Xbox boss praises Switch, Nintendo once again
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Switch | 94 Comments
Xbox boss Phil Spencer often tends to share positive vibes when speaking about Nintendo. On two separate occasions for example, Spencer praised Switch.
Spencer is back at it again with a new interview from Gamasutra. He finds Switch “interesting”, and likes how Nintendo is quick to innovate.
Spencer’s full words:
“Nintendo, I thought, did a cool thing with picking mobile. They kind of said okay, Switch is going to be a console that you can take with you. That’s an interesting idea. Nintendo always does cool things, right. They did the second screen with Wii U, they obviously did the Wii and motion gaming in the room. I love that innovation.
Having innovation that really brings third-parties along is critical to us, I think; Nintendo tends to have great success in their first-party on their platforms and then third-parties usually come in a little bit later, usually because Nintendo creates things that are less like other things. Which is, you know, kudos to them. I think it’s a fantastic part of the industry.”
More: interview, Phil Spencer
Square Enix CEO’s expanded comments on Switch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 51 Comments
This week, Nikkei published a significant interview with Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda. Matsuda had a decent amount to say about Switch and expressed significant interest in supporting it with many titles going forward.
We thought it would make sense to fully translate Matsuda’s statement, which include a couple of extra comments. His full words are as follows:
“Our developers with a strong interest in the Switch are eager to challenge themselves to find new ways for people to play games. Having more gaming platforms available is a good thing for us. I really want the Switch to succeed. We’ll be developing new titles, and we’d like to port existing titles that the Switch can support often as we can.
Nintendo creates a variety of new gameplay possibilities. I think other companies will comes up with some surprising gimmicks using the Switch’s unique capabilities. We have our own way of doing things, so we’ll be marrying the Switch’s unique features to the kinds of games we’re known for.”
We do also want to take this opportunity to clarify something about the interview. Some translations had Matsuda as saying Square Enix is prioritizing Switch over other platforms such as Xbox Scorpio. However, this was simply not said. Matsuda’s enthusiasm for Switch is clear, but no comments were made about Square Enix focusing on the system over others.
More: interview, Square Enix, Yosuke Matsuda
Syberia 3 may support Switch features like HD Rumble
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 5 Comments
Wccftech caught up with Elliot Grassiano, VP game production at Microids, for a chat about Syberia 3. While the game is gearing up for its initial launch, a Switch version will follow later in the year.
When Syberia does come to Switch, it may incorporate Switch-specific features such as HD Rumble. Grassiano teased:
“We are working on a faithful port of Syberia 3, it was important for us to offer mobility to players, to allow them to embody Kate Walker wherever they want. We are thinking about a specific development on Nintendo Switch with new features, including HD Rumble support. We will use the best of this console to offer an unforgettable experience for players.”
Grassiano also spoke about Switch in general, stating:
More: Elliot Grassiano, interview, Microids, Syberia 3
Overwatch director on challenges bringing the game to Switch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 162 Comments
Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan noted last month that Blizzard is open to bringing the shooter to Switch, though doing so would be “very challenging”. Express followed up with Kaplan and pushed further about the possibility of it happening.
Kaplan pointed to a couple of challenges in porting Overwatch to Switch. First, the team “would have to revisit performance”. A Switch version would also require Blizzard to support another platform with patches alongside the other systems. Kaplan did reiterate that Blizzard is “very open-minded about what platforms we could be on.”
He said:
More: Blizzard, interview, Jeff Kaplan, Overwatch
Nintendo talks Switch – origins / creation, going with one screen, name, online play, January event, much more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 34 Comments
A little while back, Famitsu published an interview with Nintendo’s Shinya Takahashi and Yoshiaki Koizumi all about Switch in one of its issues. It was extremely extensive, covering the system’s origins and early development (including some involvement from Satoru Iwata). The two developers also touched on numerous other topics such as going with a single screen, choosing the name out of thousands, tying in smartphone usage to online play and making it paid, system updates, VR, and why the January event was held in Japan. Again, there is a lot here.
We’ve now readied a pretty complete translation of the interview. Continue on below for the extensive discussion featuring Takahashi and Koizumi.
