Nier Replicant Datamine Hints At Switch Plans

I would pick up both day 1 but I don't see this happening without the Cloud.

Can’t think of anything much better than having NieR, especially Automata, on Switch. Well, other than Persona 5, of course!

Ill say bring it if it runs well

Surely one of the Nier Replicant Versions 1.22xxetc. can run on Switch, right?

I'd be all for it.

It's not a game I'm 100% sure I want to play, BUT a switch port would definitely increase the likelihood I buy it!

I couldn't finish this game for some reason. I just didn't think it was as good as Automata. I got the first ending and then stopped.

Nier way, dudes!

@NinjaWaddleDee I enjoyed Replicant and got all the endings, but I do agree Automata is much better and the multiple endings feel less repetitive.

There is always a "but" when talking about the Switch. Saw it with the WiiU and the Wii and the Gamecube and the N64. 95% (maybe higher) of third party games never make it to the Nintendo console. Not because developers are lazy, but because Nintendo focuses on gimmicks and builds consoles that are horribly underpowered.

Yeah, sure, I'd absolutely take it....

@Cynas That's good. I know a lot of people hyped up the story to be better than Automata, but I thought it was just okay. It was neat, but I didn't feel as much compared to Automata.

Would love both of them on there. I think it’s possible without the cloud considering it’s at 900p 60fps on the base Xbox one for automata at least and it runs fine. The switch could maybe do 720p docked. Maybe. Or just be a switch pro exclusive(yes I believe there will be a little bit of exclusives games) or maybe all switch models will get it but it would run not well on regular switches and the pro would run it like a PlayStation 4 would. Who knows?

Like I said elsewhere, I'm always up for Nier and Nier Automata on Switch, but if something prevents them from optimizing even the former, I likewise wouldn't mind waiting until a 10th gen successor... and playing Drakengard trilogy in the meantime.😉

@Peteykins the only thing we all know is that the fandom wants Nintendo to do like Sony and Microsoft in terms of an upgrade's existence AND name... but conveniently deviate in terms of software exclusivity (which even Nintendo themselves did on one platform to a very limited extent). It's certainly no news that 99% of Switch Pro talk revolves around fan wishlists.

...at least for us idle chatters here. Some devs and publishers seem to be missing the memo: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2021/01/a_pro_switch_with_more_power_might_not_even_be_fully_utilised_says_industry_veteran

@Ambassador_Kong The GameCube was actually only less technically powerful than the original Xbox but more so than the PS2. The big bottleneck there was that they decided to opt for their weird physical formats for games again just like the N64.

If they had just gone with full size discs like everyone else was, they might've had a way better chance at more third party support. Even the support that did come was actually really solid for the time

I'm not surprised Switch development was dropped

Playing the game on PC rn it doesn't just look like a simple up-res of the original PS3 game to me. There actually seems to be some visual changes and improvements to make the game more closely align with the aesthetic of Automata, which in of itself is a pretty damn good looking game.

Maybe they can just bring the original game to Switch like they did with Ni No Kuni?

I'd try both of these out if they ever made the Switch - I've heard really good things - but I'm unsure if they'd run well with the current hardware.

Would be nice to have it on Switch but it's an okay game, got it on PC and beat it to death already. Would double dip if this ever became true though.

These guys are clowns.

Give us Bayonetta first then start talking BS about other games.

Im so fed up of these developers.

@TheFrenchiestFry Yes, I know that the Gamecube was powerful, but Nintendo negated the power by insisting on those stupid mini discs. Nintendo needs to focus on a powerful, industry standard console or just go third party. They just don't have enough games to sustain a console on their own. People are going to get tired of their re-released, mobile hand-me-down, gimped port console approach the same way they got tired of the Wii.

I felt bamboozled by Nier Automata. After playing the demo, I was thrilled, so I bought it instantly. Then when I played the game, I learned it wasn’t structured like the demo, and it was another large, open, empty, and boring open world style game. Look, I get that the action is good, but I don’t want to have to walk somewhere boring for ten minutes to find it. Ugh.

