Much Awaited Nintendo Switch Game Might Be Cross-Gen, and Its Not a Bad Thing!

Whenever a new generation of consoles is introduced, both fans and developers have much to unpack. Fans have to decide if they wish to go over to the next generation early or wait for a while. On the other hand, developers have a much larger role to play; they have to decide if they want to keep their games for the older generation or move it to the next generation. There’s also an option to make it a cross-gen game, though.

With Nintendo’s deliberate delay in the announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2, one thing is clear: many of their games might be cross-gen. games that Nintendo announced this year or games that they announced years ago but never showed off ever again. It’s not a bad thing if they are, especially with the upcoming Metroid Prime 4.

Metroid Prime 4 is a game with a very long history.

Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 early in the life of the Nintendo Switch. This announcement was made during E3 2017. The game was announced to be part of the Nintendo Switch library. Fans soon found out that this game was in very early development when Nintendo announced it. It was also announced that Metroid Prime’s’ original producer, Kensuke Tanabe, would be part of this game’s development. It was also revealed by Eurogamer that Bandai Namco Studios would be developing this game, which would consist of some developers from LucasArts.

It’s been almost seven years since the Nintendo Switch launched, and it’s been almost seven years since Nintendo announced this game. While the Nintendo Switch grew to be one of the most successful video game consoles ever released, Metroid Prime 4 was never seen again. Nintendo only maintained that the game was still in development.

And then, in 2019, Nintendo EPG General Manager Shinya Takahashi announced that the development on Metroid Prime 4 had restarted. This time, they brought back the developers of the original trilogy, Retro Studios, to work on it. Kensuke Tanabe also remained part of its leadership. He suggested that the previous version of the game did not meet Nintendo’s standards, and that’s why they decided to scrap that version and do it differently.

No doubt this is a game with a very long history, and years would only add to this if they took any longer.

It definitely needs to be a cross-genre title!

A game that has been in development for so long and a game that shifted developers’ mid-development is surely something special. The game would no doubt have some incredibly good-looking visuals. Retro Studios is known for introducing Nintendo fans to some really well-made games that look very good. Games like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Metroid Prime Remastered are prime showcases of their capabilities.

And if they choose to release it in 2024 or even 2025, it would definitely look way better than the two above-mentioned titles. This means the Nintendo Switch would no doubt hold it back in some way. To give fans an option to experience the unadulterated complete Metroid Prime 4 experience, Nintendo would have to make it a cross-gen title.

Nintendo made a similar choice with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, too. That game launched back in 2017 for both the Nintendo Switch and the Wii U. In that game, gamers saw a bunch of differences between both versions. The Switch version had better resolution at 900p, while the Wii U had only 720p. The Switch version reportedly had better audio, and some smaller details were better in that game too.

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If whatever people said about the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 turns out to be true, then Metroid Prime 4 would be a significant upgrade on that console. That console, after all, would support ray tracing, DLSS, and many more modern features.

Metroid Prime 4 might not be the only game to be cross-gen.

While the buzz around Metroid Prime 4 being a cross-gen title is pretty strong, there are a number of other titles that might end up releasing on two consoles at once. Ever since rumors of this new console started dropping, there have been talks of some current-gen games that would make their way to it. Recently, when someone started talking about it being shown off during Gamescom 2023, they also talked about it running Breath of the Wild at 4K.

They also mentioned this game ran at a flawless 60 at that resolution. This might mean that Nintendo is planning to release that game on the Nintendo Switch 2. Then there are some people suggesting that the current generation of Pokemon games, Scarlet and Violet, would be released on Switch 2 with improved visuals and framerate. This would be a very interesting thing to see, given how these games are still in a very bad state on the current generation of Switch.

Then there’s speculation that games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario RPG Remake, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and the upcoming Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door would be released on Switch 2.

While Nintendo has yet to confirm any of this information, fans are choosing to believe it. After all, Nintendo is not even confirming anything about Switch 2, so why would they reveal any details about the games coming to it?

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