More: Famitsu, interview, Shinya Takahashi, top, Yoshiaki Koizumi
SEGA trying to reinvigorate Sonic with Sonic Forces
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 41 Comments
SEGA is looking to reinvigorate the Sonic franchise with Sonic Forces, according to product manager Jim Dyer.
Twinfinite asked Dyer in a recent interview if SEGA views Sonic Mania is a ways of rebuilding interest in the series prior to Sonic Forces’ launch. To that, Dyer said “Sonic Mania is for the fans” while Sonic Forces “is a Sonic game for everyone.”
Additionally, Sonic Forces “is a broader game, a different sort of Sonic than what we’ve done before.” SEGA isn’t necessarily trying to make the Blue Blur relevant, as it’s more about having “flagship IP, this brand powerhouse that SEGA wants to get back to what it should be.”
Read Dyer’s full comments on Sonic Forces below.
More: interview, Jim Dyer, SEGA, Sonic Forces
Sumo Digital details the process of getting Snake Pass up and running on Switch
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch eShop | 7 Comments
Snake Pass is an important release on Switch in the sense that it’s one of the first Unreal Engine 4 games on the platform. The development period is really fascinating, as Sumo Digital had the game ready in just a few months. As part of a feature on GamesIndustry, the team went in-depth about how it was brought over so quickly.
Sumo was invited by Nintendo to get a look at Switch last December. Teams were sent to both Nintendo of Europe in Frankfurt and Nintendo of America in Redmond. Sumo was happy with what they saw, and received dev kits five days after they were ordered.
More: Ian Richardson, interview, Snake Pass, Sumo Digital
Dylan Cuthbert on Switch, Star Fox old-school re-make pitch, Star Fox Command, “X” staying in Japan, more
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in DS, General Nintendo, News, Switch, Wii U | 35 Comments
Q-Games founder Dylan Cuthbert conducted a new Reddit AMA today. As a Star Fox developer who has played an influential role in the Star Fox series, he had plenty to say about the franchise. He spoke about an old-school re-make pitched to Nintendo, working on Star Fox Command (and its endings), and his own personal ideas for a new game. Cuthbert also weighed in on Switch, Nintendo’s Game Boy title for “X” and why it never left Japan, and more.
We’ve collected a number of important responses from the Reddit AMA below. You can read the full thing right here.
More: Dylan Cuthbert, interview, Star Fox, top
Choice Provisions had Runner3 running on Switch in a day
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch eShop | 2 Comments
Many studios have come forward noting just how easy it is to develop for Switch. You can add Choice Provisions to that pile as well.
Speaking with Autopress, Choice Provisions said that the team had Runner3 running on Switch in just a single day. Since then, “it’s been smooth sailing”.
“We were nervous at first about developing for the Switch, simply because there are always unknowns with new platforms. We ended up getting the game running on the console in only a day, however, and it’s been smooth sailing ever since!”
Runner3 will be out on Switch later this year as an exclusive.
More: Choice Provisions, interview, Runner3
Image & Form on how Switch makes it much easier to submit games, talks ease of development
Posted on 7 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 5 Comments
Image & Form recently revealed that Switch developers only need to submit one version of their game for the entire world. Speaking with MCV, community manager Julius Guldbog further explained why this is so significant, and said Nintendo is “basically taking the Steam or App Store approach”.
Guldbog said:
“With the Wii U and 3DS, [Nintendo] started to realise that they had to get with the times. Publishing for Nintendo consoles has been, in the past, not a nightmare, but pretty close. They make sure every QA gate is good enough. It takes months, and you have to do that for every region, and if you fail, it takes even longer. You have to get a new slot, and release dates are pushed back.
But with the Switch, we only have to make one version and only have one launch – and that’s one version for the entire world, so we’ll have the same version in the US, Europe and a little bit later, Japan and China as well. That saves so much work. It means we can do the translations ourselves, we don’t have to have a new publisher for one specific region – it’s going to be so much easier. They’re basically taking the Steam or App Store approach: one version of the game for the entire world.”
