Discussion Should Early Access titles be allowed on Switch?

[N75]

With the rise of successful Steam Early Access titles like Hades, Dead Cells, Lethal Company, and Baldur's Gate 3, do you think Nintendo should open up this service on the Switch?

Obviously, the main downsides are games potentially being buggier than usual or eveb potentially never getting a 1.0 release. On the other hand, it could provide devs with additional support and a larger pool for feedback.

 

[Tangerine_Cookie]

But that's how most multiplayer and Mario sports games from Nintendo themselves have released already.

Not meant as a dig or anything, they are closer to how Early Access games work than GaaS.

 

[shoptroll]

EA mostly works only on PC and mobile because there are significantly fewer barriers to launching titles on those platforms.

It would take a major change in processes by any of the console makers to support such a program.

And woe to the developer or platform holder where a game manages to brick some kid’s console.

 

[PixelKnight]

I often give games a few weeks to work the bugs out anyway these days.

 

[N75]

EA mostly works only on PC and mobile because there are significantly fewer barriers to launching titles on those platforms.

It would take a major change in processes by any of the console makers to support such a program.

And woe to the developer or platform holder where a game manages to brick some kid’s console.

it seems that Xbox allows some EA titles nowadays? Not sure how that works, though.

 

[Dardan Sandiego]

Only if they add a robust refund system similar to the one on Steam. Which every store should do anyway but I think it should be a prerequisite for Early Access games.

 

[Concernt]

it seems that Xbox allows some EA titles nowadays? Not sure how that works, though.

Yeah, Xbox has a Game Preview programme. I believe it's a case by case basis.

Personally I don't want to see it on Switch, expecting people to pay for undercooked products generally doesn't sit super well with me. Opening up the testfire concept to third parties, though? "This month NSO subscribers will be able to play the first chapter of Z game as part of our Test Launch initiative.", something like that I'd be favourable towards, much like how Game Previews tend to land on Game Pass.

 

[TheMindOfThomas]

Sure. The E-Shop is already unfiltered and not curated to begin with. Why restrict early access games for quality assurance when you have no quality control for everything else?

 

[BlackthornOrion]

I'm not generally into the idea of gatekeeping/curating what goes on the eshop, but I think with Early Access specifically, maybe Nintendo should create a path for a case-by-case basis from developers/publishers with a proven track record who can be trusted to not just completely abandon something and leave it broken forever

I'm definitely not just saying that because it'd get Hades 2 on Switch sooner

 

[Beanstar40]

Nintendo already does that with their sports games…..



I’m kidding, please don’t kill me.

 

[Derachi]

I don’t know if anyone has checked out Palia, a free to play MMO “cozy” game on Switch (also on PC) but that game is definitely in Early Access. My SO loves it and the game seems pretty good but is definitely not finished in the slightest.

So I’d argue that, in some cases, they already do.

 

[Somnia]

I voted "on a case by case basis" as I feel some should be allowed, but also some should not. There are quite a few early access cases I would like to see on Switch and eventually Switch 2, Hades is good example, it would have been great to have that.

 

[SirArthur]

I don’t know if anyone has checked out Palia, a free to play MMO “cozy” game on Switch (also on PC) but that game is definitely in Early Access. My SO loves it and the game seems pretty good but is definitely not finished in the slightest.

So I’d argue that, in some cases, they already do.

I played around 6-8 hours of it and yeah its an early access game fun though. On my switch the version is .176 there is no 0 at the beginning, maybe rules.

So there are some examples. The one title I could see them push would be Hades 2, if its bound for switch, I can see it on the eshop. As an overall practice, I wonder, Palia is an example of a new studios first game but the genre has a big audience on switch, so maybe they target or focus on certain genres.

 

[Tentacle-tropes]

They’ll definitely need to implement something’s first before I think they would be comfortable implementing EA. Even then they still would probably need to have a couple other features after that.

 

[Weebos]

I think allowing them on a case by case basis like Xbox does is a good idea. I usually don't play games in Early Access, but plenty of people do.

 

[Foltzie]

As others have pointed out there are already "early access" titles on Switch.

Really the questions are, "what policies limit early access titles on Switch", and "should Nintendo promote early access titles on the EShop?"

For the first question, I assume games still have to pass lot check/basic regression tests. However, I'm not clear what costs they are to publish titles to the eShop or push updates. Hopefully someone could share details.

For the second question. . . Yeah why not? Put its own section with a banner on top calling out the risks/nature of early access titles and you are golden.

 

[Brofield]

I say case by case, but only because an early access game like Valheim feels pretty competent even if it's still ongoing content to be added.

But like others have mentioned, big flashy banner saying pointing out it could be glitchy (but again, on a case by case basis I would hope there's some kind of testing to be done that it won't be too bad like some early access games on Steam), and an extremely forgiving refund policy.

 

[frog]

some games are already getting ported to Switch before they reach 1.0 so it's just a matter of officially labelling them as such on the eShop

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

If it's early access in content, but not in bugs or lacking platformer-demanded functionality, then it's just like any other game that hopes to have a lot of post-launch updates.

 

[JazzyFuture]

I feel like Early Access has long since turned around it's reputation of unfinished, buggy asset flips for a quick buck, and more as a genuine way to develop your game with feedback from a community, so I wouldn't really mind. The closest I can think of in recent memory that looks like that is Palworld, and even then it wasn't even buggy, it was quite polished for what it was. Just didn't have a lot of content and people stopped playing from the looks of things.

Early Access has given birth to possibly my favourite output from any Indie Studio with New Blood's banger after banger since Dusk, which made it's way onto Switch. Personally can't imagine playing Ultrakill without a keyboard, but I think they've done a lot to show that Early Access is a genuinely good way to develop games, especially from smaller devs.
One of the most critically acclaimed games last year was Baldur's Gate 3, and that was in Early Access too. Before that, Hades was too, and Hades 2 will be too.
Worst I could say about it on Switch compared to Steam is that mentioning bugs or feedback would be more removed, as Steam's forums are pretty commonly used for that sort of thing, but it feels like most games nowadays have Discords so I guess it wouldn't be that different.

 

[Elementary]

There's a reason that no console manufacturer allows actual early access games on their platform, and it has to do with bugs that could possibly enable rooting. Early access games would require much more scrutiny to prevent that sort of thing, which would lead to longer time between updates, which runs the risk of making one version of the game the worst version, or delaying the patch for all platforms if the devs commit to same-day releases. God forbid they find a problem in cert, too.

I played Switch Warframe when the consoles weren't content aligned and it kinda sucked, and that game isn't EA, it just feels like it it's just a live service game. I can say with confidence most studios that release games in early access wouldn't want the potential drama.

 

[lexony]

I wouldn‘t mind it. With the Switch having titles like "Calculator", Early Access would actually be kinda an improvement of the overall quality of available games in the eShop.

 

[Prophet64]

"Early Access" is gaming's convincing way of saying "pay full price to play our unfinished work." But the state in which some games release "finished" shows it really is just a moniker that implies maybe the developers will fix some of the issues before dubbing a version 1.0. Either way the word "shameless" pops into my head.