audio often used in voice acting files for best quality) weight so much together that they almost equal the size of the entire game+english voice acting.

I wouldn't be surprised if we learned "files size constraints" were specifically one of the big issues the Switch port is running into.

With the Switch's crazy success in Japan in particular, I can't even believe that's something Square Enix themselves must be happy about and probably might have some even wishes they'd developed the game as a Switch game first and then ported it to other consoles rather than the other way around. And really... it might even be the better path in the future; if it can run on Switch, it can run on everything else and still be upscaled later(or in parallel) for "prettier" graphics.
Such Switch versions might thus even become the benchmark by which developers learn to optimize their games and avoid unnecessary bloat. At least.... a person can dream.

(but seriously. I'm tired of setting 50-100gb games on Steam and ending up wondering why the hell games are so large when they feel sometimes barely that changed from previous generations)

@Malakai It's using UE4, but the version DQXI uses is 'outdated' and is not supported by Switch.
Hence why this port will take a while.
Fact is the version of UE4 DQXI is using is supported by PS4, so maybe you should be the one checking your 'facts'.

Also my comment was pretty clearly an opinion.

Cool, now I don’t have to decide which version to buy or impulsively buy both 3DS and Switch versions.

I'm not mad, I just wanted a confirmation that the games was coming to the west on Switch and they gave us that. I'm holding off my PS4 purchase for the Switch version! I'm a happy slime!

There are a lot of happy people here, but this is actually not super great news. The "indefinite release window" for a Western Switch version gives them A LOT of wiggle room and absolutely no guarantees. This is my favorite series of all time, I don't have a PS4, and my PC likely won't be able to handle the game. This news makes me very sad.

Well I just might have to get it on PS4. I'd rather have it on Switch but I don't want to play the waiting game when I don't have any idea how long the wait will be. DQ11 hasn't even been released on Switch in Japan yet has it?

That's a shame, the 3DS version looked really cool with the 3D graphics on the top screen and 2D on the bottom screen.

Maybe they should do a limited edition.

Glad we're getting a Switch version at all, but the hottest gaming platform for over a year should be this token afterthought which gets last place in prioritizing. There's no excuse for this.

By the time the Switch version is released, you can cath the superior PS4 version for 20 euro on sale

not bringing over the 3DS version suggests to me that the switch version will be more like the 3DS version than the PS4 version.

@JJ286 I was a bit mad at first I'll admit.

But then again I'm coming to a similar conclusion. Early 2018 has been slow... but then again it was also still technically "Fiscal year 2017" so a lot of the games being released were indeed "trailing end of the fiscal year stuff".

But I'm giving a second look at the upcoming releases of coming months(Dark Souls, Owl Boy retail in May. Ys in June. Octopath Traveller in July. The Smash Bros invitational tournament at E3 and game release likely months after, Okami confirmed for the summer too...) and I'm realizing that my lineup of games I'm interested into may be much busier than I initially thought.

I’m so conflicted, on one hand I’m relieved we finally got a western release date, but I’m also sad that it won’t be this year on the switch. Guess I’ll grab the PS4 version...

Well it looks like a game that is off of my radar until I hear more about the Switch version. I have plenty to play tho. I hope it comes sooner than later.

@BigKing but I can't play the PS4 version on my train to work.

@manu0 don't know how you come to that conclusion.

Forgot this was coming. Shame about the 3DS version, it looked interesting being able to swap between modern and retro styles. At least it saves the dilemma of which version to own/play first for me. Looking forward to the Switch version...when it finally arrives.

@rjejr you do love insults, don't ya?

Why are these companies so blind...

Boo. And also hiss. Sweet lord, if Square Enix say the Switch version is a long time off, what's that in real time? Six years?

Disappointing, was looking forward to this game this year.

At least I know the Switch version is coming west. I can wait.

@Malakai If you want to push a Japanese franchise in the west, you put it on home consoles, which is what most people in the west prefer to play on.

No insult to the 3DS, I love mine. But in the west, a handheld has always been viewed as a secondary console, while handhelds are the main consoles of choice in Japan due to differences in culture.

Look at Monster Hunter World. It's a franchise that has been on handhelds for decades, with only a few stops in that time on home consoles. Its also a franchise Capcom has struggled to push in the west.

So, Capcom decides to take a gamble and make Monster Hunter World a console and PC exclusive game in the west. And the gamble paid off, given Monster Hunter World is not only the fastest selling game in Capcom's history but their fourth best-selling game of all time, with Monster Hunter being the top selling game in the US in January and February 2018.

The point is, I can see Square Enix's logic here. Rather then trying to promote a 3DS version, they are going to push the best version in the west and promote that version on PS4 and PC, with the Switch coming later.

Its not Square Enix betraying anyone. They simply think this is the best way to finally push Dragon Quest in the west and have it break through the glass ceiling.

Well, this sucks, but it is typical SquarEnix. It was expected the Switch version would come much later. Now no 3DS for the west. I was hoping that one to come this year. Sometimes they disgust me but what can you do.

I'm excited that SE is spending this amount of time on getting a big release just right for Switch.

The technical solution they develop will hopefully benefit future Switch projects of theirs.

Can't say I'm surprised that the Switch version has been delayed. We haven't really seen anything about it other than a rumble here and there. At least they're still bothering with it.

What I don't get is why the 3DS version isn't coming at all. That was the version I was most excited about. It seems like such a waste to leave that in Japan. There IS importing I guess, but I would need to take a few crash courses in Japanese first.

Well... guess if they can't be bothered to release the Switch version this year alongside the other versions I can't be bothered to buy it day one first hand.
I'll get the game used down the line for cheap so they don't get a single cent from me >.>

So I'm curious. If this game is Unreal 4, an engine native to Switch and easy to port with, is the Switch version not a direct (or downgraded) port of the PS4 version?

It'll be interesting to see. Would prefer to think its something like that rather than another conspiracy theory of Sony plotting evil Console things.

@MFD "feels more like the 3DS successor to me, than the Wii-U's"

I think it will feel that way to all of us in a few years when the 3DS is done and the Wii U runs out of games to port so it's completely forgotten, but w/ Wii U being done and with so many Wii U games being ported to Switch now - how many 3DS games have been ported to Switch, 1 or 2 maybe? - it's the Wii U successor for now.

I think the whole argument about whether or not it's comparable to PS4 and X1 is kind of funny when talking about graphics and if it's powerful enough to be a home console or not. 3 generations ago Nitneod's home console the Wii was up against the PS3 and Xbox360. The Wii's graphics were far inferior to the other 2, but you didn't hear people saying, "Well, Wii's graphics aren't as good b/c it's a portable console." Wii was a home console with much worse graphics than the other 2 competitors, so Switch's graphics being much worse than the other 2 competitors sohudln't' really come as a surprise to anybody, and it's portability isn't really the issue so much as Nitnendo putting out the system they wanted to put out, graphically capabilities are not their focus. Just like 3DS isn't as graphically capable as Vita but 3DS still crushed the Vita. 3DS didn't crush the Vita b/c it had better graphics.

