Success or failure of Fifa 18 on Nintendo Switch will determine EA's future support of the console

Third-party publishers and studios have often been reluctant to lend their support to Nintendo consoles, either because the hardware has required a different approach from developers or because they've been commercial failures like the Wii U.

Nintendo Switch, the home and handheld hybrid console released in March, has enjoyed a successful launch – but until that success turns into a substantial user base, publishers like EA are reluctant to spend too much money on making games for it.

It's understandable from a business point of view, but frustrating for fans, who would love the opportunity to play popular PS4 and Xbox One series on Switch due to its portability.

Later this year EA releases a custom version of Fifa 18 for the platform, which will lack some of the headline features of the game on other consoles, but which will at the very least offer Switch owners a solid football game to play.

It seems the success or failure of this version will also determine EA's longer term support of the platform, according to VP of EA's worldwide studios Patrick Soderlund, speaking in the latest issue of Edge magazine, out this week (17 August).

"We will appear on any platform where there are consumers and players," he said (via Nintendo Everything). "We believe that we want to be a part of the Switch, and help Nintendo grow that installed base.

"So for us it's about supporting the platform, building technology for the platform, testing it out with big things like Fifa – and maybe a couple of others, we'll see – and if they go well, I see no reason why we shouldn't have as much of our portfolio on that platform as possible. I hope we get there, that would be my personal ambition."

Soderlund has reason to want to see EA games on the platform, as he's also a big fan of it. "I'm a gigantic Nintendo fanboy," he said, adding that he takes his Switch "everywhere".

IBTimes UK went hands-on with Fifa on Nintendo Switch in June and was impressed with the results. While it may not have all the features of its PS4 and Xbox One siblings, it does work and play well on the console.

Considering Switch's innate local multiplayer functionality, it could be the version of choice for football fans wanting to play on the move, or whenever they like.