From a business perspective, I am flabbergasted at the lack of Switch support from big 3rd parties

[choodi]

So, the Switch has been on the market now for almost 11 months and by every measure it has been a roaring success right from the start. Massive sales, amazing games, huge mind and marketshare and almost universal praise from consumers, media and developers alike. It has been such a success that in many markets around the world it has taken the record for fastest selling console in history.

With this in mind, I am absolutely shocked that not a single big third party publisher has taken advantage of the enormous opportunity that the Switch has presented from a business perspective. And not just the big western ones either, the Japanese publishers have been just as guilty.

I can totally understand the reticence that they all had after the Wii U disaster, but even a cursory glance at the hype and sales figures from March-April should have told them that Nintendo had a massive hit on its hands. Maybe they were justified in not expecting "fastest selling console in history", but the indication was there that, by Christmas, the Switch was going to be a hot item and a golden opportunity to sell a buttload* of games.

Even the support that some did throw its way (Doom, Skyrim) was old and already available on PS4/XB1 at a much cheaper price. The only thing even approaching a real effort to take advantage was LA Noire, but again, not exactly what you would call full-blooded support of the platform. Instead, the big third parties allowed Nintendo and a bunch of indies to have their games available for a full Christmas period on the fastest selling console without any competition.

It's not like they didn't have time to prepare either. There are a million stories out there about how simple it is to port games to the Switch. Small indie teams are managing to do it in a few weeks. Granted that an indie game and a AAA game are on very different scales, but so are the resources available to the respective teams.

It is an unprecedented missed opportunity, even more so than the lack of support when the Wii turned out to be a massive hit. I would not be surprised to find that a bunch of shareholders at EA, Ubisoft, Activision and the like have some pretty serious questions for those people making decisions.

Spoiler: *

This is a technical term meaning lots

 

[Deleted member 3017]

Games take time to develop (even ports) and most third parties likely didn't even start entertaining the idea of Switch as a part of their lineup until around 6 months ago.

The reason many indies have jumped on board quickly is most of those titles scale to Switch's tech specs much more naturally than AAA titles from big publishers. Those types of games are going to take much longer to bring over. It also takes longer for big companies to pivot compared to small teams.

 

[Zalman]

First year was surprisingly good for a Nintendo console with a number of surprises (Doom, L.A. Noire etc.) I think you'll see more of that this year.

 

[Mediking]

Prolly won't see a true storm of them until E3 or late 2018 to 2019.

 

[Tunesmith]

It's not like they didn't have time to prepare either. There are a million stories out there about how simple it is to port games to the Switch. Small indie teams are managing to do it in a few weeks. Granted that an indie game and a AAA game are on very different scales, but so are the resources available to the respective teams.

Click to shrink...

The larger you are the longer it takes to adapt established pipelines, budgets, and allocate resources (if any) that may already be engaged in other long term projects. The Switch was not a sure-fire success story ahead of launch.

 

[RowdyReverb]

Games take time to develop (even ports) and most third parties likely didn't even start entertaining the Switch as a part of their lineup until around 6 months ago.

Click to shrink...

Pretty much this. I think most of the major pubs took a "wait and see" approach to Nintendo's new console after the Wii U's less-than-stellar performance.

 

[Xando]

It's only been out a year and the predecessor has been a disaster.

 

[Oddish1]

I'm expecting this year is when we'll see much more from third parties, especially from Japanese publishers.

 

[Deleted member 9971]

I think the support will come don't expect the same level as ps4 and xbox one but it sure will be better compared to Wii U.

Honestly i am hoping Call of Duty makes it this year, as it is treyarchs turn and i love their zombie mode, would play that so much in handheld mode.

Anyway back to the point i think it will get better it takes time and honestly after the Wii U the wait and see approach of some is understandable. Bethesda tho mad props to em from non supporter to one of the best it's quite insane. Hopefully they stay around for a while really enjoying their ports on switch might even get wolfenstein 2 on switch.

Anyway hopefully it picks up this year that would be neat i already found last year to be quite good actually 3rd party wise. If that improves even more then i am sjre happy.

