Friday, January 10, 2020

"Switch Version When?"


Not long ago, the Switch surpassed the SNES's lifetime sales. We are coming up to the third year anniversary of this fast selling system and I have no reason to believe the Switch won't top the NES sales and keep going after that.

The Switch is everywhere. Not everywhere like everyone having a phone, but a lot of people own a Switch. Kids own a Switch, adults own a Switch and the reason for the dang thing being such a huge hit is for two reasons. 1.) In addition to being a home console, the Switch is also a handheld and the handheld market is something Nintendo has dominated with since the days of the Game & Watch. Phones, tablets, iPads; portable devices are a part of our every day lives and Switch just feeds into that. 2.) The Switch has games. Lots and lots and lots of games.

First party support for the Switch is strong as is always the case with a Nintendo system but the support from third parties is overwhelming. I don't think Nintendo has enjoyed this kind of third party support with a console since the SNES days. Developers that wouldn't come anywhere near Nintendo have been banging on their door to make games for the Switch. Indie support is also insanely high with numerous titles that hit PC and later the PS4 now come to the Switch first with a PS4 release following months after and sometimes even later. The fact that the Switch has gotten games like Doom 2016 and The Witcher 3, games that never would have come to the Wii U have made this question a frequently asked one: Switch version when?

When I first bought my PS4 in 2017, one of the first games I bought with it was the Witcher 3. I never did get around to playing it due to Yakuza 0 and the wealth of Arcade Archives titles that were on the PSN store. So when I heard that The Witcher 3 was coming to the Switch with all of the DLC, I figured, why even bother with the vanilla PS4 version? I hear some of you saying better performance but I will gladly put up with a 30 FPS game if it means I can play it whenever, wherever. Some titles I've bought on the PS4 I've bought again on the Switch just so I can play them on the go such as Jamestown+. Shoot 'em ups and the Switch go together like peanut butter and jelly so the system has become my platform of choice for the genre.

I was close to buying A Hat in Time for my PS4 when it arrived on that console but held off when I found out it was coming to the Switch, and a physical version to boot! Hotline Miami and it's sequel intrigued me and I had considered getting them on the PS4 but then the Hotline Miami Collection was announced for the Switch, sooooo, yeah, bought.

The Switch has become my primary system for gaming and I've found myself holding off on buying certain games on the PS4 because the possibility that the games could arrive on the Switch. In a lot of cases, this has happened. Under powered as the Switch is, the portability helps the thing sell, which has made the thing too big for anyone in the business of making, selling or buying games to ignore.

I realize that there are going to be some games the Switch won't get. Just as there are some games that will never be on a Microsoft or Sony console or even PC, the Switch won't have everything. However, what it does have is a ton of games, awesome games and I don't see the flow letting up anytime soon. As long as there is money to be made, you best believe developers are gonna keep supporting it.

No comments:

Post a Comment