Topic: Where are the 3DS ports?

One of the most striking things about the Switch event last week was the care with which the games presented were selected. There are clearly more games on the way (maybe even ones that could be ready to go very soon) that Nintendo chose not to show for various reasons.

We saw 2 Wii U ports in Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon but there will be more Wii U ports. In particular Mario Maker and Smash Bros will definitely arrive on Switch and they will very likely be ports or games built around the same set of assets that will be labelled ports (as Splatoon 2 has been - rightly or wrongly). Other Wii U games like DKTF and SM3DW should also make the Switch in time.

Those games (which almost certainly exist) would have improved the presentation and filled out the release schedule. It's interesting from a marketing perspective that they weren't.

I think Nintendo was very wary of the Switch being labelled a machine filled of nothing other than ports of old games. It already has been labelled as such in some quarters on the basis of Mario Kart 8, Skyrim and Splatoon 2 (even though Splatoon 2 is a sequel). So it kind of makes sense that Nintendo is holding a port of, for instance, Smash Bros for Wii U back for a future reveal.

What was really surprising though was that we haven't seen a port of a single major 3DS game yet.

Nintendo clearly DOES NOT want anyone to view the Switch as a 3DS successor at this moment in time so that, combined with the general restrictions on how many ports they want to show full stop, explains why they haven't been shown yet but surely they're coming too in time?

Yes a 3DS port needs a bit more time and a bit more TLC than a Wii U port but there are plenty of games that should make the Switch in 2018 and beyond as Nintendo becomes more relaxed about admitting that Switch is a successor to their handheld business.

So which games make most sense? Bravely Default? A Link Between Worlds? Fire Emblem Awakening? Kid Icarus?

Or do people think we'll see some form of virtual console releases for 3DS games in the future? (however difficult and strange it would be to fit them on a console limited to only a single screen without the 3D effect).

Maybe none? Remeber that the 3DS resolution is 240p. The Switch's resolution is 720p.

They just can't port the games without them looking horrible on the Switch's screen, they'll look even worse on TV - have you tried to see a FE:A gameplay video on HD in youtube? The figures look terrible!

Its easier to port from the Wii U because those are already HD graphics, I think most 3DS games would need remakes to look decent and that is far more expensive than merely porting. The games that have been ported from Wii U to 3DS are scaled down, and from my understanding, that is far easier than to upscale and make sure they look nice.

I don't think we'll se 3DS games as part of this gen's VC. And since they unified their dev teams into one single division, they shouldn't have problems pumping out hardware as to need to paddle the release schedule with 3DS ports.

So, I don't see what you propose as a likely option in the near future.

I realise that the assets would need to be completely remade for a 3DS game to work on Switch but when you know that you have a successful design for a game (systems, controls, story, art design etc.) and you have a known audience for a particular title with a residual marketing presence then a lot of the work is already done. I definitely think it makes sense for some 3DS titles to be ported but, no, it's not as easy or straightforward as porting a Wii U title.

I'm also sceptical that Nintendo will be able to produce enough new games to avoid "droughts" - even with putting all of their development resources into a single platform.

@StuTwo
You have a problem there - the known audience for the 3DS port already bought the game in the original system. The 3DS has a good install base, and most people that wanted games already got them. Why would they double dip for a new version in the Switch? You would have to make an enhanced port, a la MK8D, and that increases the costs.

It isn't the same as the Wii U, that had games most people wouldn't get since they didn't had the console.

I don't think they'll have problems. Already the Switch's first year looks quite good, and there are a ton of games in development they haven't announced, since they must be keeping stuff for E3. I don't see 3DS ports as a viable option due to cost - we know HD development is expensive, and since they would have to make enhanced ports to get the 3DS crowd to double dip, I'm not sure they would get a profit from the game.

While 3DS games may get remade in the future, I'd be surprised if any came in the Switch's lifetime.

There are already quite a few games on there that could have worked as 3DS releases. They're not ports so much but they are portable style games. Bomberman, Has Been Heroes, Puyo Puyo Tetris, Sonic Mania, Snipperclips, Street Fighter, Project Octopath Traveler. Sure some of those are smaller games that are at home on the eShop but they're also something I could have seen on the 3DS.

