Third Parties: With me, or against me.....
- Thread starter Goodtwin
- Start date
Yes I had for PS4, DS, Wii. I'm considering franchises too. For example I counting Pokémon even though there are no announcements for it yet.
When PS4 was announced I had many franchises that I was sure that would be out for PS4 that I'd surely buy.
I don't have Zelda on my list because I'll play it on Wii U.
I'm not interested in mario either.
But yeah,my mistake for the way I expressed myself. I also know that the problem is me, because I'm personally fed up with some of the genres that are usual on
Nintendo consoles, like platformers.
When PS4 was announced I had many franchises that I was sure that would be out for PS4 that I'd surely buy.
I don't have Zelda on my list because I'll play it on Wii U.
I'm not interested in mario either.
But yeah,my mistake for the way I expressed myself. I also know that the problem is me, because I'm personally fed up with some of the genres that are usual on
Nintendo consoles, like platformers.
I did as soon as I saw that Wii U wouldn't have the games I'd like to play. But I was a loyal Nintendo fan back then and supported Wii U.
I still do to be fair, because Wii U turned out to be an excellent VC machine. The VC games that I have bought on it made my Wii U priceless.
PS: I'm playing Yoshi's Island now. It's brilliant.
I still do to be fair, because Wii U turned out to be an excellent VC machine. The VC games that I have bought on it made my Wii U priceless.
PS: I'm playing Yoshi's Island now. It's brilliant.
We all acknowledge Nintendo is severely lacking in this regard, but why they do is up for debate. Is the audience too different? Do they market 3rd party content poorly? What the hell is it?
After thinking (not so) hard about it, I came up with an answer.
The short version: They don't use their acquired talent to produce games that would attract 3rd party developers if they sold well. For example, making Retro work on Donkey Kong as opposed to a new Metroid.
The long version: While Nintendo produces amazing in-house titles, they don't use their other developers to branch out past 'Nintendo-style' titles, and when they do, they don't heavily promote them. Literally the only Bayonetta 2 commercial I saw was on Adult Swim. This dates back to the N64 and GameCube days especially, where titles like Eternal Darkness, Conker, and Perfect Dark were basically sent out to die, while 3rd party exclusives like Resident Evil 0 and REmake suffered the same fate. Bayonetta 2 and Metroid Prime may have sold over 1 million copies, but that's not Mario or Smash Bros. numbers, which is what Nintendo is ultimately looking for in order to keep these franchises afloat. Because of this self defeating cycle, this can be used as anecdotal evidence to not invest in future titles of this ilk.
So what can be done to fix this? Or: theoretical titles to invest heavily into.
- Metroid Prime Remastered: More like a full on remake instead of a remaster. Completely redone textures with displacement maps, lighting complete with static global illumination and PBR, image based lighting and environment maps for the various metallic materials, GPU particles and full resolution alpha, water tessellation, subsurface scattering, volumetric light shafts, per object blur and bokeh depth of field, higher polygon counts, anti-aliasing, shadows casting from stationary lights, particle lighting, screen space reflections, bloom, SSAO with capsule shadows, etc.
Bayonetta 2 Remastered: With the same tech I outlined above (minus the higher polys considering Bayonetta 2 was pushing super high polygon counts in the first place), anti-aliasing, and a consistent 60 FPS.
- Fatal Frame IV Remastered: Again, a full on remake with tons of bug fixes, 60 FPS, and a revamped control scheme.
Fatal Frame VI: A reboot taking place in modern day Japan with a focus on found footage. Whereas Silent Hill has always had Western inspirations (see RazorFist's retrospective for more info), Fatal Frame has always been grounded in Japanese lore. That aside, I feel that with visuals and production values of more Americanized horror games like Resident Evil 7, Outlast 2, and Silent Hills PT and a bigger focus on scaring the shit out of the player like those games and stealth (you don't have a power camera, you have a regular video camera) as opposed to creeping players out and fending off ghosts out would be great. Given the recent revival of horror games, I could see this taking off.
The story would be about a government military development subsidy stationed in Japan that's doing a lot of shady experiments, most notably using ghosts from dead people as a means of weapons development. You're a worker there that is attempting to expose the operation. However, in your attempt, the ghosts get loose, start killing everybody, and the company calls in their clean-up crew to erase any evidence, which includes any witnesses, and you're a witness.
Battalion Wars spin-off title: A very slow paced and strategetic tactical shooter spin-off of the Nintendo/Battalion Wars series, this is a sim in the sense of the SWAT 4: Elite Force mod or the original Rainbow Six trilogy. You can die in one or two shots, you have to collect all evidence and secure all hostages while reporting it, there's tons of squad commands, and you can plan your missions out and customize your squad to your liking in the menu, much like Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. Also includes 4 player online co-op, full fledged multiplayer and terrorist hunt.
The story is about robotic workers who go out of control and basically turn into terrorists due to developing feelings, which means a sense of oppression. The art style would be similar to a 1980s/90s sci-fi anime.
- Mach Rider: A post apocalyptic open world racing game as fast as F-Zero GX or Fast Racing Neo with a full 60 FPS framerate, loads of customization, and various game modes (drag racing, drifting, story, etc.) would have a lot of mainstream appeal. As opposed to police chases, you get chased by bandits who want to loot you.
Car/bike customization would be as in-depth as something like Midnight Club: LA.
- Zangeki no Reginleiv 2: An open world action game with colossi style boss fights and open ended character action game combat.
- Eternal Darkness 2: I was thinking it should be more inspired by The Shining and other psychological horror as opposed to Lovecraft for a sequel.
- Geist: The original had a great concept and deserves where credit is due for being an M rated Nintendo published product, but it was too linear and there was too much forced action. Reinvent it as a a Hitman style systems based open ended stealth assassin game with more flexible posessions.
- Disaster: Day of Crisis reboot: Make it a legitimate 3rd person shooter with moral ambiguity resulting in different endings, AI similar to The Last of Us' E3 demo, and a lot more replayability via multiplayer and you could have a Last of Us alternative.
The Last Story 2: Remember when I talked about that open world Golden Sun ARPG? Scrap it and apply all of the concepts I thought of to a Last Story sequel.
Pandora's Tower 2: A more focused, linear title with major combat overhauls. I was thinking that for the sequel, the story would be that you get infected with a demon virus that you need to suppress by eating demon hearts. This plays into the gameplay, as when the infection takes over, you become super powerful but your health slowly drains. The combat is more heavily inspired by Devil May Cry 3/4 and Bayonetta, but with God of War/Ninja Gaiden II style gore (I figured if the first game was already pretty gory, crank it up from 5 to 105 for the sequel). The game would have manual targeting, a free form camera, and tons of different fighting styles, weapons, and upgrades.
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After thinking (not so) hard about it, I came up with an answer.
The short version: They don't use their acquired talent to produce games that would attract 3rd party developers if they sold well. For example, making Retro work on Donkey Kong as opposed to a new Metroid.
The long version: While Nintendo produces amazing in-house titles, they don't use their other developers to branch out past 'Nintendo-style' titles, and when they do, they don't heavily promote them. Literally the only Bayonetta 2 commercial I saw was on Adult Swim. This dates back to the N64 and GameCube days especially, where titles like Eternal Darkness, Conker, and Perfect Dark were basically sent out to die, while 3rd party exclusives like Resident Evil 0 and REmake suffered the same fate. Bayonetta 2 and Metroid Prime may have sold over 1 million copies, but that's not Mario or Smash Bros. numbers, which is what Nintendo is ultimately looking for in order to keep these franchises afloat. Because of this self defeating cycle, this can be used as anecdotal evidence to not invest in future titles of this ilk.
So what can be done to fix this? Or: theoretical titles to invest heavily into.
