19th June 2024, 10:55 PM
I'd say I'm surprised but... Nintendo was already known for pretty long development cycles compared to their contemporaries over the years. They aren't Ubisoft, pumping out a game a year for a single franchise. That said, Metroid Prime 4 is in a different place. America, but what I mean is remember Rare and the long delays for their games that dwarfed even Nintendo's delays?
Also, recall that Tears of the Kingdom was a game that reused Breath of the Wild's engine in order to speed up development time, and even with that head start, it still took a good long while.
The Switch 2, whatever it may be, is coming out at some point. Development costs to really take advantage of that hardware are going to go up, but more than that, the hours of work needed to realize it will go up too. All that resolution will be expecte to get filled with details. I think it's the details in the models and textures and special effects that are slowing these games down the most. Have you ever just sat down, exploded a game's files, and just LOOKED at the vast PLANET of textures to be found in today's games? Artists had to make ALL of that. Every single inch. Metroid Prime 4 is a rare Nintendo game going for "realistic" style graphics, and that requires lots and lots of detail, even on hardware that's essentially a portable PS3/XBox360. Even games like Mario Odyssey of all things are being set in a lot of "realistic" detailed locations. Perhaps all these companies need to step back and ask themselves how important all this detail actually is! Don't get me wrong, having a game that rich in lavish detail is nice, but it's not necessary. I think such things should become a "sometimes food". In Nintendo's case, as I said, Metroid Prime 4 is a rarer example, but Zelda comes close. I think that's why the new Zelda Prime 2 Echoes is going for such a simplistic design. They can pump it out far faster than Tears for Fears and still give us some major innovations.
Also, recall that Tears of the Kingdom was a game that reused Breath of the Wild's engine in order to speed up development time, and even with that head start, it still took a good long while.
The Switch 2, whatever it may be, is coming out at some point. Development costs to really take advantage of that hardware are going to go up, but more than that, the hours of work needed to realize it will go up too. All that resolution will be expecte to get filled with details. I think it's the details in the models and textures and special effects that are slowing these games down the most. Have you ever just sat down, exploded a game's files, and just LOOKED at the vast PLANET of textures to be found in today's games? Artists had to make ALL of that. Every single inch. Metroid Prime 4 is a rare Nintendo game going for "realistic" style graphics, and that requires lots and lots of detail, even on hardware that's essentially a portable PS3/XBox360. Even games like Mario Odyssey of all things are being set in a lot of "realistic" detailed locations. Perhaps all these companies need to step back and ask themselves how important all this detail actually is! Don't get me wrong, having a game that rich in lavish detail is nice, but it's not necessary. I think such things should become a "sometimes food". In Nintendo's case, as I said, Metroid Prime 4 is a rarer example, but Zelda comes close. I think that's why the new Zelda Prime 2 Echoes is going for such a simplistic design. They can pump it out far faster than Tears for Fears and still give us some major innovations.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)