@GrailUK IKR? I keep looking at my bank account and crying. But you have to remember the majority of people play a very small percentage of games. So to them games only come out when their favorite franchise comes out. And if it is a dead franchise or one with long development time…then that turns into the hyperbolic droughts folks complain about. That and people refuse to wait for announcements. (And they forget about stuff that was announced but isn’t out yet.)
I only get anxious until like two weeks before release. Because then I turn into a 5 year old. Is it out yet?? Granted usually i have multiple new games coming out a month so it isn’t that bad. Plus the backlog…..
Taiko is good for the soul, Hoisa!
Japanese NNID:RyuNiiyamajp
Team Cupcake! 11/15/14
Team Spree! 4/17/19
I'm a Dream Fighter. Perfume is Love, Perfume is Life.
@Ryu_Niiyama majority of people play a very small percentage of games. So to them games only come out when their favorite franchise comes out. And if it is a dead franchise or one with long development time…then that turns into the hyperbolic droughts folks complain about
That sums it up better than I've ever been able to articulate. Naturally, people only follow the games they care about and ignore the ones they don't, so any game which doesn't fall into that bucket of "for me" is relegated insignificant, ergo, may as well not even exist, hence the "no games" perspective. To such a person, there really aren't any games, because nothing else exists to them.
What ppl mean to say is (or should mean to say) is there aren't any games for me. And that's undoubtedly true for a good many mainstream gamers. Sometimes there's not anything that will appeal to you. But I promise it'll be OK. Life will go on if a few months go by where this plastic box of electronic wires doesn't provide a leisurely activity involving interactive videos with buttons that specifically appeals to your particularly refined entertainment pallette.
While new games and new announcements are most certainly exciting, I do find it fascinating how many people there are who say they need something to play and hype up a release, then once it comes out they don't have time for it, for whatever reason. Then it's back to wanting more announcements and releases, and they still haven't gotten back to the last announced and released game they were excited for.
I think it's excitement for the anticipation, not the games themselves, that many feed on. So once a game is out, that anticipation is gone, so it's off to the next one.
Just looking at sales figures though, stuff like Unicorn Overlord would be fortunate to crack 1 million, and it may do so, but 2 million is almost certainly its ceiling. Out of how many players spanning Switch, Steam and PS? Over a third of a BILLION people? It's as you say, either most people just play mainstream titles and that's it, so there's these long stretches of "nothing" in between, or people have a very limited appetite and aren't interested in branching out to try various types of games that fall outside of their normal comfort zone. Just as most dual sticks players continue to reject gyro without ever truly giving it a chance because they don't want to invest the time to acquire new skills when the game can just aim on their behalf, so too do many players reject the overwhelming majority of genres because they don't want to invest the time to acquire new skills when they can just replay FPS #37 or open world adventure #19, and continue to go through the motions of what they're comfortable with.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
I don't think Switch is at risk of falling off a cliff like the Wii did. Very different circumstances. The Wii had a sharp rise thanks to it being a fad but then also on the other side was crunched by the adoption of HDTVs and the release of Kinect/PSMove
The Switch by comparison has been a slow burn and the pressures on it now aren't anywhere near as strong as "HD Gaming". They certainly exist and I don't expect Switch to look too hot if Nintendo go deep into 2025 with nothing to say. But we're not looking at an imminent cliff here. And I don't think another Pokemon, or lack thereof, is the thing that's going to tip it one way or the other
I'm still annoyed that VB wasn't on the 3DS VC. I know Nintendo wants to pretend that console never happened but come on. 3DS was the platform to do this on and will probably be the last platform where it makes any sense. Sure, maybe Switch 4 or something has a holographic screen or something but.... 3DS, it was right there!
I've heard the theory that the only hindrance to the Switch's momentum could be saturation. That everyone who might be interested in owning a Switch has already bought one. But I feel even that isn't much of a speed bump. Switch is just about every core gamer's favorite secondary device (unless they prefer one of the many portable PCs like the Deck).
Between Sony fanboys and Xbox fanboys that means what....roughly 200m potential customers?
Isn't the Switch only at 140m sold at the moment?