- Metroid Prime Remastered: More like a full on remake instead of a remaster. Completely redone textures with displacement maps, lighting complete with static global illumination and PBR, image based lighting and environment maps for the various metallic materials, GPU particles and full resolution alpha, water tessellation, subsurface scattering, volumetric light shafts, per object blur and bokeh depth of field, higher polygon counts, anti-aliasing, shadows casting from stationary lights, particle lighting, screen space reflections, bloom, SSAO with capsule shadows, etc.
Bayonetta 2 Remastered: With the same tech I outlined above (minus the higher polys considering Bayonetta 2 was pushing super high polygon counts in the first place), anti-aliasing, and a consistent 60 FPS.
- Fatal Frame IV Remastered: Again, a full on remake with tons of bug fixes, 60 FPS, and a revamped control scheme.
Fatal Frame VI: A reboot taking place in modern day Japan with a focus on found footage. Whereas Silent Hill has always had Western inspirations (see RazorFist's retrospective for more info), Fatal Frame has always been grounded in Japanese lore. That aside, I feel that with visuals and production values of more Americanized horror games like Resident Evil 7, Outlast 2, and Silent Hills PT and a bigger focus on scaring the shit out of the player like those games and stealth (you don't have a power camera, you have a regular video camera) as opposed to creeping players out and fending off ghosts out would be great. Given the recent revival of horror games, I could see this taking off.
The story would be about a government military development subsidy stationed in Japan that's doing a lot of shady experiments, most notably using ghosts from dead people as a means of weapons development. You're a worker there that is attempting to expose the operation. However, in your attempt, the ghosts get loose, start killing everybody, and the company calls in their clean-up crew to erase any evidence, which includes any witnesses, and you're a witness.
Battalion Wars spin-off title: A very slow paced and strategetic tactical shooter spin-off of the Nintendo/Battalion Wars series, this is a sim in the sense of the SWAT 4: Elite Force mod or the original Rainbow Six trilogy. You can die in one or two shots, you have to collect all evidence and secure all hostages while reporting it, there's tons of squad commands, and you can plan your missions out and customize your squad to your liking in the menu, much like Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. Also includes 4 player online co-op, full fledged multiplayer and terrorist hunt.
The story is about robotic workers who go out of control and basically turn into terrorists due to developing feelings, which means a sense of oppression. The art style would be similar to a 1980s/90s sci-fi anime.
- Mach Rider: A post apocalyptic open world racing game as fast as F-Zero GX or Fast Racing Neo with a full 60 FPS framerate, loads of customization, and various game modes (drag racing, drifting, story, etc.) would have a lot of mainstream appeal. As opposed to police chases, you get chased by bandits who want to loot you.
Car/bike customization would be as in-depth as something like Midnight Club: LA.
- Zangeki no Reginleiv 2: An open world action game with colossi style boss fights and open ended character action game combat.
- Eternal Darkness 2: I was thinking it should be more inspired by The Shining and other psychological horror as opposed to Lovecraft for a sequel.
- Geist: The original had a great concept and deserves where credit is due for being an M rated Nintendo published product, but it was too linear and there was too much forced action. Reinvent it as a a Hitman style systems based open ended stealth assassin game with more flexible posessions.
- Disaster: Day of Crisis reboot: Make it a legitimate 3rd person shooter with moral ambiguity resulting in different endings, AI similar to The Last of Us' E3 demo, and a lot more replayability via multiplayer and you could have a Last of Us alternative.
The Last Story 2: Remember when I talked about that open world Golden Sun ARPG? Scrap it and apply all of the concepts I thought of to a Last Story sequel.
Pandora's Tower 2: A more focused, linear title with major combat overhauls. I was thinking that for the sequel, the story would be that you get infected with a demon virus that you need to suppress by eating demon hearts. This plays into the gameplay, as when the infection takes over, you become super powerful but your health slowly drains. The combat is more heavily inspired by Devil May Cry 3/4 and Bayonetta, but with God of War/Ninja Gaiden II style gore (I figured if the first game was already pretty gory, crank it up from 5 to 105 for the sequel). The game would have manual targeting, a free form camera, and tons of different fighting styles, weapons, and upgrades.
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It really is amazing. After 8 months on the market Switch has been a smash success so far. But how did they do it? No Call of Duty? No Assassins Creed? No games from EA other than Fifa, and yet somehow Switch is a success just the same. Nintendo was on mission impossible according to many. How do you make a platform successful with little to no support from the majority of the worlds largest software publishers? Nintendo did just that. Messaging was on point. People immediately new the hook of the Switch, and high profile first party software titles seemed to roll out every few weeks. Launch with the biggest most ambitious title in their history with Zelda BoTW, and keep it going from there.
After 8 months of success, we are seeing more and more support being announced from these skeptical publishers being announced. Amazing how the world works, the more you need their support the less likely you are to get it. Regardless, the pipeline of third party support is filling faster than I would have ever imagined. I still believe support will be more limited from western publishers compared to other platforms, but so far support looks like it could exceed my early expectations by a decent margin.
With games like Skyrim doing rather well on Switch, I can only imagine more and more publishers will be taking a second look. How long till games like Half Life 2, Bioshock, and the most obvious game ever GTA:V will come to Switch.
There is no question, anyone still hoping for Switch to be treated as a Xbox One and PS4 are in for disappointment. Switch will not be a primary platform for multi platform games from a great deal of third parties, but that doesn't mean support is poor. Any worries about third party support should be fading on daily basis.
After 8 months of success, we are seeing more and more support being announced from these skeptical publishers being announced. Amazing how the world works, the more you need their support the less likely you are to get it. Regardless, the pipeline of third party support is filling faster than I would have ever imagined. I still believe support will be more limited from western publishers compared to other platforms, but so far support looks like it could exceed my early expectations by a decent margin.
With games like Skyrim doing rather well on Switch, I can only imagine more and more publishers will be taking a second look. How long till games like Half Life 2, Bioshock, and the most obvious game ever GTA:V will come to Switch.
There is no question, anyone still hoping for Switch to be treated as a Xbox One and PS4 are in for disappointment. Switch will not be a primary platform for multi platform games from a great deal of third parties, but that doesn't mean support is poor. Any worries about third party support should be fading on daily basis.
Like I said in another thread, the Switch getting less support than the PSP would be ironic since the power differential between the PSP and PS3/360 (and even the Wii for that matter, boot up Silent Hill: Shattered Memories or The Godfather on both systems and see what I mean) is more substantial than the Switch and PS4/Xbox One. The Switch is also way more user friendly and easier to program for than the PSP.
Also, Nintendo's new CEO is trying to get rid of the company's "for kids" image by providing marketing support and embracement of adult games.
Also, Nintendo's new CEO is trying to get rid of the company's "for kids" image by providing marketing support and embracement of adult games.
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I would say Ubisoft is being pretty limited as well. Mario+Rabbids is an exclusive, something they have typically done on new Nintendo consoles. Then there is Rayman Legends an overpriced port of a game from 2013, and I would argue it is inferior to the Wii U build that had excellent co-op. Just Dance is very "meh". Switch is missing COD and Assassins Creed, and I really am not convinced those IP's will be coming.
As far as western third party support goes, I think Bethesda is probably a good indication for how things will play out. We will see older very popular games ported, but same day releases on the platform are nearly out of the question. We know Wolfenstein 2 is coming, but will be many months or even approaching a year after the PS4/X1 build released.
Overall I am still really pleased with the support. I really thought we were looking at a 3DS sitatuion. Lots of great first party content, great Indie support, and Japanese third party support would be a lock, but western support is already exceeding my expectations.
