Nihon Falcom Lacks The Ability To Release More Games On Switch, Says President

That's worrying...

To me it seems this is just an excuse saying that fans would be only on PlayStation platforms. With the death of the PS Vita, many have moved to Switch and especially in Japan, the Switch is dominating the market. I think it's not a wise business decision from the president not bringing their games to Switch. I'm sure one day he will regret it that he didn't even try.

For starters, why base it on beliefs when they could be sending out questionnaires to customers and getting feedback off social media?

Secondly, surely outsourcing should be more than a mere possibility? Yes, of course...that's pretty expensive, but the Switch recently surpassed PS4 lifetime sales in Japan, and racking up a big install base everywhere else too. It could indeed be very worthwhile...

YS VIII was my favorite game of last year, I would very much like to see 9 come over.

It was a good port too! Maybe Nintendo can help
To bring it over?

Appreciate the honest response.

Trails is ok. I have the games on Vita. They’re your standard uber-Japanese B-grade JRPG fare. So while I’d love to see the series make it over to Switch, honestly, the games aren’t that good (YS VIII was their first real banger).

As long as NIS ensures YS gets ported in the future, I won’t lose any sleep over the rest.

This kinda makes me laugh to be honest.

Why not port some of the older Ys games - like 7, Memories of Celceta and Origin - and then gauge the market from those? They don't need to dive straight into converting the larger and more technically advanced Ys 9.

I'm guessing a lot of people - worldwide, not just in Japan - have moved from PSP and Vita to Switch. I certainly did.

I don't play their games, but.....

So my takeaway here is that they don't have the know-how to develop for Switch and are unwilling to learn. I get they're a smaller developer, but then we also see even smaller and sometimes one man operations releasing Indie games on Switch, so I just kind of see it as they can't be bothered to learn a new platform.
Didn't I hear that Ys VIII had a better global launch on Switch than both Vita and PS4? Yet, he doesn't believe they have much of an audience outside of the PS crowd?
At least they're willing to let someone else do it. Ys VIII was a highlight for me, so hopefully NiS will bring IX over here.

Playing through Trails in the Sky at the moment - and I’d say it’s much better than B grade JRPG fare. The writing and characters are really good, and the battle system is interesting. I gather things have moved on since then with Cold Steel. I’d love to see that series come to Switch, not to mention Ys IX.

Trouble is, if we keep getting ports 18-24 months after the initial release, the Switch numbers are never going to look that good.

Feeling sad for them....

That's a shame as I'm a huge fan of the legend of heroes series and that YS VIII was also a really good port

Honestly, there are plenty of companies that port games for the Switch. Shoot even Stardew Valley and Crosscode hired someone to port their games to the Switch. I am apart of the problem though because I bought Ys 8 for the ps4 cause I heard it ran smoother.

This is an opportunity for Nintendo to step in and offer some support. There's a big opportunity for their games on switch. I would definitely buy the switch version over ps4 of an RPG like theirs. I was sad they (obviously) dropped vita support

A bit surprising to hear, especially after so many of their games have been on an ARM architecture console before, but they know better. Most of their localized library is available in portable forms anyway, so fingers mostly crossed for future outsourcing port budget on Ys IX and the last two Cold Steel games. As for a JRPG's "primary audience on PlayStation platforms"... this topic does little but bring us back to Sony's current exodus from the portable hardware domain.

Would've pulled the trigger on buying Ys VIII ages ago if it wasn't still $50-60 for a badly-optimized port.

@ARPK Badly optimized? I thought it looked and ran great. Not sure where you’re getting your information.

I would sincerely hope that if Trails ever comes to Switch they don't simply port the latest game. Cold Steel III alone requires having played 7 other games to have any idea what's going on.

I’ve been plowing through the Ys games recently on Vita since I’m pretty sure there’s only 1 or 2 games not available on it and I’ve been really enjoying them. It would be nice for them to be put on Switch for people to discover them but if they can’t, I don’t think anybody else knows more about the situation than the company themselves.

Talk about incompetence!

