Switch 2 launch could be "significantly bigger" than the OG Switch's, but only if Nintendo can keep up: "When in history [...] did a launch for a popular new console go smoothly?"
We're fast approaching the launch of the Switch 2, and despite cries to "drop the price," pre-orders have been selling out around the world. Some analysts are already expecting a "significantly bigger" launch than what we saw with the OG Switch, but it all hinges on one key factor: supply.
Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japan games industry consultancy Kantan Games, is one analyst who's expecting a "significantly" larger release for the console compared to the Switch 1. Speaking to GamesRadar+, he says that "the initial momentum for Switch 2 vs 1 is like night and day," pointing out that in 2017, Nintendo had "just suffered from the massive failure with the Wii U," meaning that "not too many people took the Switch seriously."
With the Switch 2, he expects the console "will be not only sold out at launch (a banality) but also hard to get for weeks or perhaps even months after." He adds: "Sorry, but we as an industry have seen so many console launches now: When in the history of the video gaming business did a launch for a popular new console go smoothly?"
He continues: "I hope I am wrong and I understand Nintendo will try their best, but I would be very surprised if you can just walk into a store and buy a Switch 2 before late summer at the earliest."
This sentiment is echoed by David Cole, CEO of research and consulting firm DFC Intelligence. He tells us that "the main issue is whether Nintendo can meet initial demand, and then continue to have enough units available this fall and into the holiday season," noting that "supply shortages could be a major issue in coming months."
Games industry researcher Joost van Dreunen, who writes the SuperJoost Playlist and teaches at NYU Stern School of Business, also believes that "acquiring a Switch 2 at launch will likely be challenging." He adds: "I anticipate stock shortages to persist through the holiday season and potentially into Q1 2026. The current global trade situation and tariff uncertainties have likely prompted Nintendo to be even more cautious with their manufacturing and distribution strategies."
Mat Piscatella, games industry analyst at Circana, reiterates "the success of the launch will depend on how many units will be available," noting: "Demand will likely be there globally, but that doesn't mean the units necessarily will be."
If Nintendo is able to supply enough consoles, "I don't see why the launch of Switch 2 should not be bigger than the original Switch," he explains.
The console's price and announced Nintendo Switch 2 launch games apparently don't matter too much in the immediate future, either, as he suggests: "Pricing and available games becomes much more important once we get outside the launch window, and we move away from the price insensitive Nintendo hyper-enthusiast day-one buyers more towards general gaming enthusiasts."
Nintendo has predicted that it'll sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles in its first year, as well as 45 million games, but has already indicated that the demand for the device has exceeded its expectations. Let's just hope everyone who really wants one doesn't have to wait too long at the console's release.
Keeping up with all the Nintendo Switch 2 news? Be sure to check out our roundup of upcoming Switch 2 games, too.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Battlefield 6's open beta is already the most popular Battlefield of all time on Steam, and the platform's 44th most-played game ever
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Since time immemorial, mankind has struggled with its nemesis and ultimate predator: the helicopter. No wonder, then, that in the wake of that trailer which exploded around 1.46 helicopters per minute, half the human race has apparently poured into the Battlefield 6 open beta, catapulting it into Steam's top-100 most-played games of all time (per SteamDB). In other words, it's instantly become Steam's most popular Battlefield launch ever. Though there is a caveat there: EA only recently started launching Battlefield games simultaneously on Steam. At time of writing, Battlefield 6 has just pipped the 300k player mark, sitting pretty at 308,310 concurrents (which is, naturally, also its all-time peak; the beta only opened up a couple of hours ago). That makes it the 44th most-played game on Steam of all time by concurrent players, right below Elden Ring Nightreign at 43 and—of all things—Skyrim at 45. That makes it, by some margin, Steam's most-played Battlefield ever. But like I said, take that with a grain of salt. We're only recently out of the dark days when EA hoarded its games into the EA App (née Origin) and didn't put them on Steam at all—it only crawled back to Valve's platform in 2020. That means every recent Battlefield except 2042 didn't benefit from the kind of launch-day rush that can goose a game's numbers. Even so, Battlefield 6 is leaving them in the dust. Battlefield 2042's open beta is Steam's second most-played entry in the series, but at a paltry all-time peak of 156,665 players, Battlefield 6 has already near-enough doubled that in just a couple of hours of availability. Battlefield 2042 full-launch count of 107,376, meanwhile, is barely visible in 6's rearview mirror. It's not going to stop there, of course, and I'd be astounded if Battlefield 6 didn't end up handily outstripping Nightreign and the games above it—Destiny 2, the Mecha Break demo, and OG Counter-Strike—in the near future. After all, I'm given to understand that this seems like a good Battlefield so far. PCG's FPS czar Morgan Park dared to hope that Battlefield is really back this time after his preview, and EA has been playing against character by making some actually popular decisions. For instance, letting players have classic class weapons and not forcing the lamentable EA App on you if you play on Steam. With Call of Duty festooned with garish skins and filled with unhappy players, it's all out there for Battlefield's taking.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
