320°

Virtuos intends to port PS5 and Xbox Series X games to Switch

Virtuos has helped bring a number of games both past and present to Switch over the past few years. The company’s efforts include Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Dark Souls: Remastered, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, and The Outer Worlds. With new consoles arriving later in 2020, Virtuos’ porting efforts will expand.

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Shiken1905d ago

Virtuos is no small team, with over 1500 in their staff right now. Good to see Switch porting devs planning to keep them coming into next gen. By the time the full potential of these new consoles are realized in practice, Switch 2 should be here or not far off anyway.

It will be interesting to see how this works out, even if only for the tech aspect of it.

Born2Game831904d ago

I wanna see them port CyberPunk 2077. Now that will be something.

ABizzel11904d ago (Edited 1904d ago )

They're going to be hard-pressed porting anything made exclusively for next-gen. Indies, arcade, and cross-gen ports will be possible, but unless the developers make games that have PC versions with low settings that can work on basic PC APUs then I don't see next-gen ports being plentiful on Switch. The CPU performance difference, the GPU performance difference, and the memory performance difference are much too great for the Switch.

Even a Switch 2 port is kind of up in the air as well, since mobile device all boil down to TDP being less than 20w for the overall device (generally 10w - 15w is the sweet spot). On top of that Nintendo aims to not break the $350 price barrier, and with that, they can't use the latest and greatest tech which means today's best mobile tech is still comparable to what Nintendo would use in 2 - 3 years (although being a dedicated gaming platform, means Switch will do more gaming-wise then what 2020 mobile tech can).

2020's best mobile tech performance is around 2x the performance of the Tegra X1, which is 3x more powerful than Switch if they keep current tech max mobile clocks (aka around XBOs performance docked). So if the current-gen base consoles lose support, then Switch 2 will likely lose support.

6 - 8 Core Mobile CPU (ARM, NVIDIA Denver, AMD Zen 2 mobile)
8CU GPU @1.2 GHz docked / @800 MHz handheld max (1.23 TF / 860 GF, aka around launch XBO)
8GB LDDR5

Equivalent Tech: ARM (Snapdragon 865+), Tegra Xavier+, AMD Ryzen 5 4500u+ APU (Vega 8 instead of 6)

Smclaren19851904d ago

Thank you my sentiment aswell couldn’t have explained it better myself 👍 it really struggles with Witcher 3 never mind next gen lol

Shiken1904d ago (Edited 1904d ago )

@Smclaren1985

Witcher 3 runs fine lmao. I beat it on PS4 and Switch, so unlike many haters I have directly compared outside of a youtube video. They have the same frame rates, PS4 has sharper visuals. Switch even got a patch that allows you to make the image sharper by turning off the blurr filter as well.

@ABizzel1

The thing is, most games will be cross gen for the first 2 years just like PS4 and X1. The Switch will be almost 6 years old before that becomes a reality. Perfect timing for a Switch 2 that does not need to run the games in 4k, but 1080p portable at 30 fps would be acceptable for a hybrid. That is a massive downscale from 4k (which is the target of PS5 and XSX).

As for the chip, I am sure Nvidia and Nintendo are working on a custom chip as we speak. technology in 2 years will be very different than tech today, so you really can't say what will be available for a Switch 2.

ABizzel11903d ago

@Shiken

"technology in 2 years will be very different than tech today, so you really can't say what will be available for a Switch 2."

I agree with the first part of this, technology will be different; however, Nintendo has shown over the last several generations that staying below $350 is more important to them, and they are willing to use "older tech" that's 2 or more generations behind to get that done.

The Wii was an enhanced GameCube. The Wii U was based on AMD's TeraScale2 architecture even though GNC 1.0 had also released and offered much better performance as well as there being a multitude of TeraScale2 GPUs that offered much better performance (the HD 6670 which would have only been $20 more tops, and offered 3x the GPU performance). And every generation their handhelds (which I'm including the switch in) has never been on par with the tech available at the time.

And when it comes to NVIDIA the reality is we do know their plans for the next few years, because they release their roadmap to the public during events like CES / GTC, and their roadmap has Xavier scheduled to release this year and Orin releasing in the next 2 - 3 years.

Based on Nintendo's history the most likely NVIDIA processor for a Switch 2 would be Xavier to ensure the price is $350 or less. The same goes for ARM, and their processor of choice would be an SD 875 / SD 885 equivalent with an Adreno 660 or 670 mobile GPU.

The only one up in the air would be AMD and if they're able to get a low cost, low powered, mobile APU that maxes at 15w of TDP, and the closest thing they have to that right now is the R5 4500u and in the next 2 or so years they might be able to make it fits those parameters which is pushing towards Zen 4 launch which based on their roadmap is 5nm technology, a new product, and a price Nintendo is unlikely to pay.

And having a mobile device with XBO levels of performance isn't a jab, but as you said the first 2 years we may see a decent amount of cross-gen games, but the Switch will be 5 1/2 years old by then and ready to be replaced, so as the old consoles are being phased out support for them and a potential Switch 2 will dry up before it really starts.

Devs would have to build lower than, PC low settings assets, on top of dropping the resolutions down to 720p - 900p in a lot of cases, cut effects, build lower pre-baked lighting settings, reduce texture packs from 4K and possibly Full HD options to 720p assets (game file size), vastly different storage options and speeds, and framerates being cut in half. That's too much for a lot of developers to even bother with especially when their game is likely to perform significantly worse based on most 3rd party sales.

Destiny10801905d ago

The switch couldn't handle the "options" menu of a ps5 game

RosweeSon1905d ago

Clearly it’s not gonna be running GTA6 etc but these guys obviously think otherwise. Luckytrouble suggesting series x games won’t run well that’s not true Xbox are making their games run on a base XB1 from 7? Years ago switch came out a few years after that sure didn’t go for power but think it’ll manage a few. Just not the top end AAA stuff.

