Topic: Nintendo Switch 2 Predictions

@FishyS still was missing COD for a whole generation and although we got the ps2 remaster it is missing the most current gta games. I mentioned this two specifically because the are the two best selling third party games. Nintendo needs to make it a priority that the latest versions are on their console.

@Qwertyninty Unrelated to your point, but is COD still considered third party? Microsoft owns it.

At the moment Nintendo owns 2 of the top 7 franchise (Mario and Pokemon), Microsoft owns 2 (COD and Minecraft), Tetris and FIFA are on all the platforms, and GTAV isn't on Switch.

I suspect next gen will be identical except that PS5 and Switch 2 will have COD for the next decade because of the legal agreement. I wouldn't be surprised if GTA 6 was so power-hungry that it doesn't come to Switch 2.

Personally, I'm just hoping Switch 2 gets newer Final Fantasy games.

@FishyS coincidentally, the question about power is something I’ve contemplated. With power you can achieve things like… World domination, or maybe a better performing system.

But frankly, I don’t think there’s a total need for a PS6 level hardware or anything crazy like that, obviously games need to perform well but that’s a given. I’m reminded of this every time I replay a ps2 or gamecube game. You can do a lot with creativity alone, so I believe…

@Yousef- I agree in principle more power shouldn't mean a lot; it's just annoying that more and more games have been getting crappy ports to Switch lately. I'm hoping Switch 2 will partially fix that.

I don't care about fps necessarily, but if they had a free or cheap upgrade to BotW which made it generally look nicer I would definitely go back to it.

There are also some games (cough cult of the lamb) with long loading screens and lag which were painful enough that I stopped playing; I'm hoping issues like that are fixed on Switch 2 and I would definitely revisit.

60fps I care less about. But if they were to push the resolution and render quality up and re-encode the cutscenes at a higher bitrate? Maybe. If they also made it properly graded for HDR? Probably

..... but if there was a new mode of some kind definitely yes even if it was literally the same game otherwise

@FishyS yes that’s still considered third party. Nintendo needs to prove that their consumer base wants and will purchase COD and GTA. GTA 5 sold 200 million copies. Nintendo needs to be a player in that market and get some millions of those sales for the next game. If they don’t get any other third party games they need those two. Once publishers see those games on Nintendo consoles are selling and are technically possible, the flood gates will open.

@Qwertyninty I don't think you need to worry about the floodgates of third party games — Nintendo already has a zillion and many more (like e.g Baldur's Gate 3) said they would have ported to a Nintendo console if it were powerful enough.

Switch 2 will get COD because Microsoft already said so. They will likely get future Final Fantasy because Square Enix said they don't really want to do exclusivity deals anymore. Switch already gets almost all the top franchises (I was just looking at the list of top 30 and almost all are on Switch). So I could imagine Switch 2 having basically everything major (and non exclusive) for a while except perhaps GTA 6. The floodgates are open and I doubt they will close unless Switch 2 really messes up.

BTW, third party is apparently an inconsistently defined term. IGN's definition, for example, would say COD is now first party. Not that it matters while it is non-exclusive.

@FishyS love your optimism but I’m a long time Nintendo fan. I’m always cautious. I don’t believe anything until it’s released in the system. 🤷🏾‍♂️

@Qwertyninty

Eh, the Switch has what...close to 20k games on the eShop?

Granted most of those are ports of mobile games and asset flips, but the third-party flood gates have been open for a while now.

I'm not sure it's inconsistent just maybe misunderstood by the gamers and therefore it's meaning has drifted a bit. First party is under the control of the seller, second party is under the control of the customer, third party is anything else. Third party basically just means we're adding a third entity into this transaction. Like how third party car insurance covers you for damage you do to someone else's car. The owner of the other car, they're a third party

So CoD would be a first party game on XBox because you're buying a game made under the control of Microsoft through a Microsoft owned platform. There's a buyer and a seller, no third party. But if you buy it on Steam or PlayStation or whatever it's a Third party game. Because you're bringing in a, well, third party into the transaction

I guess where it get tricky is when "control" isn't entirely clear. Which is where some people call games "second party" .... which is obviously wrong. But even so, whether or not a game is "first party" is entirely dependent on where it is being sold

@Magician AAA third party games. Western especially. No COD, GTA, Madden, etc. the console has five very well with support but it needs those heavy hitters.