So now we have the Switch vs. PS4/X1, and for me the graphics are more similar than Wii and PS3/XBox360 were. It has nothing to do with it being a portable handheld, it's b/c Nintedo isn't in the graphics war, they're in the selling consoles and games war. Wii did just fine w/ seriously inferior graphics, home vs portable wasn't an issue, so why such a big deal now?

Switch being a handheld isn't what holds it back graphically, Switch being a Nintendo console is what holds it back.

@MsJubilee Square-Enix PC ports are generally really poor. Wouldn't be surprised the PS4 version is the definitive version like Nier Automata.

You should have labeled this "rumor" since your only source was a website not affiliated with Square Enix

Some people here are saying the guy who mentioned a drought is wrong to say that...but he really wasn’t. I love my switch but I’m under no illusion that we don’t have many big meaty games at all, mentioning things like Kirby don’t even come close to what other consoles are getting. Yes the switch is also a console, and looking at my brothers games on his consoles I can’t help but feel that we really are missing out on so many great games which is such a shame, as I really want that gap to be bridged so switch is in the running at getting games the same time as other platforms. Hopefully next year we will see this as 2 years gives devs time to work out the best way to deliver there games.
But it is irritating when fanboys get so disillusioned that we have the best thing going and we don’t miss out on much! Guess what!? We frigging do!

Looks like I might have to import the 3DS version and do my very first "translation guide" assisted attemp Not really looking forward to it, but who knows, it might be fun.

I guess, realistically, since it takes them four years to translate DQ7, 3DS would be long dead by then...

Unofficial translation will probably get a CAD. Switch port will likely get canned. -Maybe- I will buy the PC port on sale if reviews are really good, but all of their other PC titles are awful cell phone conversions, so I'm not holding my breath :/

I don't think it's going to be in 2019 "at least", they're just taking their time to get the port right, in order to avoid a situation like the Dragon Quest Heroes port, which seems to be poor.

After that, considering the localization is going to be available because the game will have launched on PS4 and PC, I think it's a matter of 2-3 more months tops.

3DS' case is sad but understandable. In the West people who could be interested in this saga already has a Switch if they want to play it on the go.

This is very disappointing. I dont think OCTOPATH traveler is even close to this game. This was on my shortlist of titles I really wanted to play! hmmmmm......oh switch and your hybrid hw performance characteristics.

@Hikingguy backwards compatibility

That's the biggest question mark for me w/ PS5, does it or doesn't it? It should be able to, probably just a faster system, but if it has it, well that's a lot less "4k remasters" of old games they can sell. But if ti does have it, well that might get people to buy a new console sooner, and they could still sell 4k remasters if the system doesn't upscale too much above what PS4 Pro does.

For Switch, it should have BC since Nintendo is making up all of it's Wii U money selling ports and game carts should be the same size so no real reason it shouldn't. But then again those 4k remasters on Switch 4k.

Fortunately that's a long way off for me, PS5 is about as far as I can go, I think that will get announced early next year for holiday release. And we probably wouldn't buy a New Switch. Well my kids might when they head off to college and leave me the old one and the PS5.

@kamarko Sorry, did I insult you? I'm pretty sure I haven't replied to you or insulted you w/o replying to you - I know some people do that sneakily but that really isn't my thing.

Only insult I can find is this - "They are terrible when it comes to porting games to us " - that's you insulting Square Enix job performance in the 3rd post.

Maybe you're the one who likes insults and you're just projecting on to me.

This is certainly not great news but understandable based on what I have heard from some fellow programmers. The issue is primarily space and they are said to be waiting on the new larger physical cartridge because they do not want to both cut voice files and downgrade resolution for the switch. The new cartridge would solve most of the issues and they were not looking at a pure digital release.

@rjejr RE: PS5 bc - Sony won't ever go that route. They make too much bank reselling their games again. XBOX are only going out of their way to allow it due to being forced into a bad position.

Its a shame. Community goodwill these days are long gone with these things.

Real question will be, will Sony go in cocky like Microsoft did this gen due to the PS4 success.

@XenoShaun yeah - I bought Nier Automata on PC and it was horrid. I still to this day can not play -full screen- and it not crash randomly. Windowed Borderless works but FPS are all over the place. The Last Remnant was also a hot mess back in the day (I think that was an old Unreal Engine game)

NinoKuni 2 has been rock solid on PC 9Hrs in. No idea why SE can't get it together on PC.

Darn! I really loved the idea of VI vs VIII graphics & overworld toggling that seemed exclusive to the 3DS version…

@Fight_Teza_Fight Here's the thing...if we blame the hardware...

Why did Square announce this port in 2015 not long after we first heard the word "NX"? Why did they announce this before the hardware was likely even finalised?

Further to that, if we blame the hardware, we need to look at their exact statement as to why the Switch version is MIA: "Technical Adjustments" as mentioned in August 2017.

Now what may those be? Well the obvious answer is quite simple - Unreal Engine 4. Namely the version they'd be using to develop the PC and PS4 ports is going to be older for compatibility reasons than the version they NEED to use for Switch.

Namely this is because Switch support wasn't added until UE4.11 I believe. Or 4.10. Around that point in April/May 2017. Namely a huge change between the likely earlier versions of UE4 SE is using and the version that support Switch is how Blueprints (Visual coding in C++) are handled, as Epic does like to refine and restructure mid iteration. Note this is circumstance entirely down to Epic, as it is their engine that they develop, that they change without consulting Nintendo. It's not like Nintendo said hey, change this in your engine, no, that's not how it works.

This would obviously throw up errors when porting from an older version to a new version, even though it's the same engine - this happens for all middleware - it's even documented with Yooka-Laylee and Unity, where the versions that supported Switch had other changes made by the engineers of the engine separate from Nintendo's influence, and this threw up errors when porting to the newer, Switch supported engine iterations.

Now, can we really still blame the hardware? Not really. Sure you could say, it came at a time when developers were making games with Unity 4 and UE4.5 still, but is that in Nintendo's control? They cant force Epic, Unity etc. to go back to old versions of an engine and add their system support there too. There is no reason for them to do so.

What we have here is not the fault of the hardware, unless you seriously believe requiring tech that is current to port your game over is an actual problem, because right now yes, developers are in fact using outdated versions of things like UE4 and Unity due to when their projects started.

This bears repeating - Do you seriously believe NOT using outdated software and hardware is the problem? When this has BEEN their problem on past systems?

I ask you this - if this is the fault of the hardware, why did Square announce this not long after Nintendo first mentioned NX? Why did they announce these things before even knowing what version of UE4 Epic would add Switch support into? Tell me, why is this the specific fault of the Nintendo Switch as a system?

What the hell is wrong with Square Enix?! It is frankly starting to make me angry with how they are spurning the Switch and non-Japanese Nintendo players.

Square-Enix. What a shame company.

Anyone else remember that this game was actually the first confirmed third party Switch game? I guess Ninty and SE should have said the region thing in their presser but whatever. I think there is an easy solution to this. I'll buy it for PS4 where it will look the best. Play it, enjoy it, sell it off and then re-buy it for Switch down the road so it's in the collection and I can replay it again sometime.

Uh oh, Dom let the cat out of the bag that the NS is a handheld console! (Which is technically correct, it just happens to have a TV out signal device to take the under clocked Tegra X1 back up to stock clock.) Sounds like NL's Editor knows the truth, and accidentally didn't follow the hybrid propaganda... I mean, marketing line.

