In an interview with Gamereactor, senior producer Rob Jones discussed the approach to creating NBA 2K18 for Switch in a bit more detail. From day one, Visual Concept’s president spoke about making it “the same exact game that was on PS4 and Xbox One”. It goes without saying that doing so was no easy task.
Jones’ full words:
“Well the main thing that our president said from day one is that the Switch had to be the same exact game that was on PS4 and Xbox One, so by starting there, you know, the bar was already set extremely high, because we were already working really, really hard just to get it on platforms we already knew, and then suddenly to take that and miniaturise it for the portable, you know, the portable Switch (obviously it also plays when it’s docked), but to get all those features working on there was kind of a gargantuan task.”
“We actually had a second team just dedicated only to doing the Switch version just because it would have been impossible within the confines of VC […] So obviously we delivered a good experience. It’s not the same exact graphics because the Switch can’t push them, you know, but the experience itself – you’re not missing out on anything from the Switch version [compared] to the main consoles version.”