With the Nintendo Switch looming over the horizon, many gamers have been questioning just how exactly Nintendo’s latest will compare to the likes of Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One, and will it have the same power behind it?
DrinkBox co-founder Graham Smith, Rebellion Developments co-founder Chris Kingsley, and Zen Studios VP of Publishing Mel Kirk, have given their opinions on the ease of development and power of the console.
On Power:
Mel Kirk notes that, while the technology to do so is readily available, Nintendo are focusing on bringing excitement to it’s fans by delivering great first-party titles to the Switch, which in turn, will lead the tech to being a popular adoption by third-party developers. He also notes the system specs, saying:
“At the moment, the Nintendo Switch does not appear to be about system horsepower or technology that takes consoles to new heights.”
Chris Kingsley believes that power has never been a liability of Nintendo’s:
“For me, the power argument rests on getting near parity with other consoles to make it easier to bring your games onto multiple platforms”
The Switch is definitely more powerful, especially for those used to mobile platforms, but perhaps not powerful enough for some — especially those used to triple-A development.
On Developing For The Console
The Nintendo Switch is NVIDIA-based, which brings a whole deal of new features to its technology.
Chris Kingsley talks about how this will affect the development process:
“If development is more akin to other “standard” ways of working, that should help make life easier for developers in general, so we can spend more time making games great and less just making games work.”
Graham Smith states that while he isn’t familiar with the technology, development for Wii U wasn’t difficult, so he would be surprised if Nintendo did anything to make development for The Switch harder.
It’ll be interesting to see what Nintendo has up their sleeves to bring to the table, and to see how developers will use the Switch’s technology to their advantage while developing their games.
How do you feel about the console? Will you be picking it up to see how it fares? Comment below!