@Ambassador_Kong Why Nintendo doesn’t embrace an even moderately powerful console is beyond me. The tech industry is literally the fastest moving industry on the planet. It feels like Nintendo is deliberately trying to slow it down with last-gen hardware. It’s amazing this thing sold as well as it did, amidst the lack of performance and major lack of first party titles.

@BloodNinja They're probably still stuck in that mindset that the least powerful console will always win if it has good games

I personally don't like that THAT was the message they extrapolated from the PS2 being the most popular of the three big consoles, because PS3 and PS4 also fly in the face of that argument given they were both, more powerful than their counterparts, AND had great software

@TheFrenchiestFry Very true, though the major oversight with the CMOS batteries in the PS3 and PS4 truly undermines any value they have. Sony literally is walking away with our money, so I put my consoles in the garbage bin a couple weeks ago and couldn’t be happier.

I am sure the original game can run on switch considering it was on PS3. Maybe they could just bring the PS3 version

@Razer Bayonetta? Platinum isn't involved.

@The_Pixel_King Exactly!!!

Day one purchase for me. If they were in full 1080/720. Nothing below that. Bring on the pro to unlock the delicious third party stuff!

Give it to panic button for the task!

@BloodNinja

Y'all should know how Nintendo thinks in terms of how they view power with tech by now.

They'd rather do something creative with tech instead of sinking money into power and making a console like the competition because it boxes them in and costs money.

There's no way we would have had the Switch if Nintendo decided that their console at the time was the same specs as the PS4 and XB1 without costing them and the consumer.

They learned their lesson with the N64 and the GameCube that chasing power wasn't the best approach and that creating new gameplay experiences was better.

Would make a nice trilogy with the coming nier:re[in]carnation, even though that is a mobile gacha game...
More info on twitter https://twitter.com/NieRReinEN?s=20

@JuiceMan_V We totally could have had the Switch if it was even moderately more powerful. It doesn’t have to push the envelop for what a console is capable of doing like Sony or Msoft, but it sure would be nice to not have 90 second loading times and frame rate issues on certain titles. A little bit more power would go a long way for existing games with performance issues.

@BloodNinja

A little more power like how?

What would that entail? You're really speaking generally here like making consoles is simple especially with a concept like the Switch.

Like what you're asking for affects the bottom line of the company and passes on to the consumer.

They can probably make a decent powered Switch now, but I assure you that it was very costly to do what you wanted when the Switch was in planning stages.

@Ambassador_Kong Not sure what the issue of the mini-DVD disc of the GameCube really is, it's not like having a multi disc game is an issue. After all PS2 had multi disc games too despite using bigger size DVD disc. Not only that, seems like people complaint for the sake of complaining, the mini DVD disc on GameCube despite small actually had bigger storage capability than a Dreamcast GD-Rom disc so if Shenmue was to be ported to GameCube it would only be stored on two mini disc instead of four Dreamcast disc.

@JuiceMan_V I would imagine that improving the general hardware, such as CPU/GPU and RAM would help get rid of the slow load times and poor frame rate that certain titles suffer from. What’s wrong with that, exactly?

Grr, why doesn't Nintendo become one of the other two big black box companies and do everything they do.

It's what makes Nintendo unique — this is simply how they operate and have operated since before many players complaining about their hardware were alive. How effective their strategy is ebbs and flows with the times and comes with its setbacks, but even their failures are completely creative, unexpected, and fully considered with fun in mind; something that can't always be said for their "competition," who they actively choose not to compete with on the level some here are demanding. You can always pick up a copy of the latest $70 movie game with a 1TB day one update promoted with Mountain Dew/Doritos tie-in marketing campaigns and enjoy that technical masterpiece of a video game instead of dealing with big bad Nintendo, people.

