Month: October 2019

Blizzard’s popular hero shooter Overwatch comes to Nintendo Switch on October 15. It’s the first new platform for the title since its release across PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC back in 2016. It’s also a new challenge of sorts for Blizzard, as Nintendo’s hybrid system is relatively less powerful than the other hardware

Ahead of the launch of Overwatch for Switch, GameSpot spoke with the title’s principal producer, Wes Yanagi, about a variety of topics related to the game, including the internal playtest that convinced Blizzard that bringing Overwatch to Switch was a good idea.

“Working closely with a set of developers on the Overwatch team, we eventually got to a first fully playable version of the game. The game was still in a buggy state and we had work to do on performance, but at the end of that playtest, everyone had an excited look on their face,” Yanagi said. “It was at that playtest where we all concluded, ‘Wow, this is amazing, and we have to make this happen.'”

Also in the interview, Yanagi spoke about the technical challenges of bringing Overwatch to Switch (the game runs at 900p docked/720p undocked with 30FPS in both situations), what players can expect from the gyro-aiming feature, and how it would be rad for Overwatch characters to come to Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Yanagi also talked about Blizzard’s relationship with Overwatch on Switch’s developer, Iron Galaxy, which is the same studio that developed Diablo III‘s Switch version.

Outside of those topics, Yanagi also told GameSpot that Blizzard is thinking about how to potentially bring cross-play to Overwatch, though it sounds like it won’t happen soon. “The truth is that implementing cross-play for Overwatch is more difficult than people realise,” he said.

Finally, Yanagi spoke briefly about the possibility of Overwatch coming to mobile platforms down the road. You can read GameSpot’s full interview below.

What was the reaction internally when you got Overwatch running on Switch? At what point did you decide you wanted to pursue it beyond an internal test? What convinced you?

Our team started discussions to bring Overwatch to the Nintendo Switch a little over a year ago as the Switch version of Diablo III was getting ready to launch. The developer, Iron Galaxy, did such an amazing job on the Diablo III port, and being huge fans of the Switch, we decided to reach out to them and go through the evaluation process of what it would take to bring Overwatch to the Switch.

Working closely with a set of developers on the Overwatch team, we eventually got to a first fully playable version of the game. The game was still in a buggy state and we had work to do on performance, but at the end of that playtest everyone had an excited look on their face. It was at that playtest where we all concluded, ‘Wow, this is amazing, and we have to make this happen.”

Will Overwatch for Switch have all the same heroes, maps, modes, and updates as the other versions?

That is absolutely our goal. We want to bring the authentic Overwatch experience to the Nintendo Switch. All 31 heroes, 28 maps, game modes, etc. will be on the Switch. The one caveat is we are not enabling Competitive Play until the start of Season 19. This will allow time for players to migrate into their natural skill bracket for more even matches.

What resolution and frame rate can players expect from Overwatch on Switch for docked versus tablet?

Resolution for this version is 900p docked and 720p undocked, with both running at 30 FPS.

What were some of the technical challenges of bringing the game to Switch, given the console’s relatively lower power and feature profile compared to Xbox One, PS4, and most PCs.

We spent a lot of time working on getting performance to a solid place where players would feel like they were playing Overwatch. Most people think of graphics when talking about performance, but there are a lot of other systems like audio, physics, hero abilities, and animation that contribute to the overall frame rate. We spent a lot of effort profiling and optimising all those areas to make Overwatch perform smoothly on the Switch.

“The truth is that implementing cross-play for Overwatch is more difficult than people realise.” — Yanagi

Can you talk about your working relationship with the developer, Iron Galaxy? Why did you choose them and how involved is Blizzard in the game’s production?

Iron Galaxy has been an awesome partner to work with on this project. They have a group of super talented developers with lots of Switch dev experience. Overwatch connects to many different systems like the game servers, Battle.net, and Nintendo servers, so we have a core group of Overwatch devs that were involved with the game’s development to help with those efforts.

Are you using the Nintendo Switch’s dedicated app for voice chat?

All versions of Overwatch are using the same voice chat system that runs through Blizzard servers. If you have a headset with a microphone, you can just plug it into your Switch and start chatting.

Will the Nintendo Switch version have any exclusive content or Nintendo-themed content?

There’s nothing exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version. We want to keep the core features the same between all the versions of Overwatch, but I’ve seen some amazing fan art and movies produced by the community in the last few weeks.

The Switch version of Overwatch has gyro-aiming; can you talk about what this is and how it works? Will players using gyro aiming play against those with traditional inputs?

