The transcript of a Q&A with Nintendo was recently released. Tatsumi Kimishima, the President of Nintendo, Shinya Takahashi, Director and Managing Executive Officer, and Shigeru Miyamoto, Director and Creative Fellow (yes, that is an actual title he is given in the Q&A) first discussed the success of Pokémon GO and reiterated that Nintendo wants to release two or three mobile games year from here on out. After that, they shifted towards discussion of the Switch.
Miyamoto explained that one of the priorities during the development of the Switch was uniqueness. This is something that has always been a priority for Nintendo, as can be seen by the advanced motion controls of the Wii, as well as the general gaming design of the Wii U. One area where the Wii U fell short, however, was third party support. Due to the unusual mechanics of the Wii U, third party developers had trouble porting games to it, which led to less third party titles on the Wii U and in turn led to unimpressive sales over the course of the console’s lifespan. This is something it seems Nintendo is aiming to rectify with its new console.
Takahashi explained that Nintendo’s own development tools were the priority for the Wii U, but with the Switch they wanted to make it easier for other developers to use as well. He names the Unity and Unreal engines specifically as examples of development programs that will be compatible with the Switch. Miyamoto went on to say that it would probably take less than a year for a PC game to be ported to the Switch.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and FIFA 18, among other third party games, have been confirmed for the Switch. The Switch will be available on March 3 and will be priced at $299.99. Below is the Switch’s extended Super Bowl commercial.