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

[RossoneR]

They didnt burn bridges over night and wont repair them over night.
Seeing Kart, Zelda, Mario and other N titles constantly on top of the best selling charts on switch also doesnt spark light in third parties. How skyrim , fifa did on it we ll se in future support.

Wait e3, new ports ll be there or maybe some new experiences designed for switch.

 

[Djawed]

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.

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Games are not made in 10 months...

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Developing games takes time, who knew!

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Seems about right

 

[GuEiMiRrIRoW]

Well, ubisoft seems to be playing their cards in a intelligent way. Activision and blizzard are culprits however.

They could port diablo 3 and modern warfare 1 without probleMs...

 

[VariantX]

I think the average Switch customer is not the same customer that big third parties want.

Big third parties want a customer that pay them monthly, and those customers are the ones paying for Xbox Live and PSN.

EA didn't even put their paid service on FIFA Switch.

Switch gamers are more likely to be a mix of young gamers without monthly income to pay for a service, families and older gamers wanting nostalgia like games, basically everyone except the 15-25 mostly male and single gamers.

That's why you see such great sales for the $50 Bomberman, or the $40 port of Street Fighter 2,and all those retro inspired indie games.

Mario and Zelda games had huge nostalgia throwbacks in them and were a resounding success.

I still don't see the big third parties interested in the Switch, because the customer they want is just not there.

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It's pointless for EA to put a paid service in the switch if you have no game library to sell there. I don't buy the arguments that EA and others wouldn't want their games on switch. That's millions of potential new customers to sell stuff to. I think It's the power disparity coming into play here. It takes more time to port, if a port can be made at all without hurting the intended experience. The one game they did have was built from the ground up instead of a port. It's more like the games that can come will eventually come but not in a deluge like before.

 

[Arthoneceron]

A funny point: from the Wii U doom till the Switch success, the third parties basically did the same thing: Nothing.

I expect that the Switch continue to be a success, while the third parties continue on doing a lot of nothings till the end of it's lifecycle. Well, apart from the contratual stuff.

 

[Deleted member 2791]

It just feels like the Wii era all over again, with the third parties just wishing and hoping that Nintendo would just fade away rather than actively developing a product for the market leading system

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lmao
how can you seriously consider this as a valid and absolutely not batshit insane thought

 

[tsampikos]

Nintendo fucked third parties for years.

Generations even.

Also games take time to make. Even console ports.

Not too hard to understand.

 

[Mr_F_Snowman]

No offense to Stardew Valley (i love it on my switch) but the fact that the big 2 sports games (Fifa and NBA2k) didn't outsell it shows you why big AAA publishers are hesitant to get their games on switch.

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Or alternatively it shows that releasing inferior, dodgy ports of games widely available everywhere else is not what will bring them success. These are companies with the employee count in the thousands, development and advertising budgets in the multi-millions and they are being roundly out-done by teams working out of their own homes with practically zero budget and one or two devs.

It should be an embarassment for them

 

[mutantmagnet]

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.

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I bet you that rs6 is going to be ported over. It's like the only GAAS that is both technically feasible and from one of Nintendo's most reliable 3rd parties for good content.

 

[Mcjmetroid]

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.

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This although I would say they should be at least starting to announce something soon.

 

[Simba1]

A funny point: from the Wii U doom till the Switch success, the third parties basically did the same thing: Nothing.

I expect that the Switch continue to be a success, while the third parties continue on doing a lot of nothings till the end of it's lifecycle. Well, apart from the contratual stuff.

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Huge difference is that Wii start losing 3rd party support only few months after launch while Switch is getting more and more support how times go, this year we will have much more 3rd party announcements than we had last year.

 

[Foltzie]

This although I would say they should be at least starting to announce something soon.

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Plenty of chances for Nintendo Directs up through E3.

 

[Inferno]

Man, and here I'm thinking: "Wow, how crazy is it that I'm playing a Bethesda and a Rockstar game on my Nintendo console."

I think this has already gotten stronger third-party support than the last two Nintendo consoles, and things will get better from here. Western Third-Parties weren't expecting this to be a hit.

 

[Deleted member 5167]

Just don't expect AAA live service games such as Destiny.