Understandable that 3DS DQXI wouldn't make it over at this point. All the focus is on NS in the West by now. Also understandable that PC/PS4 are getting it first, since that's what it's originally intended to be specced out for this time around. NS version is probably going to be a downgraded version, although I would expect it to become the best selling version in Japan. Interesting that the platform it will likely sell more on in the West will be released first.

@Ludovsky true but still 3ds version outsold PS4 version in Japan. Ofcourse it wont do the same in west but still propably will make enough to make up for the cost of the port. I believe they just dont want 3ds to cannibalise Switch sales.

Confirmed coming to Switch, and in the west.

Say no more. That's all I needed to hear.

At this point, I don't even care about the 3DS version anyways. Or the PS4 version, which is now officially irrelevant to me knowing Switch will get this game in the west. It can come later. That's fine. Just so long as it comes. Plenty of other great games releasing later this year- Valkyria Chronicles 4, Fire Emblem, Smash Bros, No More Heroes... DQXI won't even register as a blip on my radar. Not until the Switch version arrives anyways.

I can wait. I'm certainly not going to be baited into buying the PS4 version instead- because that's what these companies do- "oh ya, we don't know when it's coming, could be a while, just buy the PS4 version when it releases"... 6 months later, lo and behold here comes the Switch version. "Oh, wouldn't ya like a portable version too? Here, double dip!". No thank you. I've wised up to these tactics.

I wait for the game... they can wait for my money. I'm not going to impatiently buy a version I don't really prefer like an impatient child. No. I want the game on Switch, and I'll wait as long as it takes. No more double dipping. At this point, it's either Switch... or you just don't get my money.

Nice to see the PC version releasing though. If my GPD Win 2 can run it I may pick it up on a STEAM sale later, depending on how far away the Switch version is at that time.

Very indifferent to this never got into dq until the iOS port of 8 and I've felt because of the sometimes grindy nature of the series that it worked better portably as something to do while watching tv/traveling somewhere. So I guess the question for me is how much of a wait is the western release of theswitch version summer 19? Is this a case of Sony having some kind of timed exclusivity? With how developers are being cheap with switch memory does the switch version have voice acting or other flaws? Hopefully we have some kind of idea to the switch version before the PS4 release

@retro_player_22 People: Argh, why's the 3DS still getting new games?!?

Square Enix: We won't be bringing the 3DS version overseas.

People: GIVE US THE BLOODY 3DS VERSION!!!

XD

I appreciate Square Enix‘s support on the Switch, really. But they do an awful lot of port teasing when it comes to the big fish. I can see however how they might wanna give us a glimmer of hope with fans so excited. On one hand, confirm it’s in the works and it might seem crazy early but we know it’s coming. On the other, not announcing anything might keep us complaining. And I sure as heck can’t complain about not having games to play on Switch during the wait. Shame about the 3DS version. Would be nice to have that on Switch too...

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time they formally announced the Switch version.

@Angelic_Lapras_King Dreamcastguy: Argh, why's the 3DS still getting new games?!?

Square Enix: We won't be bringing the 3DS version overseas.

People: GIVE US THE BLOODY 3DS VERSION!!!

XD

It's not people, it's Dreamcastguy (and you). People love the 3DS (as evidence by the number of dislikes he received) and want new games like Dragon Quest XI to keep coming. Only Dreamcastguy (and you) had enough of the 3DS.

@YummyHappyPills Ehmm I think this is pretty clearly a case of Nintendo being too secretive of what the Switch/NX at the time was.

It certainly isn't Square's fault. They just made a game using the engine they're most comfortable with.

All I know is PS5/next gen XBOX games are already in development with no dev kits being sent out yet.
The difference between Nintendo and the other platform holders is: Transparency.

Would Square like to release DQXI on all platforms simultaneously? Yes.
Am I going to wait 1 year+ for a Switch port? No chance.
I'm not going to blame Square for making, what looks to be an incredible game.

@Prof_Yoshtonics the same thing happened with ni no kuni ds.

why Square why?? we all have been waiting for the 3DS version! we want this version back goddamit! ...yeah instead of this, you are pushing the game to Steam, on the platform where no other Dragon Quest game was ever released (except Dragon Quest Heroes which sold about 20k copies)....

I'm disappointed that the 3DS version won't be released here, but at the same time it makes fiscal sense. It may affect the sales of the superior Switch version as both are technically portable consoles. Because of this decision, I originally was going to buy the PS4 version and the 3DS version, but I'll stick to the Switch now pending reviews of the graphics and longevity.

It would have been "nice " for the West to get the next chapter on the 3DS, stemming from part IV on the DS. 😊💫

They will bring the 3DS version eventually. They did not say ''it's cancelled'', just that it made sense to realease it in other platforms too in the West. This decision is of embarrassing business logic and of course, it's possible that it changes in the future.

Delaying a port not to pull a RiME is understandable, not localizing the 3DS version less so. Do they really predict too low sales of it in the West compared to PS4 and PC?

That said it's really a weird time when you no longer need a Playstation or a Nintendo machine to play jRPGs as they're all coming to PC as well. I don't know if PC market in Japan has changed much, but it seems that Japanese developers have caught on how popular the platform is elsewhere. I don't have much love for the genre, but I'm keen on trying out FFXV eventually... And maybe this DQ game on the Switch when it eventually comes.

Now if only Squeenix would release a non-mobile version of Chrono Trigger on either platform 😡

Disappointing, and it's sad to see my beloved 3DS on life support, but I'm still excited for this. Now, how about Dragon Quest Heroes I & II to tide us over? :3

@FinalFrog The 3DS is region locked which means a Japanese game won't work on a US 3DS, there's also the problem that I can't read Japanese either

@Magrane well and in Japan, the 3DS version doesnt affect the Switch release?

Squeenix is the most idiotic company if they don't bring the 3DS version to west. Especially since the damn 3DS is region locked.

I would exchange the Ps4/PC version any day to the 3DS version since it looks absolutely fantastic technically compared to the PS4 version.

The DS and 3DS games sold millions of copies. And this is the support that we get from Squeenix for DQ11.

I bet what will happen in the end is that Nintendo helps to publish the 3DS version in the west. Just like the previous DQ games.

Square-Enix can die. Next Pokemon on Switch will crush them.

@XenoShaun @Agramonte AMD driver updates started fixing critical issues for the Nier: Automata PC version back in June. Only NVIDIA has done little to nothing about it. I would blame NVIDIA more than SE, it's supposed to be on the GPU company's software to fix critical issues through driver updates. NVIDIA doesn't have a good back and forth developer relations program, AMD does. To be honest, I would also blame consumers for continuing to believe the "AMD has bad drivers/performance" mythology which persists to this day, even when instances like the Nier:Automata PC version (and really, just about every new/remade title SE releases on PC recently) proves that NVIDIA drivers are more commonly the ones with issues, especially if you don't have the newest hardware. NVIDIA is all about planned obsolescence nowadays.

