You don't need to out Nintendo, Nintendo to do well on Switch. Third party games have sold very well on it. They're not evergreens like Nintendo's games are, but they still sell well.

They are mid-budget. Not many indie studios could do the production values of something like Gods and Monsters. In any case, yes, the graphical ceiling will go up next gen, but the graphical floor won't raise. The vast majority of mid-budget games can run on low-spec PCs, which the Switch isn't that far off from.

And you're logic about them requiring more power next gen doesn't add up. As graphical fidelity increases, so do development costs. Mid-budget games looking like today's AAA games doesn't make sense unless the costs for those graphics go down somehow. It defeats the whole point of being mid-budget.

And again, low-mid budget games are often made in Scalable engines and often scaled to run on low-spec PCs. If they can scale down to that, then they can scale down to Switch. You'd have a point if the Switch was some custom, specialized hardware like the Wii U was. But it's not. Tegra is based on PC hardware, and engine developers have been including a lot of support for platforms like the Switch, so down-scaling would be easier to do in UE4 on Switch than otherwise.

You seem to think that because the ceiling for graphical fidelity will rise, the floor will too. That hasn't been the case for years. The floor for graphical fidelity is very low actually, and most modern engines are designed to scale down to it.

What exactly are you trying to prove? I mean yes, of course the Switch isn't going to get anything with the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett as the floor specs. But the amount of games and developers who will even be targeting those specs as a minimum is probably going to be very little, mostly AAA developers.

Again, most developers these days work with scalable tools, and most engines have extensive support for low-powered devices like the Switch. Downgrading a low-mid-budget game probably won't take nearly as much as you think because of this. It also helps that the graphical floor is very low among a lot of developers as well. You don't have to target the highest specs if you don't want to.

And you completely ignored reading my post. Yes, the Switch won't likely get the next gen AAA games. But it will get plenty of mid-budget titles that already run on even low-spec devices. Samurai Showdown, Crash Team Racing, Dauntless, Ninjala, Daemon X Machina, Oniaki, Ninja Box, Gods and Monsters, among others are where the Switch's real third party strengths will lie.

As you know, this generation is winding down in the spotlight, come next year, the 9th gen systems will make their debut. Sony's already blown the lid on specs for PS5, and everything they've listed sounds very impressive for next gen, and we're still waiting to see what Microsoft plans on doing with Scarlett. One common fear is that because next gen systems will be arriving, that means that the Switch will somehow suffer a mass exodus of third party support. Now it'll be a generation and a half behind the two main consoles, so it's most likely to receive even less AAA support than it was getting before, if it even gets any of those games at all. Now, that's most likely going to be true, the Switch is a tablet at the end of the day, and mobile technology still has limits as to what can realistically run on it. So no, Switch won't be the place to play the latest Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed titles with high end visuals.

But, I don't think that's bad. More specifically, I don't think not having the power for next-gen AAA games is really going to hurt the Switch that much for major publishers, because there is a market, for which games can be developed on a smaller, medium sized budget for all available consoles, and that's honestly, what I think the Switch's future will be in terms of major support, outside remasters and ports. We already started seeing seeds of this last year. Switch got games from Valkyria Chronicles 4, to Mega Man 11, to Starlink: Battle for Atlas same day as the other versions. Along with exclusives like Octopath Traveler, and even late ports like Crash and DBFZ. All of them did as well as, if not better than their PS4 and Xbox One counterparts, and they're games that are generally easier to downscale to Switch vs. the more AAA ones. This year, we have more games like Samurai Showdown, Crash Team Racing, Dauntless, Ninjala, Daemon X Machina, Oniaki, Ninja Box, Gods and Monsters, I'd even argue Mortal Kombat 11 to an extent that fill a niche between AAA and indie and as tired as the statement has become, are perfect for Switch.

That's where I think the future of the Switch will be for Major third parties. Sony and Microsoft have the AAA space locked down, but Capcom, Ubisoft, and the like can still make less demanding games that can run everywhere, and its more viable than its ever been. Game engines and graphical fidelity has progressed so much to the point where you can make a decent looking and solid game with about 30-40 people, run it on low end hardware, and still have it do pretty well. And with AAA games going to need even more resources and development time next gen now that 4k will be standard, the need to do less demanding projects will be greater. That, on top of remasters, Nintendo's own games, and the mountains of indies, the Switch should have more than enough support even going into next gen. And they wouldn't even need a "Pro" revision to do it, though it would certainly help.

It's hard to believe that Video games are now in their 8th generation, and the medium has come a long way since its humble Pong beginnings. We've had good gens, we've had bad ones, but which generation did you think was your favorite, and which was your least favorite?

My favorite generation so far has to be the 6th Generation with the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Dreamcast, and GBA. Not only was it the generation I grew up on, but it was also where Video games really hit their peak IMO. No longer were they seen as just toys for kids, but events rivaling movies or music videos. It felt like there was a wide array of ideas being experimented and you had everything from Cartoony Platformers marketed together with Gritty GTA games. Importantly, it was the generation where Video Games really started looking and playing like they were intended to, especially coming from the very basic 3D capabilities of the preceding generation. There were now fully realized world to explore, with tons of things happening, characters that looked like their official renders that could form real body movements and lip sync, gameplay that was smooth, tight, and responsive, and of course, the rise of Online Multiplayer. It's so good, that a large portion of games from this era still look and play well to this day, which is a reason why publishers continue to keep re-releasing games from this period. It really felt like this was the generation where video games really started to become something special.

