Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@Datasun_7

More exclusives? Yes, Nintendo feel that exclusives sell consoles. We've got years of exclusives ahead of us.

More exclusives in the launch window (between June and August)? Probably not. Nintendo no doubt want a release cadence that is spread out to cover an entire year. Nintendo are notorious for keeping finished games on ice until there's a gap in their release schedule to fill it with.

I don't think that people are underestimating the third-party games on Switch 2, but that those games are cheaper on handheld PCs and the other consoles. Switch was too underpowered for most of them and Switch 2 has a PS4 level of power according to Digital Foundry. Third-party games don't sell as much on Nintendo hardware because they play worse (unless they are old or simple) and are more expensive, although here on Nintendo Life the hardcore supporters buy as much as they can on Nintendo hardware.

It's like the comparison between Switch 2 and the handheld PCs, the article that was posted here on NL. It's a pointless comparison. Even if Switch 2 becomes a huge success like Switch, it won't be killing the other platforms and selling more third-party games on it. Some Nintendo's exclusives sell extremely well and all of them require a Nintendo console to be played, the best example being Mario Kart World requiring Switch 2. In short, even if Nintendo Switch 2 sells a lot of hardware, most of its users will be playing Nintendo games on the system, just like Switch.

@Banjo-

Mmm, there have been several third party publishers reporting their game selling best on Switch over the years. 1.4 billion pieces of software sold and counting. Surely those can't be mostly first party games. Perhaps a third of that number?

@Magician I think it's better to check examples because overall numbers are overwhelming on all platforms. Generally, third-party games sell the most on PC. I haven't tracked every release, obviously! But an example of high-profile third-party game that got a Switch port:

https://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/games.php?name=the+witcher+3

That's 1.40m out of 50m sold on Nintendo Switch. That translates to Nintendo Switch selling 2.8% of the total sales.

Now compare those sales to Nintendo's hits:

https://www.vgchartz.com/games/games.php?name=mario+kart+8&am...

https://www.vgchartz.com/games/games.php?name=animal+crossing...

I’m not really speaking about third parties in terms of sales or how it compares to other consoles. I just think it’s neat to have them on a Nintendo console. The mere availability of them is cool to me. Especially after being limited to stuff like Dark Souls 1 remastered or Skyrim on Switch 1.

@-Green- I admit I'd rather buy them on a handheld PC or a Play Anywhere version because of price, performance and flexibility but you are absolutely right that Switch 2 will be able to run more third-party games than Switch, especially those that are not particularly demanding like Street Fighter 6 and Path of the Goddess.

@Datasun_7 I could see more Switch 1 games be announced considering Nintendo said that they'll share more news about the future of Switch 1 on May 8th (currently the only upcoming games for 2025 are Prime 4 and Legends Z-A). But outside of that, I think new announcements for 2025 games are going to be about 3rd party support.

@Banjo-

Kind of dirty to isolate The Witcher III.

A game that plays worst on Switch and is best played...anywhere else.

Obvious "it sold less" is obvious.

@Magician No need to be rude, I only looked because you tag me and asked me. That port is one of the best Switch got. Unfortunately, Switch is not able to get cutting-edge ports of high-profile third-party games that are brand new.

Whether 3rd party games sell "most" on Switch is irrelevant imo. The question is, do they sell well.

And the answer to that is undeniably yes. It's a new era. And while yes, the majority of game sales are indeed 1st party, the days of "nobody buys 3rd party on Switch" are over. There's over 20 million+ selling 3rd party Switch games that we can confirm from reported sales, and likely triple that in total (like Skyrim- that game is not counted but probably sold 3-5m, Witcher 3 wasnt counted but no way that didn't break 1m, same for MHGU, multiple Resident Evil games, and RE Revelations in particular which outsold both PS and Xbox combined. The Assassin's Creed games were easily million sellers. Borderlands as well. And on and on. Just so many that weren't reported but were self-evident by comparison of sales charts to other known million sellers.