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If Rocket League and Arena Of Valor do well I don't see why third parties will ignore GaaS titles for the Switch. FIFA itself is a GaaS title via FUT, and thats already there.
The assumption is that "switch owners" won't play online and won't pay for GaaS titles; it only takes one success to challenge that assumption.

 

[Freddie13]

There will always be some exceptions of course, hence why I mentioned sports and racing as the two big categories. I guess the best way to think of it is to compare it to the number of live service AAA games that the PS4/XB1 get from the big 4.

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That is fair..not saying Switch can get equal amount. But I think it will get its share.

 

[KampferZeon]

No, the Switch is going to get more core focused third party support too. Not to mention every indie under the sun.

Just don't expect AAA live service games such as Destiny.



The Switch is doing great. You can compare it to past consoles if you want, but in today's market it's clear that Switch is a huge success.

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Thanks!

I agree switch is a big success totally.
but I guess i mean its not a Wii like phenomenon that OP and others are claiming
Wii was truly earth shattering force all gaming companies ( platform holders and big 4 publishers ) to adjust their strategy.

Speaking of which, not many companies make big money on Wii.
Everyone knows Nintendo hardware owners predominately buy almost exclusively Nintendo games only.
This bit of history is working against the Switch ..

Can't blame the 3rd party to be cautious in publishing the prime IP on Switch.

 

[Callibretto]

I thought the problem with Switch and other nintendo hardware are that they're about a generation behind on hardware specs. Switch is a great spec for handheld, but it's much weaker compare to PS4 and Xbox1. And most big 3rd parties games are mostly multiplatform, they're targeting similar spec as the ps4 and xb1.

Porting games like Witcher 3, AC Origin, FF XV to Switch, I assume is much harder and require more resources to make it work.

 

[ryseing]

lmao
how can you seriously consider this as a valid and absolutely not batshit insane thought

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Didn't you know third party pubs are in a conspiracy against Nintendo?

OP, pardon me if I don't believe you're looking at it from a "business perspective", especially when you have a 1-up featured prominently.

 

[Mystic Vivi]

I mean...it's a mobile CPU and GPU guys. It can only do so much.

We've gone very far in game design and development from the ps3/360. That's why you can't simply take destiny 2 and throw it on a switch.

 

[Gobias-Ind]

I'm not surprised that publishers took a "wait and see" approach and the fact that we're still wondering when the 3rd party flood will start almost a year in is a consequence of that. This year I'm sure the announcements will come hot and heavy. Whether they're old ports from last gen, mid-range reboots of old IP or Mario + Rabbids-esque exclusive projects.

What really surprises me was that Bethesda was the one western publisher willing to do more than just kinda dip its toes in (Ubisoft got to use Mario so I can't praise their bravery too much). Once they exhaust their old port options (old Fallouts and Elder Scrolls games) I don't really know where they go from there. They're only going to be praised for compromised ports of last year's games for so long and, as boundaries continue being pushed technically, the kinds of games they make are going to become increasingly difficult to make work on Switch.

 

[Gnorman]

Or alternatively it shows that releasing inferior, dodgy ports of games widely available everywhere else is not what will bring them success. These are companies with the employee count in the thousands, development and advertising budgets in the multi-millions and they are being roundly out-done by teams working out of their own homes with practically zero budget and one or two devs.

It should be an embarassment for them

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When you say inferior ports do you mean things like not being able to play friends on fifa? Because to me that is all on Nintendo. Friend invites are part of the OS on Xbox and PlayStation, why should EA spend resources making their own solution for a system that is going to sell the fewest copies by a LONG way.

Nintendo need to have the infrastructure there for the devs to access with ease.

 

[Bunkles]

I mean...it's a mobile CPU and GPU guys. It can only do so much.

We've gone very far in game design and development from the ps3/360. That's why you can't simply take destiny 2 and throw it on a switch.

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From the responses in this thread it seems like the only AAA that's come out in years is Destiny 1+2. I don't think the OP was only asking for that game.

 

[Batatina]

I'm surprised at the lack of ports from third-parties, there are so many easy wins. But I'm not surprised at the lack of original content, everyone thought it was going to fail and that's takes longer than 11 months to make.

 

[MarsMayflower]

Porting to the less powerful switch is no small task. There should be quite a few this year, but don't expect a switch version of every new release.