As far as western third party support goes, I think Bethesda is probably a good indication for how things will play out. We will see older very popular games ported, but same day releases on the platform are nearly out of the question. We know Wolfenstein 2 is coming, but will be many months or even approaching a year after the PS4/X1 build released.
Overall I am still really pleased with the support. I really thought we were looking at a 3DS sitatuion. Lots of great first party content, great Indie support, and Japanese third party support would be a lock, but western support is already exceeding my expectations.
I only disagree that 3rd part support is great. It's just limited for every 3rd party company. They're just testing the waters, all of them. And mostly they're testing the waters with old releases. As soon as NSW becomes strong, it already is, they may release more content, but now, I'd call 3rd party support just experimental.
It's just like the first year of Wii, and slightly better than the first year of Wii U.
PS: I'm not saying that I'm not pleased.
It's just like the first year of Wii, and slightly better than the first year of Wii U.
PS: I'm not saying that I'm not pleased.
Let's do some quick mafs using ESRB ratings.
The PS4 launched on November of 2013. During that time, yes, it received more mature rated launch titles than the Switch, with the Switch's only being The Binding of Isaac. However, fast forward a year and there are 21 M rated titles with a Metacritic score of 70 or above.
However, not accounting for games like Perception, Slain, & Don't Knock Twice that aren't very good (hence Metacritic) the Switch has 15 M rated titles this year that have gotten good reviews. Not too far off from the PS4's first year. In addition to that, there are rumors of Dark Souls now as well as three Bayonetta games and Wolfenstein II. There is guaranteed to be more. I can sense it, so to speak.
By comparison, the Wii had five M rated titles with a Metacritic score of a 70 or above in 2007. Although to be fair, Driver: Parallel Lines and Manhunt 2 were pretty good games, but I'm not counting them 'cause I'm going off Metacritic scores since that's what the rest of the industry does. And while No More Heroes technically first came out in 2007, it didn't get western reviews until 2007.
The Wii U had six in 2013. Almost all of the rest were from its 2012 launch and all sold poorly in addition to suffering from various visual and performance issues, hence why support died down. None of the Wii titles sold well either.
By comparison, Skyrim, Resident Evil Revelations 1 & 2, and DOOM are doing quite well in North America and on online stores like the eShop and Amazon.
I've been saying it for a while. It's all about marketing. When you market your system and system's games to an older audience, they'll come on and buy the titles that appeal to them (Skyrim, DOOM) on your system.
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The PS4 launched on November of 2013. During that time, yes, it received more mature rated launch titles than the Switch, with the Switch's only being The Binding of Isaac. However, fast forward a year and there are 21 M rated titles with a Metacritic score of 70 or above.
However, not accounting for games like Perception, Slain, & Don't Knock Twice that aren't very good (hence Metacritic) the Switch has 15 M rated titles this year that have gotten good reviews. Not too far off from the PS4's first year. In addition to that, there are rumors of Dark Souls now as well as three Bayonetta games and Wolfenstein II. There is guaranteed to be more. I can sense it, so to speak.
By comparison, the Wii had five M rated titles with a Metacritic score of a 70 or above in 2007. Although to be fair, Driver: Parallel Lines and Manhunt 2 were pretty good games, but I'm not counting them 'cause I'm going off Metacritic scores since that's what the rest of the industry does. And while No More Heroes technically first came out in 2007, it didn't get western reviews until 2007.
The Wii U had six in 2013. Almost all of the rest were from its 2012 launch and all sold poorly in addition to suffering from various visual and performance issues, hence why support died down. None of the Wii titles sold well either.
By comparison, Skyrim, Resident Evil Revelations 1 & 2, and DOOM are doing quite well in North America and on online stores like the eShop and Amazon.
I've been saying it for a while. It's all about marketing. When you market your system and system's games to an older audience, they'll come on and buy the titles that appeal to them (Skyrim, DOOM) on your system.
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The library of games on Switch is and will continue to be very unique. Bayonetta is essentially a Nintendo IP now, seeing as how Nintendo is the only publisher willing to fund it. The difference between Bayonetta 2 on Wii U and Bayonetta 3 on Switch is the fact that Switch is a device that many fans of Bayonetta could potentially be interested in. Wii U for a lot of people was an overpriced 360, and they had no intention of forking out $300 for the hardware to play Bayonetta 2 on. Switch is a slick stylish portable device that offers the user something their PS4 or X1 do not, the ability to play anywhere. Exclusives like Bayonetta 3 can help persuade some people who were on the fence and this broaders the demographic of the Switch userbase in the process.
Skyrim has done really well on Switch thus far. It was in the top three on the eshop for weeks, and still remains in the top 10. On Amazons videogame best sellers of November, Skyrim managed to pull down the 36th spot, only a few spots behind Xenoblade Chronicles 2. By comparison Doom was at the 99th spot for the month. Skyrim is doing a lot better than Doom, not saying Doom is doing terrible, but the idea here is that from the publishers perspective they have a remastered last generation game doing a lot better than a current gen port. I could see Bethesda looking very hard at Fallout 3.
A bunch of last generation remasters may not thrill those who have played those games, but I do think a lot of your larger publishers will see the success of Skyrim and see that as a very accessible way to make money on the platform.
I think the eshop goes underappreciated at times, and brings more appeal than many would think. Switch and the eshop is kind of like having Steam on the go. So many Indies and small developers who focus on Steam are finding success on the Switch. Stardew Valley has done really well, and Steamworld Dig 2 did nearly 10X as many sales on Switch compared to Steam. We are seeing games like Riptide GP Renegade on Switch, a futuristic wave runner game, something no major third party was going to greenlight. These types of games do not hold the same value for platforms like PS4 and X1 because the demographic is very different. They purchased a box to play COD and Assassins Creed on their large HDTV, but with Switch the portability plays very nicely with a the majority of Indie games.
I think it should be obvious, but a lot of people still think of Indie games as only being 2d platformers and puzzle games, and this just isn't true. With todays modern development tools a small Indie developer is able to create something like Fast Racing RMX. These developers are more and more creating the type of games the larger publishers are neglecting to support.
Skyrim has done really well on Switch thus far. It was in the top three on the eshop for weeks, and still remains in the top 10. On Amazons videogame best sellers of November, Skyrim managed to pull down the 36th spot, only a few spots behind Xenoblade Chronicles 2. By comparison Doom was at the 99th spot for the month. Skyrim is doing a lot better than Doom, not saying Doom is doing terrible, but the idea here is that from the publishers perspective they have a remastered last generation game doing a lot better than a current gen port. I could see Bethesda looking very hard at Fallout 3.
A bunch of last generation remasters may not thrill those who have played those games, but I do think a lot of your larger publishers will see the success of Skyrim and see that as a very accessible way to make money on the platform.
I think the eshop goes underappreciated at times, and brings more appeal than many would think. Switch and the eshop is kind of like having Steam on the go. So many Indies and small developers who focus on Steam are finding success on the Switch. Stardew Valley has done really well, and Steamworld Dig 2 did nearly 10X as many sales on Switch compared to Steam. We are seeing games like Riptide GP Renegade on Switch, a futuristic wave runner game, something no major third party was going to greenlight. These types of games do not hold the same value for platforms like PS4 and X1 because the demographic is very different. They purchased a box to play COD and Assassins Creed on their large HDTV, but with Switch the portability plays very nicely with a the majority of Indie games.
I think it should be obvious, but a lot of people still think of Indie games as only being 2d platformers and puzzle games, and this just isn't true. With todays modern development tools a small Indie developer is able to create something like Fast Racing RMX. These developers are more and more creating the type of games the larger publishers are neglecting to support.
I believe that a fair comparison must include only AAA titles, because they're basically the only 3rd party content that matters.
