Somebody in the Industry Says Something Smart...

[LightyKD]

All aboard?!?! Nintendo Switch support train to 2028, here we come!

With all the nonsense going on around the upcoming next Nintendo console, finally an adult steps in and speaks with some damn common sense. In a recent interview with videogamer.com, The Patrick Star Game’s production director, Chris Rose talks about why it's still important to continue support for the Nintendo Switch and XBox One.

Source here: https://www.videogamer.com/news/spongebob-dev-urges-developers-to-not-abandon-nintendo-switch/

 

[Xzi]

No real surprise there, Nintendo themselves can make due with less power for the majority of first-party stuff. You won't be getting many newer third-party AAA games, but indies will certainly want to continue releasing on the platform for at least three more years.

 

[CMDreamer]

The main success for the Switch are Indie games, and that's not going to stop in the near future.

Would love to see the Switch being supported solely for Indie games for some more years still.

 

[LightyKD]

2024 started off with the Switch feeling more like the Wii. Endless Ocean, Another Code and Princess Peach Showtime. I fucking LOVED it! If there was ever a time for quirky, Iwata-style, experimental Nintendo to make a return, this is it. Sure they can stay all corporate and AAA on the next system but the current platform can easily shift to the wacky, let your hair down and be crazy machine. Hell, why not release a few easy ended VR games?! And before someone says VR was bad, it wasn't. BOTW's main issue was not having the UI expanded for your eyes. Mario Odyssey did VR-UI very well on the Switch.

VR, motion gaming, indies and ports of PS3/360 games that Nintendo gamers never played would be amazing for the next 3-5 years of the Switch!

 

[JustABadger]

Whenever a new games I’m interested in comes out, the first thing I think is “can my switch play it?” and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I would argue that the gaming tech progress between 2017 and 2024 is a lot less important than the one between 2011 and 2017. The console is showing more age than it should because of developers’ incompetence in porting anything properly for hardware less powerful than the PCs worth thousands of dollars they use. Handhelds like the Steam Deck have made the decision to pick a Switch since 2022 obsolete other than the specific need of a slightly smaller console. Can’t even say anything about “prices” because, in the long run, a Steam Deck is effectively a lot cheaper than a Switch. Not even the used market can help there.

Our only saviour is AI. Once it becomes good enough for people to comfortably code with, bringing the optimisation we desperately need (not just for the Switch, but for everyone), I would be willing to say that we could see some unlikely ports for newer titles, for much older consoles.

 

[Veho]

I didn't know publishers needed "urging" to keep supporting a console with a 150 million userbase. Switch is still getting too many games to count and is far from being abandoned. Yes, some AAA titles are being reworked to launch on Switch's successor, but the majority are still developing for, and releasing on, the Switch.

 

[Deleted member 719522]

If the Switch 2 is indeed backwards compatible and you don't need the extra processing power then releasing your game on the Switch 2 rather than the Switch limits your potential audience for no good reason.

 

[Bladexdsl]

it will be the switch U another shitty underpowered tablet that will barely more powerful than the current pos. it will have all switch ports which will be released at FULL price and will once again by a nindie machine. don't expect it to be able to do 4k/60 it will never happen with them archaic dinosaurs who are stuck in the OLD WAYS and only care what japan wants and needs which is mobile garbage and nindies. that company DIED with iwata it's just another heartless global Japanese conglomerate now all about business.

 

[Robert Newbie]

I argued in another thread that it would have been smart for Sony to continue support for the PS4, but Sony is chasing the cutting edge, so they can't pull a Nintendo and hang on for an extra year or two. Meanwhile, the Switch is doing well despite being about seven years old, and the PS4 is still getting indie releases.

 

[LightyKD]

I argued in another thread that it would have been smart for Sony to continue support for the PS4, but Sony is chasing the cutting edge, so they can't pull a Nintendo and hang on for an extra year or two. Meanwhile, the Switch is doing well despite being about seven years old, and the PS4 is still getting indie releases.

I don't believe any system should "just die". If a platform has a large user base and people are still actively online, you might as well keep printing money by porting games to the platform.

 

[Robert Newbie]

I don't believe any system should "just die". If a platform has a large user base and people are still actively online, you might as well keep printing money by porting games to the platform.

It's an interesting subject, and I appreciate that the article was a quick read. The question is what kind of quality consumers should expect.

The whole argument reminds me of that Frozen game that came out for the DS: Two years after the 3DS released. There was still a market there.

Even if the Switch continues to get games PS2-style up through 2028, I wouldn't expect anything high profile. Maybe mid range to shovelware quality from the bigger companies. Indies are where the quality will vary the most, from amazing on down. That's what I'd expect, but I'm just guessing based on earlier generations.

 

[CMDreamer]

The Switch on its own terms has destroyed all competitors, so having more games for some years to come would be a clever move from Nintendo.

 

[KingVamp]

As someone said, PS4 is still getting releases. So, I'm sure at least indies will still support it, especially if the next console has BC.

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

it will be the switch U another shitty underpowered tablet that will barely more powerful than the current pos. it will have all switch ports which will be released at FULL price and will once again by a nindie machine. don't expect it to be able to do 4k/60 it will never happen with them archaic dinosaurs who are stuck in the OLD WAYS and only care what japan wants and needs which is mobile garbage and nindies. that company DIED with iwata it's just another heartless global Japanese conglomerate now all about business.

How upset will you be when it becomes the best selling system ever made?