The Nintendo Switch has been a fantastic, amazing success so far, selling beyond anyone’s expectations (including Nintendo’s). But the people who jumped into the console early have been reaping the rewards of its success- Nintendo, obviously, as well as third parties like Konami, Ubisoft, and Bethesda, and of course, a spate of indie developers.
Surprisingly, one of the staunchest holdouts for the Switch has been Capcom- it’s intriguing, because Capcom has always been a pioneering supporter of Nintendo hardware, from GameCube to 3DS, and yet on the Switch, they are unwilling to put even the obvious games like retro game compilations. Why is this so?
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, a Capcom spokesperson admitted that less than a year is not enough time for them to prepare Switch games- simply put, that seems to indicate that Capcom did not expect the Switch to do well, and that now that it has, they have no games ready in the wings. Developing games takes time, years, so any Capcom games for the platform may be a while away from release. Apart from the upcoming Resident Evil Revelations 1+2, I suppose.
Meanwhile, third parties who are approaching the Switch with less caution are probably going to end up winning loads of fans among a hugely engaged fanbase in the process.