3 ms·

Lagging in specs is a major reason 3rd parties shun Nintendo's consoles. Porting a game between XB1, PS4 and PC is relatively easy due to them all being of simi

by city41 10y ago

Lagging in specs is a major reason 3rd parties shun Nintendo's consoles. Porting a game between XB1, PS4 and PC is relatively easy due to them all being of similar caliber. But the cutbacks required for porting to Wii U usually means they just don't bother.

shorodei 10y ago
I'd say it has more to do with demographics than specs. Nintendo's demographics usually only buy first party titles, and Nintendo hasn't done much to market themselves towards the xbox/ps demographics. If they're paying devs to have Skyrim/NBA on their consoles, that's a good first step, and hopefully a sign of things to come.
- greendragon 10y ago
  It's hard to buy third party titles when the only third party titles are games that came out years ago and that you already own on other platforms... It's also hard to buy first party titles when there are so few, and so few new IP at that (Splatoon, what else?). (I went into a Gamestop for the first time in a while a few weeks ago, was kind of surprised at how limited the Wii U selection still is at the end of its life.) What Nintendo needs is a set of "second party" devs like they had in the N64 era. But that's expensive.
- city41 10y ago
  That feels very chicken and egg to me. Nintendo owners don't buy 3rd party games because there aren't very many. And there aren't very many because owners don't buy them. The SNES had extensive 3rd party support. Obviously it's hard to compare 25 years ago to today, but the SNES and Genesis were really "even". Supporting both systems was a no brainer for most game companies. The N64 threw a curve ball with carts, and 3rd party support tanked. Anecdotally, the GameCube seemed to have better 3rd party support, as it was a very equivalent system to the Xbox and PS2.
  - slantyyz 10y ago
    >> That feels very chicken and egg to me. Nintendo owners don't buy 3rd party games because there aren't very many. And there aren't very many because owners don't buy them. Not sure it's about quantity, it's more about quality. When Nintendo's first party software sets a high bar for quality, it makes most of the non AAA titles sold by third parties look like crap, and they usually are. Third party AAA titles like Just Dance, FIFA, Madden, Tiger Woods Golf etc. sold well enough on the Wii that some sequels were still being produced even after the Wii had become an afterthought. IIRC, Street Fighter IV on the 3DS sold very well too.
Pxtl 10y ago
Yes, but if they target PC release then realistically they have to support the whole gamut of PCs, including lower-spec ones. If the Switch turns out to have similar video-performance to a low-mid-range consumer video board, then that's realistically something that PC ports will already be supporting.
- Klinky 10y ago
  It helps that the Xbox One and PS4 are basically lower-spec value gamer PCs.That's not the case for any of Nintendo's hardware. It's even lower spec, without any potential crossover compatibility in architecture.
- indy 10y ago
  The current consoles are already at the low-mid range of PC video cards. If the Switch is even less powerful than say the Xbox One it will be a pain to support when developing a multi-platform title.
danbolt 10y ago
The lesser performance can be a setback for Nintendo systems in some ways, but I think the DS and 3DS outperformed their competitors due to having cheaper hardware. The lower price point made appealing-looking games less of a financial commitment.
- makapuf 10y ago
  This started with the real gb in fact, it was much less capable than other systems (but had decent battery life)

by city41 10y ago

shorodei 10y ago

I'd say it has more to do with demographics than specs. Nintendo's demographics usually only buy first party titles, and Nintendo hasn't done much to market themselves towards the xbox/ps demographics. If they're paying devs to have Skyrim/NBA on their consoles, that's a good first step, and hopefully a sign of things to come.

greendragon 10y ago
It's hard to buy third party titles when the only third party titles are games that came out years ago and that you already own on other platforms... It's also hard to buy first party titles when there are so few, and so few new IP at that (Splatoon, what else?). (I went into a Gamestop for the first time in a while a few weeks ago, was kind of surprised at how limited the Wii U selection still is at the end of its life.) What Nintendo needs is a set of "second party" devs like they had in the N64 era. But that's expensive.
city41 10y ago
That feels very chicken and egg to me. Nintendo owners don't buy 3rd party games because there aren't very many. And there aren't very many because owners don't buy them. The SNES had extensive 3rd party support. Obviously it's hard to compare 25 years ago to today, but the SNES and Genesis were really "even". Supporting both systems was a no brainer for most game companies. The N64 threw a curve ball with carts, and 3rd party support tanked. Anecdotally, the GameCube seemed to have better 3rd party support, as it was a very equivalent system to the Xbox and PS2.
- slantyyz 10y ago
  >> That feels very chicken and egg to me. Nintendo owners don't buy 3rd party games because there aren't very many. And there aren't very many because owners don't buy them. Not sure it's about quantity, it's more about quality. When Nintendo's first party software sets a high bar for quality, it makes most of the non AAA titles sold by third parties look like crap, and they usually are. Third party AAA titles like Just Dance, FIFA, Madden, Tiger Woods Golf etc. sold well enough on the Wii that some sequels were still being produced even after the Wii had become an afterthought. IIRC, Street Fighter IV on the 3DS sold very well too.

Pxtl 10y ago

Yes, but if they target PC release then realistically they have to support the whole gamut of PCs, including lower-spec ones. If the Switch turns out to have similar video-performance to a low-mid-range consumer video board, then that's realistically something that PC ports will already be supporting.

Klinky 10y ago
It helps that the Xbox One and PS4 are basically lower-spec value gamer PCs.That's not the case for any of Nintendo's hardware. It's even lower spec, without any potential crossover compatibility in architecture.
indy 10y ago
The current consoles are already at the low-mid range of PC video cards. If the Switch is even less powerful than say the Xbox One it will be a pain to support when developing a multi-platform title.

danbolt 10y ago

The lesser performance can be a setback for Nintendo systems in some ways, but I think the DS and 3DS outperformed their competitors due to having cheaper hardware. The lower price point made appealing-looking games less of a financial commitment.

makapuf 10y ago
This started with the real gb in fact, it was much less capable than other systems (but had decent battery life)