Honorable mention goes to the current 8th generation with the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. Yes, a lot of people may have their grievances with some of the practices this generation, but I feel 8th gen is the best we had since 6th. For one all three consoles these days are incredibly easy to develop for thanks to their PC-like hardware and wide array of engine support. Because of this, and the improvements made to digital distribution, it feels like there's a wider spread of ideas and visuals this generation than the one preceding it. It's so easy to make a game now, that console libraries are now massive. eSports is finally hitting the mainstream, the lines between casual and hardcore gamers and gaming continue to blur and become more dynamic, And this is the generation where you have colorful games that can run on toasters like Fortnite, Rocket League, Shovel Knight, Celeste, and Overwatch being some of the most popular and well received games alongside your usual AAA titles. Honestly if game generations stopped here, I'd think I'd be pretty happy.

My least favorite generation though, has to be 7th generation with the PS3, 360, Wii, DS, and PSP. Looking back, I don't hate it as much as I used to. Much like 6th generation, a lot of 7th gen titles still look and play very well today, which is again, why we see so many remasters and ports from this era even today. But I think its the generation that probably won't age that gracefully. The gargantuan power increase of the HD systems means AAA development skyrocketed, leading to games becoming more focus-tested and by-the-numbers, which means all those unique, mid-budget titles from the 6th generation vanished from HD systems. At the time the infrastructure to launch a successful indie game on consoles just wasn't there yet. Sure you had Xbox Live Arcade, which did pretty well in getting the concept started, but none of the big three really provided an environment where these kinds of games can succeed. As a result, indie games were predominantly on PC. All those aforementioned mid-budget games also retreated to either the PC, PS2/Wii, or DS/PSP, as the HD systems at the time weren't the easiest to develop for, particularly in the PS3's case. And of course, motion controls and casual games first got their rise on consoles with the success of the Wii, and what did publishers do with that? Shat out an endless stream of shovel-ware and broken waggle garbage to fund the HD AAA Shooter or Action game of their dreams, which was unfortunate to say the least. Also, at least early in the gen, many games had a bad habit of forcing bloom lighting into everything, which makes a lot of games look glossy and plastic-ey by today's standards. 7th generation had its bright spots, but it was mostly an era of underused potential, awkward trends, and lots of brown.

Sony's PlayStation line of game systems has been a leading brand for third party developers for more than 20 years now. After famously stealing Nintendo's thunder with the original PlayStation taking all the well known third parties with them, Sony has enjoyed the backing of some of gaming's top developers. Even less successful console's like the PSP and PS3 still got enough support to hold their own against their competition. But there's a big outlier in the PlayStation pantheon that could make even a lackluster Nintendo console blush, and that's the PlayStation Vita.

Vita is the red-headed stepchild of the PlayStation franchise. It's impressive hardware and cutting edge visuals couldn't save it from a terrible memory format, bad marketing, the rise of smartphone gaming, and as a result, poor sales. Because of all of these issues, third party support was unusually weak for a PlayStation console. When the system first launched in 2012, it showed some promise. It got ports of popular remasters from the PS3, and even ports of actual PS3 games to go with it. But once the realities of the system became apparent, everyone who originally backed the system, began to move away. Thus, after the first year, Third party support for the Vita dwindled to near non-existence, as developers began focusing on the much more attractive PlayStation 4, which would launch in NA, just a year later. It didn't help that Sony didn't bother making games that could make up for the lack of third party support, as much of their output consisted of watered down PS3 experiences. Unless it was a niche, no-name Japanese developer porting over a PS4 game, most major third parties dropped the Vita as quickly as they took it up. You know third party support on a PlayStation console is bad, when not even Square Enix releases much of anything for it.

It wasn't all bad though, what the Vita lacked in mainstream third party titles, it made up for it with a solid library of indie titles that lended well to its handheld nature. In fact, it was a better indie machine than it's competitor, the Nintendo 3DS at the time. Nintendo Switch may be the newest indie darling machine now, but I think the Switch owes a lot to the Vita regarding how to really court indies.

PS Vita could've been something great, and had Sony not been incompetent, it could've actually made Nintendo bleed in the handheld market, and possibly be the first system to actually bridge the gap between Smartphone gaming and console gaming like the Switch is now. But Sony had to be Sony and once again, force proprietary media down everyone's throats, barely release compelling games, and not even market the damn thing properly. I can't say I'm surprised nobody wanted to make games for the Vita.

The biggest limitations with 7th gen consoles have more to do with Lackluster RAM and complicated CPUs, especially in the PS3's case. I'd argue the design of the PlayStation 3 was completely tone deaf to what the future of game development actually was. Sony learned it's lesson the hard way, and actually did their homework with the PS4 this time. Using a cheap, PC processor and adding some much needed RAM helped it in the long run, allowing games to look better and play smoother than last gen counterparts, as well as drive down development costs for smaller teams thanks to support for all the latest engines.

Point is, developers don't care about bleeding edge tech and fancy processors. They just want something simple, easy, and flexible, and the PS4 delivered.

@Shmiity:

This might be hard to believe for you, but not everyone gives a shit about having the best looking version of a game, and just want a version they can play while away from home. Portability is the reason to buy a third party game on Switch vs. the others. It also helps Switch versions are selling well because of that. If you don't care about portability, fine, but don't live in a bubble here.

Octopath Traveler, DBFZ, and the Bethesda Shooters are some of the best third party games on the system. none of those are from 2011, and one of those games is an exclusive.

@Shmiity: Only the Switch doesn't just have Nintendo games. This is honestly the strongest third party support Nintendo's had in years. Yet people in this thread are too stupid to see it.

Also, we haven't even gotten our first 2019 Nintendo Direct yet. Calm your tits people, let's wait until the actual lineup is shown first.