You'd think that a company who loved the Vita like they did would appreciate the crazy software attach rate that the Switch similarly has.

@Aneira Why? This changes nothing Falcom hasnt developed a game for a Nintendo system since the DS, and that game was a port. Falcom pretty much has only been developing games for playstation systems, so this changes literally nothing.

Trails of Cold Steel I & II were on vita, just as the latest Ys.
Too bad.

Another example of a dev rolling the dice with the odds on best system for their type of game. I can't blame them for not wanting to waste resources investing elsewhere. But as I've said for the last few generations, sometimes when you build it, they will come--And sometimes they don't, but that's a typical risk in a day in the life of business. Case in point look at devs that were more successful with their game on Switch that originated on another platform and it shocked even them. Also like someone said already, hire someone to port it maybe? You have to try it or you'll never know.

Other than that, thank you Nihon Falcom for giving a Nintendo system another Ys. It's been fun and I'm finally close to beating it

Hope they manage to port their games to the switch. I like them.

Wait what? There are people making homebrew for the Switch on 10 year old PCs in their basement and an actual company claims it can't develop for the Switch?

I got angry with other recent... issues... with people calling a certain other company a bunch of liars but. I just don't believe that statement.

If they are telling the truth, it just makes them look unbelievably incompetent.

And as for the idea that most of their fans are Playstation players... that's like only selling most of your products at Game Stop and then saying most of your customers only shop at Game Stop. That's like only selling Pizza on Tuesday and then saying most people only want to eat your pizza on Tuesdays! Gee, I wonder why that is???

I love love love Ys VIII

@illmatic20xx Surely Ys VIII on Switch is their most recent port to a Nintendo system?

Aw. I was hoping for LoH to come to Switch.

Falcom hasn't wanted to release their games on Nintendo platforms for generations. And they're happy to ignore how well Ys VIII performed in the West and point to the game's Japanese performance as an indication that "their audience is on Playstation," even though it's the second or third full-priced port of a years old game that people had already played by that point. Platforms don't come with built-in audiences. If their "audience is on Playstation," it's because they've ignored Nintendo for generations and generally only want to release games on Playstation systems, so people have learned that this is where they go for Falcom experiences. But the PS4 isn't a particularly thriving platform in Japan, and Sony is increasingly distancing itself from its Japanese roots and the Japanese market, so i can only think that they're setting themselves up for hard times in the future by not branching out to other platforms.

@BionicDodo Falcom didn't port Ys VIII to Switch. NIS did. Which is arguably why the port was rough around the edges in the first place. NIS also ported the game to PC.

@Galenmereth I liked YS 8, but I agree with you. I'm not super picky about graphics, but it looked very dated.

@LunarFlame17 I'm probably coming across harsher than I intended. The patches have polished up the game noticeably since its Switch launch. So it's not a bad port per se, it's definitely competent, but it's going to inevitably be compared to the Vita original or the more powerful PS4. On those grounds, it's pretty rough both ways. Ys VIII is still a great game at its core, it's just not competitively priced like a large number of other Switch ports.

I love their games. It's at least charming and something to remember. Most games today aren't that good. Love Falcom

@illmatic20xx

Not for you, I or Nintendo. But it's gotta be worrying for Falcom.

i had a feeling falcom would distance themselves from the switch after ys viii. they deffinitely don't like releasing their games on nintendo platforms.

They don't know how to restock the game either. It's long gone.

At least they're honest, and I won't be following the saga on Switch if it's limited to a single entry. Good to know.

@ARPK And I didn’t play it on Vita or PS4, so I couldn’t tell you how the Switch version compares to those. I feel like I tend to be more forgiving of technical flaws than most people anyway, so you probably should take what I say with a grain of salt in general. I will say, Ys VIII on Switch has gone on sale in the past, but I don’t know how much of a discount it got.

@BionicDodo Actually Nisa handled that port if it wasnt for them it wouldnt have come to Switch.

