Nintendo’s biggest announcement during its latest Direct didn’t go by unnoticed. Two major current-gen PC and console first-person shooters, Doom and Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, will be making their way to Nintendo Switch. But they represent much more than a chance to fill out the Switch’s library with a genre unrepresented on the system so far.
The pair of Bethesda games signal Nintendo’s increased willingness to partner and foster relationships with third-parties, and is evidence to the industry, and players, that third-party software can sit alongside Nintendo’s own on the Switch.
Other than a couple of licensed games in the mid-2000’s like Ducati Moto and Star Trek: Tactical Assault, Bethesda games have not appeared on Nintendo platforms, handheld or home console. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s announcement for Switch earlier this year signaled a major first step in a relationship between the two companies.
It could have ended there, right? Bethesda could have put Skyrim, one of its most popular games, out on yet another platform and move on. Instead, the publisher announced two more games — visually intensive recent or upcoming ones, at that — before Skyrim has even been released. Bethesda believes enough in the platform to move forward with more production, unsure of how Skyrim will sell on the Switch.
This announcement is a strong sign of Bethesda and Nintendo's partnership.
That’s a significant step for a publisher to take. Sure, Skyrim is a proven property, but the sales power of it on a Nintendo console is not. Regardless of how big a game it is, that’s somewhat of a gamble. But both Wolfenstein 2 and Doom coming to the system represents something about this burgeoning partnership. Maybe Bethesda is pleased with how Nintendo has treated Skyrim’s port over to the Switch. Maybe Nintendo is, privately of course, shelling out a ton of money in a deal to bring some of these games to Switch.
Whatever is happening behind the scenes, publicly, the latest announcement is a solid sign of this partnership. And more importantly, coupled with the return of Rockstar to Nintendo platforms with L.A. Noire — Bully was the last Rockstar game to come to a Nintendo home console, in 2008, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars came to DS in 2009 — it signifies that Nintendo is committed to fostering a major third-party presence on Switch.
It’s a concern that comes up every time Nintendo debuts a new home console — the first-party games will be there, and many will likely be great, but will the major publishers pushing games to PC and other consoles be there to fill out the library?
It’s been an ebb and flow — plenty of unique third-party games came to the Gamecube, publishers attempted to take advantage of the Wii’s massive install base, and the Wii U launched with a few third-party ports. Few of these releases have been about showing Nintendo consoles, like their competitors could be home to the biggest multiplatform releases, though. After the Wii U withered sales-wise compared to other platforms, it’s no surprise companies would be wary to hop onto Nintendo’s new platform, especially with it being both an on-the-go and home system.
Companies have publicly even said so. Capcom said Ultra Street Fighter II would be a bellwether for future support, and EA execs have made similar comments about what FIFA 18’s success will mean for future EA support. Even despite the Switch’s success out of the gate, it’s understandable for companies to want to wait-and-see the system’s potential.
Hopefully next year, third parties can stop worrying and bring their 2018 games to Switch.
That’s how we end up with a fall where, despite these ports coming, is devoid of the season’s newest major releases. There’s no Assassin’s Creed: Origins, no Call of Duty: WW2, and no Star Wars Battlefront. And even though Wolfenstein 2 is coming, it’s not until months after its initial release. Hopefully by this time next year, that trepidation can be erased to allow the next iterations of those games to find a home on the Switch. These ports seemingly prove current cross-platform games can run on Switch, so that lack of day-and-date support shouldn't exist in the coming years.
And the Bethesda and Rockstar deals look like clear attempts to assuage those concerns. They may not be identical performance-wise, but if Switch can handle big, current-gen games, and games you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see on Nintendo platforms, that could be a game-change. So don’t be afraid to bring your games to Switch, too, Nintendo seems to be indicating. You don’t need to use one, arbitrary game as a test — the right software, pitched the right way to the audience, can find a home. On a smaller scale, just look at the success of indie games like Wonder Boy and Oceanhorn, or the massive NPD sales success of first-party games like Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
If Bethesda’s commitment to bringing three games, and Rockstar porting L.A. Noire, aren’t enough indicators to other publishers and developers that Nintendo is willing to support third-party support, look no further than Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle.
Nintendo was willing to let loose some of its biggest characters to a separate studio in a genre unproven on Nintendo platforms, leading to one of the system’s most delightful surprises since the Switch debuted. Ubisoft and Nintendo proved the (understandable) skepticism before the game’s release wrong, while also proving that, given the right idea, Nintendo is willing to experiment and partner in ways the company really hasn’t much before.
Throw in smaller uses of Nintendo’s properties with the Mario and Metroid cars in Rocket League and the Link costumes in Skyrim, and Nintendo is proving again and again that it’s slowly turning a new leaf and willing to do what’s necessary to attract the most interesting and beloved games to the system.
It is absolutely understandable that the first year of the Switch would feature light third-party support in the form of current releases. Companies want to test the system’s success, and so it’s completely understandable that, before the Switch’s launch success, they would have been wary of starting up development on a number of ports. There was no telling at the time how any of them might of sold, or what the quality would have been.
But with Wolfenstein 2, Doom, Skyrim, and L.A. Noire, Nintendo is trying to prove that companies no longer have to wait, that the quality can exist on the Switch. You can bring your games to Switch, and Nintendo will support them. Let’s just see if the players will, too.
Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
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