And in any case, which 3DS games would make sense on the Switch? And if they're going through that much effort for something like Luigi's Mansion or Kid Icarus why not make an entirely new game? Wii U games already look good enough for the Switch. All they need to do is get them running at a better resolution and framerate. 3DS games? Not so much.

3ds games would take too much work to make them look presentable on the Switch. I would rather have new games. Instead of looking for ports, why not sequels?

They really want to fool themselves into thinking the switch is a home console, and home console only.

So they probably won't want to tarnish their home console with ports of hand-held games. At least not yet.

Not that it's necessary, the 3ds is still well and alive.

Not that I'm arguing that Switch should get any 3DS ports, but why is everyone saying it'd require a bunch of work to make them look nice?

Surely they wouldn't be any more difficult to make than HD PS2 ports, which are everywhere 2-3 to a pack at $40 or less? Heck, HD releases of Resident Evil Revelations, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate, & Kingdom Hearts 3D already exist as well.

DS and GBA looks fine via Wii U, so...

We need N64, SNES and NES ports too on Switch.

Hope there wont be any 3ds ports. A new console needs new games. 3ds ports wont sell the system imo

Exactly! There are already DS games on Wii U, playable on the Wii U Gamepad in various orientations. With the Switch, you could just detach the joycons and play on the touchscreen by itself, holding it vertically. You could even buy a capacitive touchscreen stylus if you want.

Hopefully it's possible to just emulate the 3DS in virtual console rather then needing to port the games.

DS on Gamepad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgyLUYiH0pk

Games that require precise touch wouldn't work all that well on a capacitive touch screen. If at all, considering the effective area would be rather small if you hold the switch vertically.

I don't think DS games have much of a chance on the switch.

No disagreement there. But that much effort for a port is still far more than the effort required to make a Wii U game look good or scale a PS4 game down so it'll perform well. And what you get for your extra effort is a game that people aren't willing to pay full retail for. 3DS ports are going to look far more dated than Wii U ports.

Many DS games look quite good in HD (that is, when they have been natively rendered in HD via an emulator, as opposed to blown up from the original DS resolution as the Wii U versions display them).

The resolution of the DS and 3DS fail to do a lot of their 3D games justice. They are in fact a lot better looking than you give them credit for. Sure, perhaps they could redo some of the graphics, particularly the lesser detailed and blocky looking environmental/sky textures, but the character/item models generally tend to look really good, all things considered.

Plus, these games are usually developed with much higher quality assets, as evidenced particularly during the DS era, where we would often be treated to screenshots that have clearly been rendered at higher resolutions prior to release, but are downscaled in order to tailor the graphics/performance to the limitations of the hardware. 2D/interface graphics would need to be completely redone though.

It may get a few, but there's less need for 3DS ports than there is for Wii U ports because of the drastic difference in sales between the two. 3DS sold 4 times as much as Wii U, so the majority of Nintendo's expected audience on the Switch will have already played 3DS games and will be less likely to buy 3DS games all over again. Meanwhile, there's been so few people that bought a Wii U that they can sell its games again and bring in a significant new audience.

I just hope Stars of all things isn't real, considering that SM JUST came out 2 months ago, it's too soon for a third version and it wouldn't do well selling on a completely different console. I'd be fine with pretty much any other game (hell, even XY, that actually needs a third version), but SM is a poor choice for a port right now.

@Bolt_Strike
Well it wouldn't be 2 months ago when the game would likely come out. The Switch itself is launching about 4 months after the release of Sun/Moon. And if it's coming it's not going to be a launch game. More likely we'll see it at the end of this year if that. If I was to guess I'd say early 2018.

And it's not exactly unprecedented. Pokemon games have fairly regularly released about once a year. This is how previous generations have gone:

Gen 1
Year break
Revision
Gen 2
Revision
Year break
Gen 3
Year Break
Revision + Remake
Year Break
Gen 4
Year Break
Revision
Remake
Gen 5
Year Break
Revision
Gen 6
Remake
Year Break
Gen 7
????

Too soon or not, I don't think them doing something this year would be unprecedented at all....

Actually, most third versions came out a year later. Matter of fact, for most years Pokemon was a yearly franchise

I don't think 3DS ports are going to come now because they want to push Switch as a home and most of all because obviously they don't want to hurt 3DS sales. If this is a possibility it will start only in 2018 if the Switch is selling a lot and they will finally declare publicly that Switch is their next only system, covering home and portable market