@LunarFlame17 I appreciate your perspective, to be honest. The process of creating video games is thankless and the product is often scrutinized to absurd degrees, so I think being able to forgive the little things and enjoy what's in front of you is really refreshing. I'm also sad I missed it when it was on sale, but I'm kind of a sucker and hoping for a drop on the physical version anyway.

Well atleast They are homest, not that it bothers me that much though, games are expensive and they are average at best.
So not a loss for me.

I would love Cold Steel 3/4 on Switch. Played, I and II on VITA and more handheld for me.

But he is 100% right. Most who are FALCOM fans went and bought a PlayStation ages ago.

I have Cold Steel 3 on pre-order and Ys NOX is day 1 whenever we get it. Not sitting around waiting for it to be on Switch.

Their games don't seem to be technical powerhouses, so if someone steps in to do the porting, I would definitely prefer to play their library of games on Switch. I was enjoying the Trails of Cold Steel series on Vita, but I've no interest in playing it on PS4 since I prefer portability.

I also think that it is a poor excuse, to say, that their fanbase is on PlayStation. Anime games in general seem to be for a niche audience on PlayStation. On Switch, they seem to be more popular, comparing sales of games like Dragon Quest Builders 2 or Bloodstained, for instance. Oh, and especially regarding Sony's new anime censorship thing, there will surely be more PlayStation anime fans moving over to Switch.

@Galenmereth their games are amazing and a reason to own a psvita but whatever.

*Company only releases games on PlayStation

Company: Only PlayStation gamers buy our games.

I got Ys 8 on Switch. It runs well except for enemies being 2 fps when they're in the distance which looks very odd.

They are probably right about their main audience though. Surprised they don't print more copies of 8 on PS4 since it goes for a premium these days.

Just HD up those Trails Vita games that never came out in the west and it will be square.

This is sad. And pathetic. I really enjoyed Ys VIII on the Switch, even if it wasn't as polished as XC2. I would like to see newer/better versions of what NF could put out, if they could wean themselves off from Sony's teat. I only play on Nintendo consoles and will never be buying a Playstation or XBox.

Loving all the business experts in the comment section. Can't wait for you all to run a game development company and have the responsibility to make decisions that have actual impact on others.

Loving all those experts chastising Falcom, even though, according to vgchartz (can't fund other sources), during the first 10 weeks of sales ys VIII sold 0.21 m on ps4, 0.14 m on the Vita and 0.11 m on the Switch. Better yet, the number for Switch is global sales, while the numbers for ps4 and Vita are Japan only.

Cya
Raziel-chan

Nothing to do with company or article, but I’d love another Lunar complete but this time on Switch

@Galenmereth oh you mean like every pokemon game?

@Agriculture so those games look dated but sword and shield dont. The literal hypocrisy of some people.

A pity, the Ys franchise has such a rich history (and great music) that the Switch could only benefit from.

For me Ys is boring, but i love Trails series and Tokyo Xanadu. I just hope they can find the way to solve their issue

@Gzeus88 Or Fire Emblem.

Although tbh coming from Xenoblade 2 to Ys 8 it did look pretty dated. But then again Pokemon and Fire Emblem look like 3ds games.

The Switch is esentially just the PS Vita blown up to HD so I don't get what trouble they had with development for the Switch. Also all of Sony's PSP and PS Vita audience had now move on to the Switch so for the series not to follow will hurt Falcom in the long run, not everyone wants to game on the TV all the time.

@retro_player_22 you forget it's a different platform and hardware. obviously they need know how and other resources to port the game. moreover consoles uses customized in-house graphic chip making it harder to port. the simplest analogy porting an app from windows to apple is now easier than in the 90s when apple still use a powerpc cpu.

I have Y's VIII for Switch, but it's in my backlog and I do plan to eventually get around to it lol.

Yea, they are a really small company that doesn't rake in anywhere near the amount of cash gamefreak does. I'd rather they work on making their games the best they can possibly be.

And it's sad to see that devs have to make positive statements about the switch and/or port their games to it or else they're branded as "switch haters." It's pathetic.

