Nintendo Switch 2 launch: nine experts weigh in on the newest video games console
Journos, boffins and players run the rule over the Switch 2's prospects
VGIM’s friendly band of industry experts run the rule over the Switch 2
Activision Blizzard gets pummelled for advertising cock up in Call of Duty
We tell you which events to tune in for during Summer Game Fest
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Hello VGIM-ers,
I wish you all a merry Switch-mas and a Happy Summer Game Fest. Truly, it is a blessed week to be A Video Games Liker.
I want to say a quick thank you to everyone who met with me in Belfast and Dublin over the past week.
The only thing greater than your illuminating thoughts about making games in Ireland was the wee Guinness I had at the Duke of York in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter on Sunday.
If you want to see me in person in the UK, I’m hosting a panel on behalf of BAFTA about innovative sources of games funding on Saturday 21st June.
Get in touch if you’d like to say hello or if you’d like to book me to speak at your event.
Finally, Tom Regan will be in the VGIM hotseat for the first time next week, running the rule over Summer Game Fest while I steadily warm myself up to go on book leave next month.
Stalk him on BlueSky and back his newly announced NES book - featuring essays from several VGIM readers - on Kickstarter to let him know how excited you are to read his work.
The big read - Nintendo Switch 2 launch: nine experts weigh in on the newest video games console
A decade is a long time in video games: It’s been eight years and five Prime Ministers since Nintendo last launched a new console, but the company has finally broken its release duck.
Relying on a WhatsApp group: The Switch 2, the not very imaginatively named successor to the Nintendo Switch, has gone on sale today and is currently finding its way into the hands of players across the world (including me, if my neighbours successfully sign for the package while I’m out and about).
Great expectations: Nintendo’s new console has a lot to live up to. The original Switch proved to be a massive hit for the company. During its near decade-long lifespan, the Big N successfully flogged over 150m of its hybrid handheld consoles to fans who loved its mix of world class first party Nintendo games, affordable indie hits and family/commuter friendly portability.
Mature problems: And on top of that historic challenge, it also has some immediate difficulties to overcome too. The high cost handheld has to sell itself into a maturing games market where people are less tempted to leap the gap between console generations, consumers have been pummelled by cost-of-living challenges and surprise trade wars have pushed prices up even further. Eek.
Steady as it goes: Fortunately for Nintendo, it looks well placed for a successful console launch. I asked VGIM’s network of journalists and boffins for their thoughts about the Switch 2. And while my cadre of nine industry experts suggested the console will struggle to outsell its wildly popular predecessor over its lifetime, a new Mario Kart, a bigger device and some good old fashioned new console excitement could see the Switch 2 edge ahead of the original in its first year on the market.
Hardware head-scratching
Darwin in, Lenin out: The Switch 2 is an evolution rather than a revolution on the Switch concept. Sure, it has some natty new features. The device is punchier than its predecessor, with the console’s specs akin to a portable PS4 Pro. It has a bigger screen to gawp at. The new magnetic Joy-Cons double up as a mouse, hypothetically opening the Switch 2 up to all kinds of mouse controlled games. You can plug in a camera and mic to use the console’s new Discord style GameChat feature. The Switch 2 even comes with a snazzy price tag of £395 ($449 in the US), which is the perfect price for anyone who has just surprisingly inherited a massive fortune following the death of a distant relative.
Iterate to accumulate: But despite some evidently new features, the Switch 2 feels like a cautious upgrade that is in keeping with the company’s console design tradition. “Nintendo does tend to alternate between super-innovative consoles like the Wii, GameCube or Switch and more iterative ones, like the SNES, Wii U and of course Switch 2,” said Keza MacDonald, Games Editor of The Guardian and author of forthcoming book Super Nintendo. “When it has an idea that hits, it tends to build on that idea, often whilst working on something else in the background.” This, according to Keza, may explain why the company has been punting out vaguely feverish products like Alarmo to make up for the Switch 2’s comparative conservatism.
Stop sniggering at the back: Anyway, what this means is that punters are weighing up a Switch 2 purchase on specs first, novelty second. “The main thing consumers are most interested in is console performance itself and basically how new games will look and run,” says Jake Brigstock, who covers games from a consumer perspective for indy100. They’re also interested in “the bigger size of the hardware” (phwoar) and the enlarged Joy-Cons that they’ll get to play with (ooh-er etc)
Powerful resolutions: Jake thinks that this offers enough to tempt fans into ponying up for a new device. “A handheld console that can run up to 1080p at 120fps and docked at 4K with up to 60fps is incredibly impressive on paper…but consumers are keen to experience [this] for themselves”, he said.