Let's see 6 months of Wii U x NSW
Wii U
Assassin's Creed III
Batman: Arkham City
CoD BOII
Darksiders II
FIFA 13
Madden 13
Mass effect 3
NBA 2K13
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Skylanders: Giants
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
Lego City Undercover
ZombiU
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Sniper Elite V2
NSW
Minecraft
Disgaea 5 Complete
Sonic Mania
That's it. Basically NSW started as a experimental console for Nintendo fans only. NSW was a Zelda machine and other retro type of games like Bomberman and SF that only matter for Nintendo fans.
Going to the end of 2017, we see NSW becoming more 3rd-partyish, but still in 6 months, Wii U had 17 AAA 3rd party games, including all those sport games. They were all experimenting Wii U as they're all experimenting NSW this year.
Lets go then until the end of 2017 for NSW:
Lego Worlds
NBA 2K18
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
FIFA 18
One Piece: Unlimited World Red Deluxe Edition
Farming Simulator
Sonic Forces
Doom
L.A. Noire
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
WWE 2K18
So only comparing 12 months of NSW we can see it basically starting to beat 6 months of Wii U in terms of AAA big titles. Also in both cases we see last generation remakes like Skyrim and Assassins Creed III.
I see Bethesda testing the waters with Skyrim and Doom, like Ubisoft and EA also tested Wii U. In case NSW fails, Bethesda will move away, like EA and Ubisoft did with Wii U. Otherwise Bethesda will probably keep supporting NSW, like EA and Ubisoft would have for Wii U if it had succeeded.
Let's see 6 months of Wii U x NSW
Wii U
Assassin's Creed III
Batman: Arkham City
CoD BOII
Darksiders II
FIFA 13
Madden 13
Mass effect 3
NBA 2K13
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Skylanders: Giants
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
Lego City Undercover
ZombiU
Need for Speed: Most Wanted U
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Sniper Elite V2
NSW
Minecraft
Disgaea 5 Complete
Sonic Mania
That's it. Basically NSW started as a experimental console for Nintendo fans only. NSW was a Zelda machine and other retro type of games like Bomberman and SF that only matter for Nintendo fans.
Going to the end of 2017, we see NSW becoming more 3rd-partyish, but still in 6 months, Wii U had 17 AAA 3rd party games, including all those sport games. They were all experimenting Wii U as they're all experimenting NSW this year.
Lets go then until the end of 2017 for NSW:
Lego Worlds
NBA 2K18
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
FIFA 18
One Piece: Unlimited World Red Deluxe Edition
Farming Simulator
Sonic Forces
Doom
L.A. Noire
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
WWE 2K18
So only comparing 12 months of NSW we can see it basically starting to beat 6 months of Wii U in terms of AAA big titles. Also in both cases we see last generation remakes like Skyrim and Assassins Creed III.
I see Bethesda testing the waters with Skyrim and Doom, like Ubisoft and EA also tested Wii U. In case NSW fails, Bethesda will move away, like EA and Ubisoft did with Wii U. Otherwise Bethesda will probably keep supporting NSW, like EA and Ubisoft would have for Wii U if it had succeeded.
>Talking about indie titles becoming more complex without even mentioning the GOAT: Hellblade.
Call of Duty would actually play nicely with the Switch. It's very fast paced and the levels are quick to speedrun through. Honestly, it's about time we had a good portable COD game.
If Ubisoft were smart, they'd create a unique Assassin's Creed title designed for the Switch. They did it for the Vita and while I enjoyed the game, it was a damn slideshow and the system it was on was a flop. Why would they create a unique exclusive Assassin's Creed for a dead system but not a one that is doing well? M rated games are selling on the Switch, as evidenced by DOOM being the 99th best selling game on *all* platforms despite being a full priced sub-HD port with frame pacing/skipping issues, and Skyrim performed way above my expectations (except for the UK aka FIFAganistan). I had to cancel the rant I was going to write in case the game failed.
I remember getting pissed about an Ubisoft exec saying "it [Switch] will still be for kids." I was worried he would be right. But he turned out to be wrong! Considering Skyrim was successful, why can't Assassin's Creed happen? I'm not asking for a full console title like Origins, God knows Origins has major optimization issues as is. A spin-off designed to scale to a handheld while still keeping the "next gen experience" would be more than ideal.
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Call of Duty would actually play nicely with the Switch. It's very fast paced and the levels are quick to speedrun through. Honestly, it's about time we had a good portable COD game.
If Ubisoft were smart, they'd create a unique Assassin's Creed title designed for the Switch. They did it for the Vita and while I enjoyed the game, it was a damn slideshow and the system it was on was a flop. Why would they create a unique exclusive Assassin's Creed for a dead system but not a one that is doing well? M rated games are selling on the Switch, as evidenced by DOOM being the 99th best selling game on *all* platforms despite being a full priced sub-HD port with frame pacing/skipping issues, and Skyrim performed way above my expectations (except for the UK aka FIFAganistan). I had to cancel the rant I was going to write in case the game failed.
I remember getting pissed about an Ubisoft exec saying "it [Switch] will still be for kids." I was worried he would be right. But he turned out to be wrong! Considering Skyrim was successful, why can't Assassin's Creed happen? I'm not asking for a full console title like Origins, God knows Origins has major optimization issues as is. A spin-off designed to scale to a handheld while still keeping the "next gen experience" would be more than ideal.
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Because...Nintendo.
In all seriousness, however, 2018 could be that year where both Activision, and Ubisoft decide that now is the time for Call of Duty, and Assassin's Creed, respectively on the Switch. In terms of COD, and judging from the normal cycle of developers, Treyarch are the ones coming out with their COD title next year, and we know from past experience that Treyarch can make a game work even if the system's capabilities are much less compared to the others. I think it's a strong possibility we'll be seeing COD on Switch for next year, and Assassin's Creed is another possibility.
But at this point, I'll wait and reserve judgment until we know more from the big three that is EA, Activision, and Ubisoft on what their plans are for the Switch. Asothers have pointed out, @Goodtwin for sure, the Switch could be a good starting platform for older games, and given new life on a portable device for on-the-go gaming. Ubisoft could easily start off with AC: The Ezio Collection, and COD could do COD4 remastered, or even a MW trilogy for that matter. And EA? Well...it's EA, so roll the dice, and hope you have a good hand, because gambling with EA's future is not advised.
In all seriousness, however, 2018 could be that year where both Activision, and Ubisoft decide that now is the time for Call of Duty, and Assassin's Creed, respectively on the Switch. In terms of COD, and judging from the normal cycle of developers, Treyarch are the ones coming out with their COD title next year, and we know from past experience that Treyarch can make a game work even if the system's capabilities are much less compared to the others. I think it's a strong possibility we'll be seeing COD on Switch for next year, and Assassin's Creed is another possibility.
But at this point, I'll wait and reserve judgment until we know more from the big three that is EA, Activision, and Ubisoft on what their plans are for the Switch. Asothers have pointed out, @Goodtwin for sure, the Switch could be a good starting platform for older games, and given new life on a portable device for on-the-go gaming. Ubisoft could easily start off with AC: The Ezio Collection, and COD could do COD4 remastered, or even a MW trilogy for that matter. And EA? Well...it's EA, so roll the dice, and hope you have a good hand, because gambling with EA's future is not advised.
I'm less than knowledgeable about CoD, but I do have a question. Can people that buy it on Playstation play against those that have it on XBox?
If not, if some company created a FPS like CoD that had cross-platform play between all involved consoles, that would be truly interesting to see how Switch sales would be. Instead of worrying that you couldn't play with your friends that had the game on PS4 or XB1, gamers could choose which console they'd prefer to play it on. I think the portability aspect of the Switch could be a big sales advantage of there was cross-platform play parity.
