Topic: Switch 2 Has To Much Against It To Be A Commercial Success

I do agree that it’s way too early to gauge the success of the Switch 2 based on pre-orders. Although I do think it’ll do well regardless.

@Uncle_Franklin
The PS5 was indeed the "best" console launch ever.

If you were a scalper.

@Varkster I have to disagree there, Sony and Microsoft have received plenty of backlash over the years. For example, the Switch 2 pricing backlash has been tame compared to the Microsoft porting Xbox exclusives over to PS5 backlash.

I suspect PS5 may be a good comparison. Like Switch 1, PS4 was one of the top selling consoles ever. The PS5 then had an extremely good launch and proceeded to sell.... very well but not quite as as well as PS4.

Like PS5, I assume everyone will proceed to say Nintendo is doomed because Switch 2 isn't selling as much as Switch 1 and like PS5 no one will notice that it's selling only a little behind the rate of Switch 1 and still insanely well 😆

That's my prediction anyways.

@Grumblevolcano
To be fair, both of what you mentioned was legit backlash from fans (not referring to the console warring fanatics who just leverage these issues to score points). But an already struggling platform finally relenting and opting to not only let their rival platform pay for timed exclusives over and over without doing the same, but respond by giving them their own in house 1st party exclusives, is a much bigger deal.

I can understand why Xbox fans were so upset. Even though I'll benefit from it, I feel bad for them. Theyve supported the brand all these years. Xbox FINALLY had the games to be able to draw in consumers with appealing exclusives, and suddenly they decide day and date PC isn't good enough, they're releasing everything on PS5 and NSW2, including their most sacred IP.

And personally I think MS is stupid for it. Because they actually have the games now to offer a VERY appealing console if they kept everything exclusive. Even PC day and date is stupid. They should have gone the complete opposite direction and said PC releases 12 months after Xbox Series, UNLESS you have Gamepass in which case then you get it day and date.

Imagine Doom Dark Ages, Indiana Jones, Oblivion Remastered, and so on being 100% Xbox exclusive. They could have started actually turning things around.

@FishyS iirc the PS5 is basically on par with the PS4 in terms of sales. Last time I checked two months ago, it was only trailing behind the PS4 by 1-2 million when the PS4 was at that point of its life.

@JaxonH I agree that both backlashes are legit. The Switch 2 pricing backlash is because people want to buy it but have been priced out or are concerned about what its pricing will do to gaming in general (does $80 Mario Kart World mean $100 GTA6 while $60 Mario Kart World would've resulted in $70 GTA6?).

Meanwhile the Xbox multiplatform backlash is about longevity concerns of Xbox hardware. Will people's libraries be safe in the future? Will more 3rd parties skip Xbox? Will Game Pass still exist?

My point was that Nintendo's not the only one receiving backlash, all 3 are receiving plenty of backlash.

@RubyCarbuncle

Did you ever see similar predictions for the N64, Virtual Boy, GameCube, 3DS, or Wii U?

It's tough to predict because all the information I'm getting is from the perspective of chronically opinionated gamers. None of the normal people I know who bought Switches for their family get outraged at $80 games. They have no concept of the apparent sacred price limit of games (which is apparently $60). They don't care about physical only games or codes in boxes. Their kids just want to play games. They don't buy presales, so those numbers mean nothing. At this point, the only drawback is yes it's expensive, things are more expensive nowadays and people are cutting back and maybe a lot of people just recently bought a Switch and won't want to buy a brand new system right now.

@Uncle_Franklin

To be fair, Nintendo doesn't seem to even count virtual boy as an official console; it's literally not on their list of Nintendo consoles on their website. Instead, it's relegated to their other smaller or experimental devices. 3DS sold pretty well even after the rough start. GameCube and Wii U sure undersold though. There are many explanations, some somewhat predictable, for Wii U's failure which don't apply to Switch 2. GameCube effectively just lost against other consoles in a way which feels extremely unlikely with Switch 2 and the current console environment unless strong competition suddenly appears.

@FishyS

To suggest that the Virtual Boy doesn't count because it was such a failure, is an odd and self defeating argument.
I'll grant you that they recovered with 3DS.
And I accept that the GameCube and Wii U' aren't wholly comparable with the Switch 2,
but the point is that Ruby has allegedly seen dire predictions since the infancy of the internet, and therefore would presumably have seen these accurate predictions about console failures listed (albeit with the point taken about the 3DS).
So that the GameCube and WIi U are of course not exactly analagous to the Switch 2 hardly bolsters Ruby's (bless them) rather inane utterance.

I'm going to guess the issue here is that Yongyea tends to go towards the biggest gaming news stories, and Switch 2's issues are by miles and miles the biggest gaming news story and not that a guy who was in one of the biggest movies of last year has the console bias of a 13 year old. Especially since he did heavily cover the issues with Helldivers 2 and Concord last year.