Point and click: As for the console’s new features, it looks like most players are interested instead of enthused by the Switch 2’s new functionality. Andy Robinson, Editor of Video Games Chronicle, pulled together a load of reader feedback about GameChat and the new mouse controls from his publication’s Discord.
Vox populi: There was little excitement for in-game chat, aside from the exciting possibility of using the ‘in-feed’ camera feature in games like Mario Party for the purposes of outrageous gloating. Mouse controls were described by one fan as potentially a “killer”, but most readers appeared to be waiting to see whether the theory matched reality. This suggests these new features will not ship Switches by themselves.
Driving the launch line-up
Moo-ving Switches: The Switch 2’s strongest card at launch is Mario Kart World. The game is a system seller. It previewed well, with its open-world exploration, new battle royale mode and playable cow making everyone forget about its price tag. Its availability on launch day is a big tick for Nintendo, who hope it’ll go toe-to-toe with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s 68m lifetime sales.
End of the first party: But beyond Mario Kart, the first party cupboard currently feels bare. Donkey Kong: Bananza, the new single player Donkey Kong game from the Mario Odyssey team, isn’t out until July. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond doesn’t have a release date. And while plenty of games like Super Mario Party Jamboree and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are getting new console glow-ups, the absence of first party titles despite Nintendo practically dozing its way through the last financial year is a little odd.
Elden Ringing in the changes: There is plenty of high profile third party game support out, of course. The Switch 2’s punchier processing power is finally allowing Nintendo fans to get their hands on Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077. The new mouse controls also allow us Civ nerds to play the game on the go, allowing us to flip the bird at flipping open a laptop when we have the desire to stomp all over Europe with Charlemagne’s military might. And I do still think - as I wrote earlier this year - that this strength in depth is important for the console’s long term prospects.
Forgettable: But the absence of other big first party titles has not gone unnoticed. “Mario Kart World has got this 34-year old feeling unreasonably excited,” said Tom Regan, incoming VGIM writer and that guy I mentioned earlier. “Outside of the mustachioed racer, however, there isn’t much truly new awaiting day one buyers.” This means he is “more excited for Switch 2’s enormous potential rather than its forgettable launch line-up.”
Press X to Opinion: Tom’s opinion is shared widely. “I think there’s a lot to be excited about with Mario Kart World because it feels like a huge step forward for the series,” says Shay Thompson, host and regular contributor to the Press X to Continue podcast. “But overall, I don’t know if that will be enough for the masses considering the price tag.”
Yes…ha ha ha…YES: This means that it is pretty likely that the first wave of Switch 2 buying will be reserved to purists/sickos like me who can’t wait for a new device, while everyone waits to see what else Nintendo bundles the console with when Christmas is just around the corner.
Steady as it grows
Defining success: So if Nintendo is launching an evolutionary console with just one (admittedly whopping) first party game to sell it, then what does success for the Switch 2 launch actually look like? It turns out, perhaps a touch surprisingly, that success will look like beating its predecessor’s first year sales.
Fag packet maths: Nintendo has set its stall at selling 15m units during fiscal year 2025/2026, which ends in March 2026. This is a smidge below the 17.9m consoles that the original Switch sold in its first full fiscal year on sale, as well as the first Switch’s average yearly sales rate of circa 18.5m devices per year.
Underpromise, over deliver?: Nevertheless, a lowballed forecast makes lots of sense. The Switch 2’s higher price is a departure for Nintendo. Uncertainty in the international trade landscape could reasonably slow sales of devices. It also gives it a chance to surprise the market too, with Bloomberg reporting that a recently signed chip production deal could allow it to sell 20m devices this fiscal year.
Above expectations: “As things look now, the Switch 2 will perform in line - or even slightly above the original Switch - in its launch year,” said Rhys Elliott, Head of Market Analysis at Alinea Analytics. Open world Mario Kart, eager anticipation for a new console and a lack of the supply chain issues that slowed sales of the original Switch could bode well for the second in the series.
Steady as it goes: And if the new console does deliver on this promise, the Japanese giant will be delighted with the trade-offs it made. “With the Switch 2, Nintendo seems happy to sacrifice gung-ho innovation in order to deliver continuity and preserve the Switch brand,” says Chris Kerr, Senior News Editor at Game Developer and wondrous man. “It's a sensible bet that I suspect will pay off—and while I don't expect the sequel to quite match its older sibling in terms of lifetime unit sales, I still reckon it'll sell like buttery sweet hot cakes.”