If not, if some company created a FPS like CoD that had cross-platform play between all involved consoles, that would be truly interesting to see how Switch sales would be. Instead of worrying that you couldn't play with your friends that had the game on PS4 or XB1, gamers could choose which console they'd prefer to play it on. I think the portability aspect of the Switch could be a big sales advantage of there was cross-platform play parity.
Is there a list of companies who's Switch support is lackluster right now along with the games they have yet to bring?
- Namco
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Dragon Ball FighterZ, SoulCalibur VI, Code Vein.
- THQ Nordic:
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition, Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (the Wii U port was awful, sub-HD, constant tearing, missing visual features, low FPS, etc.; a locked 30 FPS 900p/1080p Switch port of the remaster could fix that), Darksiders III, Fade to Silence, and Victor Vran: Overkill Edition.
Focus Home Interactive:
The Surge, Vampyr, Insurgency: Sandstorm, Greedfall, A Plague Tale: Innocence, The Council, Mordheim: City of the Damned, and Masters of Anima.
Ubisoft:
Assassin's Creed: Origins, The Crew 2, Skull & Bones, Ghost Recon: Wildlands Watch Dogs 2, Far Cry 5.
Square Enix:
Kingdom Hearts III (their only announced multiplat 2018 project), Life is Strange series (this is coming to iOS for god's sake).
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- Namco
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Dragon Ball FighterZ, SoulCalibur VI, Code Vein.
- THQ Nordic:
Darksiders: Warmastered Edition, Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition (the Wii U port was awful, sub-HD, constant tearing, missing visual features, low FPS, etc.; a locked 30 FPS 900p/1080p Switch port of the remaster could fix that), Darksiders III, Fade to Silence, and Victor Vran: Overkill Edition.
Focus Home Interactive:
The Surge, Vampyr, Insurgency: Sandstorm, Greedfall, A Plague Tale: Innocence, The Council, Mordheim: City of the Damned, and Masters of Anima.
Ubisoft:
Assassin's Creed: Origins, The Crew 2, Skull & Bones, Ghost Recon: Wildlands Watch Dogs 2, Far Cry 5.
Square Enix:
Kingdom Hearts III (their only announced multiplat 2018 project), Life is Strange series (this is coming to iOS for god's sake).
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Rocket League outsold Mario this month. Might wanna rethink your signature @Goodtwin.
Part of the Switch's success is Nintendo's pragmatic willingness to embrace AAA game development trends, whether it be with the hardware engine support, support through widespread advertisement of mature titles (I saw LA Noire Switch exclusive promos all over Facebook and multiple Skyrim Switch commercials) and encouragement of 3rd parties to release games as opposed to ignorance or reluctance, or the fact that their own engines make use of modern engine features like simulated global illumination and physically based rendering.
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Part of the Switch's success is Nintendo's pragmatic willingness to embrace AAA game development trends, whether it be with the hardware engine support, support through widespread advertisement of mature titles (I saw LA Noire Switch exclusive promos all over Facebook and multiple Skyrim Switch commercials) and encouragement of 3rd parties to release games as opposed to ignorance or reluctance, or the fact that their own engines make use of modern engine features like simulated global illumination and physically based rendering.
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I fixed that for you. LOL Seriously though, I am super happy that games like Rocket League are doing very well, however, Rocket League and AAA do not belong in the same sentence. AAA is not a standard for quality, but for the production values behind it. Assassins Creed is AAA even though I think the game is hot garbage, and Rocket League is Indie by comparison, yet it is a fantastic game.
When I say Switch isn't a AAA box and yes its is successful it is because it is true, and my opinion hasn't changed. I never suggested that Switch cannot accommodate AAA games, it released with the AAA Zelda BoTW, but when people typically talk about AAA games it surrounds games like Assassins Creed, COD, Battlefield, Batman and Destiny. These are all games that have been absent on Switch, and yet it is a very successful platform. This backs up the idea that those types of games aren't the driving force behind Switch being a success.
I do agree with THQ Nordic being less vested than I would have expected. I too expected both Dark Sider games to be ported to Switch, and I remember them buying the Sphinx IP with the idea of bringing it to Switch, but so far we haven't heard a peep about it.
So at the end of the day I think my original topic was accurate. Games like Mario Rabbids do more for the platform than ports of Assassins Creed. Teaming up with Platinum and having Bayonetta as an exclusive for Switch is a nice boost as well. Square Enix bringing support like Project Octopath is important because those are the types of games that thrived on the 3DS, and transitioning those 3DS gamers to Switch will be important. Taking over the living room isn't going to happen, PS4 and Xbox are dominating that market, but Nintendo has found a market less supported, and is capitalizing on it. If you rolled out the next Xbox or PlayStation with the same type of software support Switch has had early on, good luck, it wouldn't be pretty. Switch thrives thanks to being unique.
When I say Switch isn't a AAA box and yes its is successful it is because it is true, and my opinion hasn't changed. I never suggested that Switch cannot accommodate AAA games, it released with the AAA Zelda BoTW, but when people typically talk about AAA games it surrounds games like Assassins Creed, COD, Battlefield, Batman and Destiny. These are all games that have been absent on Switch, and yet it is a very successful platform. This backs up the idea that those types of games aren't the driving force behind Switch being a success.
I do agree with THQ Nordic being less vested than I would have expected. I too expected both Dark Sider games to be ported to Switch, and I remember them buying the Sphinx IP with the idea of bringing it to Switch, but so far we haven't heard a peep about it.
So at the end of the day I think my original topic was accurate. Games like Mario Rabbids do more for the platform than ports of Assassins Creed. Teaming up with Platinum and having Bayonetta as an exclusive for Switch is a nice boost as well. Square Enix bringing support like Project Octopath is important because those are the types of games that thrived on the 3DS, and transitioning those 3DS gamers to Switch will be important. Taking over the living room isn't going to happen, PS4 and Xbox are dominating that market, but Nintendo has found a market less supported, and is capitalizing on it. If you rolled out the next Xbox or PlayStation with the same type of software support Switch has had early on, good luck, it wouldn't be pretty. Switch thrives thanks to being unique.
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For me, the Switch having AAA games means I can stay outside of my place more while still having access to my favorite games. This is why I want games like Assassin's Creed on the platform. Yes, an inferior port of Origins wouldn't do anything, especially considering how badly optimized it is. Do you know what would work though? A spin-off title specifically catered to the platform. Same with Call of Duty. If we could get a spin-off with a campaign that's as high quality as Advanced Warfare with the balancing of the original Modern Warfare and no loot boxes, I would hand in cash for it, as would a lot of people.
The problem with the Switch being a 3DS successor as opposed to a portable AAA box is because, well, the 3DS was mainly an entry level handheld made for kids that only flourished with older audiences due to the Japanese games. The Switch has a much older audience targeted by comparison, hence why a lot of publishers (besides the ones releasing interactive casinos) are onboard and why titles like Resident Evil Revelations on Switch vastly outsold the 3DS version if a direct comparison can be made.
Personally, Call of Duty is dead to me, I already explained why in a thread I made. Destiny 2, while an excellent shooter mechanically, has a lot of shady shit happening (removing recycled content and charging absurd prices for it, slowing leveling and pitting you against superior players in the PVP mode (wonder why there were no dedicated servers?) to encourage loot box purchasing). There hasn't been a new Arkham game in forever (and there is a Batman title on Switch already).
Battlefield 1 with all of the DLC on Switch would be awesome. No one can deny that. The game has a 90ish score on Metacritic and is still populated.
