5 reasons why GTA on Nintendo Switch needs to continue

The GTA franchise has been released across several different platforms, and one of these is the Nintendo Switch. The remastered Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition Trilogy was recently launched on the handheld console, but it was widely panned for having poor graphics and a myriad of other issues. Although this game was buggy on launch on all platforms, its Switch version — along with the one for PC — was considered the most inferior.

However, this doesn't mean that Rockstar Games shouldn't release GTA titles on the handheld anymore. The studio has launched plenty of successful handheld titles, and they could offer more ports of Grand Theft Auto games as well. This article explores five reasons Rockstar should keep launching newer GTA games on the Switch.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinion.

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5 reasons why the Nintendo Switch deserves more GTA titles

1) Demand for ports

There are many GTA titles that can be ported over to the Nintendo Switch. In fact, offerings like the underrated GTA Vice City Stories hasn't even received an Android port, unlike Liberty City Stories and the other 3D Universe games.

Rockstar could work on bringing the Stories games over to the Switch to ensure their longevity and introduce a new generation of players to these old classics.

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2) Dominating the Switch market

Rockstar has dominated any console that it's released games for, whether it's PlayStation, Xbox, mobiles, or even other Nintendo systems. A good example of this is GTA Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories on the PlayStation Portable. Both these games are at the top of the list of bestselling PSP games.

On the other hand, Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars — which was released on the PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and Android — was somewhat successful on all three platforms and is still ranked as the highest-rated game on the Nintendo DS.

Meanwhile, GTA San Andreas, which was originally released on the PS2, is the bestselling game of all time on the console, with 17.33 million copies sold. This suggests that Rockstar could dominate the Switch market if it releases more Grand Theft Auto titles on Nintendo's handheld.

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3) Long history with Nintendo consoles

Rockstar is mostly recognized for its games on the PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. As such, fans often forget that this studio has released multiple games on Nintendo consoles. The first two titles in this series were released on the GameBoy Color in 1999 and 2000, respectively.

Grand Theft Auto Advance, which came out on the GameBoy Advance in 2004, was a 2D open-world game that felt like a throwback to the first two Grand Theft Auto games.

Meanwhile, GTA Chinatown Wars was a feature-rich isometric open-world title that was initially launched on the Nintendo DS. This release was quite successful and widely praised, although it generated a lot of controversy for having a drug-dealing minigame.

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4) Better hardware

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has not paid much attention to the handheld market in recent years. Portable consoles were popular in the 2000s, with the DS and PSP both being quite successful. As previously stated, Rockstar released several successful games on both consoles.

The Nintendo Switch has elevated mobile gaming to a new level and is more capable than those devices. As such, Rockstar ought to bring more games to it.

In fact, the recent release of the remastered GTA Trilogy on Android and iOS by Netflix has revived the hope for more handheld titles. As such, fans expect newer games on mobiles as well, such as an Android and iOS port of Vice City Stories.

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5) To make up for the poor quality GTA Trilogy port

There's no hiding the fact that the Grand Theft Auto Definitive Edition Trilogy was a disaster. It was plagued with bugs, and the implementation of the graphics and textures felt extremely half-hearted. The games were a major disaster on every platform they launched on, including the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and even Nintendo's Switch.

However, with the mobile release, the studio finally took some steps in the right direction by fixing some of this trilogy's graphical issues and making it free of all game-breaking bugs. That said, the only way Rockstar can win the confidence of their fans is by releasing a new title on the Switch that is completely free of such problems.