Similar story happened with Final Fantasy XV- crashes and issues on NVIDIA hardware at launch, meanwhile AMD pre-emptively released an optional driver update which included fixes for FF XV issues. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo is working overtime on quality control behind the scenes, to prevent NVIDIA's crappy customer service decisions from affecting Switch titles. Also wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing is one of the reasons why DQ XI is being released later on Switch than PS4. The PS4 uses AMD hardware, they don't need to worry about this.

@FinalFrog Only if you mod your 3DS using custom firmware, if you have system version 11.6 or below. There are guides out there.

@PlywoodStick 100% on AMD. Up to my last upgrade always had AMD. (Still have my ancient ATi X1600XT in my closet)

The publisher still has some responsibilities as the cards/drivers are on the market when the game goes GOLD. But yeah, the entire nonsense about AMD drivers being bad is just that - Nonsense.

Unfortunately the original RX480 overheated in my iTX case and by the time the RX580 came out the prices were insane because of the mining fiasco (PowerColor Red Devil was my dream card 😍) Prices look to be dropping a bit now. Maybe a Vega Nano someday.

I have 2 GTX1060 6Gig now - But both boxes are running AMD Ryzen CPUs 😊

@Agramonte Good choices! Which brand of RX480 was it? I tend to go with Sapphire myself. I'm waiting on Navi to upgrade from my current R9 380X.

@rjejr How do you mean that Switch being a Nintendo console holds it back?

@nathatruc Yeah I remember that heartbreak. Oh what could've been.

@BlackenedHalo I meant for the West. I'm pretty sure those that own a version for the 3DS will hesitate double dipping for the Switch version. If there's only one version in the West, that's the one consumers will get.

@PlywoodStick yeah, the 1600 is sapphire. With the red transparent cooler. They have always rock. Even back in the day.

But been doing Gigabyte last few years. Both the 480 and 1060 had the same twin fan. I read in a bunch of boards they were good for smaller spaces and it fit the case. Maybe should have stayed Sapphire for the 480 - who knows.

Oh nice - I can't upgrade for some time. But Ill go back to 100% team red someday. Even the new utilities interface from AMD make the "Nvidia Experience" software look like a half baked school project.

Maybe they're waiting till the bigger cartridges become available.

@MFD Nintendo holds back their consoles by making them price competitive rather than graphics at any cost. $300 Wii, $300 Wii U, $300 Switch. PS3 was $600, Xbox360 $500, PS4 Pro $400, X1X $500. Nintendo makes kid and family friendly consoles at kid and family friendly prices, and at those prices the graphics are held back.

@XenoShaun "PS5 bc - Sony won't ever go that route. They make too much bank reselling their games again."

That's what I think they would prefer, reselling all of their old games in newer remastered 4k versions, but, what would their excuse be if they just up the power of the current components?

When they moved from PS2 to PS3 they had an excuse, going from their Emotion Engine to their Cell processor, and from PS3 to PS4 going from Cell to x86 (which all sounds like a few seasons of DBZ to me). But if they were to keep AMD, which seems likely to get the most bang for their buck, they'd need a good reason for PS5 not to play PS4 games.

And though they would make a lot of money reselling PS4 games remastered on PS5, it might be cheaper for them to just use whatever AMD sells them, saving millions on R&D, and letting people play their PS4 games on PS5. So many people are digital now anyway all they have to do is not make the games available for awhile, or make the games playable but only as they play now on PS4 or PS4 Pro, in checkerboard mode, but resell them in true 4k.

So that's what I think will happen, as much as they'd rather not have the BC it's probably the best way for them to move forward with a PS5. If they just take out BC but can't explain why it's going to hurt them more than leaving it in. And hey can always sell PS3 games in bundles on PS5 like they did PS2 games on PS3 and PS4. I can't think fo too many PS4 series of games to bundle on PS5 in 4k, it seems like PS4 has had a lot of 1 hit games lacking sequels, unlike PS2 where seemingly every game had a sequel, and PS3 had a few sequels. But so far PS4 has had few, U4 and ULL are really all that come to mind. inFamous, Killzone, Horizon, God of War. I guess TR and RothTR but that's on Squenix. Gravity Rush 1 & 2 maybe. SotC and Ico.

So anyway, I think we need to see the hardware first. Who knows, maybe PS5 will just be a portable PS4 a la Switch. jk It will be a X1X but a little more so. 12 or 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD, PSVR 2 input. I'm not expecting much, if it ain't broke don't fix it kind of thing.

I can certainly wait for the Switch version, but now I'm worried about it taking so much longer to develop. I figured it would be a port job like everything else on multiple platforms, but if they have to change it this much to make it work, it could either be very good or very bad.

@rjejr Graphics, but let's be real, those aren't always a problem. With know-how, you can make something look great on Switch (Odyssey is a good example).

It's when games run worse beyond that department, that I'm iffy on the matter. Indies and such, they tend to run as well as on other devices, but serious frame-drops due to hardware limitations and the like has me do a second take on Switch versions.

I mean, if one owns a PS4/Xbox One/PC, and portability isn't high on their priority list, then why would they buy the Switch version of a game they can have on another system?

Dragon Quest itself is a more layed-back franchise, so why rush it.

@MFD Well, that's why Nintendo consoles are generally known as 1st party machines and 3rd party games don't sell well on them. And why 3rd parties have been marketing games like Doom and Skyrim on Switch as the portable versions. Also why Nintendo isn't quick to go multiplat, and why they need to put out so many games themselves b/c they are almost single handily supporting their console. It's why last year we got Zelda and Splatoon 2 and SMO and this year we are getting a very short Kirby game and Mario tennis, they needed those big hitters out there.

There are very few games we'll get on Switch if we can get them on PS4. But I do like the portability for kids games, we have Lego Marvel 2 and Sonic Forces on Switch so my kids can play those while I game on PS4. I don't game in handheld mode, so games like Skyrim and Doom will stay on PS4.

@JaxonH "I can wait. I'm certainly not going to be baited into buying the PS4 version instead- because that's what these companies do- "oh ya, we don't know when it's coming, could be a while, just buy the PS4 version when it releases"... 6 months later, lo and behold here comes the Switch version. "Oh, wouldn't ya like a portable version too? Here, double dip!". No thank you. I've wised up to these tactics."

Oh, you've picked up on that "portable" marketing theme too huh? For 3rd parties Switch is a portable, gives them a ready made excuse to make the game look not quite as good as PS4 and X1, like Vita was a portable PS3 w/ games like Uncharted just not quite as good but "close enough". Which is fine when games release at the same time, FIFA, NBA, WWE, whatever, if EA and UBI want to say Switch version is the portable version, well that's fine, it's true, but releasing it 6 months later trying to get customers to "double dip" is kind of annoying I agree.

"I wait for the game... they can wait for my money. I'm not going to impatiently buy a version I don't really prefer like an impatient child. No. I want the game on Switch, and I'll wait as long as it takes. No more double dipping. At this point, it's either Switch... or you just don't get my money."

That's what I've been trying to tell you, except substitute "complete game" for Switch version.

I also agree on PC getting games, I'm happy for them, but my brand spanking new 20" 1600x900 monitor w/ the 1 watt speakers is never going to replace my 52" 1080p TV and 5.1 surround sound system. And this lousy desk chair is no reclining sofa. Sure, I could hook up a PC to my TV, but I like my console gaming.

