The Witcher 3 runs at a stunning 540p on Switch

@Bread_or_Decide: Sounds terrible. Now Link's Awakening in bed, on the train, and at the laundromat sounds divine.

The Switcher.

Cue a load of people who previously bashed it calling the game "one of the best ever" because they get the worst version FULL PRICE while PC owners can get vastly better version of the game for around 10 quid right now on GOG.

@DocSanchez: The Switcher, I like that.

@briguyb13: I have both, and rarley use the switch in portable mode. I would also never buy these watered down 3rd party games for the switch.

I applaud them for getting this massive game to run on the switch (a tablet basically).

But the downgrade is insane:

Top is an official screenshot, bottom is one I took in 2015

Then you should only buy third party games on PC, because they're also watered down on PS4.

It's all about stretching the truth ;)

This is hilarious coming from any console peasants.

If I enjoyed the game .... it be a no brainer to get this on switch as well.

Will be double dipping on Doom instead on day 1.

Except I don't remember N64 having to run RE2 at massively reduced settings and 8x lower resolution then other versions...

GOTY edition is 15 bucks on PC right now. Grab it right now if you haven't played it before.

Are they actually asking $60 for this?

Why did they even bother?

@XVision84: so, you're an Ms fan, you're making fun of the switch but missed out on the best games of the generation like switch and PS exclusives? ROFL.

You realize these are fake, right?

TW3 Switch version....

@calvincfb: I'm already playing the best games of this generation with Forza and Crackdown, my guy.

Honestly, who cares?

Right? Makes it even funnier when the monthly sales figures comes in and switch is on top... Lol!

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

You HAVE to be joking.

Yet this thread is made by an MS fan.

Those who care about quality.

Why are people impressed that they got this game to fit on a 32GB cartridge?...

I mean they have Doom on the Switch and that game is a 70GB file on Steam and Witcher 3 is 38GB.

I wonder if they created new settings for the Switch version like they did with Doom where it had settings lower than lowest on PC.

potato mode mods exist for many games on PC, which can be played on the go. This doesn't mean you should advocate for them over their superior counterparts. Why should you? Because it's running on a nintendo piece of hardware?

@calvincfb: Why would I be joking? Sony only knows how to make action adventure games and Nintendo is for children. Microsoft handles mature and tough themes across many genres.

Those who claim to "care about quality" and miss the concept that playing a massive open world game like that on the go is the epitome of "quality"....

Let's not play games. You are speaking about your obsession with graphic quality and that is entirely different. I obsess over gameplay, myself.

Games like these are unsuited to playing on the go. They require masses of time and concentration. This notion that gaming on the go is a benefit to any game needs to go away. For multiplayer games, sure, for arcade, short burst of fun, sure, but The Witcher? People will play this hooked up to their TV.

My guess is that a people are letting their Nintendo tinted glasses color their outlook on this game - I agree with what you are saying about the technical aspects of this game. I bet most of what they needed to do to make it fit was include *new* low res textures, etc. lower than the lowest setting on PC.

It really depends on the price though. If they are asking any more than $30 for this, it would be self-punishment for those who buy it. The portability of the Switch might make it a little novel, but most people play their Switch docked anyway.

Low resolution, shit frame rate, downgraded assets, downgraded world simulation, etc. all effect the immersion and enjoyment of the game. All those sacrifices are not worth it for portability. This port is an insult to the greatness that is The Witcher 3.

You're laughing at Nintendo while Witcher3 looks and runs like shit on PS4 too.

I applaud them for even trying. You got the Switch for fun playing on the go version and the X1X version for HDR something even the PC version doesn't have.

@DocSanchez: that is just not true.... I put 120+ hours into Skyrim switch and I could only muster half that on my 360 years ago, just as an example

Handheld AAA games sacrifice graphic performance and everyone who buys it goes into it knowing it. The switch offers a gaming lifestyle that the others don't and when a huge AAA arrives and plays consistent to the hardwares potential, we have lots to be excited for.

These people laughing are the funny ones, like switch owners don't already know it will be different? And yet I adored Doom and Wolfenstein II on switch. They played fantastic, cut scenes were top quality, and gameplay is king.

Even doom at 30fps had an incredibly nice old school feel to it. Meanwhile they're all secretly playing games on the lowest settings on their PC's bragging about a high end graphics engine they can't even afford.

