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LuckyTrouble on 19 December 2016
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RolStoppable said:
LuckyTrouble said:

Because making a game with a primary goal of porting it to significantly inferior hardware is a ridiculous development strategy. It just means the final product will be an inferior experience on two consoles. I don't exactly define that as everybody winning or smart development aimed at consumer satisfaction. They also risk undermining PS4 version sales by porting that version to the Switch, particularly if Japan does actually jump all over the dockable tablet. They still have to justify the creation of the PS4 version, and if both versions are available on two different Nintendo handhelds, the PS4 version will be dead in the water. That's a great way to guarantee the PS4 version will release internationally, I guess.

So yeah, I'm not jumping all over this strange idea that developers are putting all their eggs into the yet unknown basket of the Switch and sacrificing performance of future releases exclusively for an unreleased console.

That's what I suspected. You are throwing a fit because you want to buy the PS4 version. That's why your arguments make little sense.

I mean, look at this. Apparently the justification for a PS4 version is to invest as much money as possible in its development, rather than making it a reasonable investment to provide a version for PlayStation which has played second fiddle in Japan since quite some time.

Coolio. Dismiss a rational argument because you expect the Switch to be some ideal fantasy of handheld and console brought to fruition.

So far your argument has been "of course they're bringing the PS4 version to Switch because of course." If that seems like a rational argument following understanding of smart game development, more power to you. I guess I'll leave some ideas for you to consider. I don't expect a respectful response back after your last post, so feel free not to quote me further.

1) Why make a PS4 version at all if it was such a waste of budget to begin with? An argument saying the PS4 version will be lesser for the sake of the Switch ultimately makes the PS4 development nonsense. They easily could have gotten away with just making the 3DS version if this was a concern, and I doubt the PS4 version was decided on after an extensive talk with Nintendo about how badly they wanted a pretty version of DQ XI on the Switch.

2) Your argument basically ignores game development practices as a whole. Porting up is common. It's why we have seen so many remasters, and it basically defines multiplats brought to PC. We don't see many AAA games developed for PC first and then ported to weaker consoles later. Instead we see games made for consoles ported to PC. The standard for downporting is relatively small and tends to stay between similar hardware, such as PS4 to Xbox One, where one doesn't have a truly significant advantage over the other. If what we currently know about the Switch is true, some massive, almost unacceptable degrees of downporting may be required to bring DQ XI PS4 to the Switch, particularly when considering handheld mode. Game development trends say this is not a likely move.

3) When already making a handheld version, how does it not make more sense to pretty up that version than to tear down the bigger version? When you could make an HD version of the 3DS game that will still run and look great even in portable mode on the Switch, what benefit is there to bringing a version of the game that will kill portable battery life and potentially feature widely criticized resolution and framerate issues? One approach from the development perspective is safe, while the other carries much more risk.

I'm not blowing smoke here with an unreasonable argument. Worst case for me is that I'm pleasantly surprised to find the PS4 version does actually run acceptably on the Switch. Worst case for the hopefuls is that they have to accept that the Switch really will just be another underpowered Nintendo machine that failed to live up to their expectations. Keep expectations just low enough that you won't be disappointed, and life is better.