Switch 2 and the potential of a port

[melbye]

I want it, would be nice with a proper handheld way of playing

[RedLolly]

I am afraid you see it the wrong way. Final Fantasy was always more of a 'console first'. And I think also FF14 was made for console in mind, in the first place. It's just that they 'also' made a pc version because of money. If one system version had to die, it would be PC, not the console versions.

Of course PC gives much more freedom. I also play FF14 on PC. But PC is not the major platform this game is made for.

To be fair to BigCheez, the PS3 really did a number on what the devs could actually do, but that existed solely because SE was *contractually obligated* to have a version of FFXIV for it. It was a big factor in why ARR was able to happen: 1.0 was so demanding on hardware it barely ran on high end PCs of the day!

Which brings up a question. Did the devs say they're dropping PS4 support next expac? If that's the case, then the game should absolutely stay away from the Switch 2, as much as I may want it.

[Rinoa_353]

Just for the ability to hit random S ranks, gather, craft and grind accursed hoards, I would buy a switch 2

You can already do this on a Steam Deck or ASUS RoG Ally, the Ally Z1E is even more powerful then the Switch 2 and the Ally X more so with double the battery life over the Z1E. You can find used Ally Z1E's for $350 or less on Facebook Marketplace and such, they are really affordable and are maybe at worse 10 percent slower than the Ally X. If you have the PC version of FFXIV, you don't have to buy a new license since the Ally runs Windows 11 so both the Windows and Steam version would work natively like on any other Windows PC since the Ally uses the desktop version of Windows 11. Matter in fact, due to the cost of electricity where I live, my Ally Z1E docked to my 55 inch 4K tv is now my main gaming rig and uses no more than 35 watts total when gaming on a custom 22 watt profile. I have been using my Ally Z1E for over a year and a half now as my main gaming PC rig. The game will last up to 2 hours on battery power running at 15 watts. You can buy a larger aftermarket battery to double the battery like like the Ally X has.

[Kewitt]

I'm ok, Switch 2 can get the Mobile version which at this point is looking like the better version of the game.

[Altina_Orion]

I'm not entirely sure that's an issue since the Switch 2 is pretty equal to the Series S.

There is an excuse with the PS4/5 currently. The game SHOULD be discontinued on PS4 Pro and switch 2 is allegedly comparable to it. This would be 2 more expansions of ps4 level "limitations"

[BigCheez]

I am afraid you see it the wrong way. Final Fantasy was always more of a 'console first'. And I think also FF14 was made for console in mind, in the first place. It's just that they 'also' made a pc version because of money. If one system version had to die, it would be PC, not the console versions.

Of course PC gives much more freedom. I also play FF14 on PC. But PC is not the major platform this game is made for.

Simply not true. The majority of the playerbase is on PC. If they dropped PC support, they would be dropping ~75% of their players.

The only reason that the devs place so much importance on the console version is because that's the norm in Japan. The overwhelming majority of players, however, are not in Japan.

When the game launched, it was being held back by PS3 limitations. They eventually dropped PS3 support and now we're being held back by PS4 limitations. In a few more years, they'll drop PS4 support. PC hardware will have pulled further ahead and we'll be held back by PS5 and Xbox Series X/S limitations.

By adding Switch support, you would just be adding another set of limitations to the list.

[DiaDeem]

People may rage at this, but not only is this possible, knowing the Nintendo crowd, they'd grab a lot of players by doing this. As someone who started on PS3 because I genuinely had no other device to play the game, I do hope they bring the game to Switch. This will also force them to optimize the game further, and that's good for everyone.

That said, don't expect anything above 30fps with a DLSS 1080p upscaled picture. The Switch 2 is an insanely weak console, so while totally possible, keep your expectations in check.

[Absurdity]

When the game launched, it was being held back by PS3 limitations. They eventually dropped PS3 support and now we're being held back by PS4 limitations. In a few more years, they'll drop PS4 support. PC hardware will have pulled further ahead and we'll be held back by PS5 and Xbox Series X/S limitations.

By adding Switch support, you would just be adding another set of limitations to the list.

To be fair, I don't think we're being held back by the PS4 even if that thing is severely outdated, we're still being held back by the PS3.
Or rather we're being held back by the game being developed for the PS3, a console with less power than a smart fridge, on an incredibly short deadline.
And whatever they cobbled together back then has been biting them in the back for at least three expansions now.

All that said, I do agree that we do not need another console with worse hardware than what XIV will already have to account for.
Certainly not before the more pressing issues are solved. If you would buy a Switch 2 just to play this game on it then don't, there are better handheld alternatives out there that simply run the PC version.

[Themarvin]

It would be a downgrade to the game over time if so, in a figure of speech this is why PS3 is out of the game and PS4 soon to be as well.

[miraidensetsu]

You can already do this on a Steam Deck or ASUS RoG Ally, the Ally Z1E is even more powerful then the Switch 2 and the Ally X more so with double the battery life over the Z1E. You can find used Ally Z1E's for $350 or less on Facebook Marketplace and such, they are really affordable and are maybe at worse 10 percent slower than the Ally X. If you have the PC version of FFXIV, you don't have to buy a new license since the Ally runs Windows 11 so both the Windows and Steam version would work natively like on any other Windows PC since the Ally uses the desktop version of Windows 11. Matter in fact, due to the cost of electricity where I live, my Ally Z1E docked to my 55 inch 4K tv is now my main gaming rig and uses no more than 35 watts total when gaming on a custom 22 watt profile. I have been using my Ally Z1E for over a year and a half now as my main gaming PC rig. The game will last up to 2 hours on battery power running at 15 watts. You can buy a larger aftermarket battery to double the battery like like the Ally X has.

Maybe the point is that he don't have to buy a Steam Deck or a Rog Ally just to do that.

Also, S-E doesn't support FFXIV running on Steam Deck. That's because Steam Deck is a Linux, an OS that is not officially supported. You even need to use emulator and some anti-TOS tools to be able to run it on Linux.