@TheFrenchiestFry just this morning on the switch subreddit i saw some entitled fanboy call square lazy for not releasing replicant on switch because "it's just a ps3 upscale"

Deffinitely agree, the switch hardware is at fault and in the end the upgraded version couldn't run properly. It's got nothing to do with laziness

@BloodNinja i'm specifically waiting for a 60fps all around switch. Ever since i switched from consoles to pc i just cant play at 30fps anymore, it looks too sluggish to my liking. It's not a graphics thing, i just prefer very fluid games

@Orpheus79V at this stage, it genuinely seems that way. But honestly, these guys are the developers.

@Casual_Gamer95 I agree with you, 100%. I find 30fps to be very hard on the eyes. 60 is way more comfortable.

@BloodNinja yeah, and many switch games drop below 30fps, it's a no go for me. At least when at 60fps a game that will drop will still be above 30fps and it will feel smoother

@Menardi I think that Nintendo should make a console that can handle 100% of the software released for it, without glaring issues like long loading times and poor frame rates. It handles most titles, but the console should handle 100% of the offerings. It’s actually more understandable on PC, because with those games you can improve performance by making a quick change in the settings. But on a console, if there’s bad performance, you have to wait for a patch, as there are no settings to adjust to make improvements. It’s not that they need to do what the competition is doing, that’s the wrong question to ask. It’s that they should give us something capable of running 100% of it’s available software at decent speeds. I know a lot of people here are bafflingly against good performance, but most of us just want a smoother experience.

@Casual_Gamer95 Precisely this. It’s just so jarring to the experience, not to mention the long load times that plague some games!

@BloodNinja yeah some games are very long to load thanks to the slow cpu and ram

@BloodNinja The issue is not hardware, the issue is optimization. If a game cannot be optimized to perform well on the hardware, which is saying something considering what is already running (and running well) on the console, then it should not appear on it in the first place. The best games are made with the hardware in mind. I understand the complaint, and it is a fair one, but the point does need to be made, as this discussion often trends more in the direction of "Nintendo should either just become Sony or go third party," as evidenced above, than it does "I would like to see better performance." I would add that the complaint is better directed to the developers than it is Nintendo.

@Casual_Gamer95 Honesty, it’s gotten to a point where if there’s anything that involves heavy processing, I just buy it on PC. Also I think a modded Switch can over clock the CPU and make performance enhancements. When the Switch is no longer being updated, I might give that a go, assuming a better offering isn’t present.

@Menardi Sure, that’s why I said “most” games run. For some games, it’s 100% the hardware being poorly utilized. For others, it may be as simple as optimization. It really can go both ways 😀

@BloodNinja Right, hence the point that the complaint is perhaps best directed to the developers rather than reiterating the futile "Nintendo should try to compete in a field they will never lead" idea; Nintendo are simply not going to release a console that has parity on a technical level with its current competitors or even its competitors' remotely recent output, and that is something that will ideally always be the case. They operate by choice within their own bubble and do things in unconventional ways that often imposes technical limitations, and that should continue, as some of the best games of all time were made as a result of working within limitations like these. I think a broader issue at hand these days is a general lack of optimization, even on non-Nintendo consoles.

@Menardi I’m not saying they should compete in a field they cannot lead. A moderate increase in hardware power would only make things better, and they would still be “behind” in terms of hardware if that makes you happy. Why are so many users on here blatantly against good performance? I don’t understand! We just want our games to run smoothly!

@BloodNinja I understand you would like to see better performance. I would reiterate again that the issue is not a hardware issue — Nintendo releasing a more powerful product will not always make games that are especially wanting for optimization improvements suddenly run 100% better or even noticeably better to the average consumer (I guarantee WWE 2K18 will continue to run poorly on the Switch Pro, for example, while Crysis and Alien Isolation will continue to run acceptably well). The issue comes down to the investment made by the developers in optimizing their products to perform well within the limitations of Nintendo consoles, which are unique and cannot be treated like just another system. It is not a case of Nintendo fans "not wanting" better performance.

