Earlier this month, baseball fans on the Nintendo Switch were able to try out a tech test of the upcoming release, MLB The Show 22. Unfortunately, it didn’t go down so well – our own hands-on noted how the game’s performance was “disappointing”.
If you were a bit worried about the game’s performance at the time, Ramone Russel – the product development communications and brand strategist for MLB The Show – has explained how the tech test is about two weeks old, and it’s not “exactly 100%” optimised.
The Switch version is apparently still receiving “a lot” of optimisation and updates to ensure it can hit a stable 30fps. Here’s Russel’s full comment about this (via Nintendo Everything):
“Speaking of the Tech Test, the build everybody played on the Tech Test is about two weeks old, and you notice it’s not exactly 100% optimized. However, by the time you watch this episode of the Feature Premiere, the Nintendo Switch version will have undergone a lot of optimization and updates. The footage you’re going to see here is much more solid and has a much more solid frame rate than what was available in the Tech Test. We are targeting gameplay at 30 frames per second.”
The game’s resolution will also be lowered in portable mode to improve both the performance and battery life of the Switch.
As noted in our hands on, the Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game will run at a dynamic 4K resolution and 60fps. And here’s exactly what we had to say about the performance in the Switch version of the tech test:
“Performance is the problem, though — forget 60fps, it struggles to get particularly close to 30fps to our eye. A smooth 30fps would be nice, of course, but this is a baseball game, where reaction speed and timing are absolutely imperative for batting. This game struggles mightily docked and in portable mode, stuttering along to a disappointing degree. Combine the visible jerkiness with the game’s frequent camera movements (when fielding, for example), and a family member in the room actually felt slightly dizzy watching. It’s not really good enough, at this stage.”
Will you be giving MLB The Show another shot after the tech test? Leave a comment down below.