Yeah, I understand the traditional definition, that's just not what everyone consistently means anymore. For example IGN and gamefaq have definitions:

• 'Refers to a developer or publisher which has no direct connection or long term exclusivity with any of the Big 3 publishers' and
• 'A Third-Party company is a video game company that is not owned by a company that makes a game console (Ex: Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft).'.

The more traditional definition makes it feel silly to me to say 'Nintendo is losing on third party games'. One can only really argue that because Nintendo has so many exclusives so their own games never have a chance to be third party... if you counted every Mario etc. as a 'potential' third party, one could argue that xbox and Sony lose out on more major third party than Nintendo does simply because several of the top franchises are owned by Nintendo plus Microsoft shares some (e.g. Minecraft) plus... Sony just doesn't have much that is ranked as high.

Not sure "needs" is the right word. "Wants" would probably be more accurate. Xbox has all of "those" and has only sold 28m Xbox Series consoles in about four years. Now, that's certainly due more to the strength of the first party offerings from either company. But you speak as though major AAA third party games are some sort of tipping point.

Ehhhhhhhh....they aren't.

@Qwertyninty
I agree with what you're saying - hopefully Switch 2 gets those big, impactful 3rd-party games.

It was awesome that we got Hogwarts Legacy kinda/sorta close to when the other systems got it, and Switch 2 will get CoD, but if the next GTA completely skips Switch 2... that game alone has the potential to be another gaming revolution just like GTA 5 was/is. I think GTA 5 is the second best-selling game of all time behind Minecraft, right?

GTA 6 also has the potential to be mediocre 😝 It will be interesting to see what happens. The 4th best selling game ever was Wii Sports and the sequel Switch Sports clearly wasn't as consequential. The 6th best selling game is Mario Kart 8 and.... time will tell with that one. If I was on either the GTA6 team or the mario kart team right now I would feel stressed out because of the high expectations. 😆

As for coming to Switch 2, I feel like it might look even worse if a sub-bar port comes to Switch rather than gta6 skipping Switch 2 altogether. Switch 2 will have to be careful to not immediately regain the current reputation of not-great ports.

@FishyS
Fair call. Just the evolution of language I guess. The traditional meaning of the term for gaming has over the years shifted. Mostly because we've had only a few platforms that we really think about and all of them are also large game publishers who have, for the most part, made games that are exclusive to their platforms. So first party starts to take on the sheen of "exclusive" and "one of the big three" which... isn't really what it meant but language is mailable

There's a certain fuzzyness to the definition that's been adopted. I mean by the first of the two definitions you posted would Platinum Games be a third party developer? I'd argue that they have a fairly close connection to Nintendo. And by any reasonable definition a franchise like Bayonetta is more locked to Nintendo than Minecraft is to Microsoft. I don't know, I feel like the "exclusivity" and "ownership" bit of the adopted definitions don't really work. I think I like the dry original definition more

edit: on the topic of best selling games of all time. It's kinda wild scrolling down that list and seeing Wii U mentioned a few times. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, New SMB U, BotW. And also slightly annoying to my sensibilities to see that Pokmeon Scarlet/Voilet have overtaken Diamond/Pearl.....

@Magician I guess it’s all about how Nintendo feels about their consumer base. Can they have a successful console without them, yes. Will their primary consumer have to go out and purchase an additional console to play certain games, yes. I personally would love to finally buy a Nintendo console and get to play every game I want first and third party. 🤷🏾‍♂️

@rallydefault it’s just sad so many of Nintendo consumers seem to not want this to happen or make excuses. I should be able to go and pay 400 for a switch 2 and get to play every third party game I want. Not have to pay an additional 400 to play a certain third party game. Or just not buy a secondary console and don’t play the game at all. Hopefully Nintendo and Nvidia comes through this time.

Fundamentally, Switch 2 will (almost certainly) still be a power-efficient portable device. If you want that plus being able to play all games currently existing today and playing them perfectly? Switch 2 will be a big improvement, but you would need a hypothetical Switch 3 to really get that. Of course there might be even higher-powered games by then.

Regardless, unless the concept of exclusivity stops existing, everyone will always have to pick and choose which games they want or else buy multiple devices. Potential xbox owners can choose to pay more money and get a few games Switch doesn't have but get no Mario, Zelda etc.

@FishyS I think the team behind GTA have big enough egos to not be stressed and to make the same game with better graphics and satirize current pop culture trends. It's their formula that they craft very well.