Developing on the Nintendo Switch is a struggle, according to developer

THQ Nordic's Development Director Reinhard Pollice discussed a myriad of topics in an interview with Game Industry, most notably their experience with the latest console from Nintendo. During the interview he had this to say about their experiences:

"We've been in touch with [Nintendo] about Switch for more than a year, so we've been looking at it for our current line-up and... we look wherever it's possible. It's a bit sad that they haven't gone out with a more beefy hardware but it is what it is, so we just have to work our way around it."


According to Reinhard Pollice, THQ Nordic has tried to port some of its older games to the system, but the process hasn't been as smooth as they would have liked.

One of the games they ported, Battle Chasers, a 2D turn-based RPG, was a 'challenge'. The game is expected to launch on the Switch in the summer of 2017. The open-world RPG Elex is currently 'too demanding for the system' according to Pollice.

The Nintendo Switch, which is powered by an Nvidia processor is weaker than both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It remains to be seen how future titles will perform on the system with such limited capability. Even with that said, the system has been well received by consumers, with sales of over 2.7 million units since March, and some analysts expecting it to outsell its competitors.

Other urls found in this thread:

mynintendonews.com/2017/06/30/ign-france-says-steep-for-nintendo-switch-is-in-trouble/
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

>THQ Nordic
and?

>they can't even port a 2D game because of how shit the """console""" is

>and
The switch is garbage

sounds like bullshit
every other dev said it was pretty smooth

>One of the games they ported, Battle Chasers, a 2D turn-based RPG, was a 'challenge'

Oh come on.

Bullshit

Have you thought that maybe, just MAYBE, THQ Nordic are actually... a bunch of hacks?

>unity
And no one was surprised lol

Sonybros not even once

>they can't even port a 2D game because of how shit they are
fixd

It can never be nintendo's fault right ?

>be dev
>can't be bothered to port a 2D rpg
>whatever I'll just say the switch is too weak
Pretty smart of them I must say

so what you're implying is that this 2D game is more demanding than Mario Kart 8?

It's actually not because of the power but because it is a clusterfuck of a system

it can never be the developers fault right ?

It's always Nintendo's fault right? Right?

Seriously how can you excuse the devs for this one? MK8D is 3D and runs at a smooth 60. They have literally NO EXCUSE

SO, you posted the same article in another thread and got btfo, so you try your luck again?

You must be a pretty damn upset autist

Nah, it's the clusterfuck of an engine that is unity. Switch is relatively less of a clusterfuck than the Wii U, given it runs on modern x86 architecture

>mario kart
>demanding
wow

Black sony fan

NINTENDO BTFO

But in all seriousness did anyone not see this coming? The Switch is the Wii U 2.0 Except this time people actually fell for the gimmick

>2D turn-based RPG
>more demanding than mario kart
Wow, you sure are desperate to excuse the devs. Why?

NOOO you can't say that, it's the dev's fault it's never nintendo i swear

>it's one of those "nintendo fans dismiss every developer that has a problem with Nintendo and then complains that they didn't support the system later years down the road after they didn't support them" thread

The Switch is the Wii 2.0 Except this time with more weeb games

>it's the wii u except people bought it
So...it's not the Wii U?

>literally who dev complains that new tech is too challenging for their outsourced pajeets

wow made me think

Steep by Ubisoft is on the brink of cancellation too cus they can't get it running well enough.

Nintendo actually have stepped in to try and salvage it apparently.

>Not being able to run at even 720p30

This fucking hardware man.

To be fair, Nintendo is pretty notorious for bad documentation and support on their systems and being more open about the system with 1st party developers under them.

That was part of the reason why a lot of 1st party games on the N64 looked pretty damn great, and 3rd party stuff looked a lot more ass.

Maybe when every other devs had no problem (outside of porting huge console games, Switch is still a portable console), then that might not be Nintendo's fault.

source for reason

>wii u
No 3rd party games , therefore nobody bought it past launch window
>switch
no 3rd party games therefore nobody will buy it past launch window when people start getting tired of zelda 24-7 and rehash city

Literally zero relevant games.

>blaming the tool
lmao

So what? Even Disgaea, another 2D rpg that features far more enemies on screen at once runs okay on the switch. I really see why they can't port it besides unity and laziness.

