When Electronic Arts announced support for the Nintendo Switch last month, the only title they announced in development was the FIFA franchise. While a popular series in its own right, some fans were concerned that EA didn’t specify whether it was FIFA 18, a “Legacy” edition with last-gen graphics like what EA has done with other Nintendo consoles, or something in the middle.
Switch fans can probably rest at least a little easier now, as the company has confirmed that, yes, it’s FIFA 18, the same game the PS4 and Xbox One will receive, according to EA Chief Competition Officer Peter Moore’s interview with Gamereactor.
That said, there’s still likely to be something different with the Switch version, as Moore added “we are custom-building a FIFA version for the Nintendo Switch,” and says it will be available “obviously later this year.” He also stated that the game will be made by the FIFA development team in Vancouver, but did not directly answer a question specifically asking if the Switch version would be scaled-down like the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of FIFA 18 will be, nor did he say if any other EA titles would be coming to the Switch anytime soon.
Console launches typically result in games that aren’t as fully-featured as they are on other, established consoles, and EA is particularly known as an offender, especially where Nintendo is concerned. The company only released four Wii U titles – all at launch and all more or less outdated right at launch – and the Wii saw versions of Madden NFL with fewer features, while the NHL series didn’t technically show up on either console at all, except for NHL Slapshot on the Wii.
The Nintendo Switch is due to hit stores on March 3rd, and EA says Nintendo “deserves” to succeed. Whether or not that success comes alongside more EA titles currently remains to be seen.
