Often, but I think in this case the game is such an outlier that the branched out discussion doesn't really make sense. It would be like going into the thread for the XB1 version of the game, which had similarly terrible resolutions for that console, and saying how the Xbox One isn't good enough for upcoming AAA titles.
Again, that's not what I'm doing. You're misunderstanding.
PS4-Ark -> Switch-Ark vs PS4-othergame -> Switch-othergame is comparing the delta of the same games on different platforms, not comparing different games on the same platform.
An optimized game that is pushing the limits of 30fps on PS4 does not have an easier time porting to Switch than an unoptimized game pushing the limits of 30fps on PS4. Both have the same hardware deficit to make up for.
Ark is an extreme case but trying to downport any game that already doesn't have wiggle room (whether because of poor optimization or just pushing the hardware to the metal) from PS4 to Switch is going to be tough, which is why it's not common with AAA games.
(AAA games rarely have much wiggle room, whether they're optimized or not)
edit: maybe this would help -- very rough, not necessarily to accurate scale (and obviously an oversimplification) -- more like a very quick guesstimate, more to get general idea across. Think of the horizontal lines as limits to get
under if you want to accomplish that performance (inspired by game engine profilers).
The best candidates for PS4->Switch ports are going to be the ones with the most wiggle room on PS4 (like Doom running at 60fps so they can drop it to a still playable 30fps for Switch or games that are just not graphically demanding). Most AAA games run at only 30fps on PS4/XBO, often not at full res -- there's usually not a lot of wiggle room.
You can see indie games generally port over easily. Doom only had to sacrifice a little bit to run on Switch at 30fps (because it was specced for 60fps on PS4). Ark didn't do so hot because it's an unoptimized mess, but AAA games that are still very optimized at 30fps will have to sacrifice a lot to get running on Switch -- optimized or not, they're still demanding. The AA game only runs at 30fps on PS4 because it's not optimized enough for 60fps, but it's not pushing that 30fps limit on PS4 so it will have an easier time porting to Switch.