Switch Physical Collection - 1,555 games (as of March 31st, 2026)
Switch 2 Physical Collection - 4 games (as of December 8th, 2025)
Switch has such crazy momentum because it has broad appeal to so many demographics.
Nintendo console fans: may only be 5-10 million that fall in this category but that's still 5-10m. Including the docking feature secured this demographic.
Nintendo handheld fans: accounting for Wii U overlap, probably 65-70 million in this category. Switch appeals to them, obviously.
PS fans: I doubt the diehard loyalists would climb off their high horse long enough to grab a Switch off the shelf and check out, but that's a vocal minority. 10-20 million tops. Most PS fans are normal gamers and don't feel it's a betrayal to own a 2nd console. Not all of them are attracted to the Switch, but a good many are. It may not be their main console, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is they're gamers, and Switch not only offers them exclusives they can't get on PS, it offers them exclusive modes of play for many of the games they can. So a good 100 million potential customers there.
Xbox gamers: same deal here. The loyalists would never let their ego suffer the blow of acknowledging they're attracted to a non-Xbox gaming device, but that group is extremely niche. 10 million tops. The other 40 or so million are potential Switch customers. Not all will be into Nintendo's games or even portable gaming in general, but the diversity of Switch as a console, handheld and portable tabletop console ensures it attractd as many as possible.
PC Gamers: the master racists would never buy a gaming device characterized by 30fps and sub-par graphics, but the vast majority of PC gamers are just normal dudes who happen to play video games on the computer. Switch appeals to them more than PS or Xbox gamers in my experience. Since they have no reason to buy PS/Xbox, especially now that Sony/MS exclusives are coming to Steam, that really only leaves Switch/Steamdeck. And while you'd think Deck would be far more attractive to this group, the sales figures say otherwise. Contrary to popular belief, most PC gamers aren't min-maxers with 4080s and allergies to sub-120 framerates. In fact, from what I've observed, most don't even like tinkering with settings and stuff. They just wanna play games. Of the 120 million active Steam users, I'd estimate at least 80-90 million are potential Switch customers. Even if they just play here and there on the side, that matters not. A Switch sale is a Switch sale.
Lapsed gamer: the 1980-90s kid who grew up on NES, SNES and N64, then grew up and out of gaming. Switch is pulling a LOT of these ppl in. Of the 40 million SNES owners there'd probably 20m who are potential Switch customers that fell out of gaming over the years.
Casual gamer: I don't mean this as in the grandma at the retirement home. That sort of casual gamer is gone for good, forever absorbed into the mobile gaming market. I mean the non-habitual gamer. The kinds of ppl who don't follow news sites, and just pick up a controller from time to time. Gaming is just one of many activities they fall back on from time to time. LOTS of these ppl. Can't even put a number on how many potential customers there are in this group. 100m maybe? Who know.
There's not really any groups that Switch doesn't appeal to
So, reliable Sega leaker says March 2025 is a firm release date for Switch 2 now. And Sega will have a substantial launch presence. Previously they mentioned Persona 3 Reload and Metaphor: Refantazio would be releasing on Switch 2. And of course the retro remakes as well. But their release dates are unknown. Some are 2026-27 even. Some are next year. Can't remember which ones were which.
But ya. March 2025 it is then. Apparently it will be revealed this June (which has always been the month I contended it would be revealed in, though I was basing that on a fall 2024 release so, perhaps if Switch 2 wasn't delayed it would have been revealed sooner).
@skywake
Exactly! But that's why modding is so important- certainly to me. I know "piracy" gets all the talk and attention, and is the reason why even bringing the topic up in conversation gets ppl all kerfluffled, but this here is a perfect example. As you said, 3DS was the only system that ever made perfect sense. And Nintendo completely ignored it. But despite Nintendo's neglect, you can always count on the incredible community of emulation/modding to come through for us. Now, Virtual Boy on 3DS is a reality. Installable virtual console that shows up on the menu, can play the whole library. Which btw, the entire NA-JP library is available on public archival sites, I guess given how old the games are and the fact not even Nintendo themselves gives a crap when it comes to VB? Kinda like Micky Mouse and public domain lol. Even the litigious Nintendo with an itchy trigger finger is like... eh, go for it. It's all yours 😆 CLEARLY they care about Switch with the whole Yuzu lawsuit, and SNES/N64 and all the classics. But VB is... almost like it's disowned or something. Just weird to see.