 

[bionic77]

It has already gotten Skyrim, Doom, and now Wolfenstein 2.

Honestly all it needs is a better version of FIFA and Madden. If they can get better sports games and a couple of 3rd party games I think that would be an amazing 2nd year achievement for Nintendo.

 

[Mr_F_Snowman]

When you say inferior ports do you mean things like not being able to play friends on fifa? Because to me that is all on Nintendo. Friend invites are part of the OS on Xbox and PlayStation, why should EA spend resources making their own solution for a system that is going to sell the fewest copies by a LONG way.

Nintendo need to have the infrastructure there for the devs to access with ease.

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If indie devs are capable of making it possible to play with friends and EA can not then thats just another way in which they are being embarrassed and shown up by devs with an absolutely indescribably smaller amount of resources than they do

 

[RobertM]

It's the same song and dance every generation when it comes to Nintendo. 3rd parties have to compete with Nintendo, it's an under-powered consoles, Nintendo not using their billions that they have to moneyhat, etc.

 

[Platy]

So we will get stuff, just not the lootboxes infested whale focused shit?

Sounds like a win-win situation for me

 

[Kouriozan]

No, the Switch is going to get more core focused third party support too. Not to mention every indie under the sun.

Just don't expect AAA live service games such as Destiny.



The Switch is doing great. You can compare it to past consoles if you want, but in today's market it's clear that Switch is a huge success.

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Not a fan of GaaS anymore with all the lootboxes controversy anyway, so I'm fine with that.

 

[Guardians]

Ever Company who doesn't release their games on the Nintendo Switch at this point doesn't like money.

 

[Bunkles]

Not a fan of GaaS anymore with all the lootboxes controversy anyway, so I'm fine with that.

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Not sure ZhugeEX is right here, though. Rocket League has more than proved GaaS can and will work on Switch. Games like PUBG and Overwatch would absolutely kill it on the system.

 

[Lambda Teos]

every time I see arguments like this (which are not wrong, mind you, I just digress), I remember an article about SCVI that they couldn't 't develop for switch because they had no idea bout it's existence or what it was

And is true, during the "switch reveal" season, a lot of developers finally managed to see what was the console about

A lot of developers had no idea what the switch was, maybe the console was revealed to them with a year of anticipation contrary to the general public, but it is still not enough time to develop big games considering they might have other projects in development

development takes time, doesn't mean they do not support the console, even porting games takes time

 

[The Great Khali]

I'm still expecting new port announcements this year

Burnout Paradise
Tomb Raider
South Park
GTAV
Fallout 4

 

[klauskorp]

Other people have probably already made these points, but I'll give you what I think are the three reasons there isn't more support:

1. Games take time to develop. Even ports don't happen instantly, especially when you have to port down to something with less power.
2. The Wii U. Sort of relates to above. If I was a publisher and I had to choose whether to start a project for the Switch while the Wii U was the current Nintendo console, I would have said "no thank you."
3. My understanding (and I could be wrong) was that third party games often didn't do particularly well on the Wii, which was nearly as popular as the Switch is. If I was a publisher that had made some bets on the Wii and lost big, I would be hesitant to place any bets on the Switch, knowing that third party games have a more difficult time finding an audience there.

 

[Bunkles]

I'm still expecting new port announcements this year

Burnout Paradise
Tomb Raider
South Park
GTAV
Fallout 4

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I'm waiting for CDPR's inevitable Gwent announcement.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

I dunno. The Microsoft, Sony and PC ecosystems are their core bread makers. Because Nintendo always does something new they are never in the position to bet on consistent userbase or performance. Lack of Western third parties isn't strange. It's nothing personal. I always said I expect the system to receive sports titles and the token Western game here or there which is what the Switch has received. And it will get better as time goes on surprisingly.

Japan is a totally different issue though.

 

[N00MKRAD]

A funny point: from the Wii U doom till the Switch success, the third parties basically did the same thing: Nothing.

I expect that the Switch continue to be a success, while the third parties continue on doing a lot of nothings till the end of it's lifecycle. Well, apart from the contratual stuff.

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DOOM, Outlast, Resident Evil, Skyrim, Wolfenstein, Rocket League, Dark Souls Remastered = "Nothing"?

