When the Nintendo Wii U launched, it had a troublesome time getting any real footing within the market. There are several reasons behind this, but one of those issues that the Nintendo Wii U had problems with is the fact that the console didn’t have much of a third-party prescience. That changed drastically with the Nintendo Switch as the platform is constantly finding some big titles releases that are not directly from Nintendo’s first-party studios.
While select third-party games that eventually see a launch on the Nintendo Switch typically comes after the other console and PC platform releases, some additional companies help bring out ports into the market. One of the companies that thrived with the Nintendo Switch generation is Virtuous who has brought out quite a few platform ports into the marketplace. The Outer Worlds, Dark Souls: Remastered, BioShock Collection, and L.A. Noire are just a few games that this studio had helped bring out a Nintendo Switch port.
Recently, the Virtuous team spoke with Automaton Media, a Japanese publication about their work on Nintendo Switch ports. Lukas Codr, made note that the Nintendo Switch platform, much like every platform that launches into the marketplace, has a learning curve. Developers require time to understand the power of the platform and various techniques in getting a video game optimized.
“The majority of companies in the business of porting games to the Nintendo Switch have been progressively improving their techniques. At first, projects usually involve simple and safe optimizations. The reason is that developers are still in the midst of researching the new platform and learning its strengths and weaknesses. Our engineers and artists continue to level up from all of their experiences working on multiple projects. We’ve learned a lot of skills and have a lot of knowledge under our belt now, so I’d say we’re several levels higher than less experienced teams.”
It looks like after a few years of working with the platform, the developers are finally having a grasp on how to make some remarkable port optimizations. It looks like Virtuous is rather confident in the work that they will bring out for the platform in particular. Of course, looking at their history shows a pretty reliable record for the Nintendo Switch platform.