PS5 was supply constrained for more than a year while Switch 2 spent six months building inventory supply due, possibly, to a last minute delay. I'm not saying S2 is fucked or anything, but its not like its clear skies ahead either. There's still questions with market support for pricing, potential future price increases, Nintendo's continuing ability to release games in a timely manner, when Mario and Zelda are coming, etc, etc.
My prediction is that if we don't get a good Nintendo Direct this month it's gonna be a really bad year for Switch 2, at least in terms of exclusives for players (it might continue to sell well despite that, it's not impossible because PS5 somehow keeps selling).
I don't think we need a direct this month, but it would be good to get one by next month at the latest to set up the Christmas season. Will Splatoon make it or not, thats really the only question I have left. Otherwise its crossgen Metroid and Pokemon, not lightweights but not going to wake the hardcore up as crossgen titles. Of course, Mario Kart bundles have been winning Black Friday for most of the last decade so it could easily carry the torch for Nintendo again, regardless of new titles.
I suppose next month might be enough time promote a big, new game for a November/December release, but my expectations will be cut in half if they announce a direct any time after July.
Nintendo is probably holding off on hosting a Direct this month due to a Pokémon Presents stream happening on the 22nd, we'll probably end up seeing one in late August or early September.
You mean like Mario Kart world was supposed to be?
Isn't Japan's Switch 2 much cheaper than the west's, despite the fact that the console isn't made in Japan, meaning it isn't a shipping/tariffs issue, the japs just want to fleece westerners more?
There’s 2 SKUs in Japan. One is the standard worldwide model with pricing inline with RoW, and then there’s a discounted /subsidised Japan specific SKU which will only play Japanese carts. Nintendo state it’s way to combat the weak yen as there would be little point in exporting that model thus keeping in Japanese hands.
Its a little bit more than "wanting to fleece the west", they're taking a bath on these JP units, selling them for below what it costs to build them, but they want to kill Playstation there, which would set them up for decades of supremacy. They never had the cultural buy-in to even attempt it anywhere else.
Switch 2 selling so much combined with the objectively atrocious quality says more about the average consoomer than on the console itself. No shit they managed to shit out millions of units with Temu level quality and recyclying previous consoles materials. The question is how so many people bought a 450$ console with no games and questionable ability to run previous gen games
Most people aren't playing MKW. They're playing late Switch 1 releases that ran like ass and are now actually playable at reasonable framerates on Switch 2. Stuff like TotK, XC3, SMRPG, and Pokemon SV.
I'm not expecting shortages in japan to abate for literal years, even if they double their shipments, they had 2.2 million preorders with over a month and a half to go before launch at a single retailer. Japanese preorders as a whole could have easily been over 7 million for the entire country, and I almost feel that's a conservative estimate.
I agree. Played it at Target and its pretty fun. Can see it as a game that kids would enjoy. Something fun about just punching rocks and breaking shit. It makes at least one game on Switch 2 I'm interested in.
I think the biggest risk is it runs into the same problem as the PS5 where the console sells OK but the games sell like ass. Seriously, go look up sales of PS5 games vs the sales of Gamecube games and you'll be floored. $70 has been very bad for the industry. People don't buy games at that price point and it shows. Very few titles have done well at $70 and 1)They are always sequels to big hits and 2)Are still a far cry from the original. You need to sell about 83% of a $60 game to make up the difference and its not happening for any title (for reference, ToTK sold 66% of BoTW which is why Nintendo has been having a melty over piracy). What will be interesting to watch is MKW's sales. I think about 80% of the shippments were the bundle so it will have a high attach rate. If it's 85% or less, then SW2 will have the PS5 problem.
I think a far bigger problem for PS5's software sales is the fact that so much of the industry, and especially sony, has pivoted to live service hell games designed to drain as much of your time and money as possible so you're not spending them on anything else.
