Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Fizza I'm looking forward to launch. Persona wasn't on my radar until I liked what I had played of Tokyo Mirage Sessions on Wii U and people described that game as "Persona with Fire Emblem characters". Then Joker came to Smash, TMS got ported to Switch and now finally Persona 5 Royal is coming to Switch next month.

@Grumblevolcano
Persona 5 Royal is way better than TMS#FE so if you liked that game, you'll definitely love Persona

2 series I hope Nintendo fans go out and support.

Persona 5 Royal
After many years of begging for this game to come to Switch, it's finally at the door. Time to put your money where your mouth is and show Atlus why this series should not be PS exclusive going forward.

Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core
After nearly 6 years, we're finally getting a modernized Final Fantasy with visuals pushing the boundary of what Switch can offer. If you're tired of this series being moneyhatted and held hostage by Sony, step up to the plate and make this a multi-million seller. The better it does, the more expensive it will be for Sony to bribe away from us in the future, and the more likely SE will decline due to stifling brand growth

Could also add Nier Automata in there too, but priority is Persona and Final Fantasy.

@JaxonH
The switch may be underpowered compared to the others but it certainly can run almost anything as long as devs aren’t lazy. The cloud versions of the RE and KH shows us just that.

@GameOtaku
Ya, I'm convinced KH being cloud was not a result of technological barriers, but rather, lack of ROI.

To port that many games over in a single collection for $60 probably just wasn't financially viable. For other platforms they released them piecemeal first for $60 each (KH 1.5, then KH 2.5, then KH 2.8, then KH 3, then KH 3 DLC, then Story So Far). So they milked the heck out of them by the time they combined all into one. And combining all into one was easy because the games were already on the system.

For Switch, ppl would expect everything in 1 package for $60, because that's what's on offer elsewhere. But because of the time and expense of porting, it's not worth it unless they sell them as individual collections first, and gamers won't stand for that. So they said screw it, we'll just do cloud then.

Personally, I'd pay for individual collections all day if it meant getting them natively. Not that I've ever been a big KH fan because, well, I'm just not. But at the very least I would have grabbed them for posterity's sake.

@JaxonH
ROI on switch ports would’ve been high in my opinion to more than justify native ports. Highest selling console combined with a much requested port seems so simple (and clean).

Which makes Nier odd that it’s being ported natively, full physical and for a good price.

Can we just talk about how jam packed Q1 2023 is going to be for gaming? There's a TON of games scheduled to release not just for Switch but in general, and I honestly don't think very many of them will see a delay either.

Q1 2023 releases:

Fire Emblem Engage
Forspoken
Dead Space Remake
Dead Island 2
Hogwarts Legacy
Like a Dragon Ishin
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Atelier Ryza 3
Octopath Traveler II
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Tales of Symphonia Remastered
Fatal Frame 4
Resident Evil 4 Remake

That's a LOT, and that's just Q1. Then there's all the other titles slated for the 1st half of the year:

Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Starfield
Redfall
Forza Motorsport
Minecraft Legends
Wo Long: The Fallen Dynasty
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 3 Portable
Layers of Fears

Obviously there will be some delays (coughStarfieldcough), but that first half is looking really good.

Oh, you have inside info on Starfield, @IceClimbers ....? Just because you seem very sure it'll be delayed! But yeah, quite a few games coming

I'm waiting.

Welp Nintendo released the direct compilation image. RIP my budget.

I just upgraded my family NSO to NSO+EP. Thank you NintendoLife for making better guides than Nintendo themselves and any other site.

@GameOtaku
I don't doubt it could have made a notable return on investment, but business always focuses on maximizing ROI. So, maybe they could have seen a 4x ROI on KH. Not too shabby given it would require porting like a dozen games to the system. However, utilizing those resources elsewhere and porting say, 5 different games to multiple platforms, they could see a 20X ROI. So the largest projected ROI wins the bid.

Even so, if they were to contract it out to another studio so it doesn't tie up their own limited resources, then it could be a viable option regardless. Unless, of course, there's limited porting studios with the experience and pedigree to make quality Switch ports (which, we know earlier in Switch's lifespan this was definitely the case, as Panic Button became inundated with port requests as there was far more demand for capable Switch porting studios than there was supply), in which case the same principle would apply. Why pay to have Studio A port a dozen KH games for 4X return when they could have Studio A port 5 other quality games and see a 20X return instead.

At the end of the day, we'll never know. We can only speculate. But they did opt for cloud, and I think that speaks volumes. If their net profit projections warranted a native port, and they had the resources to do it or contract it out, I think they would have done it. Companies don't make decisions for no reason. I'm quite sure many corporate meetings were held regarding the pros and cons of native vs cloud.

@JaxonH
I’m still holding out hope for a native port. An article on this site had an interview with the dev and said a port wasn’t off the table if demand was there.

@GameOtaku
It's definitely not out of the realm of possibility.

@JaxonH Xbox has shown promising potential for how to handle cloud versions. For example in the future you'll be able to buy Starfield then play it on your XB1 via the cloud and when you get a Series X|S be able to play the native port of the game. If new hardware gets revealed and it turns out all these cloud versions get native ports for the new hardware then that would turn Switch cloud versions from a bad thing to a good thing.

@NeonPizza I think the current Switch is about as big as I would ever want a portable console to be.

1080p isn't really ideal for a handheld. Even the Steam Deck's screen is lower res. I'd rather just see a system where they consistently hit 720p and higher framerates.

An OLED screen is a must, though. I'm serious. I don't want to go back to a crappy LCD panel for their next console.

@IceClimbers I can't get over how Octopath 2 and Return to Dreamland DX come out on the EXACT SAME DAY. Lord help me.....

@Slowdive

Obligatory

I think Nintendo has hit the sweet spot for design with the OLED. All they need is to add analog triggers and change joystick switches to stop the drift (which they might have. My last two recent joy cons don’t drift despite heavy usage for two years), beef up the internals and successor is done. I’ve been saying for years this is the one time I just want them to iterate their next system. Put the rest of the money in game dev and courting 3rd parties. If the successor comes out of the gate with BC and as many devs on board as they have now with stronger specs, we are golden. Ports alone (and collections) are making the switch ecosystem (assuming the successor is switch2) a one stop shop as is. Not to mention the franchise variety. At this point I think there is something for every genre. So if they keep that dev buy in… just wow.

Next Switch > 720p OLED, just a generational leap in power. No dtastic changes, just offer the Switch experience, but with more power to allow more games to run, and help eliminate performance issues.

If they want to integrate DLSS even better, but if they don't, that's fine too. Just making the jump to base X1/PS4 level is enough for me. It would help ensure handheld games stay native 720p with a locked 30fps or even 60 in many cases, and it would ensure a native 1080p docked with a locked 30fps or 60 in many cases.

That's... enough for me. And I think it would be enough for the vast majority of Switch owners.

@Ryu_Niiyama
Pretty much agree. Although personally I prefer digital shoulder triggers. There are a few games that would greatly benefit from analog that I actually play such as Trials Rising, but 99% of the games I play don't use them, and they're kind of a pain to deal with when you just want to use them as a button press. It would be nice if they sold a separate set of analog joycon on their Store, and those who wanted a pair could buy them, and those who like digital could stick with that. But they probably won't do that so. Idk. I guess either way I can deal with it.

NieR Automata: The End of YoRHa Edition is one of the most impressive Nintendo Switch ports I've played -RPG Gamer

https://www.rpgsite.net/preview/13274-nier-automata-the-end-o...