The ease with which developers can make games for the Nintendo Switch is what will drive third-party studios to the console, the Japanese gaming giant says.
As is the case with every new piece of Nintendo hardware, gamers remains skeptical that the console can attract a large and diverse range of games from publishers that aren’t Nintendo.
Some publishers already appear keen to support the console, with the likes of EA, Ubisoft and Bethesda all signing up for titles within the console’s first 12 months.
Pundits are confident Switch can perform better — sales wise — than the Wii U due in part to what seems to be a more positive outlook from third-party publishers.
Nintendo recently spoke with investors, explaining how Switch will be more accessible for third-party studios.
“Since the start of Nintendo Switch development we have been aiming to realize an environment in which a variety of different third-party developers are able to easily develop compatible software, such as by making it compatible with Unreal and Unity as well as our own development tools,” Nintendo executive Shinya Takahashi said.
“As a result, even companies with only a few developers have already started making games for Nintendo Switch.”
One such game, Stardew Valley, looks to provide a boost to the Switch’s games library.
Interestingly, Nintendo has been using 1-2-Switch to showcase to developers what the console is capable of.
Nintendo also spoke about its relationship with Fallout 4 and Skyrim developer, Bethesda Game Studios.
“During our recent (January 13) Nintendo Switch presentation, we played a video message from the creator of Skyrim, Mr. Todd Howard of Bethesda Game Studios, in which he shared the genuine impression he had already given us when we first showed him Nintendo Switch,” Takahashi said. “Nintendo will keep on creating unique software. By doing so, I believe we will encourage third-party developers to create a number of quality software titles for Nintendo Switch.”
The type of third-party titles we see on Switch is certainly the question, and it appears that — due to the nature of the hardware and the accessibility for Unity and Unreal developers — that more indie-developed PC titles will come to Switch.
Industry stalwart Shigeru Miyamoto believes as much, saying PC developers can “easily adapt” their games for Switch.
“In the current development environment, I’d say that it would take less than a year for them to port a PC game to Nintendo Switch,” he said.
Nintendo Switch launches March 3.