DOOM and Skyrim are the best selling M rated titles on any Nintendo platform, ever. That's not a coincidence. If other publishers want to be smart about this, they need to take notice. However, in order to keep the bus moving, so to speak, Nintendo needs to aim for other publishers' demographics through games rather than just marketing. Get sequels to titles like MadWorld, Eternal Darkness, Zangeki no Reginleiv, Fatal Frame (and remaster FFIV), etc. I have an entire list dedicated to this. They're already on a helluva good start with titles like Fire Emblem Warriors, the entire Bayonetta trilogy, and Metroid Prime 4 though.
While I would like more powerful hardware theoretically, hardware doesn't always dictate support, policies do. Unlike back when Nintendo actually released powerful hardware during the SNES/N64/GCN days, when they were either neutral or repressive about games for older audiences, they actually embrace it for the Switch and encourage developers to release those sorts of games.
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The problem with the Switch being a 3DS successor as opposed to a portable AAA box is because, well, the 3DS was mainly an entry level handheld made for kids that only flourished with older audiences due to the Japanese games. The Switch has a much older audience targeted by comparison, hence why a lot of publishers (besides the ones releasing interactive casinos) are onboard and why titles like Resident Evil Revelations on Switch vastly outsold the 3DS version if a direct comparison can be made.
Personally, Call of Duty is dead to me, I already explained why in a thread I made. Destiny 2, while an excellent shooter mechanically, has a lot of shady shit happening (removing recycled content and charging absurd prices for it, slowing leveling and pitting you against superior players in the PVP mode (wonder why there were no dedicated servers?) to encourage loot box purchasing). There hasn't been a new Arkham game in forever (and there is a Batman title on Switch already).
Battlefield 1 with all of the DLC on Switch would be awesome. No one can deny that. The game has a 90ish score on Metacritic and is still populated.
DOOM and Skyrim are the best selling M rated titles on any Nintendo platform, ever. That's not a coincidence. If other publishers want to be smart about this, they need to take notice. However, in order to keep the bus moving, so to speak, Nintendo needs to aim for other publishers' demographics through games rather than just marketing. Get sequels to titles like MadWorld, Eternal Darkness, Zangeki no Reginleiv, Fatal Frame (and remaster FFIV), etc. I have an entire list dedicated to this. They're already on a helluva good start with titles like Fire Emblem Warriors, the entire Bayonetta trilogy, and Metroid Prime 4 though.
While I would like more powerful hardware theoretically, hardware doesn't always dictate support, policies do. Unlike back when Nintendo actually released powerful hardware during the SNES/N64/GCN days, when they were either neutral or repressive about games for older audiences, they actually embrace it for the Switch and encourage developers to release those sorts of games.
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I don't expect NSW to get 3rd party AAA parity, but I believe it'll beat Wii U in 2018. I just don't see NSW going better than Wii U now. So far it basically has the same level of AAA support that Wii U had.
But in the long term, NSW will be beat both Wii U and 3DS in support in my opinion. It will beat them spectacularly.
On the other hand, for me personally, NSW is 3DS successor and my expectations for it is the same that I'd have for any Nintendo handheld. So, soon enough NSW will have Pokemon, Fire Emblem and other games that will make NSW valuable for me and for many other 3DS players out there. A much better 3DS and with much better Japanese and Western support.
As soon as PS and Xbox get more graphically demanding games, it'll be hard for them to support NSW. PS5 may be just around the corner. Still, NSW have everything to be give us the best in thirdie support in the last 10 years.
But in the long term, NSW will be beat both Wii U and 3DS in support in my opinion. It will beat them spectacularly.
On the other hand, for me personally, NSW is 3DS successor and my expectations for it is the same that I'd have for any Nintendo handheld. So, soon enough NSW will have Pokemon, Fire Emblem and other games that will make NSW valuable for me and for many other 3DS players out there. A much better 3DS and with much better Japanese and Western support.
As soon as PS and Xbox get more graphically demanding games, it'll be hard for them to support NSW. PS5 may be just around the corner. Still, NSW have everything to be give us the best in thirdie support in the last 10 years.
I think y’all are crazy with this. The sales numbers are goin to continue to be good. And as for AAA it’s got DooM, Skyrim, LA Noire (from a AAA dev). And an abundance of lesser 3rd party, and with the AAA platinum Bayonettas next year, aswell as No More Hero’s 3 and that’s just what we know of now.
It’s gonna SMOKE WiiU like a blunt around weed fiends when it comes to 3rd party and 3rd party AAA games. IMO just with the few games it has had AAA or just 3rd party it’s already smoked the WiiU. WiiU wouldn’t and didn’t sniff Skyrim or DooM none of those types of games were even hinted to come.
Now I personally believe AAA is a niche market with just a very handful of games those being GTA / AC / CoD / BF and there aren’t many more than that to me. I don’t know that we get any of those but I think the switch has a much better chance of getting those games than WiiU ever even dreamed of.
It’s gonna SMOKE WiiU like a blunt around weed fiends when it comes to 3rd party and 3rd party AAA games. IMO just with the few games it has had AAA or just 3rd party it’s already smoked the WiiU. WiiU wouldn’t and didn’t sniff Skyrim or DooM none of those types of games were even hinted to come.
Now I personally believe AAA is a niche market with just a very handful of games those being GTA / AC / CoD / BF and there aren’t many more than that to me. I don’t know that we get any of those but I think the switch has a much better chance of getting those games than WiiU ever even dreamed of.
Exactly. I totally believe in the future, I just disagree about the present and past.
Wii U had more AAA 3rd party support in its first 6 months than NSW did.
Besides, releases like Batman, AC and CoD for Wii U were as great back then as Skyrim and Doom for NSW now (even though Skyrim is like retro gaming in my opinion, but whatever, I'm still counting it).
But from 2018 on, I expect NSW to beat both Wii U and 3DS combined.
Wii U had more AAA 3rd party support in its first 6 months than NSW did.
Besides, releases like Batman, AC and CoD for Wii U were as great back then as Skyrim and Doom for NSW now (even though Skyrim is like retro gaming in my opinion, but whatever, I'm still counting it).
But from 2018 on, I expect NSW to beat both Wii U and 3DS combined.
agree and disagree...
agree that 3rd party titles are not the focus, disagree on what AAA is.. a AAA game is just a game with lots of resources behidn that... which could be development budget, marketing, or any other large expense of resources, it is a focus game for the company... so yes, all of the games you mentioend are AAA, but so is Mario + Rabbids, so are ALL of Nintendo's 1st party games
rocket league is an indy title, but doom, skyrim, and wolfenstein 2 are not, nor is botw, mario oddysey, splatoon 2, xbc2, etc...
since nitnendo's own software is all AAA, and nitnendo's own software is the best selling point... of course the switch is a AAA box...
the way I would put it is that it wont have 3rd party parity... or that it isn't a 3rd party parity box
agree that 3rd party titles are not the focus, disagree on what AAA is.. a AAA game is just a game with lots of resources behidn that... which could be development budget, marketing, or any other large expense of resources, it is a focus game for the company... so yes, all of the games you mentioend are AAA, but so is Mario + Rabbids, so are ALL of Nintendo's 1st party games
rocket league is an indy title, but doom, skyrim, and wolfenstein 2 are not, nor is botw, mario oddysey, splatoon 2, xbc2, etc...
since nitnendo's own software is all AAA, and nitnendo's own software is the best selling point... of course the switch is a AAA box...
the way I would put it is that it wont have 3rd party parity... or that it isn't a 3rd party parity box
Portable gaming hardware was still considered very viable back when PSP released, but in 2017 publishers were not convinced that a $300 portable gaming console was going to be successful. With Nintendo coming off the Wii U commercial failure, and seeing that the 3DS had struggled when it launched at $249, I think its fair to be somewhat cautious. Dedicating teams to exclusive software was probably off the board for most publishers, and even Ubisoft knew that using the Mario IP would drastically increase the likelihood for success with their exclusive.
