Will Switch get third party support post PS5?

[Jumpin]

Kai_Mao said:

If the Switch is selling like gangbusters without the majority of the AAA third party support on PS4/Xbone, would it really change that much with PS5/XB series X?

Outside of The Witcher 3, Rocket League, MK11, etc., those ports not common and even games that appear like no-brainer ports (i.e., Persona 5 (OG or Royal), SFV: CE, GTAV or even GTAIV, COD4MW (the remaster, not the 2019 reboot), Madden, etc.) are pies in the sky at this point.

It's a frustrating thing because the Switch is successful, but most higher-profile developers are giving little #$%^&. Fortunately, the Switch is doing its thing and selling really well. Even in 2018 when the Switch had a "down" year of only Super Mario Party, Pokemon Let's Go, Mario Tennis Aces, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it was still selling well against games like Spiderman, God of War (2018), Monster Hunter World, and Red Dead Redemption 2 that were sold on the other consoles.

So what if the next-gen consoles are 10x (maybe exaggerated?) more powerful than Switch? If the Animal Crossing version of the Switch means anything, is that games matter and there are people out there that Nintendo can market their console towards.

If power and specs were the main reason consoles have to be successful and maintain their success, the Nintendo DS wouldn't be the 2nd best-selling console of all-time nor the Wii wouldn't have reached 100+ million and reach a completely new audience.

The main thing that would be a problem is if third party developers end up not taking advantage of the huge install base of the Switch (looking at you Capcom and, to a smaller extent, EA).

To be fair, AAA games have never really been a major thing on Nintendo hardware. It’s not a good fit. Additionally, the AAA industry has peaked. It’s not seeing the same sales as it once did. And while it’s not likely to decline, it’s period of growth is over. AAA games has their niche carved out. The present and foreseeable future for growth opportunity is in live service games.

Games like Breath of the Wild and the Witcher are and are not AAA games. While they have a large budget, large dev time, and large teams, that is not really their business model, it’s more what they did to realize their artistic vision. The AAA industry looks for predictable annual income based on release schedule cadence for particular brands. This is why we get Call of Duty and Madden games every year. Technically, they develop a trunk for years and the individual releases are branches. So when thinking about AAA games, they might have over a decade of development and 5+ releases (usually more with all the expansions and side projects). AAA is more about the studio and dev team than the actual game releases. The AAA game is simply the final product of that “A lot of time, A lot of resources, A lot of money” philosophy of the studio/team.

If I understand Microsoft correctly, they’re primarily heading to war in the live service industry along with Apple and Google. Sony is reconquering/has reconquered the AAA industry, while Nintendo is probably going to chase opportunity in mostly everything else; if it is low to no competition, Nintendo will probably try it if it makes sense. Another way to describe it is the creative zone of gaming (which includes Indy, casual, motion, and even retro, but also big budget games that are unique and a gamble).

Last edited by Jumpin - on 06 February 2020