Doing its own thing: And ultimately, this level of success would be more than enough to allow the company to stay in its carefully crafted lane. “It is a brave analyst that bets against Nintendo,” says Nicholas Lovell, founder of GAMESbrief and noted boffin. “They have history of doing their own thing, of zigging while others zag, and increasingly don’t seem to be competing with PlayStation and Xbox…So success looks like continuing to do the same, ploughing their own furrow.”
On course for success: So it falls to George Young, games journalist and George stand in for VGIM this summer, to neatly summarise all of the above. “The Switch 2 will sell well at launch because it is exactly what people have been asking for; a bigger and better Switch.” And if Nintendo can fill out that currently threadbare first party release schedule, doing a good thing better may be enough to make the Switch 2 a steadily successful hit.
News in brief
Load down: Activision Blizzard has apologised after deploying adverts into the loadout screens where players pick their weapons in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Warzone. The company told IGN that the adverts were a “feature test” published in “error.” This presumably occurred after an entire department’s worth of managers, developers, product designers and testers collectively tripped over a nearby keyboard, accidentally publishing a visible feature change to two multi-billion dollar video games in the process.
DCMS ditched?: Is the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport (aka the video games department) set for the chop? And if it is likely to go, what’s the reason for its demise? Sienna Rodgers and Sophie Church chat to a former culture minister, special advisors and some other secretive sorts to try to answer these questions in The House magazine.
MENA from heaven: The Asia and MENA games market has grown by 1.4% to $86.6bn, according to a new report from Niko Partners. While China’s 3.6% annual growth was likely to be the biggest driver for higher revenue across the region, Thailand, India and Saudi Arabia were identified as some of the fastest growing markets across the region.
DMA defiant: Apple has less than 30 days to ensure that it complies with the Digital Markets Act. The company was fined €500m by the European Commission for breaching the continent’s digital competition rules. And following the publication of the full text of the EC’s ruling, the canny writers at 9to5Mac noticed that Apple doesn’t have much time left to avoid further action (pending various appeals).
Not pulling his punches: Speaking of Digital Competition, Tim Sweeney, Epic Game’s glorious leader, has said that digital competition rules and the company’s recent court victories in the US is shifting revenue “away from useless gatekeepers and middlemen” and back towards developers. The pronouncement, which was made at the company’s Unreal Fest event, was followed by news that developers who release on the Epic Games Store will now receive 100% of the first $1m revenue generated on the store.
Moving on
James Whatley is now Senior Brand Strategist for LEGO Fortnite and LEGO Technic at The LEGO Group…Mark Luan has become the Senior Brand Commercial Manager, Publishing over at Lightspeed LA…Dan Hawkins has become the Principal Talent Acquisition Partner at Build a Rocket Boy…Former Kwalee exec John Wright is the new CEO at Turborilla…And former VGIM guest author Lucy James has been announced as Co-Host for this week’s Summer Game Fest live showcase…
Jobs ahoy
It may or may not be abolished soon, but The Department of Media, Culture and Sport is looking for a new Head of Video Games and Esports in Manchester…Ukie is hiring its first Policy Engagement Manager (Scotland) to support a new body called Interactive Entertainment Scotland…Lost in Cult needs a new Project Manager…Activision Blizzard is hiring an Asia Communications Director based out of Sydney…And Epic Games is bringing on a Lead Community Manager in Cary, NC…
Events and conferences - Summer Game Fest edition
Baffled, confused or outright furious by the sheer number of video game showcase events taking place next week? Good news: we’ve got you covered.
Here are five events for you to tune into:
Summer Game Fest Showcase 2025, 6th June - 10pm BST, 2pm PT
Day of the Devs, 6th June - Immediately after the opening event
Future Games Show: Summer Showcase, 7th June - 9pm BST, 1pm PT
BALLxPIT: The Kenny Sun Story (Devolver Digital), 7th June - 1am BST, 5pm PT
Xbox Games Showcase, 8th June - 6pm BST, 10am PT
Want a comprehensive list of everything taking place this week? Make sure to check out Ryan T. Brown’s valuable Summer Game Fest spreadsheet here.
Games of the week - Switch 2 launch special
Mario Kart World - Race against 24 opponents in a game described by one smart internet commenter as ‘Burnout Paradise, but with added Mario.’
Survival Kids - Konami and Unity developed multiplayer game showcases the Switch 2’s new game sharing feature (and looks surprisingly chill).
Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition - Discover whether From Software’s massive hit still shines on-the-go when it lands in hands from today.
Before you go…
The game’s Bond. James Bond.
It has taken years to get here, but IO Interactive has finally revealed the first footage of its Bond game.
Discover whether 007 First Light leaves you stirred, or shaken, by watching the new trailer here.