Activision Blizzard was informed late last year that it was developing a next-generation Nintendo Switch gaming console. This emerges from emails in the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) case against Microsoft and its attempt to buy Activision, writes The Verge.
Image source: unsplash.com
Top Activision executives, including CEO Bobby Kotick, met with Nintendo executives in December 2022 to discuss the next-generation Switch gaming console. In emails, Chris Schnakenberg, head of strategic platform support and partner relations at Activision, shared a brief description of the device, called Switch NG (Switch Next Generation).
A fragment of a letter from Activision. Image source: US justice system
The letters also included a document called NG Switch Draft.pdf. It’s heavily reworked, but shows that the next-gen Switch’s performance will be close to that of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gaming consoles:
“Given the tighter focus on 8th Gen platforms in terms of performance, as well as our offerings on PS4/Xbox One, it would be reasonable to assume that we could offer something interesting for NG Switch as well.” It would be very useful as soon as possible Having access to early prototypes of the console.”the document says.
A summary of the briefing and prepared materials were provided to Kotick ahead of his meeting with Nintendo CEO and President Shuntaro Furukawa on December 15th. At the FTC’s hearing against Microsoft, Kotick said he regretted not bringing Call of Duty to the current Switch model. In light of this announcement, Federal Trade Commission lawyers and Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who is presiding over the case, had additional questions about the possibility of Call of Duty coming to Switch. FTC filings indicate that the agreement Microsoft signed with Nintendo also includes porting future Call of Duty games to a future Nintendo console, provided Microsoft’s agreement with Activision Blizzard is approved by regulators.
Excerpt from the transcript of Kotik’s speech in court:
“FTC: Is it possible that Activision itself will make Call of Duty available on a future Nintendo console even if Microsoft doesn’t buy Activision?
Cat: We would consider this possibility if we had the specifications [будущей приставки Nintendo], but we don’t have them at the moment. We missed the opportunity [выпуска Call of Duty] on the current Switch generation, but we have to wait for the technical specifications [будущей консоли]. Now there are no concrete plans [по выпуску будущей Call of Duty на будущей приставке Nintendo] We do not have.
FTC: So Activision could independently develop a Call of Duty game for the next generation Nintendo console?
Cat: We could [обдумать этот вопрос] provided detailed specifications are available [новой консоли Nintendo]. With the current generation of Switch we missed that opportunity, so I’d like to think we could make it happen. However, we will have to wait for the characteristics of the new console. But we have no plans for that at the moment.”says the minutes of the meeting.
The FTC documents show that Nintendo has been actively preparing major game publishers such as Activision for the release of a new generation of the Switch game console for several months.
Gaming publication VGC reported in July that the new Nintendo console will be released in 2024. The console gets a regular LCD display instead of OLED and still supports game cartridges. Earlier this month, Eurogamer reported that some game developers had seen the Nintendo Switch 2 at a private presentation at Gamescom in August. The console reportedly launched an improved version of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. According to VGC, at the same presentation, a customized interactive Matrix Awakens demo scene was launched on the new console, running on Unreal Engine 5. It was subsequently noted that the demo scene used NVIDIA DLSS scaling technology and ray tracing, suggesting the possibility of a new chip as part of the Switch 2 release of the latest AAA games.
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