I mean, Naruto trilogy is reportedly over 2 million for goodness sakes. And how old were those games when ported? Dragon Ball Fighter Z is reported to be over 2.5m. Ultra Street Fighter II had sold half a million copies even before the end of 2017. Daemon X Machina reportedly sold a few million units. And that was a fairly niche game outside of Japan. Or at least, you'd think. Imagine where these games are at now. And all those are probably significant underestimates being grossly outdated at this point. And many were years old ports. How many games did we see in the Amazon and eShop best sellers list that blew away DBFZ? A whole lot.

The fact 3rd party publishers bent over backwards to bring so many 3rd party titles to Switch regardless of the difficulty is case in point. They were selling serious copies. 10 years ago Nintendo fans weren't as open to 3rd party but the Switch changed that. The old proverbs and sayings about Nintendo fans and 3rd party just isn't true anymore. There are countless examples of 3rd party games even outselling other platforms despite being late ports. And when games didn't, usually it was due to the Switch version being severely compromised (yet STILL those versions sold well).

We can expect very strong 3rd party support on Switch 2 as games are no longer severely compromised. May not be "as good" but one only need look at any of the Switch 2-PS4-PS5 comparisons to recognize 3rd party games are now close enough in parity that only graphics/performance hawks or those who absolutely never use handheld mode (which was only 20% of the Switch playerbase) will prefer other versions (not accounting for differences in price or release timing which will also factor in). Because it's not just a large number of core Nintendo fans buying 3rd party, it's the general audience too. And by now having portable hardware that can produce results at least as good as PS4 (which to this day shows a relatively small gap in visuals to PS5 games, which is why you need a side by side with a full analysis to even notice a difference) 3rd party sales are only going to increase.

I expect Cyberpunk to sell another 2-3 million over its lifespan just from getting a Switch 2 port years after launch. Street Fighter 6 as well. Day and date releases are going to fare even better though, as it will no longer be a matter of double dipping.

Hi there!

I've bee reading the posts over here and I wanted to throw my 2 cents on the matter.

I will be probably gettng a Switch 2 eventually, even if my preferred platform is Xbox (with my Series X and Rog Ally combo). I must say that I love to play games on the go, on my commute and on sometimes on my lunch break. And I appreciate the work MS has done to make a more streamlined experience on devices like the Ally.

But those PC handhelds are a little more "complex" to use - not that they are impossible to understand, but they requiere more effort - and sometimes one doesn't have the time or will to do so. You know, especially with Windows based devices and the constant and mandatory OS updates. Or the constant updates for software that you may not even use or need (of course you can always get rid of the bloatware, but that is more busy work).

But there's something about downloading a game and playing it without the need to find the best settings or without to go through the mandatory Windows update. Don't get me wrong - I use my Rog Ally constantly as my Game Pass/Xbox Play Anywhere machine (and to play the odd PC exclusive game - like the remastered version of Killer7 on Steam) but with the Switch 2 coming, I may make that console my primary handheld console if those big 3rd party ports keep coming - I would love to have games like Hellbalde II, Hi-Fi Rush, Psychonauts 2, Control, Alan Wake 2 (maybe a stretch, but one can only hope) on a "simple" handheld console. And yeah, maybe most ot the games look and run better on PC handhelds - but that doesn't matter to me right now. I just want a simple experience - so I guess you can call me a simpleton!

The only device that would make me consider switching to Switch 2 (hehe) as my primary handheld would be one like the rumoured Xbox native handheld - but something tells me that MS will do something more like a PC handheld than a dedicated "plug and play" handheld console - I hope I'm proven wrong!

@Banjo-

Oh, that's not me being rude. Crass perhaps, but not rude.

Personally I would qualify The Witcher III as one of the worst Switch miracle ports. Impressive that the devs got the game running, to be sure. It's a generationally great game, no question. But would I recommend the Switch version. No, no I would not.

