Third-party support and the implementation of modern game engines like Unreal and Unity are some of the biggest draws for the upcoming Nintendo Switch.
In a recent call with investors, the powers that be at Nintendo were asked about correcting the wrongs of the Wii U, namely the console’s inability to easily support third-party software, and how Nintendo’s own internal development teams plan to create games for the Switch.
Nintendo Creative Director Shigeru Miyamoto told investors that Nintendo’s internal team has caught up with competition in the West, because the Nintendo Switch is open and supports the aforementioned Unreal and Unity engines, and the internal teams have “mastered” them.
“Regarding our software development environment,” Miyamoto said, “third-party developers who are making software for PC can now easily adapt that software to work on our platform. In the current development environment, Iʼd say that it would take less than a year for them to port a PC game to Nintendo Switch.
“That ease of software development has also been felt by Nintendoʼs internal developers. Also, even though game software developers in the U.S. and E.U. are often said to have superior skills to their Japanese counterparts when it comes to software development techniques, Nintendoʼs software developers have mastered state-of-the-art technologies such as Unreal Engine, and their skills can now be compared with those of Western developers. Our developers are more excited than ever to create software.”
Nintendo’s support of Unreal Engine 4 was one of the first details we learned about the upcoming console. Managing Executive Officer Shinya Takahashi built upon Miyamoto’s point by explaining how Nintendo’s partnership with Nvidia, which is building the Switch’s custom hardware, has bridged the gap between Nintendo and its competitors.
“I have to refrain from disclosing any technological details, but we believe there are always technologies that are most appropriate to the time, and we have been very flexible when making technological selections,” said Takahashi. “When NVIDIA was established in Silicon Valley in the mid-1990s, we were developing Nintendo 64 with Silicon Graphics, and we have respected each other as good rivals.
“This time, in order to develop Nintendo Switch with high performance in spite of its low power consumption, I feel it was key that the two companies could work together as partners while also fully displaying our individual craftsmanship.”
Nintendo Switch will release March 3.
What do you think of the comments made about the Nintendo Switch and its support of third-party titles? Let us know in the comments section below.