 

[Onilink]

There are people payed to read the market, some of them didn't do well their job

 

[Herb Alpert]

Yeah they were betting on it to flop given the WiiU results.
Throughout this year we should see some announcements and things should be good next year. I hope.

 

[BassForever]

At this point if any major third party isn't trying to figure out how to get in on the switch gravy train you'd be correct. After the debacle of the wiiu and to a lesser extent the disappointing sales of major corr gamef 3rd party ports/exclusives on Wii it's not a surprise most took a wait and see approach.

 

[wondermagenta]

I'd be reluctant to support Nintendo's new console after the Wii fucking U.

 

[choodi]

There are people payed to read the market, some of them didn't do well their job

Click to shrink...

Yep. This is why I think there might be some very hard questions at upcoming shareholder meetings.

 

[Atheerios]

Games are not made in 10 months...

 

[ThatGuyJangle]

Developing games takes time, who knew!

 

[Conor419]

They seem to be getting announced fairly close to release, so I think we'll see some surprises this year.

 

[choodi]

Games are not made in 10 months...

Click to shrink...

But games ARE ported in 10 months.

 

[Bony Manifesto]

I don't think porting is quite as easy as you suggest. Sure, if you're an indie developer with a small Unity game you probably can get something relatively presentable in a few weeks. But if you're the developer of a bigger game with a proprietary engine, it's a huge undertaking to port it to a new platform, especially one with much less power than the current targets. Ubisoft's struggles with getting Steep on Switch are a case in point.

 

[pokéfan]

Never mind 3rd parties, even the Pokemon company and GameFreak straight up told Nintendo that Switch is going to fail miserably.

 

[vicisac]

You have to keep in mind game development is slow, it takes years to make a game, so I wouldn't expect to see any change in support in terms of actual releases soon.

Also, the switch has an awkward performance profile. Games that run at 1080p / 60 fps might be ported with a lot of visual and performance compromises, but a project that aims for visual excellence and a complex open world that already barely stays at a constant 30 fps at 900p will not happen on switch.

You mention the business opportunity, but you have to remember a project like the above has a userbase of ps4 + Xbox one + PC to sell to.

Trying to support Switch without losing the competitive advantage on the platforms above is tricky. You either hold back and pare down the game design so the game runs well on Switch as well, or you make exclusives. Remasters and smaller games don't suffer from this problem.

 

[Radarscope1]

I feel like this is just so much arm-chair quarter-backing, even by message board standards. The OP is inconsistent, too. "Not a single big third party publisher" ... and yet examples to the contrary are listed in the OP. It's all coming. It takes time and, yes, many of them were gun shy after Wii U.

Games take time to develop (even ports) and most third parties likely didn't even start entertaining the idea of Switch as a part of their lineup until around 6 months ago.

The reason many indies have jumped on board quickly is most of those titles scale to Switch's tech specs much more naturally than AAA titles from big publishers. Those types of games are going to take much longer to bring over. It also takes longer for big companies to pivot compared to small teams.

Click to shrink...

This.

 

[Deleted member 82]

On the one hand, they saw the failure of the Wii U and the rocky start of the 3DS and probably thought Nintendo wasn't a safe bet, so it makes sense. Plus, games take a lot of time and money. It's unrealistic to expect a big turnaround in less than a year.

On the other hand, the Wii caught them with their pants down, and the DS nearly would have weren't it for the low resource requirements of developing for that system and Nintendo's historically great reputation in the handheld market. Besides, the Switch is much more developer-friendly than the Gamecube, Wii, 3DS and Wii U ever were. The industry in general should know better than to outright dismiss Nintendo's strategy and products as doomed/niche from the get-go. I can definitely understand not wanting to put all your eggs in the Nintendo basket, but the almost complete lack of risk-taking and the inability to analyze the business viability of Nintendo's propositions from most big companies in the industry is disheartening.

That said, the Switch is already off to a much better start than the Wii U and the Wii I think. When all is said and done, the Switch will be the Nintendo system with the most third party support in generations, especially from indies and Japan... and maybe a select few Western publishers (e.g. Bethesda).