No more deploy beacon clown cars for recon players in Battlefield 6—the assault class will get them instead: 'We're intentionally redefining it as a teamplay tool for frontline flanking'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ever played a Battlefield game and watched, haplessly, as some jerk with a sniper rifle makes a camp in a hard-to-reach building and turns it into a clown car? Well, that's not gonna be how Battlefield 6 does it anymore. That's according to an X post from the Battlefield Comms account ahead of the Battlefield 6 open beta. Namely, via changes made to the classes' various gadget pools. It reads: "We've renamed the Spawn Beacon to Deploy Beacon, and it's now part of the Assault class gadget pool, instead of Recon. "Although the Deploy Beacon has traditionally been a staple of the Recon class, it hasn't been without its challenges, often being used by solo snipers to redeploy in hard-to-reach places. By moving it to the Assault class, we're intentionally redefining it as a teamplay tool for frontline flanking and coordinated squad movement." Essentially, instead of having one, difficult-to-get-to clown car, the Assault class will now be incentivised to drop a bunch of guys in a flanking position, creating a slightly more mobile, shorter-lived clown car. More importantly, one that isn't just used selfishly to keep a wannabe sniper perpetually camping the same spot for the entire game. There'll be some changes to how the beacon works, as well: "The Deploy Beacon has a finite number of uses per squad and will self-destruct if the Assault player spawns back on it, making it a tactical and limited resource rather than a persistent advantage. We believe this addresses concerns around Assault being too focused on solo-play." So what are Recon players getting in exchange? A new training path, which'll be replacing Pathfinder. At Spec Ops 0, Recons will get "quieter takedowns, crouch and prone movement." At Spec Ops 1, they'll receive the ability to spot "nearby enemy gadgets (except when sprinting)", allowing them to get revenge on all the Assault players using the Spawn Beacons they don't get anymore. And, lastly, at Spec Ops 3, "going prone takes you out of combat much faster and removes the spot on self." But that's not all. "In addition, the Recon class features an Active Ability at Level 3 that lets you call in a UAV to a marked position for passive spotting, further enhancing your squad's situational awareness." All of this means you'll be able to play a Recon like, well, an actual sniper—spotting and marking targets, rather than consigning your teammates to a perpetually long runbacks that'd make a FromSoftware veteran weep, all because you want to score some clips for the highlight reel. And, hey. If you still want to use Spawn Beacons with a sniper rifle, there'll be open weapon rulesets available to relive the glory days of doing absolutely nothing for anybody.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Battlefield 6 beta has broken Call of Duty's Steam player count record, surging past half a million concurrents
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. First spotted by Battlefield Bulletin on Twitter, Battlefield 6's open beta is doing spectacularly well on Steam: Around 500,000 concurrent players at the time of writing, down from a peak of 521,079 according to SteamDB. That puts the BF6 beta at 18th place for peak concurrents in Steam history, two spots ahead of the unified Call of Duty app's peak of 491,670 players in November 2022. Some caveats on the Call of Duty comparison: Steam concurrents never show the whole picture for multiplatform games, and even on PC, CoD's numbers are complicated by and especially Game Pass, which assuredly blunted Black Ops 6's Steam peak last year. But this is still an insanely impressive showing for an open beta, and more supporting evidence that the recently rather one-sided CoD-Battlefield rivalry could be a real race this year. PCG FPS expert Morgan Park certainly thinks so on quality grounds, while former Blizzard president Mike Ybara seems to be rooting against his former team with prognostications in favor of Battlefield 6. For a more apples to apples comparison of player counts, The Battlefield 6 beta was already the most-played game in the series on Steam on its first day of availability, when it was only playable by Battlefield Labs members. It now has five times the number of players as Battlefield 2042's peak player count set in 2023, two years after launch and buoyed by its long comeback tour. You can still get in on the action this weekend, and EA will run another open beta next weekend from Thursday August 14 through Sunday August 17. EA has shared instructions on how to access the beta on its website—it's another one of those Twitch stream code drop deals. Battlefield 6 will release in full on October 10, and blessedly isn't an $80 game—just a $70 one. Chump change for a high roller like me. Walkin' around money. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releasesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
