Nintendo Switch Specs revealed by an indie dev confirm what many already assumed: it's less powerful than Xbox One or PS4. A report from Nintendo Today cites an anonymous dev who explained games on the Switch only have access to 3 out of 4 CPU cores and 3 out of 4 GB of RAM. Compare that to the 5 GB for Xbox One and 6 GB for PS4, and you start to get a bleak picture for ports.
While some games, like Skyrim, can be ported over, it's worth remembering that was a Xbox 360 title. Anything from the current generation of consoles is going to have major hurdles to clear. I already talked this week about the unlikely port of Overwatch , for example.
READ: 'Overwatch' Switch Release Is Possible Says Jeff Kaplan
These Nintendo Switch specs shouldn't be concerning to anyone who already owns a Switch, since you're probably a Nintendo fan through and through. Nintendo has shown with Breath of the Wild that its first-party titles will be glorious on the Switch. Breath of the Wild is one of the best RPGs I've ever played in 20+ years of gaming. Power isn't everything when it comes to game design. Nintendo knows how to get a lot out of the Switch, and anything made by Nintendo for Nintendo should be of a similar quality.
But “by Nintendo, for Nintendo” has always been it's biggest problem. The Wii U had great first-party titles too, but a lack of third-party support plagued the console from the beginning. The Nintendo Switch is enjoying the Breath of the Wild love right now, but where will it be this summer? Hopefully Splatoon 2 is equally amazing, although I have serious doubts about the efficiency of Nintendo’s online service at this point.
Although the latest Nintendo Switch specs news is discouraging for fans who were hoping to see some of the best games of this generation on a Nintendo console, I'm optimistic the situation won't be as bad for Switch owners as it was for Wii U owners. Nintendo is not a dumb company and likely learned a lot from the Wii U’s shortcomings. There are a lot of games slated for release this year, including first-party megahits like Super Mario Odyssey. I'm personally more excited to see what happens since with the indie games Nintendo is supporting. Blaster Master Zero is a great example of what Nintendo can deliver for gamers. A nostalgic IP rebuilt to be sharper, faster and more fun? Sign me up.
READ: 'Blaster Master Zero' Nintendo Switch Hands-On
Even though this is bad news for ports, it's not bad news for the Nintendo Switch. The sales are strong. The reception is overwhelmingly positive. The future is bright, but there's lots of future ahead. It's up to Nintendo to show is that a console is more than the sum of its specs. So far, they have.