Another developer dev screwing themselves out of easy money. Certainly RPGs and Metriodvania games don’t do well on Switch or outsell their PlayStation counterparts. Come on man wake up and smell the coffee!

@Gzeus88 Or Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (or every rehashed XBox360 game) 🙄

@Gzeus88 Stop trying to start a Pokémon flame war on a Falcom article

@MJ1200 He said they dont know how rather than just straight out saying he prefers PS.

He needs to get the memo that fans of Japanese games are moving on to Nintendo and PC platforms, especially now with PlayStation's very anti-Japanese censorship policies.

@Anri02 I'm simply highlighting the inconsistent standards of people based on their likes. These games look like poo but for some reason pokemon doesnt. Logic.

@Gzeus88 So because they like a certain art style that you yourself don’t like, they aren’t operating on logic?

Just curious, but how many people in here bought Ys 8?

@Trajan I did. Really liked it

@Trajan I did but on PS4. It’s an excellent game.

Sensible man. Just develop the best games you can on the platform your most comfortable with. If there is demand on other platforms leave the publisher to do porting.

They should move to Unreal. They are far behind from other games in the technical part.

Welcome to reality !

This is the result when you don't want to have a solid hardware with Specs of today.
Nihon Falcom are busy developing games for the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett... they don't have time to put on an outdated system.

Why do you think Capcom ports only old games on the Switch ?
They do the same...

I would play the hell out of Legend of Heroes on the Switch.
Trails In The Sky 1-1 on PC was out of this world, but I just can't go back to PC now...

It's an honest, but really confusing response from them. I'm not sure how a VERY Japanese developer can arrive at the conclusion "our audience is on Playstation" when Nintendo is a pseudo-monopoly in Japan at this point..... and doubly so for the types of games they make? It's not so much a "supporting Switch" fail as it is a "market research fail" I think. You don't have to look very far to see that their core audience is Japan, and Playstation numbers are on a downward slope in Japan while Switch numbers are in sharp increase. Outside Japan it's probably a 50/50 split, as most fans of quirky JRPGs probably own both PS and Nintendo most of the time, but sales (and Square-Enix) show the demographic is shifting toward Switch where possible.

They also have Ys Origin on XBox, which seems like a really weird place for them to put their games.

Keep in mind these are the same guys that pretty much laughed hysterically when first asked about Ys VIII on Switch, until NIS approached them with it. More than anything it may be just be a matter that it's a small shop of close-nit Sony fans, and they just like supporting their favorite platform. Or a matter of just being familiar with Sony's tools and not wanting to bother with any others. But....if you're a small Japanese game developer that makes very Japanese games.....one would think you'd take an interest in targeting the platform that sells best in Japan.....and that sells a lot of Japanese games outside Japan, rather than the platform that's not so slowly fading in Japan, and is an audience less and less aligned with your games, outside Japan....

Poor Falcom. Hopefully their poor decision making won't mean an end of the Ys series is imminent.

@PCkid Falcom has primarily made games for handheld systems. They, don't have a huge budget for pushing the latest specs, and primarily target the Japan audience. They're not "making games for PS5 and Scarlett." Their only announced games are still indefinitely pending for PS4...which alone is a weird turn for them as primarily handheld developers, and I suspect it's not going to be a great showing, being that far outside their ballpark.

Keep in mind despite Nintendo handhelds being the most dominant handhelds, Falcom's history is mostly for PSP and Vita.

....PSP and Vita.....

But they aren't interested in Switch?

It's not about hardware, Switch is exactly the hardware that makes sense for them. It's about them specifically only having interest in working with Sony, either because it's just a company they prefer working with, or simple familiarity. Which is fine, but it's a weird choice for them, because the Sony of today isn't the Sony of the PSP era, and especially not in Japan. Switch is the logical outlet for their games, and the audience for their games.

This is just bad decision making.

Somewhere Dogi is punching a wall in frustration.

cries in Trails

@NEStalgia

I think there is a language for the customers and another one for internal talks.