 

[Deleted member 29660]

Developers had little faith in Nintendo after the Wii U, hell they kinda had little faith in Nintendo after the Wii in many ways. Hearing about some new hybrid version probably didn't inspire any more confidence especially with specs that weren't like the other consoles. Now that the system is off like a rocket we might see more jump in, we've seen already some ports and the like which is almost more support than they gave the Wii U or Wii in a case or two. Like everyone most developers love the whole MORE POWER thing so that might limit what they put out, but you think with the crazy cost involved in gaming they'd probably love to develop for a system that might not bankrupt them with a bad title or two.

 

[ZhugeEX]

Because this isn't 2003 or 2007. AAA publishers don't have 10's of games they release each year any more. They release a handful of service games that are aimed at a certain type of audience and have certain technical / network requirements.

That's why you're going to see indies, AA and new/unique exclusive titles on Switch instead of the likes of Destiny and Rainbow Six.

 

[Kurdel]

I feel like my whole life has been people complaining about 3rd party games on Nintemdo consoles.

Will it ever end?

 

[Aeron]

They were shook after the Wii U and played it safe with the Switch.
It's a shame cause they missed out on a period where they could have bossed the everything that's not Zelda market, providing everyone else didn't do the same.

 

[Principate]

I'd be reluctant to support Nintendo's new console after the Wii fucking U.

Click to shrink...

The 3DS was and continued to be the closest analogue and even that sold almost 75% of what the PS4 did this Christmas in the December. A bit of trepidation is understandable but the switch doing reasonably well wasn't some unforeseeable thing.

I disagree with the OP anyway I'm not sure how much more a publisher like bethesda could reasonably port in the timespan.

 

[Doskoi Panda]

Am I tripping? I thought I posted in this exact thread last night or a few days ago or something :|

Anyway, I don't usually do this, but first post is where it is at

 

[Atheerios]

Never mind 3rd parties, even the Pokemon company and GameFreak straight up told Nintendo that Switch is going to fail miserably.

Click to shrink...

Only TPC, not Game Freak.

 

[ACL]

Bad planning, you must have different scenarios planned out to take advantage of these kind of situations, to act and allocate resources in a timely fashion if needed. Instead they arrogantly just have written off any chances the system could be successful.

 

[logash]

It's been said a lot already in this thread but games take time. Some pubs were taking a wait and see approach and who can blame them? The Wii U was a disaster. No one is gonna lose their job over this.

 

[choodi]

The interesting thing is how these companies are going to react now. The PS4 might be the market leader in terms of total sales, but the Switch is also a market leader in being the fastest selling console right now.

The next 12 months is going to be very revealing as far as the business acumen of most video game publisher executives and the patience of shareholders.

 

[Cranston]

They're busy developing and porting.

Expect a metric shit load from late 2018 onwards.

 

[Phil32]

How quick do you think making games takes companies nowadays? :X

Nintendo was going off the massive failure of the Wii U. Third parties were rightfully hesitant for the third parties that were. Now, many companies are correcting the course, but it of course takes time. I don't want it like the Wii where ports are just crapped out on the system with little in the way of quality, just to make a quick buck.

 

[ThatGuyJangle]

But games ARE ported in 10 months.

Click to shrink...

This is hugely dependent on the type of game you're porting. It CAN be done in half of that time if you're talking about a tiny Indie game, larger AA/AAA games will take considerably longer.

 

[KZXcellent]

Many companies didn't expect Switch to do this well so they're likely working on their ports and support as we speak. We'll see at E3 hopefully.

 

[Onilink]

Yep. This is why I think there might be some very hard questions at upcoming shareholder meetings.

Click to shrink...

when you don't even port the obvious, some questions rises up (megaman, okami, etc...)
And the discussion is very long: users, console form, initial lineup... Most of tp shat the bed, and in all this mess, kudos to Bethesda to have find a good solution for this ( quick and good ports from people that already knows the hardware)

 

[Guipradi]

We gotta have in mind that most third party companies EVEN THE ONES THAT WERE CONFIRMED AT THE JANUARY EVENT were really doubtful and cautious with the Switch success. The Switch blew up in summer and fall of last year, from that time frame to now it's been around 6 months. Companies have shown interest and expressed potential since then and in 6 months you can't make games. I can expect announcements, HEAVY announcements in other 6 months / a year. For the moment we are having spin-offs and ports of other games which is nice for the switch now.