The low hanging fruit is ports to Switch. There are still a lot of quality AAA games from the PS3/360 era that haven't seen the definitive edition treatment just yet, and that will likely be appealing. Porting upgraded versions to Switch is pretty easy, and including the PS4 and X1 is a breeze. THQ Nordic a port machine and I think its only a matter of time before Dark Siders 1 and 2 are announced. I think Dark Siders 3 will eventually come to Switch, but most likely many months after the release on PS4 and X1. All in all though, Switch is seeing a lot of support ramping up, and while it may not be the latest parity with the other consoles, it is at the very least securing more than enough third party AAA support to complement all the first party software that is on the platform.
The low hanging fruit is ports to Switch. There are still a lot of quality AAA games from the PS3/360 era that haven't seen the definitive edition treatment just yet, and that will likely be appealing. Porting upgraded versions to Switch is pretty easy, and including the PS4 and X1 is a breeze. THQ Nordic a port machine and I think its only a matter of time before Dark Siders 1 and 2 are announced. I think Dark Siders 3 will eventually come to Switch, but most likely many months after the release on PS4 and X1. All in all though, Switch is seeing a lot of support ramping up, and while it may not be the latest parity with the other consoles, it is at the very least securing more than enough third party AAA support to complement all the first party software that is on the platform.
To be fair, most Nintendo portable consoles weren't as powerful as the previous generation consoles. They were typically about two generations behind consoles. Switch is a step up from last gen consoles. Switch is the first portable Nintendo released that wasn't using withered tech, and thus making AAA ports like Doom and Skyrim possible.
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Back when I was playing through the Prepare to Die Edition of Dark Souls on PC, I was supposed to write a review. That never happened. But now that the game's getting remastered and coming to Switch, I finally got it out of my system.
http://nintendoenthusiast.com/blog/2018/01/16/let-tell-dark-souls/
http://nintendoenthusiast.com/blog/2018/01/16/let-tell-dark-souls/
Heavily rumored, and most Switch rumors so far have turned out to be right.
Remember, LA Noire, Dark Souls, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and various other Switch projects were just rumors, and Call of Duty managed to sell decently on Wii despite M rated games generally flopping on that console. M rated games are actually selling well on Switch, unlike every past Nintendo console ever, the average Switch owner is a male in his 20s and 30s, and Call of Duty is a popular M rated franchise that appeals to males in their 20s and 30s. Quick mafs. It would be stupid to not port Call of Duty to Switch.
Remember, LA Noire, Dark Souls, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, and various other Switch projects were just rumors, and Call of Duty managed to sell decently on Wii despite M rated games generally flopping on that console. M rated games are actually selling well on Switch, unlike every past Nintendo console ever, the average Switch owner is a male in his 20s and 30s, and Call of Duty is a popular M rated franchise that appeals to males in their 20s and 30s. Quick mafs. It would be stupid to not port Call of Duty to Switch.
Sure, COD is rumored. But I wouldn't say anything doesn't "hold up" until there's an outright confirmation.
On the plus side, BO is a Treyarch joint, and they seem to like Nintendo. If the series is going to come over to the Switch, this would be the time (on a roll selling machines + favorable developer). This guy seems pretty damn convinced, whoever the hell he is.
OTOH, it isn't like Activision isn't paying attention to the competition. We only have VGC to go by (which means a looooot of salt to pinch), but they've tracked a game like DOOM at about 250K copies. The reason COD ever saw sustained releases on Nintendo's hardware is because COD3* sold over 2 million copies at launch on Wii.
[*I can't find the old GAF link, but the Treyarch dev that posted there said COD3 was ported by like 4 people over a weekend for Wii. That made the ROI too high to ignore. A lot more effort was poured into DOOM, and there is precisely zero chance the profit margin has any resemblance.]
But COD is COD...it has the brand name in FPS, and has for many years now. Since DOOM apparently didn't touch blockbuster status on other consoles, it's possible that Activision has looked at the shooter market on Switch and thinks they can get COD3-sized profits. I'm a bit bearish on that idea, though, because COD3 was released in the pre-Modern Warfare era, with comparable numbers to what DOOM pulled off.
If Activision thinks they'll sell 250K or so copies? I doubt they'd bother, tbh.
On the plus side, BO is a Treyarch joint, and they seem to like Nintendo. If the series is going to come over to the Switch, this would be the time (on a roll selling machines + favorable developer). This guy seems pretty damn convinced, whoever the hell he is.
OTOH, it isn't like Activision isn't paying attention to the competition. We only have VGC to go by (which means a looooot of salt to pinch), but they've tracked a game like DOOM at about 250K copies. The reason COD ever saw sustained releases on Nintendo's hardware is because COD3* sold over 2 million copies at launch on Wii.
[*I can't find the old GAF link, but the Treyarch dev that posted there said COD3 was ported by like 4 people over a weekend for Wii. That made the ROI too high to ignore. A lot more effort was poured into DOOM, and there is precisely zero chance the profit margin has any resemblance.]
But COD is COD...it has the brand name in FPS, and has for many years now. Since DOOM apparently didn't touch blockbuster status on other consoles, it's possible that Activision has looked at the shooter market on Switch and thinks they can get COD3-sized profits. I'm a bit bearish on that idea, though, because COD3 was released in the pre-Modern Warfare era, with comparable numbers to what DOOM pulled off.
If Activision thinks they'll sell 250K or so copies? I doubt they'd bother, tbh.
DOOM on Switch sold about as well as the other versions at launch, and bearing in mind it was a full priced port running at a similar resolution as Rage on PS360 and less than half the framerate with various glitches, that's not bad.
Call of Duty was already pretty popular by the time 3 hit. Not as popular as Modern Warfare, but it was pretty freaking big still from what I remember from my 3rd grade years. Call of Duty 2 was one of the 360's best selling launch titles.
And to be honest, that doesn't surprise me, and it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case for the Wii U titles as well. The game's framerate was pretty terrible on Wii. Hopefully, they put more effort into Switch (900p 60 FPS docked, dynamic 720p 60 FPS undocked).
Call of Duty was already pretty popular by the time 3 hit. Not as popular as Modern Warfare, but it was pretty freaking big still from what I remember from my 3rd grade years. Call of Duty 2 was one of the 360's best selling launch titles.
And to be honest, that doesn't surprise me, and it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case for the Wii U titles as well. The game's framerate was pretty terrible on Wii. Hopefully, they put more effort into Switch (900p 60 FPS docked, dynamic 720p 60 FPS undocked).
I was right. I didn't think COD was coming last year, and it didn't. Switch is selling better than I had anticipated, and that gotten the attention of some of the bigger publishers, but lets keep it real, so far the release schedule from EA, Ubisoft and Activision isn't an overwhelming abundance of support. South Park Fractured But Whole is cool and all, but its a game that isn't really pushing the tech of current gen consoles, and this makes the port more accessible. If COD comes to Switch, it wont be at 60fps, it will be at 30fps just like the Wii ports. You are pretty optimistic when you toss around 900p 60fps docked, does the Xbox One even hold that?
I stand by my original bullet point, Nintendo needed to make the Switch a success with their own internal resources, and look for partners who would actually commit to make top content for the Switch. Watered down Assassins Creed isn't going to be all that popular on Switch, but Mario Rabbids has done very well. My whole point early on was that games like COD wouldn't be any more important to Switch than they were to Wii U. With games like Bayonetta 3 and Travis Strikes Again No more Heros it seems to me that Nintendo and I were on the same page. They aren't afraid to fund projects that bring something to the table. Exclusives are attractive, paying for ports of COD and AC wouldn't change the Switch's fortunes in a meaningful way.
