According to the data announced by Nintendo on June 11, the cumulative global sales of Switch 2 exceeded 3.5 million units within 4 days of its launch, ranking first in the global sales of game consoles in the same period.
According to data released by the game information magazine Famitsu on June 12, it is estimated that Switch 2 sold 940,000 units in Japan within four days of its launch on June 5, ranking first in Japanese game console sales during the same period.
Not only in Japan, Switch 2 also broke the sales records of game consoles in many countries, such as 1.1 million units sold in the first week in the United States, which will not be listed here one by one.
Reasons For The Strong Start Of Switch 2
There are many reasons for achieving such a beautiful sales data, among which the core three points are:
- 1. Switch 2 is the only remaining game handheld portable machine and the dominant player in game portable machines.
- 2. Nintendo has repeatedly postponed the release date, allowing Switch 2 to reserve sufficient supply and ensure the initial supply quantity;
- 3. The first game “Mario Kart World” is the sequel to Switch’s best-selling work worldwide, and bundling sales is equivalent to a disguised price reduction.
Before the release of Switch 2, there were some pessimistic voices in the game industry and investment circles, believing that it would replicate the disastrous defeat of WiiU.
First of all, it should be clear that WiiU is essentially a home console connected to a TV, not a portable game console. In terms of home game consoles, PlayStation and Xbox have already taken over most of the market. WiiU lacks the support of many games and cannot get a share from the two giants.
As a portable game console, Switch 2 is currently dominated by Nintendo. Although there are spoilers such as Steamdeck, the huge game library inherited from Switch and including Nintendo’s exclusive games is the key to its dominance.
Switch 2 Learns From WiiU’s Failure
Switch 2’s promotional strategy shows that Nintendo has learned lessons from WiiU’s failure in its first launch:
- 1. The 2D platform jumping game, Super Mario Bros., which was the starting point of the Mario series’ prosperity, continues to be released, but it cannot be relied on to boost console sales;
- 2. The new dominant Mario Kart series must be relied on to boost console sales.
- 3. Mini-games cannot be bundled with deluxe versions to boost console sales, but must rely on truly high-quality and attractive works.
Nintendo was not active in the strategy of bundling games with consoles in the past. Two Japanese managers believed that it was not appropriate to bundle software for free because Nintendo attached great importance to the value of every product that was developed with great effort. As a result, WiiU was excluded from the market and died quietly. Now Switch 2 bundles Mario Kart World, which is obviously a lesson learned from the past.
Changes Of Console Market
In recent years, the dismal sales of PS5 and Xbox SERIES have also affected some strategic analysts’ predictions for Switch 2. In fact, these two consoles also have many problems.
In recent years, the exclusive games of the two consoles have ended their exclusivity and landed on the PC platform. This “limited-time exclusive” model has made some players who intend to buy consoles choose to wait and see.
For Sony and Microsoft, the cost of porting console-exclusive games to PC is obviously lower than the development cost, and PC players still have a high desire to buy, which is like opening a money printing machine for the two companies.
For the vast majority of players, they are not loyal believers of the two game companies. Wherever there are more games, they are happy to play. Since these games will be on PC eventually, why should players spend extra money to buy consoles? Therefore, it is good for players to have exclusive games on PC. (So Sony, When will Bloodborne be on PC?)
Perhaps gamers pay great attention to the initial game experience and choose consoles because they don’t want to be spoiled, but more players prefer to play other games and wait.
In short, if the console platform does not have truly exclusive games, then players will be much less willing to buy it.
Is Switch 2 Successful?
It is still a bit too early to say Switch 2 now, because according to internal news from Nintendo, the current sales volume is lower than they expected.
In terms of exclusive games, Switch 2 also faces the same dilemma as the above games. It lacks a sufficient amount of exclusive games that belong to Switch 2. Just like the influence that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild brought to Switch 1.
Although Switch 2 Escort Mario World claims to be an open world, except for the racing missions like in GTA, the other content is relatively empty, and its influence may not reach the level of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
In terms of third-party games, although the technical upgrades brought by Switch 2 allow players to play excellent works such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Split Fiction. However, the prices of third-party games are high. For example, Yakuza 0, which is priced at $20 on Steam, must be purchased for $50 on Switch 2.
In summary, although Switch 2 has strong initial sales, it still has various problems, and now is not its real strong period. Perhaps after Switch 2 has accumulated a truly luxurious game lineup, it can reach the height of Switch 1.