Nihon Falcom has made 8 games on PS4 :

Ys Origin
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
Tokyo Xanadu

You objectively think that they're going to stop on PS5 ?
I'm ready to bet with you bruh ! ;D

It would be a wise move to port over a few of the PSP games to see if the market is here. Y’s 8 could be a one off but it probably is not.

@PCkid I sincerely doubt they are developing for Xbox

Ha, I like to relate their statement to the old NES days. You have to get good in order to survive with Nintendo.

Ys 8 is my favorite JRPG on the Switch, so I would love to see more Ys titles get released.

@Anri02

For the next generation the difference between an Xbox Scarlett and a PC will be probably 0.01% LOL
Now, if you check on what platforms they have released their games recently :

PS4 and Windows for the most part.

I let you think about what's next... ^^

@PCkid Nihon Falcom is a Japanese company. Xbox does not sell very well in Japan. It's not about power, it's about location.

@PCkid With the exception of Ys IX, every single one of those was a Vita game first and foremost, with a PS4 port easy to accomplish for any Vita game (and Cold Steel III and IV began life as Vita games but, obviously since Vita is dead, it's PS4-only now.) They are primarily handheld developers, even their Sony history is primarily a handheld history (outside the retro era.) Obviously their games will appear on PS5 if they're targeting Sony, but, like their Vita-to-PS4 games, they will no doubt be games that could have run on a PS3 or Switch. Not a knock on them, but that's what their budget and experience is.

They're not "PS4 developers" they're "Vita and PSP developers that ported their games to PS4 and Windows, and often Android and iOS"

Which is what makes it particularly peculiar they'd skip the current most powerful handheld.... it's the ONLY hardware that matches their primary audience. Falcom's audience isn't on that "plays on Playstation", Falcom's audience is one that plays on "the generation's most powerful handheld."

That's Switch this time. Japanese Ys VIII sales on Switch weren't spectacular because most their potential customers already played the game years ago when it was released on Vita, it wasn't new there like it was here when it released on Switch.

@Anri02 oh so now it's about art direction and not graphics. Gotcha. Unlike all pokemon.

Kinda sucks for people that exclusively play on Switch but I have their games on PC so I'm good.

Falcom really is just leaving money on the table at this point though.

I'm not buying his obvious BS excuse either.

They can't outsource a port? Their games aren't really that demanding.

@NEStalgia :"That's Switch this time. Japanese Ys VIII sales on Switch weren't spectacular because most their potential customers already played the game years ago when it was released on Vita, it wasn't new there like it was here when it released on Switch."

NO ! Because the Switch version was low resolution and not 60fps butter smooth like it was on PS4 and the price , my gosh, the price $60 on Switch $20 on PS4...

I've never been a huge fan of their games, so no big loss to me

@Gzeus88 I don’t understand what argument you’re making here. I love Trails in the Sky. Does it look better than Sword and Shield? No, it does not. So does that mean I have to hate the game or something?

It's a little strange that a company who has spent the past decade on the PSP and even the Vita wouldn't think the Switch would present the best opportunity. I associate modern Ys games with handhelds and the Switch has already outsold the PS4 in Japan where their biggest market is.

@PCkid I'm pretty sure nobody was paying in dollars in Japan.

Snark aside, no, the issue in Japan is that it was a game released on Vita 2 years prior at full price, then over a year prior on ps4 at full price, then 2 years late to the party on switch at full price, while it was an old discount game on 2 other platforms...... In Japan. Not many that wanted to play is hadn't already done so.

The switch release some quite well in the West where it was new.

Noteworthy, though, is the launch numbers in Japan. 44k in Vita launch...a dead console that wasn't even a great seller in Japan. 28k on ps4 launch..... Almost half Vita sales. Switch was 6k for a 2 year old game on a newer console.

But look at that handheld skew for Falcom games! Their base breathes handheld. Switch is their core audience. And they are seemingly unaware....

That's a real shame. I really enjoyed Y's VIII, and would love to see more of the series on Switch. If they figure they can't even get someone else to port the games for them then future games are likely out of the cards for me. This is such a strange era to be JRPG and exclusive when you're a third party dev. Even Sony's CONSTANT bread and butter game FFVII:Remake will likely be a timed exclusive.

