Petit Computer Returns to Help You Code Games for Nintendo Switch
, says that his team is working on a new version that is bound for the Nintendo Switch. Petit [...]
This one's for the aspiring game developers: if you were upset about news of Petit Computer being phased out of the Nintendo 3DS a few years ago, some good news awaits on the horizon. A recent report from JapaneseNintendo claims that the president of Smile Boom, the company behind Petit Computer (also known as Smile Basic in Japan), says that his team is working on a new version that is bound for the Nintendo Switch.
Petit Computer allowed players to code their own video games on the 3DS, and the version for Switch is likely to be a magnified version of what players used before. Beloved games like the original version of Celeste were built using Petit Computer, so with the boundless capabilities of games on the Switch, the program's potential is pretty huge.
Before it was removed from the Nintendo eShop back in 2015, this is the description that was available for Petit Computer:
Petit Computer is an easy-to-use programming tool that lets you create everything from music, to images, to your very own original games using an adapted version of the classic BASIC programming language
According to JapaneseNintendo, the new version of Petit Computer will allow players to create RPGs, platformers, shoot 'em ups, and more. What's more, the compay is reportedly looking at the possibility of USB keyboard integration, which means aspiring programmers can use the program on their TVs via the Nintendo Switch with even more freedom to code -- without all of the complicated nonsense of a touch screen keyboard.
Petit Computer/Smile Basic is also apparently set for a worldwide release, so there's no reason to worry about missing out if you live outside of Japan. The kicker, of course, is that there's no set release date for the program, so hopeful users will just have to sit back and wait until official word comes from Smile Boom. Given that their social accounts haven't really updated since last Fall, the process could take a while.
But hey -- that just means that there's more time now to get the actual creative process out of the way before you take your stories and designs into the program.
Source: JapaneseNintendo via Nintendo Life