YOU may have put a lot of time into it, because it's a great game. Witcher 3 will still be a great game. But these are not "Suited" to handhelds or enhanced by on the go experience at all. The small screen is going to be an issue, the battery, certainly, the nature of hours and hours playing on this tiny screen with these issues, not in the comfort of your home (because why wouldnt you plug it in?) but the distracting world outside?. People just throw lazily about the idea that gaming on the go is always a benefit. It just isn't. This will be played on nearly everyone's TV. I guarantee it.

I have a handheld capable of playing Shenmue. I had fantasies of playing it everywhere, and outside, on the go, on the bus or in the car, waste of time.

This is nothing to be excited for. It's out there, for next to nothing, at vastly better quality elsewhere, and you are going to pay $60 for a version with no real enhancements to a game like this? No.

I don't get people who get hung up on the price.

It doesn't cost zero dollars to port a game. It's a whole process, takes time and money. It's a new game on SWITCH. Doesn't matter that it's being sold for two cents on steam. It's been on that platform since 2015. It's on switch, NOW, TODAY, for the first time. And yes, switch comes with its special feature of portability and thus will be priced accordingly.

Gamers always sound so cheap, me thinks you need to find a cheaper hobby if money is your greatest concern.

Perhaps knitting. Although the cost of yarn is going up...

This made me lol

Behind the fact that my basic rational assessment of this game incurred some anger from you is the fact that you fail to realize that, upon the release of this game on Switch, it will also still be available for other platforms, as it already is. If this version is priced too high, it will further remove incentive for those who haven't played it to simply purchase it on another platform, while maintaining better visual quality and saving a decent amount of money (based on the price, of course).

That this simple fact bothers you so much is amusing to me. Nothing is stopping you from saving money and getting this game from 2015 on your PS4/Pro, One/X, or even PC if you own any of those. If the game does release at 60 USD, and you do choose to buy it, that is all on you, not other gamers who are enjoying it or have enjoyed it for being so cheap as you prescribe. Don't worry though - there are still plenty of other games to play on Switch which run much better on the hardware - this is just not the best port, as a technical analysis shows.

Good job I have a gaming PC with a GTX1070 then, what GPU you rocking in your PC again??..........clown

Yes because graphics are on the ONLY thing that can be downgraded in a game....... :/

I'll bet my bottom dollar that it's better than a 1070... I have one in my closet, if you'd like a spare.

Already played/completed this game a long time ago, but I'm really curious to see how the final Switch version will turn out.

DF's take on this is a bit more optimistic than OP's.

[Full DF Article]

Not even the regular xbone reached resolutions that low this gen, so no, it isn't really.

This begs the question: so why would you defend the switch version this way then? It's significantly worse than what "console peasants" play on.

"these are not "Suited" to handhelds or enhanced by on the go experience at all."

Just no.... Dude, I can respect that we may be at different places in life and you may not appreciate the value of being at your kids 4 hour swim meet waiting with Bayonetta 2 or Skyrim to play, but someday you'll be there and you'll understand how "enhanced" the experience is.

I would gladly take every new release on my switch over my 4k. I have a thousand hours of gameplay in handheld mode and maybe a total of a dozen docked.

@ajstyles: Nintendo is only company who can convinced the industry that their handheld tablet is a console. If PSP Go was sold with its dock, no one would believe them that it's a console, of course Sony has AAA games that won't fit on it.

Honestly the most surprising thing is that no one has done this yet, and even more shocking that no one has copied them.

I doubt CD Project woke up one day and said, "hey, you know what would be great, let's take a little time from developing Cyberpunk and port this 4 year old game to Switch". I'm sure the answer was $$$, as in Nintendo paid somebody to do it regardless of the technical limitations (I would assume it's not even CD Project Red doing the port, or at least it would surprise me if they assigned any of their important staff to do a project such as this).

I don't think it's a bad thing. Nintendo obviously wants to do away with the idea that they don't get 3rd parties. They obviously aren't at parity, but getting late ports is better than nothing. Though if the game has to go all the way down to 540p, that obviously makes it a questionable choice from a technical perspective. Even last gen when consoles were struggling with hitting even 720p, games had to go sub-HD but I don't remember too many going down to 540p.

Pfft, 20 plats is your highlight on PSN?

Nice to see Switch get a full fledged Definitive Edition. Never bothered to get the ps4 one so i guess now is the time.

I wasn't being serious. Ask anyone who knows me, I'm not a trophy hunter (obviously) and just go after the ones in games I really like. I generally put a lot of time in all my systems, and replay a lot of games just for fun. (not that there's anything wrong with trophy hunting)