I do agree the PS5 price increases have been widely under-reported and I was bewildered when I ran into this info and no one was talking about it.

Sorry, I realize I am now totally off track of your original point.

But my comment regarding virtual boy was less 'it was or was not a success' and more 'did Nintendo actually consider it to be one of their true consoles which was supposed to sell lots or was it just a filler gimmick/experiment which was not supposed to be a true console'. Nintendo just kind of threw it out onto the market in a not great state because they wanted to focus on N64 which came out not long later. And they never even bothered releasing virtual boy in every major market. Does Nintendo think of it as a console or as a random smaller gaming-related device like game and watch or Alarmo? I'm not sure if we know 100% of the internal Nintendo thought process at the time, but we do know Nintendo.co.jp has a list of all their consoles starting with NES and the list doesn't include virtual boy.

Perhaps the Nintendo museum explains the history?

@FishyS

I think the museum is one of the few places where they do acknowledge it.

@kkslider5552000
Nothing wrong with the biggest gaming news. One video on $80 Mario Kart would be completely justified. But half a dozen in a row? Every single one of them with a negative slant? Come on. That's going well beyond "biggest gaming news".

You can't portray accessories increasing $5 from tariffs on Switch 2 as "major" while completely ignoring PS5 increasing another $50 this generation, also completely ignoring PS+ increasing in price yet again. And there's been plenty of positive news too- NONE OF IT has been reported by him. In fact, he even takes the positive news and portrays it as negative.

People are people. And plenty of adults, successful adults, have a bias and don't even realize it. Many also act like children. I've seen clips of professors at colleges physically attacking students for having different political views. So some Youtuber who got a gig doing some voice work isn't some holier than thou model of integrity in my eyes. It's just another human with all the same flaws and biases humans tend to develop.

Switch 2 was expected to see a raised price. When it was announced price would remain the same despite tariffs, that was great news. But that never got highlighted.

I'm all for unbiased news coverage and fair criticism. Regardless of whether you feel he's accomplished that in the past, you will never convince me over half a dozen negative videos (1 or 2 being justified imo), one focusing on accessories increasing $5 while completely and utterly ignoring PS5 increasing $50, when it's well known his preference is Sony Playstation, is anything but biased.

I'm not claiming he has the mindset of a teenager because I do not know his motivations but what I do know is that I am not currently observing fair and balanced coverage. Could be dogpiling to maximize clicks, could be fantatacism and brand loyalty, who knows. But the proof is in the pudding

edit
I would also add there have been times I've admired his willingness to be precisely what I'm not seeing now- unbiased. Which is why I subbed to him in the first place and see his vids in my feed to this very day.

But I also recognize his preferred platform has historically been favored and in a longstanding positive spotlight with tons of exclusives, so there was never much reason for insecurity. This generation has seen very few PS5 exclusives, and the few it has received are being ported to PC, and now even Xbox. Things like The Show and LEGO Horizon even coming to Switch. Xbox is releasing more games on the system than Sony is. Switch handily topped PS4/PS5 and is about to crack the PS2 crown, and now Switch 2 is getting all this attention...

Perhaps he's finally experiencing insecurities he simply never felt before. Perhaps Sony fans have been winning so long they don't know how to handle losing.

Sees thread title.

Looks at posts in threads.

Laughs at thread.

It would be miraculous if Switch 2 was able to match the original Switch. We're talking about the (soon to be) best selling video game console of all time. Saying a new console "won't break the record for the best selling video game platform in history" isn't really saying much. Not saying it's impossible, but I highly doubt it.

That said, it's going to be a 100+ million seller. And that's really all that matters. Any system reaching that level of success is going to have no issues getting support. And that is, ultimately, why we want our consoles to sell well. We don't want a Wii U situation where nobody wants to bring games over.

As long as it sells well enough to attract developers, it really doesn't matter the exact sales numbers it lands on.

@Dev-N not every game console has the biggest selling launch ( presumably) in video game history. I don’t think it will be a failure. Will it go on to be the best selling console ever… time will tell.

@JaxonH It's a factor but not the only one. If people don't buy the 3rd party games, wouldn't 3rd party support dry up even if Switch 2 hardware sales are strong?

Like if FFVII Remake does well on Switch 2, Square Enix could get the message that their multiplatform strategy is working but if it does poorly they could interpret it that the old strategy of Sony paying for FF exclusivity works the best.

@JaxonH This isn't a WiiU issue of sales volume. That's a different issue for different time. The volume will be close to Switch 1 consoles volume sales. If it cross over the 150 mil will be for the history books.