EA has been one of the first third-party publishers to announce one of their games for the Nintendo Switch; however, the publisher has said that their continued support for the console is dependent on the success of FIFA 18.
Nintendo’s biggest problem with the Wii U was the lack of third-party support which left the console with too few games to play. That was a big problem and contributed heavily to the console’s failure. If the Switch is to be a success, it will need that third-party support. Thankfully for Nintendo, several triple A publishers have come out and said that they plan to release a game on the Switch and will use that to decide whether or not to release future games on the platform.
Speaking to Edge Magazine in a recent interview, EA executive vice president Patrick Söderlund stated that EA want to be a part of the Switch and help Nintendo grow its player base; however, it has to be right for EA to do so. Therefore, the success of a game like FIFA 18 will help determine whether or not it’s worth their time, resources and money.
“We want to be a part of the Switch, and help Nintendo grow that installed base […] But at the same time we have to look at it from a resource standpoint and, at some point, the numbers become a factor,” Söderlund said.
“So for us it’s about supporting the platform, building technology for the platform, testing it out with big things like FIFA – and maybe a couple of others, we’ll see – and if they go well, I see no reason why we shouldn’t have as much of our portfolio on that platform as possible. I hope we get there, that would be my personal ambition.”
FIFA 13 was the last FIFA game to be released on the Nintendo Wii U and was a flop for both EA and Nintendo. Unsurprisingly, EA decided against releasing another game on the Wii U.
FIFA 18 on Nintendo Switch will be slightly different to the PS4, Xbox One and PC versions as it will lack the Journey game mode and will not run on the Frostbite engine, unlike its current-gen counterparts.
FIFA 18 releases on Nintendo Switch on September 29th, the same day as the game releases on all other platforms.
You can read the full interview in the latest edition of Edge Magazine which is available in stores now.