I know its odd that people are questioning which version NS will be based on. PS4 version is nothing technically compelling. Looks like a good game, but this is certainly a "easy" port for NS.

I think we just have very different definitions. PS4 and X1 are usually easy ports, but even then devs have spent a lot of time optimizing. 

It's very naive that just dropping the resolution to 720p would suddenly make the game run. I'm not sure how Square is going to make money on this when they have to essentially make 2.5 versions of the same game.

This game has been confirmed for a while now, twice by the series creator.

Yuji Horii is great at revealing game releases before publishers are ready. I remember when he announced DQ VII and VIII 3DS were coming West long before SE ever made an official announcement. Apparently SE was not happy with him over that one and they were probably mad again when Horii just casually dropped they were looking at an NX version long before we even knew that the NX was the Switch.

As for what version will get ported, after seeing the Digital Foundry CPU and GPU breakdown in another thread, I'm pretty much convinced they will just rework the 3DS version instead of going through the pains of downporting the PS4 version. I know people are trying to say the PS4 version of DQ XI that is still potentially most of a year from release isn't visually impressive (the DQ XI trailer just said "2017" without any specifics), but could anybody legitimately see that running even at 720p on a gimped Wii U? Because so far it's sounding like "gimped Wii U" will define the portable Switch mode.

Like I said in another thread, a port much like what SE did to bring KH: 3D to the PS4 seems very likely in this scenario.

The difference to be honest isn't that large. A port should be possible, DQXI is not pushing the PS4 to its peak, and it's likely running at 1080p on PS4. 

720p (docked) and 480p-540p (undocked) for Switch should be doable with a reduction in some effects. 

I'll try to avoid restating this too much, but it's worth considering that DQ XI still has upwards of 12 months of development left to stay in the vague 2017 release window. Breath of the Wild is probably just about finalized and should be out in a few months. I would expect the PS4 version of DQ XI to take a pretty drastic step forward visually by the time we're looking at the final build. After all, the gameplay video was still clearly rough around the edges with a lot of rendering tweaks yet to be done.

That almost never happens (a game's graphics dramatically improving in t-minus 12 months). 

Besides the game is likely not pushing the PS4 very hard for the precise reason that they want to be able to make a Switch port out of it. This isn't Final Fantasy, they are going to have to make the bulk of their money from Japan and Switch is likely going to outsell the PS4 fairly quickly in Japan. 

There's not much motivation to make the game so graphically intense (DQ has never been about graphics anyway) that it can't be run on a Switch. 

Because maybe, just maybe, the PS4 version is meant to be large and visually impressive while the 3DS version is meant to cater to the handheld crowd. Why make a handheld version and then gimp the console version so it can be ported to another handheld? That seems like nonsense development more than anything else.

I wonder if it will release the same day as the 3DS and PS4 version.

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.