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With more than 40 million units sold since 2017 and a multitude of exclusive and multi-platform titles, the Nintendo Switch is arguably the console of the moment. Bringing his personal and personal interests into one machine was definitely a bet for Nintendo, but it's a machine that has paid off, and in the world of console gaming, the machine that seems to be on everyone's lips is Switch – for the moment. to be, at least.
Although Nintendo has up to now implemented everything with Switch – not only with the concept of basic hardware, but also with its high quality proprietary software production line – few people would dispute the fact that timing of society was very fortuitous. While the life of the Wii U was reduced due to its catastrophic commercial failure, Switch was virtually launched "mid-cycle" and its incredible rise was to be paralleled by the fact that the systems of Sony and Microsoft are now approaching of their end of life.
By the end of next year, the world of video games will change radically with the appearance of PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett in stores, inevitably attracting the attention of the game world away from Switch and more powerful for home equipment . It also means that the power gap – which, let's remember, is already noticeable between Switch, the aging PS4 and Xbox One – will become even more marked. What does this mean for the Nintendo system and for the flow of cross-platform versions – like Condemn, Wolfenstein II and Dark Souls: Remastered – who undoubtedly added to its general appeal?
It goes without saying that this will make cross-platform ports more difficult. "As long as there are different consoles available to players, there have always been discrepancies in potentially achievable performance measures," said Elijah Freeman, vice president of the Games division of Virtuos, the studio that has worn the likes of The black, Starlink and Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster switch. "As the landscape evolves, it will be increasingly difficult to obtain individual results, platform by platform, SKU to SKU." Technical factors variables remain hardware, engine, game and developer specific . "
Where there is a will, there is a way, and switching ports will continue to occur
The good news for Switch owners is that Sony is not likely to abandon the massive current PS4 installation base when it comes to the next console. "I think a number of factors will extend the life of the switch in terms of multiplatform ports," said Richard Leadbetter of Digital Foundry. "First, at the end of the generation, there will be more than 100 million PlayStation 4 consoles on the market, Xbox One consoles, as well as a vast array of older PCs. of the high cost of the games to develop, I guess there is way to go there if there is a will, and switch ports will continue to occur.I am expecting a lot of times longer between generations, this time compared to 2013. "
Although Freeman is realistic about the upcoming challenge, he agrees with this position. "Given the number of basic installations of the current consoles, including Playstation and Xbox, it would be reasonable to assume that we will have a development and / or dragging" cross-gen "adaptations in the near future. generation will be without doubt To offer us a new frontier as a development community, I do not think the sun is setting on the current generation in a while and we are looking forward to playing our part to make sure that it is the case. "For Switch, the situation is definitely positive: the more the current generation can remain relevant, the better the situation for Nintendo and its user base.
However, there will come a time when even the most dedicated owners of the PS4 and Xbox One will upgrade, which will create a headache for developers looking to bring edits to the switch. "PS5 and Scarlett will become the new baseline, and that's where things will become interesting," Leadbetter said. "The challenge for developers will be twofold." First, there is the storage angle: Switch storage is actually relatively slow compared to a mechanical hard drive, so in front of a SSD with low-level access, there is probably the CPU is also a problem: Zen 2 cores here allow a generation jump.Graphics are also a concern, but it is probably the most easily scalable element.
Switch is a very powerful platform, and with strong optimization skills, the sky is really the limit as to what could be achieved
Andrey Iones, co-founder and chief operating officer of Saber Interactive, the studio that is currently doing a transfer on the fantastic CD Projekt Red epic The witcher 3 to Switch, is convinced that Nintendo's hybrid platform has more weight in the tank than people might attribute to it. "Switch is a very powerful platform, and with strong optimization skills, the sky is really the limit as to what could be achieved," he said. "It's true that if a game goes beyond the hardware limits of the PS4 and Xbox One, it can be difficult to transfer to Switch without compromising the visuals, but based on our experience with Witcher 3 a technologically complex and demanding game could be integrated into the platform without a substantial reduction in visual quality. "When you look at Witcher 3's effectiveness on Switch, it's hard to disagree.
Nevertheless, if the technological gap proved too difficult to fill – and given the type of computing power promised by Sony and Microsoft, it may well be – there are always other options. Let's not forget that Nintendo had already faced a great disparity in the treatment of its muscles. When the Wii was launched in 2006, the system was already much weaker than its immediate competitors, the PS3 and the Xbox 360; not only that, but he was unable to display HD images at a time when the market was evolving towards 720p and 1080p games. As we all know, it does not matter what some thought; the Wii sold 101.63 units worldwide, against 87.4 million for the PS3 and 84 million for the Xbox 360, despite its technical weaknesses. Thanks to this huge installation base, we have not only seen third-party publishers release exclusive games on the Wii (many of which were rather mediocre, but choose to ignore them for now), but also a flood of versions platforms that, in reality, have actually been completely refurbished for Wii hardware, often by studios that were not involved in the original version. They shared the name and basic concept, but few others – and were often less impressive (Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, whoever?)