 

[maximumzero]

At this point it should be just accepted that third parties don't give a shit about Nintendo. So many generations have passed at this point without significant support.

 

[DarthWalden]

It would be interesting to see how a game like assassin's creed origins would run on the switch.

Unlike past generations where it was pointless to buy a dumbed down port of a third party game, with the switch the opportunity to take it on the go sometimes outweighs the graphical scale backs.

 

[The Great Khali]

I don't know... when I think of games outside of the COD / Destiny world, I may disagree with you here. Rocket League is a service game (thought not AAA... yet?) and I'm guessing they are VERY happy with it's performance on Switch. I have no doubt a service game like Overwatch (or any Blizzard game) would absolutely kill it on the system in terms of sales. Same goes for GTA Online.

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Exactly

I bought Rocket League on Switch even though it was free on my PSN account. I play it more just because of portability.

If any other big online games came out in Switch, I'd be all over it.

 

[maximumzero]

DOOM, Outlast, Resident Evil, Skyrim, Wolfenstein, Rocket League, Dark Souls Remastered = "Nothing"?

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Late ports is the same kind of support the Wii U received and shouldn't really be lauded.

 

[Mr. X]

whatever developer you think is ignoring it probably has people working on something else that takes a year or more to develop. You can't just put everything on pause to port a game, shit has deadlines.

 

[Platy]

3. My understanding (and I could be wrong) was that third party games often didn't do particularly well on the Wii, which was nearly as popular as the Switch is. If I was a publisher that had made some bets on the Wii and lost big, I would be hesitant to place any bets on the Switch, knowing that third party games have a more difficult time finding an audience there.

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3rd parties that gave a shit sold a lot on the Wii. Call of dutys and resident evils sold a LOT. The system has an insane amount of RE games for a system with bad 3rd party support. 1, 0, two lightgun ones... All because 4 sold insane numbers

 

[DarthWalden]

Late ports is the same kind of support the Wii U received and shouldn't really be lauded.

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I feel like it's hard to blame devs/pubs here. Nobody typically bought third party games on Nintendo systems practically dating back to the Nintendo 64 generally for very good reason and it was difficult to predict the success of the switch which provides a meaningful way to play third party games on the go.

I do think or at least hope that the floodgates will open soon and we will see scaled back versions of most every AAA game.

 

[kiriku]

I'm still expecting new port announcements this year

Burnout Paradise
Tomb Raider
South Park
GTAV
Fallout 4

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Fallout 4? I was under the impression that it ran kind of bad even on PS4 and XB1?

 

[Bunkles]

I feel like it's hard to blame devs/pubs here. Nobody typically bought third party games on Nintendo systems in the past for very good reason and it was difficult to predict the success of the switch which provides a meaningful way to play third party games on the go.

I do think or at least hope that the floodgates will open soon and we will see scaled back versions of most every AAA game.

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We won't see every AAA game (Red Dead 2, Anthem, etc) but I have a feeling we are going to see a lot of third party surprise announcements this year. The Switch has more third party support than people in this thread think, it's just they haven't announced what they are doing yet.

 

[The Great Khali]

Fallout 4? I was under the impression that it ran kind of bad even on PS4 and XB1?

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Uses the same engine as Skyrim. If they ported that engine to Switch already why not

 

[Uno Venova]

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

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[Ossom]

What about Ubisoft, 2K, Capcom, Square and Bethesda?

Ones that passed, did so when they would have seen dev kits a long time ago and would have been well aware of the wii u's failure. No big publisher will l be annoyed that they missed launch, because there is till plenty of time to get on board.

Plus, we don't have any idea what some companies may or may not currently have in development.

 

[Jamix012]

Yet the data we have from previous Nintendo systems suggest engagement on Nintendo systems will be nowhere near as strong as on XB/PS/PC for western AAA.

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This ain't previous Nintendo hardware. There was obvious reasons before that people wouldn't buy on Nintendo Hardware: why buy CoD on Wii when you can get it on literally any other system and have it run and look much better. Same with Wii U. Largely the same with Gamecube, though even the Gamecube had amazing 3rd party support compared to literally any other Nintendo system since SNES.

While on Switch, even though games won't be as shiny, the portability makes it an actual first choice for some people.