@MFD @Hikingguy I just watched this, I had no idea about the new PCB and other details which seem to be spawning the New Switch rumours. Makes sense to me that Nintendo would want a new CPU in the system since it's well known that the current one seems to be irreparably broken and hackable way down at the hardware level. I don't think that means more power though. PS and Xbox have always had minor behind the scenes upgrades to decrease cost and increase efficiency, less power draw and what not. So it wouldn't surprise me if Switch had newer parts, CPU, GPU, mainboard, even later this year, but it would be for security and stability purposes, maybe longer battery life, not a NEW Switch. That's still at least a year off at the earliest. And even that might not even be NEW, just more like DS Lite or 2DS, new look, same interior.

@rjejr
I have my gaming PC hooked up to my TV, but it's just inconvenient to power on and get a game going, unlike consoles.

But when my GPD Win 2 arrives in May, I'll have a second "hybrid" alternative for games that don't come to Switch. Buy on Steam, play on TV via PC, or play on handheld via GPD Win 2, using Steam's cloud saves for transferring back and forth. It's all automatic so, it essentially works like a hybrid setup.

Only thing is, GPD Win 2 is about on par with Switch, so not all games will run. But Ni No Kuni 2 will run, for example. Tests have already been done with Switch surrogate PC's to imitate power and it runs fine. So between Switch and PC/Win2 I'll pretty much have 90% of games covered under a hybrid setup.

I can appreciate your approach, but having even the base game on Switch is enough I don't wanna continue waiting. Maybe if Nintendo had a proven track record of releasing GotY editions for the majority of their games, but they don't, so weighing the benefits I've concluded it's just not worth it to wait for games to be "complete".

@dimi "It won't do the same in the West" is exactly where the problem is I feel.

While Japan is still holding to the 3DS, the West in general seem to be in an hurry to ditch it. And to a degree it might be because the Switch is the perfect bridge between gamers who indeed are always on the move but still like the traditional "kicking back on the couch with a controller in hand" after their day's work.

Nonetheless, I feel the delay for the Switch version is something even Japan won't be happy about, especially when the console has already reached 4 millions units sold there alone(and last worldwide numbers being a whopping 14 millions that already outsold the Wii U's lifetime sales). Since for Japanese gamers hoping to get it on Switch rather than PS4, that's a wait dating back to summer 2017.
Admitedly perhaps that in this case the delay for the Switch might work in it's favor by allowing more time to pass to make such a "re-release" feel more "fresh" so who knows.

I'm debating if I'll wait for the Switch version in 2019 myself or if I'll get it on PC(I doubt I'll get a PS4 for the game anyhow). I guess it'll depends on PC version's reviews, my own PC's performances after a long due dust-off and defrag and ultimately how busy I'll be with stuff like Octopath Traveller or even the new Smash Bros(a playable "Smash Bros invitational" tournament at E3 makes me think that "NewSmash" might be an October release at the latest... like Smash Bros 4 on 3DS. Perhaps even earlier this time around with a single version in development instead of the last game's two).

@MFD Depends. Might be slightly different in the west but there's a reason jRPGs became an almost portable exclusive deal for many franchises in the last decade: They take a lot of time to play, and people get only so much time they can afford to plonk down in front of a couch.

Portability means that play time doesn't have to be "lost" anytime you have to leave the couch and instead can basically be played anywhere you can pop open your portable console.

The Switch didn't have much RPGs in it's first year because I doubt anyone truly believed it would be a success, but I fully believe we'll see a shifting of gear in this coming year starting with stuff like Ys in June and Octopath Traveller in July. Because coming with it's dock right off the bat, it's a portable console you can still carry around(even if with a little more logistics than the 3DS... though the detachable joy-cons make for a "portable local multiplayer" that wasn't previously available in such a fashion ever before) yet still benefit from the comfort of "couch and controller" when you return home.

For RPG developers, this could be a godsend especially since RPGs traditionally haven't required as much visual flair than other genres like shooters. There's a reasons there's been so many of them on consoles like the 3DS and so few shooters on the same consoles by comparison.

Plus, for some, the lower graphics are actually a blessing in disguise; it means less of a budget spent just meeting the "graphical standard" of a console and more, well spend making the game in the first place or refining what's possible in the art style. And often, even with the extra polish, the developers still end up coming out of it with a lesser cost for their effort and being able to succeed even with lower amount of units sold than "flashier" titles... sometimes perhaps even making a larger profit to boot despite making less sales because development costs were able to be kept that low.

Really, with the hindsight of the Switch's success, I wouldn't be surprised if there were people at Square Enix who were wishing they had made a polished Switch version of Dragon Quest XI first and a "graphically upscaled" PS4 port later. Especially with all the nail-biting about FFXV and wondering if it'd be the "make it or break it" of jRPGs because of it's development costs.

Thankfully it was a "Make it" for FFXV, but with the stakes of developments costs every time they made such game vs the niche appeal of RPGs... it's a gamble that increasingly made studios wonders if it could be worth it.

Switch allows basically for a potentially very nice middle-ground to either migrate to, or at least release potentially still very profitable games on as a possible "safety net" to recover from when bigger "LatestGen hardware" games fail.

@Skadisson How I'm starting to feel about it with hindsight.

I mean, there's Ys 8 coming out in June that I'm curious about. Octopath Traveler coming out in July that is an assured purchase from me due to my experience with the demo. Okami also scheduled this summer.
Dark Souls in May(though I'm still considering because... Souls and wondering if I'll have the patience or if the Switch version may very much provide the platform that I'll find the time to finally complete it).

And that's not mentioning Smash Bros likely coming out this Autumn(already having a playable "Smash Bros intiational" tournament scheduled for this E3) as well at whatever else that E3 might announce coming up this year.

2018 started out slow, but with all that's coming... a 2019 release for Dragon Quest XI might actually be a blessing in disguise both for us gamers trying to manage our wallets or even Dragon Quest itself having more time to prepare it's Switch release with proper marketing/etc and a properly timed release to allow it to stand out.

@AshFoxX I get the feeling the issue might not even be graphics as much as file sizes, as mentioned by stuff like ARK's developers when they announced their intent to make a port of ARK for Switch.
The decision to localizes in 5 different languages with voice acting(always a source of file bloat due to uncompressed audio being favored for audio quality) probably isn't helping either.

2019 might ironically allow for the release of larger Switch cartridges allowing games to be released with less of a file size optimization hassle(or at least making the hassle worth doing in the first place).

So far when it comes to port it sounds like the largest difficulties for developers of games made initially for larger consoles is to actually grapple by the way the size of their own games has bloated with the generosity of digital downloads and terabyte hardrives or blueray disks.

I mean, some games' patches weight 11gb by themselves, let alone mention the size of the game itself.

@rjejr I'm with you on not gaming in handheld mode, but from the perspective of portable version and how the Switch is shown/used, it just... brings this nagging feeling of "wanting it to be more" in me, you know what I mean?

Even if the Switch had more power, it's not a guarantee that it'd be used, but at least parity with the base version would be nice. I'd like to be able to say, that buying the Switch version of a game, doesn't mean buying it for portability because it can match the PS4/Xbox One base versions, which would be awesome.