Then again another unity RPG is on the switch

>Nippon Ichi Software president Sohei Niikawa participated in interviews with both 4Gamer and Famitsu. In talking with both sites, he discussed Disgaea 5 Complete and Switch development.
>First, on 4Gamer, Niikawa touched on porting from PS4 to Switch. Regarding that, he said the difficulty varies depending on how each studio approaches development. It was relatively smooth for Disgaea. There was nothing NIS had to downgrade, and he noted that even in portable mode, the experience still remain same as PS4 version.
>On Famitsu, Niikawa explained why Disgaea 5 was chosen as NIS’ first title. Since it’s the company’s debut game on Switch and at launch, they felt it would be a big hurdle to bring out something completely new. A project was therefore chosen which would be smooth to port, and NIS thought it would be better to release its key product.
>Aside from that, Disgaea 5 was originally exclusive to PlayStation 4 and you can play it with Vita using Remote Play, but it wasn’t really a game for a portable device. However, NIS received many requests to port it to Vita. But if there was a Vita port, it would be necessary to downgrade the game. Since there has been high demand for Disgaea 5 to be on portable device, porting it to Switch would be a way of satisfying Nippon Ichi’s customers and fulfilling their demands.
>Famitsu further questioned whether porting to Switch went smoothly. He reconfirmed that this was the case. There weren’t any issues with the hardware, and no downgrades were made.
>When asked if NIS will make more games for Switch, Niikawa responded with a solid yes. The company won’t just make a game for launch and call it quits. Niikawa asks gamers to look forward to an announcement in the future.

really makes you think

Not to bring up console war faggotry, but the PS3 actually was a clusterfuck with it's architecture. But devs didn't seem to have a problem with that.

it's just a bad idea to try to port games with hardware this asymmetrical idk why they would complain when going this was readily apparent before they even got to the the devkit.

but this isn't a PS4 thread.

mynintendonews.com/2017/06/30/ign-france-says-steep-for-nintendo-switch-is-in-trouble/

The full source and interview is in le french

friendly reminder your 1080ti is holding back video games
get better hardware fags

>nobody will buy it past the launch window
Isn't the launch window already over? And isn't there Pokemon next year? Do people still believe the shit they spew?

Why don't Neptunia look like Horizon Zero Dawn? Is it because anime is more demanding?

D-DELETE THIS RIGHT NOW

So where did all those third parties go, Nintenbros? I thought you said you guys were gonna get Dark Souls and all those other third party games? So where are they?

Or maybe they're all jumping ship after seeing what a flop the hardware is and realizing they can't put any of their games on it without severe downgrades and stupid hardware gimmicks, just like the WiiU.

Boy, I bet you all feel real stupid falling for the same, exact 'omg lookit all the third parties who're gonna be putting games on it!' trick a second time, huh Nintenbros?

Yes? I read it, they said nothing about power. Is that part your fanfiction or something?

>It's a bit sad that Nintendo isn't using a 2023 chipset for their 2017 console
What kind of fucking spaghetti code does that game run on?

Didn't these guys go bankrupt?

Nintendo does some stupid shit sometimes, but when every other dev is gushing about how easy it is to work with the Switch hearing one say it's difficult makes one skeptical.

Considering ports to the PS3 either didn't happen (rarely) or were blatantly inferior to their 360 versions (very common) for a good chunk of that generation, I'd say they did have some problems.

this has (almost) always been nintendo's strat. Pump out shit hardware and make up for it thanks to programming expertise and mastery of the system.

>people still demand every single game to be out in 4 months
Wew lad. By the way every single developer listed for the Wii U list released something

Also
>switch
>flop
LOL

NOOOOOO YOU CAN'T POST THAT!!! MODS MOOOOOOODS

that really activates your almonds
I should get D5 for swithc sometime just to support them

But user, i don't have a 1080ti.
It's still a geforce!

HAHAHAHAHA NINTENDOOOOOOOOOMED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!1! GET FUCKED LMAO LOLOL XD

Why are you so assblasted?

>hurr durr nintendo doesn,t get all the game instantly it,s dead huuuuuurrrrr durr

How quickly the sony niggers start talking after 3 years of drought. Must be afraid

>jap developers can do it
>western devs can't

>Jap games are good
>western shit isn't

Is there some sort of correlation here?

Literally a unity issue.

