GameDriver Is Now An "Official Nintendo Middleware Tools Provider"

So the performance you lose with denuvo is gained with this.

All these recent middleware partnerships are starting to smell like Switch successor.

So is gamedriver good or is it like denuvo?

I don't know what this is but people in the comments are making fun of Denuvo and praising this so yay

Really starting to see breadcrumbs that Switch games are moving forward with the next upgrade. Late in the cycle, but yet new tools available… Nintendo is planning on these games going forward. What could be seen as a benefit to consumers who stay in Nintendo’s family of devices, will darken so called “preservationists” who want these games abandoned.

I understand what this is (I think) but what is this Denuvo everybody is ridiculing? Could somebody please explain?

@CaleBoi25 denuvo is an anti-piracy program that literally makes all games run like garbage to the point even some developers notably Tekken 7 I believe it's director even blames denuvo for how badly it ran and that they will not bring it back in the next Tekken.

@CaleBoi25 also in response to @edgedino it also means that buying a game gives you worse performance than playing a cracked version.

In other words, the paying customer is the one who suffers, not the ones downloading the cracked version.

@edgedino @brintapap Ah I see. Thanks for the explanation! And yeah, I can see why everyone would be hating on it!

After six years of Switch… does this mean that the Switch 2.0 has comparable architecture? Why would you otherwise want to achieve this end of life?

Ok, so this is a tool to allow more "efficiency" in the development process, by automating the QA process, which would normally involve employing people. Even though the term A.I. isn't mentioned, this really invokes the exact same issues of people being replaced by software, and should therefore be subject to the exact same level of backlash and scrutiny, and yet ... I'm not seeing any.

@WhiteUmbrella I had a similar thought but I think this is more of a useful tool than a replacement. Think of it like using a spellchecker on copy: it’s a big help and time-saver but won’t replace the work of proper copy editors.

@WhiteUmbrella It isn't really the same as AI. It seems to be something that makes it easier to run tests which are still designed by people. I'm not sure what is usually done when developing games, but something similar to this is very common for developing other software. It isn't replacing things which require creativity like AI is.

That's a lot of words for "malware"

nearly 7 years of Switch lifecycle, this APP come to Switch, does this mean Switch will have 5 more years

@GamingFan4Lyf they're for the Switch, so, why would they hint at a new console?

Awesome. New and improved solutions to quality testing is always welcome, especially as games keep broadening in scope as well as budget. Hopefully this helps some developers in some small way.

@WhiteUmbrella Yeah, this is quite common. Take self checkouts at supermarkets replacing jobs, or machines in car factories.
It seems like when it is low paying jobs at risk nobody cares, it is modernization.
When it is rich or wealthy jobs suddenly it is the worst thing ever.

@Edu23XWiiU Sure, but I hardly doubt this middleware deal is strictly for Switch that has...what...maybe a year left?

I'm thinking these partnerships are being cut now in preparation for the successor.

@CaleBoi25 Denuvo "protects" the game, to my understanding, by somehow inserting code which exploits emulator inaccuracies, which only works until emulators get more accurate.
So I don't know... does that make Denuvo helpful to the thing it's trying to stop by giving the emulator authors ideas?

So developers have another tool to let them write copy-paste code. That's... good...?
And advocating that they will not need to test their games...?

@Knightrider1 That's a myth. The self-checkout has plenty of human intervention required, with my store still getting sufficient lines on the regular lines.
I'm more concerned about reports I've heard such as AI replacing journalism. Robots writing their own code and "factual" books being written by bots.

@GamingFan4Lyf you make the assumption that the Switch has one year left of life because...?

@Edu23XWiiU Well, the Switch will probably bleed through in sales for a little while. This just feels pretty late in the cycle for these deals to be happening if a successor isn't coming in the foreseeable future.

Again, prep work.

Sheesh, let a person have a little fun, will ya?!

@KingMike

I wish my local Wal Mart acted that way about self checkout.

Instead they run two regular human lines (they have twelve with ten unused) and an overpacked self checkout center that is only served by one assistant to fix error codes and put in overrides.

@GamingFan4Lyf that's speculating based on nothing, the Switch sales are on a high point now, specially on the software side, no way a new console will be introduced while this is happening. Who says I'm not having fun? Hehehe

As long as we don’t get more “collectible” officially licensed controllers with zero rumble & D-pads that players can’t play Tetris or crotch fly in Super Mario World to save their literal life.

Also, bring back analog trigger support for controllers with both a ZL and ZR.