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Forums - Nintendo - EA on why FIFA 18 isn’t using Frostbite on Switch, will be better than last-gen version

pokoko on 29 August 2017

It's a lot less messy to build up than to build down.

If you're going to create something that's in the middle then you take the lesser version and you customize it rather than using the greater version.



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Johnw1104 on 29 August 2017

I'm actually a little impressed that they went through the effort of making an engine specifically for this.

I don't have some love affair with Frostbite that makes this disappointing for me; that they have a fully fledged game running that well is all I was hoping for here. Obviously they could have gotten Frostbite working on the Switch, but it probably would have required a number of sacrifices.

It's a shame it lacks the story mode, though, as that doesn't seem like a hardware issue but rather just a "we ran out of time" issue.

Even though they're EA, I think people should give some credit when it's due... they didn't completely half-ass this game as many of us had expected lol



jonathanalis on 29 August 2017

The result is amazing



potato_hamster on 29 August 2017
archer9234 said:
Nautilus said:
If they really wanted, they could have made the frostbite run on the Switch.But that came with two problems: the investment might not have compensated, because the Switch could have been a dud(We didnt know that until about 2 or 3 months ago), and optimizing the engine could mean that they would not be able to release FIFA on time with the other versions, and they could not afford to lose the chance to release a football game, the most popular sport of them all, in a system first year.

If FIFA turns out to be a success, and given the breakout success of the Switch, we may see the Frostbite running on Switch by next year.

But they make a custom game engine. Isn't that more work.

That depends. If it means making an engine for the ground up, then yes, it almost definitely is. However, that's incredibly unlikely. I think "custom engine" means modying a less complicated, less resource heavy engine to work on the switch, which would be far less work.

I mean it's pretty likely the frostbite engines running on PS4 and X1 are very slightly different, which means by definition they're "custom engines" as well, for example.



Shiken on 29 August 2017
VGPolyglot said:
Yeah, it's obvious that it can't handle what the PS4 and Xbox One can. However, that's to be expected. Which is why I probably won't be getting multiplats on Switch, unless that's the only place they get a physical release.

To me, portability trumps all unless ut is actually a lesser game because of it (which is not the case im everything we have seen so far).  For that reason, all of my multiplats will be on the Switch by default, when available.

 

I have my PS4 for the games that don't.



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VGPolyglot on 29 August 2017
Shiken said:
VGPolyglot said:
Yeah, it's obvious that it can't handle what the PS4 and Xbox One can. However, that's to be expected. Which is why I probably won't be getting multiplats on Switch, unless that's the only place they get a physical release.

To me, portability trumps all unless ut is actually a lesser game because of it (which is not the case im everything we have seen so far).  For that reason, all of my multiplats will be on the Switch by default, when available.

 

I have my PS4 for the games that don't.

For the Switch, I always prefer playing docked, so the portability aspect isn't really a selling point for me.



superchunk on 29 August 2017

All I get out of this is that their Frostbite engine is not architected well or they just has bias to ensure Switch had "something going against it" in typical EA fashion.

1) EA has a history of putting lower effort on Nintendo platforms so that they can use their data to get out of contracts that force them to create Sports/SW IP on these platforms.
2) Creating an engine just for FIFA also allows them to not easily port other Frostbite based games like Madden, SW, etc. Another data point to not supporting Switch for EA in long-run.
3) All other major game engines have been updated to perform well on Switch and PS4/XOne. Its not a technical limitation.

However, from all videos I've seen so far, FIFA18 looks to be a really solid experience on Switch. So its entirely possible I'm just being a negative Nancy towards EA. #UnprecedentedSupport



AZWification on 29 August 2017

I don't really mind the lack of Frostbite, FIFA 18 already looks better than I expected.



                
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Mr Puggsly on 29 August 2017
Nuvendil said:
...they do remember that Frostbite was a PS360 engine first, right? Also, hilarious they argue didn't want to have a cut down version but then excluded the story mode from the Switch version. Grade A logic on display here.
                               
"FIFA 18's Nintendo Switch, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions aren't powered by DICE's Frostbite 3 engine, and won't have the Journey: Hunter Returns story mode. "

http://www.tweaktown.com/news/57869/fifa-18-switch-story-mode-frostbite-support/index.html


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Moac on 29 August 2017

I am very impressed by the Switch , its basically a significantly more powerful Xbox 360/Ps3/wii-u but that is also a Handheld console. A HANDHELD!!!
I might buy the Fifa game only because I noticed that I play way more on my Switch than I have on any other Console or my Gaming PC.