It feels like for the most part everything is collapsing while Nintendo stays strong by sticking with the weaker hardware of the current Switch. The state of PS and Xbox really puts into question about why bother with more powerful hardware if it’s just going to cause harm?
Switch is just about every core gamer's favorite secondary device.
Between Sony fanboys and Xbox fanboys that means what....roughly 200m potential customers?
According to some articles last year, a bit under half of PS5 owners own a Switch. So that part might be already close to saturated assuming not all PS5 owners want portable/ are Nintendo fans. I've seen no reliable info on xbox overlap since the early days of Switch so no clue there (I personally don't totally understand what the xbox audience even is 😆 )
(I personally don't totally understand what the xbox audience even is 😆 )
Not sure I'm a typical XBox owner - if such a thing even exist - but I have an Xbox and a Switch and don't really consider either a secondary console, they each have their own strengths. They both get used about the same amount overall, and I have roughly the same size backlog & wish list on each. I just prefer to play certain types of games on Switch and vice versa.
Originally bought the Xbox as a Game Pass machine and also for the backward compatibility so I could go back and play some 360 & XBone games as I'd never owned an Xbox before. As it happens I ended up buying so many games that I felt like I wasn't getting the value from GP so cancelled it. To be honest, most of the stuff I play is multiplatform so in that sense I might've been as well getting a PS5 (I still might at some point) if it weren't for the 360 games. I don't really play many of the big 1st party games on either console to be honest, although I love Forza Horizon 4.
I think each console has a perception from other non-users that are probably a bit lazy - Nintendo is for Kids, Xbox is full of toxic dudes that only play shooters, PlayStation only has Interactive Movies etc when in truth the most-played (rather than most-sold) games across PS5 and Xbox are likely pretty similar.
Nintendo is for Kids, Xbox is full of toxic dudes that only play shooters, PlayStation only has Interactive Movies etc when in truth the most-played (rather than most-sold) games across PS5 and Xbox are likely pretty similar.
Top games played for all three is probably some combination of Grand Theft Auto, Apex Legends, Rocket League, Call of Duty, Minecraft, ROBLOX, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, EA FBC, etc.
Switch Physical Collection - 1,555 games (as of March 31st, 2026)
Switch 2 Physical Collection - 4 games (as of December 8th, 2025)
@gcunit I would say Mario. To carry them through the holiday season.
@JaxonH Gaming is in an unsustainable state imo. Sooooo many games come out with a pretty big investment price (be it time or money or both) and attach rate is insanely low in comparison. Especially on PC. Folks talk about shovelware but a lot of games come out full stop. It’s no wonder the big hitters have shrunk their catalogs. That being said I am riding this train wreck until the end!
Finally finished my F4F BOTW set!
Taiko is good for the soul, Hoisa!
Japanese NNID:RyuNiiyamajp
Team Cupcake! 11/15/14
Team Spree! 4/17/19
I'm a Dream Fighter. Perfume is Love, Perfume is Life.
@gcunit Zelda. We've pretty consistently been getting a Zelda game a year (I think only...2022 didn't have a Zelda release of some sort?) since the Switch's release.
Pretty much every other game we've got for 2024 (Paper Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi's Mansion) falls under the "Mario" umbrella so I don't think they'll give us more Mario.
@gcunit 3D Mario. TotK means we won't be getting a new 3D Zelda any time soon, and I fully, fully believe Bowser's Fury was the testing ground for a fully open world 3D Mario game that they'll launch alongside the new console in 2025.
@JaxonH If Switch 2 releases in March, alongside the news that Nintendo is polishing up their first-party software for the device, I FULLY expect they're gonna hit us with a blitzkrieg of notable first-party software throughout the year. They want to replicate the Switch 1 launch and the system's subsequently unstoppable momentum.