@MFD "because it can match the PS4/Xbox One base versions"

Well that's never going to happen. But personally I'm ok w/ close enough if close enough means Skyrim, Doom, Wolfesntein and DQXI, the likes of which Wii U only got at launch and that was that. Plus all of the sports games it's been getting, even if WWE was a complete disaster, I think all of these first games were rushed, the newer games should be better.

Of course on the downside PS5 could be right around the corner if it launches holiday 2019, announced in early 2019, not sure how well Switch would be able to play games built from the ground up for 4k machines. Perhaps not at all. And a true Switch 2 is at least 4 years away, so 2 or 3 years after the 4k gen. Though if Sony sits on PS4 for another 2 years that would help.

@rjejr "I think all of these first games were rushed, the newer games should be better." God I hope so. And games that aren't lazy like FE:W (tons of clones) or that had 60/100 people pulled off to help with BotW (XC2)

Yeah, it's hard to predict where they'll be going. MS has been combining with PC a lot, Sony is going VR, both going 4K, but with all the micro-transactions, selling of save games, EA BS with Battlefront, what can we even expect of 4K and how it will increase the cost of games? Will it stretch that far?

@Ludovsky yeah there are lots of games coming specially on May.

May will have: DK Tropical Freeze, Owlboy, Dark Souls, Street Fighter Collection and Mega Man Collection.

Then June will have: Hyrule Warriors DX, maybe Okami HD. July: Octopath Traveler, Captain Toad, Sushi Strikers.

I bet that at E3 we'll see more games for August to December.

I'm calling it right now. The Switch version is going to get cancelled.

@JJ286 Basically my feeling I'd say.
Originally the 2019 delay peeved me off but now seeing everything that's coming and the fact there's still an E3 worth of announcements coming up too... I'm starting to see that "delay" as a blessing in disguise that'll simply make it easier on my wallet ^^;;

Plus I do still have a PC I might end up dusting off(quite literally. Not looking forward to it) and reformat/etc to possibly get it prepared for the likes of Monster Hunter World on PC this autumn. I might end up getting XI on that but I'll see. Even if I do, chances are I might still get it on Switch because I live in a shared household and I know most other people wouldn't play it on PC but may still enjoy it on Switch thanks to the ease of that later's use.

@MFD "how it will increase the cost of games"

Good scary question. Let's see.

We have to pay to play online, which most games are these days, so that's one added expense.
Every console, no matter how many hundreds of $, requires us to purchase extra storage for our games. Even games we buy on cart and disc, which is ridiculous beyond words.
Even single player games like FFXV, Zelda and XC2 require a season pass to get extra content. In the case of Zelda they held out a green line on a map which is really necessary when you start looking for all of those korok seeds. 1 green line $20.
Several single player games have left out story lines, like Mario + Rabbids. Not sure if SFV charged extra when it finally released the single player about a year later.
amiibo and other toys-to-life. Sure it looks like it's dead now, and I don't think SSB whether new or a port or a little of both will let you play next to them, but NFC chips aren't going away. There will always be swag we'll need to buy for a the complete experience in some video games.

So what else can they charge for us?

My biggest fear is at some point they lock games to a player's account. Maybe not disc games but digital purcahses. My 2 sons and I buy one game, eShop, PSN or disc, we all play it on our own accounts with our own saves. Even my PS+ games on my account my kids can still play. I worry they lock it to 1 account so I need 3 copies of the same game. It worked that way on handhelds, hard to share some 3DS games like Pokemon w/ only 1 save. People might revolt if they tried that, but I'm sure they are thinking about it.

I know with SSB for U there is only 1 save file that all 3 of our accounts share. I never played it b/c by the time I got to a it, about a week after we bought it, my kids had unlocked all of the characters and done about 1/3 of the challenges. I felt like there was n reason for me to play it after that. Why would a first party game on their own console not let each account have it's own save file? Makes no sense. Even if we each bought our own copy of the game the save situation still would have happened, but I can imagine games getting only 1 save file per account where we each need to buy a copy of the game. Hopefully not.

Companies are getting a lot of money for collector's edition swag. It's funny b/c as much as the industry wants to go digital they keep having all of these $100 bundles w/ statues and books and stuff. Usually a limited quantity but it does make them a bit of extra money.

Ports. There's a big money maker. MK8 sold about 8m on Wii U, I'm certain more than making them a profit. Plus the $12 DLC. They'll sell another 8m on Switch, for $60 each, almost all profit for a 2 year old game. DKTF, $60 for a 3 year old $50 game, all profit. IF Switch 2 is 4k they can resell all of those games again in 4k for almost all profit. "Double dipping' must be taught in video game business school.

Not just a Ntineod thing, Sony does it more, HD, remasters, bundles. what's old is new again, almost all profit. At least it only costs us if we double dip. Which I almost never do, except for a few PS2 games on PS3 in HD bundles that I got for $5 used. And really they were for my kids to play, not me, I don't replay games, one and done like some hotshot college basketball player.

More money ideas, hmmm

Sony is making money on it's PSVR headset and rejuvenated Move controllers. Nintnedo on Switch accessories.

Oops, almost forgot cardboard. Nintneod Labo. Though I think the games are a large chunk of the cost and the cardboard little, but we still need to buy the cardboard in a world of digital game downloads. I also bought Wonderbook so I'm used to buying useless add-ons. We buy almost everything eventually when the price gets down to about half or less. Never bought a Sony 24" 3D display though, that never got cheap enough for what it was.

In game, episodic I think will get more prevalent. It's one thing to sell Zelda for $60 with a $20 DLC season pass, it's another to sell each region for $60. FF7R is supposed to be episodic, I'm guessing 3 $60 games. Square Enix kind of already did this w/ FF13. They weren't promoting it that way, FF13, FF13-2 and Lightning Returns were 3 distinct $60 games, but taken together they really are 1 long game in 3 parts. I think in the future things will be more obvious. Oh, lesser known JRPG White Knight Chronicles on PS3 was 2 games, but it's really 1.

Developers will use 4k development time, and to a lessor extent size, as a reason for 1 game having to be shipped in multiple yet full priced parts. FFXV is already pushing the limit with 2 DLC season passes and more on the way. That game will easily reach $120, the cost of 2 full games, by the time it's done. If it's ever done.

Now I don't know how Nintneod could spread out a 4 world 6 hour Kirby game over 2 full priced $60 games, probably can't, but maybe some of their other properties. NSMBU was almost 2 full games if you count the $30 Luigi Levels disc as game 2. Only $20 as a DL though.

And really, some season passes are already $40 or $50 - I don't follow stuff like CoD and Destiny - making them almost 2 full priced games for only 1 game. And games like Destiny and Diablo keep selling new "packs" with names practically as new games.

So, I'm not sure the industry needs new ways to make money, I think they will just keep increasing what is already working, raise the price of season passes, more add-on 'packs", selling old games as "new" so more people see them and buy them - Zelda BotW Explorer's Edition, Splatoon 2 Starter's Edition. And then they sell the final package as a "Complete" game. And then they sell even more DLC for the "Complete" game, like FFXV Royal Edition is still getting more, and Pokken Tournament DX has a season pass.

