Important note: "Late Port" in this sense is a game ported to another platform with the same content as the platforms it originally released on.
Persona 4 Golden on PS Vita and Dragon Quest XI S on Switch are not late ports due to added content.
On the other hand, Persona 4 Golden on Steam and DQXIS on PC/XB1/PS4 are late ports.
___________
Just as the thread title says, there's still this misconception going on ever since publishers expanded the platforms they release games on, most notably Japanese publishers putting their games on Steam.
So once some game you like which released on PS4 (e.g. Monster Hunter World) gets ported to Steam you exclaim, "I'm going to double dip!"
Then for some reason you've conflated your buying habits with how publishers put out late ports which gave birth to this idea that publishers make late ports to make you buy the same game again on another platform.
You are mistaken, publishers do not make late ports to get you to buy the same game again on another platform in the same generation of consoles and PC.
Publishers make late ports in the hopes of finding a new audience to expand to so that they can make more sales.
Double Dipping is not the intended effect, for publishers to even find out if a person who bought their late port is a Double Dipper, they would need to send out surveys to get that information. Unfortunately, they have to do a lot more work by obtaining information about your gender, age, gaming habits, what consoles you own, etc to set up their population and do random sampling from it to ensure that a random sample actually reflects the larger population. If the sample isn't representative of the population then it will end up with biased results.
So if your first response to this thread is to make a thread titled "Do you double dip?" which asks people to enter the poll giving a yes or no answer with the hopes of getting a yes majority so that you can claim that "X% of people Double Dip therefore, Double Dipping is a reason why publishers make late ports" then all you will end up with is biased results because you cannot claim that such results are representative of the general population.
So when publishers make a late port of a game to sell on a different platform, their intention is to find a new audience to sell to. If the late port is successful, then they will continue to support the platform as most Japanese publishers have with regards to Steam. On the other hand if the publisher does not do their best to cater to the new audience they're looking for on a different platform then the sales made from that late port will be below expectations.
Publishers cannot just treat Switch, PlayStation/Xbox and PC as exactly the same thing when bringing a game to each of these platforms. Every consumer on these platforms have different preferences, for example if your late PC port does not have customisable graphics and performance settings to allow a PC user to get the most of what they want out of a PC game then it is unlikely that they will be satisfied enough to buy your game. If you put out a late Switch port of a shooter that does not have gyro controls or has poor resolution in handheld mode then a Switch user is unlikely to buy it.
Like with targeting a new audience the publisher needs to understand the audience they are targeting because having a popular IP or a AAA game can only get you so far with little effort especially if your late port is a full priced game.
The point is, these are things that publishers have to look for when finding a new audience. They do not make late ports with the hopes that all console owners suddenly buy the same game on PC or on Switch, it is your mistaken assumption because of your preferred gaming and buying habits when a late port is brought to another platform.
Persona 4 Golden on PS Vita and Dragon Quest XI S on Switch are not late ports due to added content.
On the other hand, Persona 4 Golden on Steam and DQXIS on PC/XB1/PS4 are late ports.
___________
Just as the thread title says, there's still this misconception going on ever since publishers expanded the platforms they release games on, most notably Japanese publishers putting their games on Steam.
So once some game you like which released on PS4 (e.g. Monster Hunter World) gets ported to Steam you exclaim, "I'm going to double dip!"
Then for some reason you've conflated your buying habits with how publishers put out late ports which gave birth to this idea that publishers make late ports to make you buy the same game again on another platform.
You are mistaken, publishers do not make late ports to get you to buy the same game again on another platform in the same generation of consoles and PC.
Publishers make late ports in the hopes of finding a new audience to expand to so that they can make more sales.
Double Dipping is not the intended effect, for publishers to even find out if a person who bought their late port is a Double Dipper, they would need to send out surveys to get that information. Unfortunately, they have to do a lot more work by obtaining information about your gender, age, gaming habits, what consoles you own, etc to set up their population and do random sampling from it to ensure that a random sample actually reflects the larger population. If the sample isn't representative of the population then it will end up with biased results.
So if your first response to this thread is to make a thread titled "Do you double dip?" which asks people to enter the poll giving a yes or no answer with the hopes of getting a yes majority so that you can claim that "X% of people Double Dip therefore, Double Dipping is a reason why publishers make late ports" then all you will end up with is biased results because you cannot claim that such results are representative of the general population.
So when publishers make a late port of a game to sell on a different platform, their intention is to find a new audience to sell to. If the late port is successful, then they will continue to support the platform as most Japanese publishers have with regards to Steam. On the other hand if the publisher does not do their best to cater to the new audience they're looking for on a different platform then the sales made from that late port will be below expectations.
Publishers cannot just treat Switch, PlayStation/Xbox and PC as exactly the same thing when bringing a game to each of these platforms. Every consumer on these platforms have different preferences, for example if your late PC port does not have customisable graphics and performance settings to allow a PC user to get the most of what they want out of a PC game then it is unlikely that they will be satisfied enough to buy your game. If you put out a late Switch port of a shooter that does not have gyro controls or has poor resolution in handheld mode then a Switch user is unlikely to buy it.
Like with targeting a new audience the publisher needs to understand the audience they are targeting because having a popular IP or a AAA game can only get you so far with little effort especially if your late port is a full priced game.
The point is, these are things that publishers have to look for when finding a new audience. They do not make late ports with the hopes that all console owners suddenly buy the same game on PC or on Switch, it is your mistaken assumption because of your preferred gaming and buying habits when a late port is brought to another platform.