@Trajan @Alucard83 Have it on both PS4 and Switch. It’s a new all-time classic. I would put it only second to Oath in Felghana, probably.

His honesty is appreciated, but a few things though...

1) Of course your market is gonna be on PS when all of your games release on PS and sometimes exclusive to PS devices.
2) They released games on Vita..Which the Switch has already eclipsed in sales, even in Japan, the only region where Vita did decently.
3) YS VIII on Switch did well in Western markets if I recall correctly.

Speaking of, hopefully NIS America can help work with these guys again and bring more games over to Switch. It'll be interesting to see going forward how these smaller Japanese developers and publishers will manage with Sony focusing more on these 'AAA big budget' titles and the Western market in general. Not to mention Sony going after said smaller Japanese devs. with the censorship.

@TurboTEF I have the utmost respect for Falcom, but this excuse definitely doesn’t pass.

@NEStalgia Actually, if anything, Falcom staff are PC fans; they’ve been developing for (Japanese) personal computers since the very first Ys.

Falcom has a newly established fanbase on Switch. I enjoyed Ys VIII, even though it was my first. What has the president been smoking? With Sony censorship running amok, I doubt their fanbase will stay on Sony platforms forever. JRPGs have a nice home on the Switch, and weebs like me gobble up Anime artstyle games, look no further than the success of Xenoblade 2 and Octopath Traveler for evidence of an JRPG fanbase. Just don't shadow drop your games, and do plenty of advertising. Edit: Fixed autocorrected Falcon instead of Falcom.

@Antraxx777 Can't say that for recent ones though? Iirc stuff like Cold Steel is ported to PC by Marvelous or whoever handled that one's localization, and Ys8 is NISA... Trails actually seemed to stick to consoles/handheld beyond what was ported to PC by the localization company themselves? Ys9 also seemed to be PS4 exclusive so far

wat a dumb excuse seriously if they dont start learning to develop for the switch and next gen consoles their going to fall behind big time.

Ys VIII was phenomenal for completely intangible reasons. Nothing about it stands out as amazing, and yet the entire package was delightful and emotional and fun.

Ouch. That's kind of a harsh thing to have to report on...

Pretty sad to hear, I absolutely love the Trails series, it is definitely the one thing I wanted as a switch port more than anything. ah well. I wouldn't be concerned at all if NISA would announce that Cold Steel 3 is coming to PC, don't own a playstation and couldn't justify buying another console. I'm Switch exclusive. Kinda sucks though because I truly believe Switch would be a massive boost to Falcom sales and it just seems a better overall fit for the games rather than PS4. Eh, at least it's better than no news.

@NEStalgia Uh...Trails of Cold Steel III & IV are PS4 console exclusive plus PC.

@Antraxx777 True that they're PC first, or at least originally, but their games have all been predominantly handheld for a long time. And it's not like PC games traditionally sell well (at all) in Japan.... At least they had the wisdom to recognize that. Why they'd abandon their core domestic audience's handheld preference right now is a mystery though. In this case I don't suspect any weird Sony shenanigans.....Falcom games aren't important enough to Sony to actually foot money for to remain exclusive.... It's just weird decision making at Falcom.

@TowaHerschel7 Of course they are. Falcom only does Sony, as they said. And there is no Sony handheld at present (or possibly ever again....), and Vita was really dead in terms of viability for retail releases years before it was fully discontinued from manufacture. If they're not doing Nintendo, they had no handheld to put it on, and XBox is out of the question for them except Ys Origin, so...what other Sony platform was there to put it on but PS4?

@PCkid none of there games even come close to needing those specs so you're trolling.

Nice try though.

@Gzeus88 I never said it didn't. Other Nintendo games do tend to look at least smooth. YS 8 looked very jagged.

I don't mind if Trails of Cold Steel remains a Playstation exclusive, but if YS VIII came to Switch, then why not IX? Hopefully NIS helps out with it soon!