So, they are a long way from needing new ways to make more money, DLC is really just hitting it's stride. "Games as service." And people thought free-to-start was bad, someday we'll look back at free-to-start as the good ole' days.

https://kotaku.com/top-video-game-companies-wont-stop-talking-about-games-1795663927

@JaxonH Had never heard of GPD so thanks for teaching me something new. It doesn't look very comfortable to play on w/ that big keyboard below the controls but I've never really been much of a handheld gamer anyway, or a PC gamer, so what do I know.

Can you ply MHW on that thing? You can start all over again in the fall.

You know, the more I read about DLC the more I think I should forget it exists and just play the base game and be done with it, but I know how I get so I still have some work to do to making that mindset a reality. Well that and an extensive backlog I'm trying to get through before buying any new games. Labo doesn't count. Even Ntinedo doesn't count Labo as a Switch game, it isn't even on this page, not even on the bottom under coming soon which has DK, Mario Tennis, Octopath and Hyrule Warriors. Labo is it's own thing. 4 games I don't want, it's all about PS4 for most of this year, we'll see what the holidays bring.

https://www.nintendo.com/games/switch

@rjejr DLC I can live with, so long as it's done properly. Micro-transactions, making it's way to 60 costing games is a disgrace. For a free to play, like Path of Exile, that's normal, as it's how they keep going, but that 60 game is full priced. Why did Battlefront 2 have that crap in it? What happened to Middle Earth: Shadow of War?

The more I see where this crap goes, the more I wonder if it's time for another crash, maybe stop going the predatory route and think for a second. Konami is selling save-games off the back of a venerated franchise, just where the hell are we going with this?

Nintendo isn't really following in with it yet, but what's to say they won't get there? Companies only want to hear "more" and not "enough" after all....

But back to the Switch discussion: I'm just afraid that, Nintendo will drop home-console entirely at some point. It's working well now, and, arguably, the Switch is still quite home-console, but if you compare it to the others in that line, it's already quite a departure. From a solid box, to a plastic connector, it has me wonder if Nintendo will only have handhelds in the not too distant future. As someone who grew up with NES and loves playing games on a big screen for that home experience, I look at this with fearful eyes.

@rjejr
No, it's not gonna run World. It's about on par with Switch. But games like Ni No Kuni 2? Ya. That it'll run (but they're gonna bring MH to Switch so, I'm good on that anyways- be it World Portable, MH Portable 5th or whatever, one way or another I'll get MH on Switch, and in the meantime I'm back playing MHXX on Switch anyways).

Forget DLC. That's how I view it. Don't need it, and most of the time you'll be done playing by the time you beat the game anyways.

Only 3 PS4 games I'm truly interested in this year, and 2 of them are coming to Switch (Valkyria Chronicles 4 and DQXI). Lots of Switch games I'm waiting for though. DKC Tropical Freeze, you know that's all me there. Y's VIII, Mario Tennis Aces, Fire Emblem, Smash, finally gonna get into Dark Souls which my bro vows to help me through online. Wolfenstein 2 (after DOOM with motion I'm really hyped- I quit my X1X playthrough for Switch once motion controls were patched in- can't go back to analog now). Octopath Traveller...

Ya I'm good with Switch this year. A lot less high profile games but much more mid tier games (which are my favorites- middle market games are where it's at). Tons of other games I'm getting too- Street Fighter Collection, BlazBlue, SNK Heroines and Fantasy Strike will put my Hori Hyabusa V Arcade stick to good use. Got it for Ultra Street Fighter II and it was like a trip down memory lane, playing with a crowd of kids in the Wal-Mart SNES demo station, winner stays on. And at the arcades.

But once my GPD Win 2 comes, 90% of all games will be available on a hybrid setup. That's what's up. PS4 will be left for 1st party exclusives that will never leave the system and X1X will be left for multiplats too demanding for Switch or GPD Win 2.

@JaxonH My 2018 games are GoW and Spiderman, and Ni No Kuni 2, and probably Ys 8, as it will likely hit $30 when it releases on Switch, Sony is petty like that. And I think the new Tomb Raider is supposed to be out this year,I've read it's supposed to complete some kind of trilogy, I still haven't played Rise of yet but soon. And I'm insane enough to think KH3 this year, it has to come out sometime. And Dreams, that looks different enough.

Switch is a bit port heavy, though we still need Mario+Rabbids and XC2, but at this point I'll wait for XC2 to be done. SSB is more for my kids. I'd be down for Pikmin 4 for Christmas but they have to officially announce it first. I'm not interested in Metroid or Animal Crossing or Pokemon.

My Mets are 2-0, cutting into my gaming time, it might be a good season after all meaning little gaming until the season is over, except when they're on the West Coast, too late for me.

As you predicted the PSVR goes unused, but I'm really trying get to find is Horizon, need about another month now with baseball. Still no full games I want to play on PSVR, just experiences.

@MFD I don't think Nintendo will drop home consoles as there is no reason too, the portable tech is good enough to do 720p on an HD tv. Now whether or not it's good enough to get CoD or Madden in 2023 when there are only 4k versions on PS5 and X2 I don't know, but Switch 2 will be out by then and like the Switch it should have just enough.

I doubt they will ever make only a home console again, though I would like to see a $149 Switch TV without a dock or screen, just a slab of plastic and a Pro controller. Could happen but I'm not holding my breath.

But really, here's always been my view, Nintendo doesn't need a home console b/c they don't make home console games. Home console games are photorealitic graphics and 5.1 surround sound, not 2D platformers or Mario tennis. Zelda is close, but it can work as a portable. They've already got Animal Crosding, Fire Emblem and Mario on mobile. So I don't think they need a home console, kids like Pokemon on the go. But I think their consoles will continue to be hybrids. Hopefully Switch 2 won't gave a dock, just wireless tv out and a dongle, like casting. Or if it does have a dock it helps, more RAM or storage. 4k game sizes are never going to fit on an 8GB cart.

And even if they do make a portable only console, a Switch for kids, they'll keep making an adult version with TV out. So that's one less thing for you to worry about. The DLC will drive us all from gaming though.

@rjejr
I forgot about TR. I do love those games. I'm hoping the new one has settings low enough to run on the Win 2... but I'm not holding my breath.

Fire Emblem though... that's where it's at this year. Fire Emblem is like Xenoblade- it's one of their absolute best games (who needs Zelda and Mario when you've got Xenoblade and Fire Emblem). And I anxiously await your reaction to it.

@rjejr I agree with the dock improvements, but then that summons the age-old argument of "But what about handheld?".

In regards to what you said about home-console games, I don't know. That's not how I view them at all. XC2 is as much a home-console game to me as something like Uncharted 2 is. Hell, I still enjoy games from 2004, when the graphics were in their kid-shoes.

Sometimes though, in cases like an RTS, you just need power to render everything on screen, fluidly, and to still look good. Whenever I mention power, that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Power for the sake of making a game the best it can be.

@MFD As far as needing power for doing stuff in game, the Gamecube, now about 20 years and 4 generations old, let us control 100 Pikmin at once and looked pretty good doing it as well. And in Pikmin 2 and Pikmin 3 we still got to control 100 Pikmin, so it wasn't like Nintendo said - get let's use all of that extra power and let people control 500 Pikmin in P2 and 1,000 in P3. Nope, still only 100.

