Usually I try to start these posts with "nuance" or slowly lead into a point, but I'm gonna cut to the chase. I don't like Cloud games on Switch. For those who don't know, Cloud gaming is when instead of a game running on a console, the game is streamed to you via internet and you have to have a constant connection in order for the game to work. Kind of like a YouTube video but for games. It has started to become a lot more prevalent with services like Google Stadia and Amazon Luna. While those programs are fine in my opinion, today we are talking about why this kind of gaming doesn't work on Nintendo Switch in the slightest. It Defeats the Purpose of the SwitchEvery Nintendo Console has a gimmick, the Switch is no exception. However, the Switch’s main “gimmick” isn’t one that can be brushed aside for the sake of the game running on the system. Wii Games didn’t NEED motion controls, DS games didn’t NEED touch controls, and 3DS games didn’t NEED to be in 3D. You can’t say that with Switch games. Its almost a crime to suggest that a Switch game only be played primarily in docked mode, and it turns the Switch into "another game console". The only reason an only handheld option “works” is because you can still play the game wherever you want and aren’t losing too many features of the Switch, hence the Nintendo Switch Lite. The Nintendo Switch’s biggest feature is that you can take your games on the go without needing internet connections to play them. Sure, for games that have major online components will require it, but those are usually for different game modes, leaderboards, or multiplayer. Also games like those, at least some on Switch, offer other single player game modes or local play. This isn’t that, this is requiring an internet connection for the game to even function. This to me requires too much for the gamer/average consumer to provide. Granted you more than likely have an internet connection if you own any game console, but if you want to take advantage of the main feature of the Switch, being its portability, you’d be very limited by not just having an Wi-fi connection, but a strong one at that. And really? Are you going to pull out your switch and your phone to turn on mobile data to play a game on the go that won't function without the need for internet. Compromises On Switch Aren't a ProblemThis could just be me, but I’ve gotten used to the fact that the Switch isn’t as powerful as the other consoles. At best the Switch is a Mid-Life/Mid Range Xbox One. That doesn’t take the joy or fun out the system, honestly quite the opposite. I feel like most gamers have accepted that fact, since day one. I mean were talking about a system that plays games portably. Mind you the Switch has proven it can handle bigger games like Doom Eternal, Witcher 3 and MK11 but we obviously know the console isn’t a mini-PC. It doesn’t have to be that though. While I do eventually wish that a Switch PRO (Switch PLUS) is announced one day, I like the current model we have and I along with other gamers realize that it doesn’t have to be as powerful as the other systems. We accepted long ago that the Switch isn’t going to be that powerful, and the Switch itself has proven that it doesn’t need 6 teraflops to bring fun experiences. Not that there is anything wrong if you want it, it's just not necessarily needed. Questionable Game ChoicesWhile the statement of “you don’t buy a Switch to play 3rd party games” bothers me sometimes, there is some truth to it. While we all have those 3rd party games that we feel would be perfect for the Switch, no one really bought a Switch to play CONTROL or HITMAN. It is cool to have these games to Switch, but no one was begging for them. At least not many people I know. There are some smart choices, like having Dying Light on Switch Natively while the sequel which runs on more powerful hardware on Cloud, but if recent news means anything that kind of thinking is few and far between. I’ve always been a supporter of “port everything to Switch”, but I understand the limits of the console and I get that not every game works on the system because of its limitations or it just not necessarily fitting on Switch audience wise. There are still tons of 3rd Party games I want on Switch but if they aren’t/can’t come to Switch, its fine. In addition to this point… It Feels Like... Cheating. In Some Cases Lazy.I understand why developers would want to put their games on Switch. The thing is about to outsell the Wii at this point. However, I start to tilt my head when developers say they have trouble porting games to the Switch and then make Cloud Games. Sometimes it feels like Developers only do it to not ENTIRELY lose the Nintendo market and it feels like “fake” Switch support. Take the game that started this whole boondoggle, CONTROL. The developers said that the only way this game was going to be on Switch was the Cloud. I was a bit skeptical on that statement, but I can believe it. The game has very lifelike visuals and details and the gameplay from what I’ve seen can get intense. It makes sense that the developers couldn’t get it to function on Switch, I wish they could find a way, but it makes sense. SQUARE ENIX NOT BEING ABLE TO PORT HD VERSIONS OF PS2 ERA GAMES & AN HD 3DS GAME DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!!!! I know, there's obviously a bit more to this as I obviously don't know everything that goes into game development and porting, but this still gets on my nerves and I really doubt that they aren't able to do it. Cloud Gaming on Switch, to me, is the bottom line. My problem isn’t that companies are accepting the bottom line. It happens with any major publisher and company and in some cases it’s the only route to get really great games on Switch. My problem is that it feels like some companies don’t even try to go pass the bottom line. Call me skeptical, but sometimes I doubt it when companies say that they can't port games to Switch when Panic Button and Saber Interactive exist. This isn't me saying that Cloud gaming is the worst thing for gaming or that every game in the future of Switch's life cycle is going to be on Cloud and its a terrible path were treading. I'm not even saying that there aren't positives, because there are some positives to it.
That's just me though, what do you guys think of Cloud Gaming on Switch? Let me know in the comments below. For more content like this, stay tuned in to Nintendo Gamepoint+. Thanks for your time.
Hey, didn't you get Dread? OH YEAH!
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