First of all, gyro-aiming is completely optional, but I think if you dedicate a couple of hours to learning it, you might find you prefer it. One way to use gyro-aiming is to primarily use the right stick to aim and slightly nudge your aim to get a more accurate shot. Most players will probably use this method. You can also use it in detached Joy-con mode, where you point the Joy-con at the screen like a laser pointer. In this mode, some players are able to crank up the sensitivity and get almost mouse like aim. I’m excited to see what really good players can achieve with this.

What are your thoughts on cross-play and cross-saves? With the Switch version, it seems like this could be particularly helpful for people to be able to play wherever they want.

Cross-play is something that would definitely be compelling for players, and as a player, I would love to see it happen. The truth is that implementing cross-play for Overwatch is more difficult than people realise. We are exploring how to bring this to Overwatch, but do not have anything to share at this time.

With the Switch version, Overwatch is now a mobile game of sorts, but have you thought about adapting the game for smartphones and tablets, too?

Briefly, but my brain exploded when thinking about how to map all the controls to the touch screen. It sounds like a fun idea, but a very challenging one for Overwatch.

Now that Overwatch is coming to Switch, people will surely begin to speculate about Overwatch characters in Smash Bros. What do you think about that?

As a player and big fan of the game, I think that would be awesome. It would be an honour if Nintendo chose to bring one of our characters into Smash Bros.

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Overwatch launches for Nintendo Switch on October 15. The boxed version will include a download code for the game as well as a three-month subscription for the Nintendo Switch Online service. Those who pick up and log into the Switch version by December 31 will receive a Golden Loot Box that contains at least one guaranteed Legendary item.

The new comic book movie Joker has generated lots of buzz and controversy since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in July. Now, star Joaquin Phoenix has weighed in on the debate and discussion surrounding one of his most talked-about films, while the movie’s director, Todd Phillips, spoke about what he sees as “woke” Hollywood culture.

He told Vanity Fair that he “didn’t imagine that it would be smooth sailing” as it relates to the reaction by press to Joker. “It’s a difficult film. In some ways, it’s good that people are having a strong reaction to it.”

Phoenix went on to say that he sees both sides of the coin as it relates to how people may interpret Arthur Fleck/Joker and his motivations.

“There’s so many different ways of looking at it,” he said. “You can either say here’s somebody who, like everybody, needed to be heard and understood and to have a voice. Or you can say this is somebody that disproportionately needs a large quantity of people to be fixated on him. His satisfaction comes as he stands in amongst the madness.”

Before this, Phillips reacted to the controversy surrounding the movie. He said he was “surprised” to see some negative reactions to a film that is getting people to talk about gun violence and other important, relevant issues. The director went on to talk about why he thinks people are eager to pile on to Joker.

“I think it’s because outrage is a commodity,” he said. “I think it’s something that has been a commodity for a while. What’s outstanding to me in this discourse in this movie is how easily the far left can sound like the far right when it suits their agenda. It’s really been eye opening for me.”

In the same Vanity Fair story, Phillips spoke about his own personal pivot from making comedies (he directed The Hangover trilogy, Old School, and Road Trip) to more drama-focused stories like Joker and his 2016 film War Dogs.

He said he’s less inclined to try to make comedies today because of the “woke” culture in Hollywood. Making Joker was in direct response to this. He said he wanted to make an irreverent movie outside of the comedy space, and that’s where the idea for Joker came from.

“Go try to be funny nowadays with this woke culture,” he said. “There were articles written about why comedies don’t work anymore–I’ll tell you why, because all the f**king funny guys are like, ‘F**k this shit, because I don’t want to offend you.’ It’s hard to argue with 30 million people on Twitter. You just can’t do it, right? So you just go, ‘I’m out.’ I’m out, and you know what? With all my comedies–I think that what comedies in general all have in common–is they’re irreverent. So I go, ‘How do I do something irreverent, but f**k comedy? Oh I know, let’s take the comic book movie universe and turn it on its head with this.’ And so that’s really where that came from.”

Earlier this month, the families of victims killed in the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theatre shooting reached out to Warner Bros. to ask the film studio to help use their influence to make safer communities with fewer guns. The shooting took place during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

In response, Warner Bros. said, “Gun violence in our society is a critical issue, and we extend our deepest sympathy to all victims and families impacted by these tragedies. Our company has a long history of donating to victims of violence, including Aurora, and in recent weeks, our parent company joined other business leaders to call on policymakers to enact bi-partisan legislation to address this epidemic.”

Warner Bros. stands by Joker, and added that it does not endorse violence of any kind.

“Warner Bros. believes that one of the functions of storytelling is to provoke difficult conversations around complex issues,” thew statement said. “Make no mistake: neither the fictional character Joker, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, the filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.”

Joker premieres on October 4. For more, check out GameSpot’s Joker review, which awarded the film a 10/10 rating.

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