Could the story be repeated? As the power gap widens, could we see Switch providing its own "unique" versions of the leading third-party AAA titles? "The idea of the Wii is certainly very interesting, simply because Switch has a large user base," said Leadbetter. Indeed, Freeman reveals that the wheels are already moving on this point. "Many of our partners have already contacted us to help them create customized Switch titles for some of the most popular IPs in our industry," he says. However, he adds that the unique nature of the switch hardware is just as important in this situation. "I think we could and will see unique versions of franchises developed specifically to exploit elements of the Switch that make it so special." I attribute this to the unique portability of the console and the quality of the gaming experiences that I have. It offers players, not the result of technical constraints. "
I would expect Nintendo to develop a more powerful Switch hardware by the time the PS5 / Scarlett has made its predecessors completely obsolete.
Of course, all of this assumption is based on the assumption that Nintendo will maintain switch hardware in stasis mode, which would contradict not only the current trend observed in the industry for mid-level "Pro" upgrades -cycle, but also the background of Nintendo when it comes to iterate its hardware. Game Boy Color, DSi, New Nintendo 3DS … all these legacy systems (as well as many rumors) suggest that the company will enhance the switch at some point in the next few years, which could give it a chance to stay in the game. Inside distance of technological touch of his rivals. "The gaming ports will certainly decrease at some point, but I would expect Nintendo to develop a more powerful switch hardware by the time the PS5 / Scarlett has made its predecessors completely obsolete," he said. Leadbetter. Nobody knows if Nintendo is doing this upgrade, but we could see a more powerful console or an improved dock that contains its own technology, thus increasing the power of the base platform.
"I really like the idea of Switch's" Power Dock, "Leadbetter adds. "Not so much for the longevity of the system as a whole, but rather because although I like the console, I think it works much better as a laptop, where port reductions are less noticeable and where the system is really unique So, I would see a dock with an additional X1 Tegra as a PC SLI type solution – but I can imagine that it's very difficult to produce games.I think it's more likely that We'll see a platform evolve, especially when Nvidia has made it clear in its first announcement on the partnership with Nintendo that it was a very long collaboration extending over many years. . "
Freeman agrees that a more robust hardware offering would change the game with respect to Switch. "A more powerful switch would definitely expand the canvas for some aspect, and as a fan, I would even admit that I like it, but as developers we have a responsibility to push the technical boundaries, whatever they may be. It is at this point that exciting creative solutions are starting to surface and true magic is operating, and as many technical alliances are forming in the video game industry, it will be interesting to see if Nintendo is aligning on any of the ever-emerging content streams companies. "Streaming is already a reality on Switch, with Resident Evil 7 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey available in Japan in this format. While this sounds far-fetched – especially given the portable nature of the console – we would certainly not rule out the fact that Nintendo would take advantage of streaming technology to give the Switch a graphical parity with its competitors in the industry. next generation.
In the end, none of this can even count. Nintendo has not been interested in the technology arms race for quite some time now, and we could say that as long as it continues to produce games as good as possible. Zelda: Breath of nature, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey and Super Smash Bros. UltimateSo, the future of the console is assured, regardless of what is happening elsewhere in the industry. After all, 3DS has had a long life despite its modest hardware, so why not change? "I think the big thing to remember is that Nintendo did not really care about advanced technology since the GameCube era, and basically, what makes Switch a success is not multiplayer -plateforms, "Leadbetter concludes. "A new switch must remain hybrid, based basically on a mobile chipset, and able to play on a laptop."
It seems that the future Nintendo console has four possible futures. One hope is that the current trend towards multiplatform titles will continue despite the power gap between Switch and next-generation systems coming in 2020. Another goal is for Nintendo to increase the base power of its machine to bring it closer. of the PS5 and Scarlett Project. A third option is that, as Freeman suggests, studios are starting to release customized versions of large multi-platform franchises on Switch, a result that could lead to a drop in quality if the Wii era goes well. Finally, there is a fourth choice: Nintendo could leverage streaming streaming technology to effectively turn the switch into a next-generation system without having to touch its internal components. We can see a combination of these futures, but it should be remembered that no matter what happens in the next generation's impending war, Switch's UPS is its hybrid nature and portability – and that could count for a lot, regardless of what Sony and Microsoft have their respective sleeves.
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