Third Party Support
Perhaps one of the most important factors that will determine the Switch’s longevity is if third party developers are on board. While we already knew Nintendo had a rather extensive list of companies on board, their capacity was left a mystery. This, to a degree, was thankfully cleared up during Nintendo’s press conference where multiple studios showcased what they were working on. Bethesda took time to introduce Skyrim for the system, while Atlus teased a new Shin Megami Tensei title. Square Enix also took to the stage, offering up not only a handful of Dragon Quest titles but a new JPRG titled Project Octopath Traveler.
It was incredibly important for Nintendo to show that they could offer more than first party games, titles and publishers that can alleviate pressure given some of their major titles can take time to develop. There was also a strong showing during and after the conference by EA and Ubisoft, which are incredibly important given the sheer volume of popular titles they release yearly. Despite some companies like From Software and Warner Brothers remaining no shows, it’s fantastic to see Nintendo offering their player base a bigger selection of titles.
