Indie Dev Calls Switch's Graphical Power "Pretty Darn Close" To PS4 And Xbox One

Xbox Scorpio is dominating the news today, and with good reason. Microsoft's new device appears the be the most graphically able home console yet created, its 6 teraflops of computing performance and casual 12 gigabytes of video RAM placing it comfortably atop the heap and beyond the PS4 Pro, at least for the foreseeable future. Still, both Scorpio and PS4 Pro games are committed to compatibility with the original PS4 and Xbox One, and of late developers have commented on how Nintendo's hybrid Switch stacks up.

In an interview with MCV, Julius Guldbog of Image & Form (developer of Steamworld Dig 2) supplied some interesting remarks on the evolution of Nintendo development, as well as Switch's capability in the face of its competition. Excerpts from his interview are below.

Publishing for Nintendo consoles has been, in the past, not a nightmare, but pretty close. They make sure every QA gate is good enough. It takes months, and you have to do that for every region, and if you fail, it takes even longer. You have to get a new slot, and release dates are pushed back.
But with the Switch, we only have to make one version and only have one launch – and that’s one version for the entire world, so we’ll have the same version in the US, Europe and a little bit later, Japan and China as well. That saves so much work. It means we can do the translations ourselves, we don’t have to have a new publisher for one specific region – it’s going to be so much easier. They’re basically taking the Steam or App Store approach: one version of the game for the entire world.

Switch isn’t as powerful as the PS4 or Xbox One, but it’s pretty darn close. Just look at Snake Pass or Fast RMX. Snake Pass is extra interesting, because look at how good the graphics are compared to the PS4 version. I think if developers put their mind to it and optimize the game for the Switch, it can run anything.

We've noted previously that Switch's future as a home for graphically impressive games may not be as dire as it seems. Despite the fact that Scorpio and PS4 Pro are in a tier all their own, it may be their plan to remain inclusive of their base incarnations that keeps Switch in the graphics discussion in the coming years.

Regardless, it will be Nintendo's upcoming releases that truly tell the tale of Switch's power. Breath of the Wild is pretty, but essentially a Wii U game; expect Super Mario Odyssey and whatever Retro Studios is cooking up to provide better indications of Switch's max performance in months and years to come.