So for me, as much as I like the Pikmin games, they aren't showing a great use of new generational home console power. For me home consoles are all about the cinematic experience in Uncharted or Horizon or God of War, big set pieces. And yes, XC2 like XCX and XC before it do qualify, I'm a big fan of JRPGs, but that isn't what Nintendo is known for or really associated with. Yes they own Monolith but XC is Monolith, Nintendo is 2D for the most part, with some of those games like Mario and Zelda making there way to 3D.

And in 3 weeks Nintendo will be known as the cardboard video game company. Labo Variety pack 01 can NOT be used with a tv.

I played Zelda BotW all last summer and it was great, I couldn't put it down, just kept going. And I'm really glad I played it before Horizon Zero Dawn b/c it kind of feels like the portable version of Horizon. And while I would never want to play Zelda in handheld mode b/c I don't want to play anything in handheld mode I think it would work much better than Horizon.

Really graphical improvement in video games hasn't impressed me since the Dream cast generation, the move from 2D sprites to 3D photorealitic games. Sure they've gotten better, but it's been a slow and gradual improvement, PS2 to PS3 to PS4 with really only the change from SD to HD tvs moving things forward. If we all still had SD tvs the Dream cast and Gamecube would still be good enough for me. But I'd still rather play the newer looking games that offer more interactive experiences than Nintendos 2D platformers which I really only play with my kids.

But I'm OK with Nintendo doing what they are doing, kids need games too. And I'm fine with Sony focusing on the home market and Nintendo on the portable, there's room, and need, for both.

@JaxonH Have they talked about the new Fire Emblem game recently? I remember them talking about the new FE game when the game released on mobile, one was Heroes and one Warriors maybe, and they both released, but I recall them mentioning a new straight up FE game but that seems so long ago, don't recall anything since.

Too this day I've never played any FE game, don't see me starting now, sorry. The only game I really want Ntinedo to talk about is Pikimin 4, the game that was nearly complete 2 years ago but they haven't officially announced it yet, though Myimaoto said they were still working on it last year at E3, apparently he doesn't know what the words "nearly complete" mean.

@rjejr
Well, you never had a system to play it on. Now you do. No reason to ignore a great game, like Xenoblade level great...

@JaxonH "Well, you never had a system to play it on."

Well yeah ok you got me with that one.

Not the biggest fan of turn based strategy, I'll have to see a lot more of it first. And lot more I mean something. I thought that JRPG mash-up would be interesting but once I saw it I was done.

The FE games on 3DS had graphics way better than 3DS deserved - I played the demo for one of them and was blown away - so if they keep it up I might be in, but if they decide to do some retro 8-bit stuff I'll pass. Toon Fire Emblem.

FE Warriors does look really good, if they use that engine that would be fine.

Then again, if the DLC follows the 3DS model, buy 1 game at $60 on disc, then another at $30 then another at $30, then some extra maps for $20 each, I'll pass.

@Ludovsky

I agree that Switch is the perfect bridge. I think i will wait to play it on Switch. Don't have a PS4 and i don't really enjoy playing japanese console games on my PC (prefer to play Diablo, WoW)

@rjejr
Oh it'll have DLC, for sure. But it's optional in every sense of the word. Gold map to grind money, experience map to grind XP, little solitary maps fighting heroes from older games...

Prime example of "forget the DLC, just play the game". I'll buy the DLC, but I'm a huge fan.

@JaxonH You need a FExMH crossover. Not sure if you would hunt monsters in a turn based game or fight monsters with the FE characters. Maybe a little of both, games never do enough "little of both", probably b/c of Sonics werewolf by night. I'm sure you'd play it regardless. 😆

@rjejr Agreed, but it sure would be nice to get some of those Nintendo-bound experiences on a machine that can push them that bit further.

Nothing wrong with wanting the best experience.

@JaxonH Personally, I'm rather annoyed with the amount of clones and lazy-work in FE:W, but to each their own on that one.

@MFD Nothing wrong with wanting the best experience.

True, but as a parent nothing wrong with wanting a system I can afford 2 of, 1 for each of my kids. Even my wife has a 3DS, they bundled it w/ NintenDogs that first Christmas so I picked her up 1 as a gift. She played on it for a couple of years then discovered tablets and that was that.

I'm still waiting for a Switch w/o the dock, we only need 1 dock, and it would be nice to have a $200 Switch for Labo and the kids while I kept mine docked. Though I'm all in on PS4 this year so we don't really need 2 Switch right now, hopefully by Christmas though, fingers crossed.

Wow, I totally missed this news. Kinda devastated we won't be getting the 3DS version. I tend to play JRPGs on my handhelds (because I don't tend to like more modern console JRPGs, and because the portability allows me to actually finish them), and this would have made my 3DS library complete

I was sort of expecting this, considering Square Enix didn't even bother to localize DQ7/8, but this is still sad news for me. Dragon Quest is the only Japanese SE property I care about, and its the only one they refuse to localize consistently. I just don't understand.

Hopefully the PC port will be decent then.

@JJ286 @JaxonH Looking so much forward to Octopath Traveller myself!

I do expect at least a few bombs for this year's E3. Starting with Smash Bros. But there's tons of the games hinted at last year's E3 which we might hear about too.

And it's the weirdest thing and I'm likely wrong, but in regard to Dragon Quest I can't help but have this weird feeling that it might not be impossible for us to have a "Builders 2" shaped surprise at E3.
Japan already have some of their own announcements about the game confirmed to be released eventually there, and it IS showing some clear signs of progress as of late.
But to boot, recently one of the latest(if not still the latest) interviews on the blog of the Nintendo Treehouse itself was specifically with the developers of Builders 1 to talk about design decisions of the game and choice of world.

Which felt odd to hear such(especially for a port of an older game) after the release of the port rather than before. But then again, Builders 2 IS confirmed for Switch as well as PS4 and Treehouse was apparently involved in the Switch port too.

Which makes me wonder if they might be involved for the Switch release of Builders 2, leading us to potentially a "Builders 2 is coming to America!" and worldwide release date announcement at the same time at this coming E3.

I'm likely having a wrong hunch here, but I couldn't help but wonder. I certainly could expect them revealing the game as coming to the west(even sans release date) in the same way that Japan already knows the game is coming even if they too have no release date yet.

E3 feels like it could be a perfect place to do a double-whammy and both announce it to the west and give a release date, though.

@Ludovsky Gamestop just hinted that there are lots of unannounced games for the Switch that will drive 2018 sales. Needless to say, I'm very excited for E3.

@JJ286 Same.

Despite the slip-up leading him to make apologies, the NIS guy has me wondering if there is something Nintendo may be sneaking under the radar with that "multiplatform versions being digital only, physical version being Switch exclusive" deal they had there.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo may not have achieved similar deals with other smaller, but notable enough to be known names, publishers and developers to nab similar exclusives-even-if-not deals.

Since, when it comes to promotion and all, for a physical stores company like Gamestop.... physical copies of games will indeed be the only ones that matters.
The NIS guy slipped up... but who knows who else are about to do the same that just have kept quiet better about it? If someone can be frustrated enough with Sony to so publicly slip up about it... chances are they're probably not the only ones? I dunno but I'm indeed curious for the upcoming E3.