@HarmanSmith I'm also curious about the Xbox native handheld, that I believe it's going to be a proper "Xbox" experience. I'm also curious about how easy or not the Asus Xbox handheld will be to use, the one that is supposedly launching this year. I'm even more curious now that according to Digital Foundry, Switch 2 has a PS4 level of power that might be a problem for more demanding third-party games. I love Street Fighter VI and Path of the Goddess, but they are not particularly demanding. Cyberpunk has a PS4 version, like Final Fantasy VII Remake, both ported to Switch 2. I recommend you watching the Digital Foundry videos about Switch 2, will give you objective information about those ports and technical capabilities of Switch 2.

@Magician Yes you're rude but it's okay, I'll just ignore you from now on.

Xbox potentially normalizing Windows with their ROG Ally handheld for PC gaming is exciting. It certainly would be a better brand and platform to build around than the Steam Deck, which has sold around four million units in three years.

And miss out on spirited conversation about video games?

Alright, your loss. Do what you feel is necessary.

@Banjo- Yeah, I will look in to those videos! I'm intrigued to see how those ports run in real life. And we're still waiting to see some more announcements from 3rd party devs - I guess they are keeping them until SGF or closer to the Switch 2 launch date. I'd love to see what other ports are coming to the new Nintendo console, to see what this machine is really capable of.

I've read some rumours about an Alan Wake 2 port - but I'm finding hard to believe it yet, as it is one demanding and huge (in terms of storage) game - I think it is almost at 90 GB. If the Switch 2 aims at some kind of PS4 experience, an Alan Wake 2 port will be a very compromised one.

I hope you're right! I surely want MS to offer a native portable Xbox experience. And the new Asus handheld? I'm keepping a close watch on that, too. I hope they can come with an improved experience, and not just more power - if that's the case, I will wait to see if Xbox releases their own native handheld. Not that the Rog Ally is bad, I love it! But it comes with all those Windows base devices caveats. But if the new Asus handheld is good, maybe I will trade my original Rog Ally to get the new one. But let's wait and see.

@Magician Yes, I'm on the Rog Ally camp. I had one vanilla Steam Deck, and it's a great one, too. But with the Ally, you can have most majors launchers without hassle - Steam, GoG, Epic, Xbox Game Pass...And the Play Anywhere program is great! Buy one copy to play it on console and PC and carry your progress (like a more expensive and bulkier version of the Switch concept, lol).

Let's see what Asus and MS are up to.

@HarmanSmith At this point, 30fps is a deal breaker. I mean, even on Xbox One, I skipped games just because of that, let alone in 2025! 30fps is the revealed frame rate for Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy VII Remake on Switch 2, both available on last-gen consoles. That doesn't bode well for Alan Wake 2 on Switch 2, one of the most impressive games of the current generation, that doesn't have last-gen versions, so it's not cross-gen. It seems that Switch 2 will get games that are not demanding or that have a last-gen version. For me, Switch 2 is all about Nintendo games and seeing the lineup, I'm not in a hurry to get it.

Between the Xbox handheld and the Asus Xbox handheld, I'd choose the Xbox handheld because it will be a proper Xbox experience, but it will launch in 2027 according to the rumours, while the Asus one is supposedly launching this year. After reading your last comment, I realised that maybe the Asus Xbox handheld might be the more flexible option, being more handheld PC than handheld console.

Regardless, the gaming version of Windows that Microsoft is developing will benefit all the Windows handheld PCs. Now I'm curious about seeing what the Asus Xbox handheld is capable of with that in mind. Let's hope it's revealed soon! In any case, the Xbox handheld or a Windows device will always be my choice, just like yours, because I have tons of Xbox and Play Anywhere games and not a single Steam purchase.

Pretty sure Asus is the Xbox handheld. It doesn't appear that Microsoft are building their own handheld in-house. They're just licensing the brand. Google "Microsoft Project Keenan".