Nintendo’s priorities for the Switch 2 have been wrong since the start – Reader’s Feature

With news that Switch 2 sales have started to slow, a reader is worried that complacency and poor planning is spoiling the prospects for Nintendo’s new console.

Last year, the big story was that the Switch 2 had become the fastest selling console of all time. I think a lot of people found this a little odd, because there didn’t seem to be that kind of excitement behind it, but then Nintendo’s main audience isn’t necessarily hardcore gamers, so I think some of the appeal was lost even on long-term fans.

After launch, Donkey Kong Bananza was great and… the rest wasn’t. I didn’t get Pokémon Legends: Z-A but it seems to have got only mildly positive reviews. I did get Metroid Prime 4 though and that was a crushing disappointment, even though I thought I’d still appreciate it despite the flaws.

We’re now in 2026 and the only games that have a release date are Mario Tennis Fever next month and Pokémon Pokopia in March, not the most existing of games, I don’t think anyone would pretend. Beyond that you’ve got Yoshi And The Mysterious Book and a new Fire Emblem, which I’d also venture are not the most widely popular of Nintendo franchises.

They’re niche games, basically, and so was Kirby Air Riders, Hyrule Warriors, and Metroid Prime 4. I can see the logic in that that meant you had a Zelda and Kirby game for the launch year, but I think these games are only likely to put people off the main franchises, more than anything else.

I read with interest the report this week, about how Switch 2 sales have slowed, particularly in the US, and that Nintendo thinks that because it didn’t have any big Western games. I’m pretty sure that’s not the problem, so I can’t wait for that overreaction to make things worse. It wasn’t because the line-up was too Japanese it’s because it was niche games that aren’t popular in the West. I’d say that was a distinct difference.

And now that we are out of the launch year can we just admit that having no Zelda or Mario, or even the slightest hint of one, was a massive mistake. Given how well orchestrated the Switch 1 was I would’ve thought that repeating the same tricks would’ve been easy, but Nintendo seems to have ignored every lesson of their very long history.

We’ve got the 40th anniversary of Zelda, 30th anniversary of Pokémon, and a new Super Mario movie coming up soon and, as far as we know at the moment, no major games to tie in with any of them. Missing one anniversary is a mistake, missing three super obvious opportunities like this reeks of incompetence or being complacent.

I don’t know which it is but the more you look back at the Switch 2 with hindsight the more it seems like it was all rushed, with very little planning… which makes no sense, as Nintendo had all the time they needed to get ready and were not working under any kind of time limit.

I hate to say it, but they’re exhibiting Sony style arrogance, where they seem to think a minimum effort will be enough and that because their last console did well they don’t have to try so hard with the next one. I would never have guessed that’s how they’d be with the Switch 2, but I don’t know how else to explain it.

If there is a Nintendo Direct in February it needs to unveil a new Mario, some kind of Zelda game, and ideally a new IP. I do not want to sit through a 50 minute showcase telling me that they still don’t understand what was good about Mario Tennis 64 or that they the budget for the next Fire Emblem has been increased to £10 and a packet of crisps.

Unfortunately, I would be willing to bet that the second description is a lot closer to what eventually happens and that people are going to feel even more worried about the Switch 2’s future after the Direct is done.

By reader Gordo

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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