Grand Theft Auto 5 has exceeded “Skyrim” in terms of re-releasing, re-packaging, and remastering a single title in a single franchise after receiving three ports spanning three console generations.
The Nintendo Switch, a potent handheld that has seen ports of massive open world games like “The Witcher 3,” “Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag,” and “Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim,” is one effective platform, however, that it hasn’t made the jump to.
This is despite the fact that it has been available on nearly every console since its original release on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Here’s a possible explanation for the same.
Can the Nintendo Switch Play GTA 5?
Unfortunately, GTA 5 cannot be played on the Switch.
GTA 5’s creators, Rockstar, have never taken any steps to transfer the game to Nintendo’s hybrid console.
Now, most people would assume Rockstar made the right decision. Nintendo has marketed more than 80 million Switch devices.
That is a huge market for Rockstar to focus their attention on.
However, four years after the Switch’s release, neither GTA 5 nor any other GTA is available on the console.
Neither does it seem like it would be there any time soon.
Why isn’t GTA 5 On the Switch
- Switch’s insuufficient CPU power
The Switch’s weak graphics capabilities are one of the criticisms levelled at GTA on it.
The Switch, however, boasts superior graphics to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Additionally, these were both GTA 5’s first locations.
So, now it comes down the CPU Power. Well, I think that a lack of CPU power is one of the reasons why GTA 5 isn’t available on Switch.
In GTA 5, a sizable environment filled with autonomously simulated objects like people and cars is simulated.
It takes a lot of CPU cycles to run that kind of universe. The ARM-based CPU in the Switch is at capacity.
The Cortex-A57, a four core processor, in the Switch runs at 1.02 GHz. For instance, the Xbox 360’s CPU had three cores and six threads and operated at 3.2 GHz.
The CPU in the Switch is much more recent. The power provided by the Xbox 360/PS3 CPU and the Switch CPU still differ significantly.
- Nintendo doesn’t want a criminal simulation.
GTA 5 isn’t on the Switch, primarily because Nintendo dislikes games that directly represent real-world violence on their consoles.
Although DOOM and Wolfenstein provide M-rated content, they do it in a fantasy or alternate reality context, which is acceptable to Nintendo.
Okay, you might believe that the Switch versions of Saint’s Row 3 and 4 are crime simulation games.
But I would disagree. Both are sarcastic and promise extravagant weapons and superhuman abilities.
In the past, GTA games were available on Nintendo consoles. GTA Chinatown was available for the DS, and a Game Boy Advance port of GTA was available.
However, Chinatown was a top-down experience that brought to mind the first GTA. Yes, violence was shown.
But the top-down view made that brutality stylized and abstract.
- Rockstar considers that their game’s market is unsuitable.
Simply entering a sizable market is not enough for a product to flourish. It must enter a market where the appropriate demographic exists and would be interested in what you are selling.
Despite the Switch’s enormous 85 million user base, Rockstar may have decided that it doesn’t adequately represent the kind of gamer who would play GTA 5.
Rockstar might believe that gamers who might be interested already own a Playstation 4 or another gaming console.
Additionally, Rockstar might have sales information from earlier Rockstar games that were launched on Nintendo platforms that suggested a lack of interest.
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Will GTA 5 Ever Be On The Nintendo Switch?
Throughout 2020 and 2021, there have been
ongoing reports that Nintendo will introduce a Nintendo Switch Pro. In fact,
Nintendo may have already shown the Nintendo Switch Pro in a pre-E3 conference
by the time you read this.
The Pro is a mid-generation console update created to give “hardcore” gamers a more potent alternative to the standard Nintendo Switch.
It is very much the same sort of beast as the PS4 Pro and the Xbox Series X.
The Pro’s feature set includes an OLED screen, greater RAM, higher frame rates, and more power for 4K gaming.
Rockstar might change its mind about releasing its games on the Switch, including GTA 5, if the Switch becomes more potent.
As mentioned above, the Switch Pro may resolve this issue if Rockstar thought the existing Switch was insufficient to power GTA 5.
For Nintendo, GTA 5 would be a major system seller. And would give Rockstar the opportunity to tap into a market that is now untouched.
There have been 84.6 million Switch sales as of May 2021. Rockstar would have a sizable market to sell GTA 5 in if Nintendo could convert just 1/10 of those to the Nintendo Switch Pro.
Nintendo, however, won’t allow GTA 5 to be launched on the Switch due to the representation of actual violence in the game.
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What GTA 5 Alternatives Are There On Nintendo Switch?
- 3 and 4 Saint’s Row
Both Saint’s Row 3 and 4 provide an open city setting where crime is profitable. Take banks hostage, steal automobiles, and slaughter your way through the streets.
However, Saint’s Row allows you to terrorise the city in purposefully outrageous and funny ways, unlike GTA.
Both Saint’s Row titles have been successfully transferred to the Switch from other consoles.
They provide an intriguing preview of what a GTA port would have to offer.
Fortunately, both games are really affordable and frequently available both physically and digitally during promotions.
- The Witcher 3
The mediaeval setting of The Witcher 3 features roaming monsters that are hunted by enhanced human mercenaries known as Witchers for pay.
I suppose you’ve previously heard of this game. One of the most acclaimed, captivating open-world games ever created is this one.
This PS4/Xbox One game was ported to the Switch and features an incredible environment that is eager to draw you in as much as you’ll let it.
Yes, it has automobiles and a modern metropolis, but it’s not quite a GTA clone.
But if you’re willing to try something new, I can assure you that The Witcher 3 will satisfy your GTA 5 craving.
- Lego City Undercover
Lego City Undercover is the game for you if you’re looking for a kid-friendly alternative to Grand Theft Auto 5.
Lego City Undercover, which presents an open-world city with a lego-inspired aesthetic, is, as it admits, GTA in reverse.
As the fictional cop Chase McCain, it is your responsibility to find offenders and bring them to justice.
Throughout the game, you’ll use McCain’s actions to advance around the expansive city and a number of standalone puzzle levels.
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