The fact that many developers cannot or will not make that investment speaks more to the general cutthroat nature of the industry today than it does a problem with Nintendo's hardware, which is more than capable of delivering performative and, most importantly, fun titles. This can be blamed in part on companies such as Sony, whose hyper focus on innovating nothing but their products' technical spec is pulling the industry by force toward more complex products and appropriately higher budgets, rendering the industry less accessible to small or mid-size developers and leaving them fewer resources to devote to other consoles. It is because of that constant push towards high budget blockbuster interactive movies that there are extraordinarily few modern equivalents of mid-size companies like nineties Rareware Ltd.

In today's dark age of video game history, you are increasingly either a mega conglomerate EAUbisoftActivisionEpicGoogleAmazonApple who require weekly three hour-long fifty person Zoom conferences to decide what style of shoe your game's protagonist should wear in one pre-rendered cutscene, or you are a one man shop selling indie games for nineteen cents on the eShop to attract eyes.

@Menardi It’s pretty exhausting talking with you about it, I’ll let someone else chime in if they wish.

@BloodNinja I am happy to agree to disagree, if this would earn the Ninja Approval.

@Menardi I’m just tired today, in general! I shouldn’t have worded it that way, sorry for my grouchiness! Been doing a LOT of overtime and it’s getting to me! You are always NINJA APPROVED

@BloodNinja I know the feeling, no worries.

Everything can be in Nintendo's hand this E3. They absolutely need to bring the games this year though. Lots of in demand ports and brand new games. Heavy hitters.

@BloodNinja The thing is, they needed to make the Switch both portable and at a low enough price point. This was obviously a perfect compromise, given how well the Switch has sold.

@Strumpan I understand why they did it, doesn't mean I like it

if they stopped developing replicant on switch near the end, it's pretty much a sign that the hardware wasn't enough to handle the target upgrades. Replicant isn't a ps3 upscale like fanboys on reddit say, it's a big upgrade that make it look closer to automata, not only that but textures are re-done and they changed many elements in the combat system.

People should just admit the switch is too weak for this game and move on, unless the switch pro is a big enough upgrade, this game will remain available only on its current platforms. And porting the original is of no interest, it's a VERY clunky game that didn't age well, thanks to the upgraded version, many problems were fixed. Square is aware that the original would not sell well enough on switch, so the only hope is a next gen switch with a late port/version of the upgraded version

@Otharon There is a bit of a following for the Nier series in general, and most who started on Automata (myself included) was just blown away by the exceptional story-telling here and started to follow the lore. I think SE and Nintendo might be surprised by the turnout this is going to be when they do decide to release these on the Switch. 100% of those who follow the lore and have the handheld will probably be day 1 takers (myself included), and those who are on the fence for a Switch (or even those have hesitated to pick up the handheld) would probably get one to take advantage to take their game protably.

No question, it would be both!

If this game gets ported to the Nintendo Switch, I know I will buy it in a heartbeat and I know tons of Switch owners will do the same thing. Come on Square Enix, you know we wanting it so Port it already.

@Peteykins upcoming switch model is a replacement of the existing full size switch. Only big changes are dlss to 1440p and then upscaling to 4k using the new dock's soc scaler. The system isn't made to be more powerful. It's a further refinement and replacement of the existing switch. Hopefully the price bump won't be horrible, but price going up to $379.99 range. Display is better, but everyone's already heard about that. Joycons are the same. Same sticks. Same potential drift. No one makes the potentiometers needed in a way that they don't drift. You should severely reduce your expectations for a switch pro, it's just going to be a revision that mainly addresses memory bandwidth issues and adds two stage upscaling to "4k" (UHD). Performance isn't hugely improved, but games can leverage dlss to run at lower resolutions and upscale to full hd and run with higher and more consistent framerates. There's probably not going to be exclusive games, simply because the actual hardware bump is less than going from 3ds to new 3ds. (Which was actually a massive perform bump, somewhere around 2-4x the overall performance depending on how cool the system can stay and avoid thermal throttling)

@Peteykins I doubt, unless you wanna sell hardly any copies. Nier isn't a huge seller to begin with. Putting in all that work to port it just for a switch pro is suicide.