Smclaren19851904d ago

Yes but eventually they will be series x and ps5 only

TrueMetal1904d ago

GTA6 will likely be cross gen the same way GTA5 was. As much as I would love for GTA6 to be PC and next gen only, the install base is so high for current gen that Rockstar would be leaving a lot of money on the table. Unless GTA6 is still years away.

Zeref1904d ago (Edited 1904d ago )

Some games will be able to run on it.

The_Sage1904d ago

Yeah... Like chess, or pinball. I kid. I kid.

sampsonon1904d ago

when is Nntendo going to create games that people actually want to play? i mean this way people don't have to steal ps5 games. It's not like they can play any AAA games n that garbage console.

RosweeSon1904d ago

Thank you. The comment saying yes but eventually they be x series and ps5 yeah of course there will also be a follow up to switch 🤷🏻‍♂️😜 ✌🏻

NitendoPowa1904d ago (Edited 1904d ago )

And your brain couldn't handle the "option" to think logically

The_Sage1904d ago

You're dangerously close to getting the inappropriate ban for personal attack. Trust me, I know. I'm just trying to help

King_Noctis1904d ago

“ Virtuos intends to port PS5 and Xbox Series X games to Switch”

Who should I believe, you or the devs themselves?

The_Sage1904d ago

What devs?... Porters are not developers.

King_Noctis1904d ago

Porters are not devs? So what are they then? Football player?

Ulf1904d ago (Edited 1904d ago )

"Porters" ARE developers, but the guy who said this was almost certainly a businessman, who is NOT a developer, per se. Businessmen love to talk big, and out of the wrong end, because they know no one will care later on -- they just want the PR today.

The_Sage1903d ago (Edited 1903d ago )

If you are porting you are not developing. I don't consider a cover band to be composers. To take something that exists and adapt it is not development.

King_Noctis1903d ago (Edited 1903d ago )

“ If you are porting you are not developing”

And you think porting a game involves zero line of code? No programming or tweaking skill needed? Those “porters” just compress the game, put in into a cartridge, and the game magically run on the Switch?

Right...

VariantAEC1899d ago

@The_Sage
"If you are porting you are not developing. I don't consider a cover band to be composers. To take something that exists and adapt it is not development."

So if someone sings someone else's song well they're not singers?
Teams that port content don't just magically drag and drop a games file contents into another system and it works fine... They have to make new software, write new code or interpreters or design workarounds if any exotic hardware features were used. The port of Doom 64 required basically all the above... But it's just a port so obviously no developers were needed, right?

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 1899d ago
Tross1904d ago

I'm assuming they're not talking AAA games. Maybe basic indie titles? It would have to be.

Segata1904d ago

I remember a COD dev said Wii could not run MW menu. Later CoDs were ported to Wii. Hell a fan remade all of FF7 on Famicom.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 1899d ago
luckytrouble1905d ago

Although a nice thought, the Series X and PS5 will be operating on a level far, far beyond what the Switch can handle even with down porting. You all around here sat there patting the team on the back that managed to get Witcher 3 on the Switch, and that game was already several years old and basically had to be ported at the equivalent of low settings on PC.

The more advanced you get, the tougher it gets to downport in a competent fashion. Eventually you have to start cutting so many corners that even if you can have the claim to fame of getting the game running, it will be so vastly inferior to its counterparts that only someone truly desperate for a mobile iteration would spend their time on it.

If you need an example of how rough porting a game newer than Witcher 3 can get, just look at Bethesda's efforts in bringing their more recent games to Switch. Do they run okay? Sure. Look alright? If you aren't too picky, I suppose. Would someone with the option willingly take the Switch version over any other version? Generally that's a firm no. As the power gap continues to widen, even Bethesda is eventually going to give up, and Nintendo will either need to get back into playing the power game or give up on major third party support altogether.

Zeref1904d ago (Edited 1904d ago )

Equivalent to low settings would be generous.

Some games will definitely be able to run. But don't expect the next Witcher to run on it.

hiawa231905d ago

That is great news. Put the games on all platforms. Tone them down to run on each platform as good as possible and that is best for all gamers and Nintendo has done such a great job with the Switch it deserves to keep getting 3rd party support. That is best for the industry and gamers.

Kumakai1905d ago

Brutal. The disparities are about to get 10x wider than they already are.

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70°

Undead Citadel Reaches PlayStation VR2 Next Week

Undead Citadel, a medieval-era VR action game, arrives next week on PlayStation VR2.

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uploadvr.com
Abnor_Mal19m ago

Is this game one of those every time you die the enemy location is shuffled?

170°

SEGA has accidentally revealed 6 years of sales data for some games

SEGA has made a mistake on one of their PDF forms which has inadvertently disclosed full sales numbers of some of the company’s key software releases.

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mynintendonews.com
Phoenix02916h ago

Don't forget they've put a lot of these on gamepass and ps plus so you can add that money to it. Good to see Sega going strong

shinXseijuro16h ago

Happy for sega ! I was expecting some kind of showing of their newer games at game fest but maybe they’re keeling it for TGS? Crazy taxi and jet set needs a trailer or something soon !!!

120°

Playdead co-founder slammed with lawsuit as bitter row with co-founder escalates

Playdead co-founder Dino Patti is allegedly being sued by his former studio and business partner.
Patti was threatened with a lawsuit earlier this year after he posted a now-deleted LinkedIn post that shared an "unauthorized" picture of co-founder Arnt Jensen and discussed some of Limbo's development. Patti said Jensen demanded a little over $73,000 in "suitable compensation and reimbursement," adding that he had "repeatedly" had such letters over the last nine years.

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