The unity switch build is brand new and has tons of bugs. Mr.Shifty Devs had trouble even making a patch because unity has bugged file sizes when exporting to switch formats so a 300mb patch turned into 4gbs

Nordic bought the THQ assets and branding, then renamed themselves a few months after.

yea. western shit stays on pc where they dont have to optimize anything. let the fans do it

>shit hardware
It's like the best chip on the mobile market save for overpriced chips like the snapdragon. The X2 only offers power efficiency over the X1

Almost I think?

Ah yes THQ nordic

Well know for excellent games such as...?

>unity
People still use that engine although it's shittyness is documented? Is it cheap or something?

What possible reason would they have problem porting it other than the system can't handle it?

I'm not saying that problems didn't happen, anyone who played Bayonetta was fully aware that they did. It's more of an admission people didn't want to make that the console was super shitty for devs.

It was quite obvious that the Switch simply lacks the power for non-indie multiplat titles. I guess everyone here remembers how Metro was supposed to be ported to the Wii U back then but the developers gave up because Nintendos hardware simply wasn't strong enough. Nothing about that changed.

Cheap and you don't need to be good to make something decent

But the catch is you can't make anything better than decent

No one is interested in steep, so they don't bother. That isn't the first reason that came to you? Steep is already a flop on other consoles

They patched a decade old ARPG. and hmmm... i dunno

>tablet using a chip from 2013
>nintendo isn't using a chipstet from 2023
What the fuck are you talking about retard?

>Is it cheap

It's free lol

>I don't know anything about unity
good to know.

Development for Switch isn't a struggle. Porting to it is, since it's a weaker hardware.

Saying this before people start shitposting too much

>One of the games they ported, Battle Chasers, a 2D turn-based RPG, was a 'challenge'.
?
even the sega saturn could probably do it

Even compile heart game has better graphics than all games that is released on switch

What the fuck happened to Nintendo?

free*

>Considering ports to the PS3 either didn't happen (rarely)
In the first one or two years after that the system started to receive ports of games they missed as well as the regular multiplats with barely any complaints from developers despite the low quality of the games compared to the Pc/360 versions.
Hell there are developers that lost a lot of money making games for it and still nothing like this.

...

I unironically was interested in Steep.

You can't just say nobody cares about a game every time the switch is too shit to run it m8

>non indie
This game is a fucking 2D rpg, it's as indie as it gets

Better chips are too expensive I guess, and the X2 only gives more power efficiency

>that ground texture

No it was a flop once it released on other consoles. EA thinks the porting cost is not worth the money, since it will most likely be a flop on the switch too. Simple, or are you too stupid to look beyond your own interests?

>Battle Chasers, a 2D turn-based RPG, was a 'challenge'.
>unity shitfest is a shitfest
>but muh switch

Do it.
With the DLC included it comes out cheaper than on PS4.

nintendo has a history of making developing for their consoles intentionally harder for 3rd parties

You are unironically a fucking anomaly. It sold under a million worldwide.

You are to videogame taste as to scat is to porn

two fairly different markets with limited overlap kinda of made ports not worth as much back then.

I'm speechless........this surely will be the straw that finally breaks Nintendo's back.......it has been a pleasure gentlemen but I cannot foresee a successful console without our dear friends from Nordic THQ.

I doubt they do it in purpose

these are the minimum requirements for this "really demanding" 2d rpg
except a lot of 3rd party devs said the process was smooth and easy

The switch probably will get a bunch of third party support given how well it is selling, if compared to things like the Xbone.
But it will only do so when gets advantageous to port games for it instead of using the programmers for something else, which probably will be around the 6-8 million consoles.

But it became clear that everyone was expecting the Switch to bomb horribly.

>It was quite obvious that the Switch simply lacks the power for non-indie multiplat titles.
Which is why it currently has several of those games either out or on the horizon with playable builds, right?

Europeans are just shitcunts who don't want competition for their fifastation 4

Since Nintendo can't get their heads out of their asses maybe all the other developers should directly call out how fucking incompetent Nintendo hardware is.

What the fuck man unity??

The console is getting just about every 2D/2.5D game under the sun.

It's not the hardware.

>You can't want a game and you have shit taste if it sells less than a million units

>nintendo has a history of making developing for their consoles intentionally harder for 3rd parties
They have a history of being a bit tyrannical but their systems have always been fairly easy for third parties to develop for.

>this is what sony ponies actually believe

Man, being a retard must suck. At least you are too stupid to be aware of yourself