@Prapper even the new 3ds had just a handful of exclusives which didn't do that well anyway apart one or 2 Nintendo exclusives.

@Casual_Gamer95 lol the game makers themselves did consider the Nintendo switch so they clearly thought it's possible.

System requirements and all that is determined right at the start. If they didn't think they could make it run on the switch they won't have even considered it. I'm sure it's just a matter of resources. nier isn't a big seller anyway.

@BloodNinja nintendo doesn't have the resources of Microsoft or Sony. You should look at the amount microsoft and even Sony pay to acquire studios, Nintendo can't.

@TheFrenchiestFry Nintendo don't have Microsoft And Sony money. those companies can afford to sell consoles at a loss. Nintendo even have to use remodified chipset.

@Gmiol You might be replying to the wrong guy, I don't recall ever mentioning acquiring studios. Also I thought almost all of Nintendo's IP is done by 3rd party studios, right now? They're not exactly poor.

@BloodNinja Nintendo aren't poor but nowhere as rich as Microsoft or Sony.

@Gmiol Thanks for the heads up, I’ll send them a get-well letter.

@BloodNinja well if Nintendo had the resources of Sony or Microsoft, they won't have to use a remodified tegra chipset and the switch would probably be a lot more powerful and nier would be ported with no problem at all.

@Gmiol uhhhh you do realize nintendo is one of the richest company in japan right? don't talk if you don't know what you're talking about. the sole reason why they use underpowered hardware is because they want cheap stuff so they could sell them at a profit without taking a loss like sony or microsoft. Nintendo isn't exactly a "poor starving indie dev"

@BloodNinja as if nintendo was poor lol, they now have a goddamn theme park but sure, they're not as rich as sony or microsoft

@Gmiol @Casual_Gamer95 I read about it to be sure, and Sony is worth $70 billion while Nintendo is worth $85 billion. Microsoft is estimated to be 1$ trillion, but still, Nintendo could have afforded to improve the Switch in some minor way!

@Casual_Gamer95 Alms for Nintendo, the poor starving multi-billion dollar games company [insert shrug emoji here]

@BloodNinja I don't know your sources but it's wrong.

Next time use a credible source like Forbes. And look at revenues, assets and profits. Revenue is the money they actually have. Assets are the resources they use in production (divisions, capital like machinery, factories, human resources, logistics, etc) and profits is Profit = Revenue – Costs.

Sony's assets are $250 billion, revenue is $80 billion.

Nintendo's assets are $22 billion, and revenue is $15 billion.

As you can see Nintendo isn't there at all.

Sony makes PCs, laptops, TV's, etc. When it comes to the tech side they have better logistics, better know-how, etc.

https://www.forbes.com/companies/sony/?sh=5a3d0c176f42
https://www.forbes.com/companies/nintendo/?sh=5a2da4e91898

@Gmiol revenue is what they make right now, not what they have in total. 22 billion is more than enough to figure out a better switch, the tech exists and even mid-range phones have better hardware than a switch nowadays and for a price of 350 bucks, it's entirely possible for them to figure this out. They are purposefully releasing cr@p hardware and i'm tired of this because i want to see my favorite dev (monolithsoft) finally make a game that doesn't have major quality compromises in order to run on their hardware. Xenoblade 2 would look and run much better if it had been on better hardware.

@Casual_Gamer95

Nintendo have to pay 10,000s of workers, maintain their buildings, distribution chain, marketing, game development, hardware division, taxes, and countless others. And the money they have all go into that.

