The industry reacts to the Nintendo Switch

You can’t move in the industry today without hearing about the Nintendo Switch. Here at Develop today we’ve told you when players will be getting it, and several of the features that’ll be included, but what do developers think about the upcoming console?

Paul Norris — creative director, Mad Fellows

"I worked on an exclusive launch title for the Wii-U in 2012. It was really exciting to have unconventional hardware to design for. However, it’s usually only the exclusive games that make meaningful use of any new ‘gimmick’ features. The Switch looks to be concentrating on evolving how and where you play games, not necessarily the games themselves. This, in my opinion, is a great direction. As an indie developer, you need a very good reason to develop a game specifically for a single platform. As a consumer though, it’s pricier than I’d expect from Nintendo."

Catherine Wooley — senior designer, The Chinese Room

"I’m happy to see that Nintendo are still coming up with imaginative ways to play. From the first Switch announcement it felt almost non-Nintendo to me. But after finding out more details on the Joy-Con and how 1-2 Switch and Arms play out I’m happy to see that we’re still going to be able to see inventive games from Nintendo, while still allowing traditional style play. It once again does mean that games developed for Nintendo’s platform will want to be quite different to those on other consoles, which isn’t a bad thing, but I worry that it will put developers off it as a platform. With that said we have so many amazing developers out there from indie to AAA and I’m sure after watching the presentation the designers and creatives out there are imagining what they can create. I for one really hope we see a full WarioWare title for the Switch, as that’s a game that can definitely take advantage of the controls and encourage the cooperative gameplay. I for one can’t wait to see what else Nintendo have up their sleeves!"

Mike Bithell — director, Bithell Games

I’m super excited about the Switch, I want to get my hands on those controllers.. the unique input methods (IR camera and detachable controllers for multiplayer) make it incredibly attractive. Moreover, I’m excited by the energy and personality of Nintendo’s event. They are a company focused on the fun, and it’s great to see videogames presented in that colourful, vivid way. I’m looking forward to playing with the device, I want to check out those haptic feedback features.

James Dance — director, Loading Bar(s)

As a venue Nintendo consoles have always been the biggest draws for us with Mario Kart/Smash appealing to pretty much everyone that wonders in. While the WiiU wasn’t a big seller it is still the console most frequently reserved here, as a business having a device that lets 8 people cram around 1 screen and play together is a godsend.

Nele Steenput — 3D artist, A Brave Plan

"For me, I feel at the moment I’m most excited about the ARMS game as it demonstrates the new functionalities of the Joy-Con controllers. I love it. They have built in gyro controls this time as well as the motion IR camera to detect movements and I believe this will bring about many new opportunities for unique gameplay. The reason I have a Wii U is because of the many great multiplayer games which makes it a fun console to have at parties. With these new functionalities I’m excited to see what new kinds of multiplayer games developers will come up with, and the fact you do not necessarily need to be hooked up to a TV screen to be able to play these games with your friends is a big win.

I like that they’re stepping away from standard controls as well. to create games you can play it without needing to know which buttons to press, which makes it more accessible to everyone. They’re more natural movements"