 

[DannyClash]

Some big publishers would have an easier time not dealing with Nintendo and their eco system which is a lot tighter than the X1/PS4 and not dealing with Nintendo during peak sales periods

So they don't really wish it well IMO

It's a market agitator

 

[skeezx]

the system had to prove itself first, not only coming off wii u but also being a nintendo platform where traditionally 3rd party tends to get over shadowed. the notion that 3rd parties would slot it's first years with heavy hitter exclusives is nonsense

 

[Bazry]

With this in mind, I am absolutely shocked that not a single big third party publisher has taken advantage of the enormous opportunity that the Switch has presented from a business perspective.

Click to shrink...

Surely Ubisoft did with Mario Rabbids?

 

[Rand a. Thor]

Its been 10 months since launch, and only 3 months at best where its certain it won't tank. 3rd parties got hit by a truck, give em time to recover.

 

[sfortunato]

This was even more weird by seeing how much Switch has sold during 2017 holidays. In Japan, Switch sold a huge amount and the only third party games available were FIFA 18, XenoVerse 2 and a few other minor titles such as Sumikko Gurashi. And even if they were small projects, late portings or franchises that almost never appeared on Nintendo platforms, they sold exceptionally well to the point of having stock issues.

 

[Dernhelm]

First post nails it, and that's not a joke either. A space of 6 months and early signs of good sales (like April as you say) aren't nearly enough to demand games from publishers. The fact that EA is putting money into whatever they're releasing on the Switch this next year, Capcom having to actively come out and reassure they're supporting it, Square being silent but already offering Octopath, Bethesda, Ubi and 2K already dropping beloved titles onto it (which is what Skyrim, LA and Doom were, let's be honest, they are beloved titles) as well as hopes and word that more recent releases will be coming too, all that should be enough to recognise there is no lack of support for this thing. It just takes a bit more time. It's why you're not already seeing the flux of news outlets questioning Switch's lack of support.

 

[vicisac]

I feel like my whole life has been people complaining about 3rd party games on Nintemdo consoles.

Will it ever end?

Click to shrink...

Lol, no. It's been like this since the N64.

 

[KORNdog]

in some cases i imagine it's the power disparity stopping them. does something like battlefront 2 or COD run well enough on the thing to make it worth it? i can see devs/pubs using analytics to determine if it's even worth putting certain games on the system. some platform userbases just don't welcome some styles of games as well as others, mismatched demographics and all that.

i can see devs putting in the extra effort the bigger the userbase gets though just because it's more money to be made, but by the time the switch starts getting the same games releasing on the PS4/xbox i imagine the PS5 and xbox2 will release and third parties will drop it again due to the same power disparity that put them off in the first place.

 

[Mizavari]

1. It takes several years to make an AAA game.
2. If their existing games aren't say, indie games made with UE4 that only requires you to push an 'export' button then do some tweaks, then it takes time and resources to port (especially if they have to port a whole engine over).
3. Game companies typically plan in advance and don't have too much free resources sitting around waiting to port stuff. If all their personnel are already allocated to gaming development, it takes some work to free up some resources, and then they can only work on a few ports at a time. Outsourcing is an option, but is dependent on whether they want to hand all their coding to another company.

 

[Dust]

You will see them definitely, the only obstacle will be games made for PS4/PS5/XBX/XB2 that are graphical powerhouses.

 

[ZhugeEX]

The interesting thing is how these companies are going to react now. The PS4 might be the market leader in terms of total sales, but the Switch is also a market leader in being the fastest selling console right now.

The next 12 months is going to be very revealing as far as the business acumen of most video game publisher executives and the patience of shareholders.

Click to shrink...

Not at all. Those AAA companies you mention are already making billions just fine. Supporting Switch doesn't add much. Especially when you consider their portfolio today. It's why you're just going to see AAA pubs bring family friendly games, older ports and new and exclusive titles to Switch instead of their current live service titles.

Now compare that to an indie developer and supporting Switch can add a lot more.