Last year, the eyes of the gaming community were focused on the Nintendo Switch as the hybrid console skyrocketed in popularity with gamers worldwide. Thanks to an innovative hardware and an amazing library of first and third-party games, the Switch became a system that was hard for game developers to ignore.
In an interview by DualShockers with Bethesda’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Pete Hines during PAX East, Hines revealed Bethesda's plan on how they are approaching the inclusion of the Nintendo Switch with the development of new games, and ports of previous titles.
DualShockers asked Hines on whether or not Bethesda is planning to release an existing game to the Switch sometime in the future. Currently, the studio has successfully released a port of Skyrim and DOOM and a Switch version of Wolfenstein II on the way.
“It’ll just depend,” Hines told DualShockers. “It’ll depend on whether or not we think the game is a good fit for the platform technically and whether we think it’s something the audience wants on Switch. In that way, it’s literally no different than any other platform that we look at or any other game that we do. Hopefully, it’ll be a mix of both. If there’s stuff that folks want us to release on Switch and it’s a good fit and it works - great. If it’s new stuff going forward that we think is a good fit and will work on Switch, then we’ll do that too.”
When asked if they plan to automatically include the Switch whenever they launch a new game, Hines said that if it’s possible to release a new game on all platforms at the same time, of course, they would do it. However, he also said that:
“That’s always our preference but in the case of Skyrim and DOOM, well, that wasn’t possible. In the case of Wolfenstein II, we needed the extra time and there was no way we were going to hold the other platforms to wait for Switch. For my perspective, any time we can bring it out on the Switch at the exact same time as the other platforms for new releases, I don’t know why we wouldn’t.”
Bethesda’s plans for the Nintendo Switch is reassuring in the fact that the studio is committed to releasing their games, whether new releases or ports of existing ones, to the Switch. Of course, given the Switch’s handheld capability, a huge compromise in terms of performance will always be a challenge to the studio, especially with demanding games. Hopefully, we will see more Bethesda games on the console soon. Fallout on the Switch anyone?
