If Nintendo had its way, the Switch wouldn’t have had as much memory inside, and you might’ve had a very different gaming experience than the one you have today. Thanks to a push from Capcom and other developers, though, that’s not the case.
A report from GamesIndustry Japan (summarized in English by NintendoEverything) following the Game Creators’ Conference links it back to the RE Engine powering Resident Evil 7.
Video games aren’t made in a vacuum
When Nintendo was developing the Switch, it went to various developers to get feedback, Capcom brought up the RAM, telling Nintendo it wasn’t sufficient for the RE Engine to work on the system. Other developers were echoing the same concern, but NintendoEverything notes that the amount of RAM in the Nintendo Switch (4GB) ultimately ended up being exactly what Capcom requested.
Capcom’s Masaru Ijuin explained during the conference that part of the need for that memory is about optimizing the RE Engine to be able to operate in both docked and portable states. The Switch’s flexibility is a huge selling point for consumers, but it seems like it might be a big hurdle for developers.
On Nintendo’s side, this shows just how important the opinions of developers, especially Japanese ones, are to the company. As for Capcom, this isn’t confirmation that the company is intending to port the critically-acclaimed Resident Evil 7 to the Nintendo Switch, but it does show how integral the RE Engine is to their efforts moving forward and a commitment to the Switch itself.
