The persistent fan-drama around Nintendo Switch's port feasibility needs to end

The Nintendo Switch has been on the market for five years. After facing uncertainty from the limitations of third-party developers and consumers during its infancy, it has since boomed in sales.

The popular hybrid device has seen a steady influx of third-party games, many of which are appearing on a Nintendo platform for the very first time.

However, given the portable nature of the Switch, countless gamers have expressed doubt when it comes to many of these titles making it over to the device. Some concerns were valid, especially about the more technically impressive ones, say ID Software's Doom Eternal or Saber Interactive's World War Z.

However, the Switch continues to subvert expectations, even five years later, with more and more "impossible ports" making it over.

So what gives this continued trend of underestimating the tiny machine?

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"Can the Nintendo Switch run X game?"

We've seen countless examples that have turned out perfectly fine. 7th gen titles such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Diablo 3, and Crysis 3 run pretty well, contrary to initial concerns.

Ports of mid-generational games like Dying Light: Platinum Edition and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition have notable downgrades, given they're coming over from more powerful systems. However, they're still respectable renditions offering the full-fat console experience on the go.

Even new offerings like DOOM Eternal and Life is Strange: True Colors surprise, and future ports such as No Man's Sky will continue to do so.

All of this just establishes the fact that Nintendo's Tegra X1-driven handheld is in-between PS3 & PS4 in terms of raw horsepower. Of course, it can't run every PS4 title out there, evident with games like Steep being canceled due to technical reasons and others like Control and Hitman 3 being streamed over the cloud to Nintendo's machine.

However, as the developers at Saber Interactive and Vicarious Visions (per NintendoWorldReport) have proven, nothing is off the table until/unless a prototype is found feasible. With that train of thought, does it still make sense to question pretty much every major release, from large scale to lower end?

Case in point the recently announced Soul Hackers 2. Atlus' upcoming JRPG is not releasing on the Switch, visibly upsetting fans, given a good portion of the MegaTen fandom is on Nintendo. From the screenshots and footage made public, there seems to be no apparent reason why it would be infeasible.

It seems to be on par with every other JRPG on the market on a technical level — like the static dungeons/city assets and character models.

Yes, it is true that stylized visuals don't necessarily equate to a game that is easy to run. However, the Switch already has its share of games that are far more dynamic and complex.

But at the end of the day, seeing people continue to be adamant about the lack of feasibility of a title on this gadget is funny, when countless games throughout its five-year lifespan have proven not just naysayers but even developers themselves wrong.

With that being said, the Switch needs an upgrade for continued third-party support. Especially since the PS5/XSX's arrival can mean tech advances that leave not just the Switch behind but even the PS4/XB1.

Will Nintendo have an answer to this dilemma? Rumors suggest so. But we'll have to wait and see how Big N handles this situation.

Note: This article reflects the author's views.