Microsoft have the expertise when it comes to the computer side. They have access to the best software and even hardware engineers right at Microsoft itself. on the server and PaaS, IaaS, etc side, they are huge. Microsoft is diversified, they make software, hardware (especially servers, computer solutions for corporations such as cloud ex. Azure is huge in the corporate world).
They even have better logistics. So they can afford to make consoles cheap without excessive loss. They have the knowhow, expertise, and resources already.

Sony has movies ex. Spider-man, venom and co are making billions. They also have Sony music, which is making 100s of millions. They manufacture phones, laptops, tvs, fridges, etc. So when it comes to developing modern hardware, they have better know-how, expertise, resources, logistics and all. They are also better diversified.

Microsoft & sony can take the chance as of selling at a loss as well , even if Xbox is in trouble they have the whole Microsoft to hold it up and keep things steady on the shares and market side. Sony has their movies, music, fridges, tvs, laptops, etc. So their shares won't tank as bad as Nintendo (who only have games and video game IPs) if they have a bad console generation.

Unlike Sony, and Microsoft, if Nintendo has 2 bad console generation they are in a lot of trouble.
Public trust will tank, their market shares will plummet, and Nintendo will probably go the way of Sega. At Nintendo everything (90% of what they are about) is dependent on selling consoles and games.

Because of that Nintendo needs to be more careful about how they invest their money. If they make and sell powerful consoles at higher prices, people may not buy it. If they sell them at the same price and the console flop they won't survive it.

Can Nintendo design a very powerful console? (Yes)

And sell it as cheaply as Microsoft and Sony do? No they can't unless they are willing to bet the survival of their company on it and that is bad business.

Without all the resources, knowhow, etc, a switch as powerful as a PS4 will be far more expensive. Probably $500.

Can they risk it? No they can't.

@Gmiol Please leave me alone. I’m tired of talking to you about things that don’t matter. Yes, I used Forbes. And a few other sites to cross-reference. Next time, ask someone what sources they used, instead of sounding like a know-it-all.

Why people defend Nintendo’s weak hardware decisions is totally beyond me. I even told you based on your response, you’re replying to the wrong user, so please buzz the heck away from me.

Nobody is suggesting a Switch that is on par with the PS4. You’re literally making up an argument, all by yourself, without reading what anybody is saying about the matter. I said I wanted a moderately more powerful Switch, that could handle the existing software without the long load times and poor frame rates. Did you read that? Can you leave me alone, now?

@BloodNinja Lol..funny guy. You can't make an argument, then tell me to leave you alone and not expect a respond. You claim, it's the wrong user and still make argument. Here is an amazing idea, don't respond!

You say you want a more powerful switch?What else would that switch be on par with if not the PS4 or xbone?

And no, Nintendo literally can't afford better hardware without taking high risks or a high price tag. We all know that Nintendo consoles can undersell ex. GameCube and Wii U.

Y'all think running a company is a piece of cake. Nintendo is doing the best with what they have.

@Gmiol Stop arguing with yourself about nothing. Another fool, blocked and ignored. Go back to Kotaku or whatever hole you crawled out of.

@BloodNinja lol..You'd think you're being forced to comment. Block away all you like, doesn't change facts. 😂

@BloodNinja aaaand blocked too. hate know-it-all peeps. he doesn't even realize we just want 60 frames. it's not asking too much. we're still stuck with games below 540p at 30fps, we could at least have a bump at 60fps if resolution isn't gonna be better

@Casual_Gamer95 I didn’t even initialize the conversation, and I tried to explain that he must have been replying to the wrong person but it was just going over his head for whatever reason! And yes, I don’t feel like we are asking for a lot, and paying a little extra for it isn’t a big deal at all!

@BloodNinja Hahaha this is just hilarious. Everybody saying how poor Nintendo is and you just go and drop the bomb.