As I have clarified in this thread before, I am not saying Switch is better off without those games, addition by subtraction doesn't work, and those titles would be welcomed additions to the library, but Switch can survive and do rather well even without them.
I stand by my original bullet point, Nintendo needed to make the Switch a success with their own internal resources, and look for partners who would actually commit to make top content for the Switch. Watered down Assassins Creed isn't going to be all that popular on Switch, but Mario Rabbids has done very well. My whole point early on was that games like COD wouldn't be any more important to Switch than they were to Wii U. With games like Bayonetta 3 and Travis Strikes Again No more Heros it seems to me that Nintendo and I were on the same page. They aren't afraid to fund projects that bring something to the table. Exclusives are attractive, paying for ports of COD and AC wouldn't change the Switch's fortunes in a meaningful way.
As I have clarified in this thread before, I am not saying Switch is better off without those games, addition by subtraction doesn't work, and those titles would be welcomed additions to the library, but Switch can survive and do rather well even without them.
Advanced Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered, aka the only well optimized COD games on Xbox One, run between 1360x1080p and 1920x1080p. So far, a lot of rumors about ports have been true, including LA Noire, Dark Souls, and South Park. I believe DOOM started out as a rumor too. Watered down Skyrim sold really well and watered down DOOM sold about as well as the full fat PC version at launch. Also, the Wii U ports ran with unlocked framerates and those were made super quickly, so I imagine the Switch could run much closer to 60 FPS. If they can't hit a solid 60, target a perceptual 60 like the 360 games.
I highly doubt that Assassin's Creed wouldn't be popular on Switch. The average age in the audience is much older than any past Nintendo console, the marketing is catered towards older audiences and 3rd party games are being well marketed, and there's a high demand for ports, to the point where mainstream news sites are asking for them as opposed to, or in addition to, Nintendo fan boards. I mean, Chance the Rapper asked for a Fortnite port.
EA is probably off the table due to their grudge and because nobody wanted to buy their crap FIFA "port." Ubisoft, despite making a lot of money off Mario + Rabbids, is still skeptical to take any gambles since they lost a lot of money from supporting the Wii U pretty extensively; they released the largest amount of AAA titles, even if they all ran poorly. If the rumors about Diablo III and Call of Duty are true, Activision is taking a big gamble, though there's still no Destiny...then again, Destiny 2 was in development long before the Switch announcement.
I highly doubt that Assassin's Creed wouldn't be popular on Switch. The average age in the audience is much older than any past Nintendo console, the marketing is catered towards older audiences and 3rd party games are being well marketed, and there's a high demand for ports, to the point where mainstream news sites are asking for them as opposed to, or in addition to, Nintendo fan boards. I mean, Chance the Rapper asked for a Fortnite port.
EA is probably off the table due to their grudge and because nobody wanted to buy their crap FIFA "port." Ubisoft, despite making a lot of money off Mario + Rabbids, is still skeptical to take any gambles since they lost a lot of money from supporting the Wii U pretty extensively; they released the largest amount of AAA titles, even if they all ran poorly. If the rumors about Diablo III and Call of Duty are true, Activision is taking a big gamble, though there's still no Destiny...then again, Destiny 2 was in development long before the Switch announcement.
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Again, with the usual VGC caveats and large pinches of salt...
DOOM allegedly sold about 455K in its first week, then almost another 200K, on PS4. Its total LTD on Switch isn't even up to week one PS4. That isn't selling about as well. Or close.
COD wasn't COD until 4. COD2 was successful for its time, but it wasn't close to what is expected of the franchise now.
They put a lot of effort into the Wii games, post-success of COD3. The Wii U games were honestly probably more quick-port/less optimized efforts than their predecessors, despite having so much more graphical polish (although they tried their best to balance out the U games, between IR aiming and the aim-assist happy DA programming they could get away with on other consoles).
But that's neither here there nor there. The games aren't on Switch because they didn't sell on Wii U. I think there's a chance for them to be on Switch, but it depends on what Activision considers a worthwhile ROI.
DOOM allegedly sold about 455K in its first week, then almost another 200K, on PS4. Its total LTD on Switch isn't even up to week one PS4. That isn't selling about as well. Or close.
COD wasn't COD until 4. COD2 was successful for its time, but it wasn't close to what is expected of the franchise now.
They put a lot of effort into the Wii games, post-success of COD3. The Wii U games were honestly probably more quick-port/less optimized efforts than their predecessors, despite having so much more graphical polish (although they tried their best to balance out the U games, between IR aiming and the aim-assist happy DA programming they could get away with on other consoles).
But that's neither here there nor there. The games aren't on Switch because they didn't sell on Wii U. I think there's a chance for them to be on Switch, but it depends on what Activision considers a worthwhile ROI.
I'm pretty sure that counts for download sales, whereas DOOM Switch's purported sales didn't account for downloads.
There was basically no reason to play them on Wii U. There wasn't the take it anywhere portable factor the Switch has, the framerate was worse than the PS360 versions (often to the point of going below 30 FPS at times in the campaigns), and DLC support was bad. If you had a 360 and bought Black Ops II or Ghosts on Wii U, you may have well been duping yourself, and showing support wasn't really worth it since long run sales of the console itself were poor.
If rumors are true and Activision is porting Diablo III, Call of Duty would also be a no-brainer.
And yeah, I could imagine the amount of effort it took to get the post COD 3 COD titles running at a any framerate at all on Wii. COD 3 was easy since it was already on PS2, a console that also didn't support programmable shaders, but later COD titles were designed with things like normal mapping and specular mapping in mind, it was probably a huge job, on top of having to release on the same day as the (sub) HD versions.
There was basically no reason to play them on Wii U. There wasn't the take it anywhere portable factor the Switch has, the framerate was worse than the PS360 versions (often to the point of going below 30 FPS at times in the campaigns), and DLC support was bad. If you had a 360 and bought Black Ops II or Ghosts on Wii U, you may have well been duping yourself, and showing support wasn't really worth it since long run sales of the console itself were poor.
If rumors are true and Activision is porting Diablo III, Call of Duty would also be a no-brainer.
And yeah, I could imagine the amount of effort it took to get the post COD 3 COD titles running at a any framerate at all on Wii. COD 3 was easy since it was already on PS2, a console that also didn't support programmable shaders, but later COD titles were designed with things like normal mapping and specular mapping in mind, it was probably a huge job, on top of having to release on the same day as the (sub) HD versions.
Black Ops 4 officially skipping Switch pretty much confirms my early thoughts on third parties and Switch. No matter how successful Switch is, the big third party publishers are cautious with the platform. Doom and Wolfenstein 2 are proof that porting 1080p 60fps PS4 games to Switch is very possible, and here were are with COD skipping the 2nd most popular console in the world. Yes, Switch will likely surpass One sales over the next 12 months. This is why I made the originally post, Nintendo needs to foster positive relationships that bring games like Bayonetta 3 to the platform. Creating a relationship with Bethesda has been positive Skyrim has done very well, and getting Doom and Wolfenstein 2 on Switch helps foster a more robust widespread consumer appeal for the platform.
Basically, Nintendo didn't need to beg for shit third party ports. They wouldn't make a big difference, but partnering with third parties who are serious about bringing high quality, especially original content needed to be the goal.
Switch is a smash success a little over a year in, and it wasn't because of COD and Assassins Creed or Batman. Nintendo doubled down on its own strengths, partnered with quality developers, and is taking the world by storm because of it.
Basically, Nintendo didn't need to beg for shit third party ports. They wouldn't make a big difference, but partnering with third parties who are serious about bringing high quality, especially original content needed to be the goal.
Switch is a smash success a little over a year in, and it wasn't because of COD and Assassins Creed or Batman. Nintendo doubled down on its own strengths, partnered with quality developers, and is taking the world by storm because of it.