Ōkami;241111392 said:
Sony is stopping Monster Hunter on the Switch, just like Nintendo stopped Monster Hunter on the Vita.
Sounds like a repeat of 2012's threads, its just that the sides changed.
I don't think those are comparable. Switch has an upcoming MH game so for now Switch has MH support. Sony just secured a release for their own console as well.
When MH3 was announced for Wii, that didn't end PSP support right there. Capcom followed their usual pattern, do a home console (online) MH first, then do a handheld (local multi) version later.
Support for Sony handhelds ended with the 3DS, since it was the better option than Vita. That wasn't until later though.
He was doing alright up until he started claiming that the Switch needs Monster Hunter more than Capcom needs the Switch.
The Switch will be successful with or without Monster Hunter.
Capcom's future is a lot more ambiguous at this point.
I think Capcom are playing their cards right. It makes sense to support the PS4 now because they can grow the franchise in the West.
They're following their usual pattern too. Sure, they broke it with MH4 going to handheld right away and unifying online and local multi. But that was because there wasn't a suitable home console worth supporting. Wii U was looking to fail and PS4 wasn't big enough yet and would have necessitated different assets that couldn't be reused on the 3DS.
Yeah Capcom is confusing.
MHW being PS4/XBO/PC says that it has western ambitions, as does its venue for announcement, yet (as an outsider from the fandom) it seems that the reaction has mostly swung around to the game not being heavily westernized.
But, if that's the case, couldn't it probably see a lot of sales on Switch in Japan? Why wouldn't Capcom want the portable audience to fall back on?
You don't release or even announce a Switch MHW when you want to sell that game to PS4 owners. It's the same with any franchise really.
We've seen it with PS3/Vita/PS4 multi releases. The increase in sales is negligible, they just get split up among the platforms supported. Same would happen with any multi release for PS4 and Switch outside Japan. Because most people tend to already either have a PS4 or XB1 when they buy a Switch.
So doing a Switch version now means to go to extra lengths of developing one more version, just to get some sales on Switch which you would have gotten on PS4/XB1 even without the Switch version. A Switch version at launch benefits Nintendo and Switch owners, it doesn't benefit the publisher.
So it's better to do a late port because then people will already have bought the PS4/XB1 version but some will double dip for another playthrough on the go. That also works well in Japan where most people still sell their game after completing it and ignore DLC, rather rebuying the game's expanded version (containing all the DLC, if it had any) later, often for a different hardware. Nintendo is doing their part to improve acceptance of DLC so in time they will get more simultaneous releases.
Supporting the home console first and then the handheld with its added utility is also the pattern Nintendo themselves used for (S)NES/GB or Wii U/3DS. You don't release Mario Maker for Wii U and 3DS at the same time, it would just kill the Wii U version. Wii U is quite similar to PS4 in Japan in that you want to support the less successful platform first or it will just get ignored.
Returning to the Switch's late port dilemma, the best way to overcome this is to build a high install base and to reach an audience that isn't already on PS4/XB1. People who currently exclusively play on mobile. People who made up the expanded audience on Wii and DS. They need to get that audience back on board. Then Switch can get sales that wouldn't come from PS4/XB1 and publishers would have a good reason to support Switch simultaneously.