I haven't really played any VB games. I tried a real VB as a kid at some dude's house, briefly. And I remember thinking... "It's so red. Why is it so red? My eyes need a break from all this black and red." And that was the extent of my experience with the Virtual Boy. I think it'll be a lot more pallatable on the small 3DS screen. There's only a couple dozen games across all regions. Just go get em all, sit down and demo each one. That's what I'm gonna do.
Ya, Idk what they're doing with that Contra Switch release. Though I'm hoping it won't be a problem for me personally. Perks of the club and all that.
@Ryu_Niiyama
Shrunk catalogs and are increasingly shifting to multiplatform release. When even Playstation is publishing their 1st party exclusives on a non-Playstation platform, and Xbox is publishing their 1st party exclusives on a non-Xbox platform... well that says it all really. Then we see franchises that have historically released on one platform, like Persona and Trails on Playstation, or Monster Hunter games on just Playstation or just Nintendo, now releasing on everything across the board. Even 3rd party games Sony have traditionally bent over backwards to ensure stay exclusive are being ported to other platforms 6-12 months later, the last holdout being the mainline Final Fantasy titles they pay to prevent releasing elsewhere, and even those can't be chained a minute longer than they're willing to pay for. The second that monetary infusion stops, that dog is off the leash. Any games that do remain locked down, do so at an ever increasing price to platform manufactures. So if they want it, they better be prepared to pay through the nose for it, and keep paying through the nose for it.
It's incredibly obvious the trajectory we're headed. A fully multiplatform industry where only Nintendo 1st party remain reliably and predictably truly exclusive. And even those I wouldn't be surprised if they one day figured out a way to monetize on PC without sacrificing demand for their hardware in the process.
Which to me can be both good and bad. Bad, because less variety and longer cycles sucks. Good, because all these games held hostage are being freed.
The last real barrier at this point is Switch hardware power. And that's about to be addressed come 12 months from now. I expect next gen to be the first time in a long time, probably since GameCube era, where games are announced and more times than not, you can expect to see all 3 console logos on the advertisements.
@Ralizah
Since the beginning I had contended March would be their release timing, just because it worked well for Switch, and though 3DS started out slow, it did ultimately work out well for that too. Seems the tally of W/L comparing March releases to other months is extremely favorable.
Sucks waiting longer but, it's not like development stops just because the system is pushed back a bit. The less games released this year due to the delay, the more games that will be released next year during the launch Blitz.
We kind of take it for granted now but Nintendo releases a LOT of games. Remember back in the Wii U/3DS era when one of the two was always in a perpetual drought? When 3DS had a banging lineup, Wii U was a dust bowl, when Wii U had a banging lineup, 3DS was barren. Nowadays with just Switch to release for, we're averaging 10-12 exclusives per year. Even this year will probably still see double digits.
2025 is gonna be popping though. Nintendo will surely bring a very strong 2017-like lineup, 3rd parties will be climbing over each other like crabs in a bucket for the early adopter gold rush, and I imagine most of 2024 3rd party development on Nintendo platforms will be devoted to getting ports lined up for next year.
Not buying any 3rd party multiplats henceforth, as I expect the vast majority to land on Switch 2.
Psalms 22:16 (1,000 yrs before Christ)
They pierced My hands and feet
Isaiah 53:5 (700 yrs before Christ)
He was pierced for our transgressions
@gcunit Tomodachi Life, a new game with the customization of Miitopia, maybe with some interesting element for the subtitle, like Tomodachi Life: Big City Livin' or Tomodachi Life: Cruise Ship Trip. I think if they market it well enough and get everyone talking about the silly antics and amusing oddness of the series, it could maybe even shoulder them through a holiday? (Especially if they're able to really amp up all the stuff the Miis can do, this could be a situation where they don't need to change a ton, just flood it with content, whether furniture, clothes, or what have you to lean into the novelty) I also just want to play Tomodachi Life, and don't think I'll really get into the same way on 3DS.
Can I do a completionist run of video game history? (It's still being made so we'll see)
Currently Playing: Unicorn Overlord (Switch)
Next Up: Sand Land (PC)
Panic (Reality)
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