We are on the verge of the launch of what will be one of the best-selling pieces of video game hardware in history, but it doesn’t really feel like it.
I’m talking about the Nintendo Switch 2, which will be released on Thursday, June 5 and despite the fact that it’s no doubt going to sell extremely well over time, this doesn’t seem like the type of “event” we normally see for big hardware launches. In this case, that’s especially unusual, given that it’s been a full eight years since the original Switch came out.
What’s going on here? It’s possible this is just an “online gaming bubble” disconnect from consumer reality, but I do think a few things are at play here that have tamped down on the overt enthusiasm we normally see for big console launches.
It’s The Same, But Better – Looking back, it’s easy to see how wild the leaps were in terms of form and function across Nintendo hardware over the generations. After being rocked by the Wii U, Nintendo needed a hit and introduced the wildly different split handheld/home console, the Switch, and it was unlike anything that had been tried before by a major industry player. A huge, explosive hit.
Now? It’s the Switch again. More powerful, PS4-level this time. A better screen. A few new features. But it very much is the Switch again. You may say that’s true of new Xboxes and PlayStations, and you’d be right, but in those cases, you’re also seeing Microsoft and Sony trying to push past new console hardware limits and into a new standard, something Nintendo has not tried to do for generations. That’s worked out fine, but it’s also not something that’s a factor here.
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The Games – Nintendo is leading with what will likely be its best-selling game of the generation, Mario Kart World, based on how past entries in that series have performed. But between that and Donkey Kong Bananza (a month later) that’s…kind of it for a long while. Everything else will be playing old Switch games. There are barely any other release dates listed for games in the future. One anticipated game, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, alleges it will be out in 2025, but we still don’t have a date even after a recent preview. And we’re now halfway through the year.
The Price – I’m not sure that the price is so high it’s going to discourage sales, but the debut of the price was discouraging all the same.
Nintendo has long positioned itself as an “accessible” entry point into gaming, which was true of the $300 Switch. But now the Switch 2 is $450, above rivals like the PS5 and Xbox Series S, and 50% more than the last generation. You can account for inflation, sure, but it wasn’t exactly a selling point this time around, to be sure.
Nintendo also kicked up a dust storm by announcing that Mario Kart World was going to be $80, up from $70, the standard price of AAA games, which used to be $60 just a few years ago. Their explanation was simply, “Well, we think it’s worth that much,” but it opened up the floodgates to a host of AAA games now pricing their titles at $80. They may have done that anyway eventually, but Nintendo went first, and now everyone has followed.
Review Units – They simply have not gone out, so no early reviews from outlets or YouTubers or whoever might normally be doing previews shared far and wide. It’s pretty unusual in the industry for this to happen, and it’s not clear why Nintendo has done it this time around.
I do not think any of this points to the idea that the Switch 2 is going to fail as a console or not sell a huge number of units. But I do think this all has combined to make the vibes feel sort of off with this launch, which should be one of the biggest deals of the year. And it just doesn’t feel like it.
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