“Mario Kart World” is priced at $79.99 in the U.S., sparking discussion about the rising cost of games. Meanwhile, Nintendo is expanding its library by bringing more third-party titles to the platform.
The Switch rolled out in 2017, succeeding the less successful Wii U. The console, usable both at home and on the go, became highly popular with major titles like “The Legend of Zelda” and the pandemic-launched “Animal Crossing: New Horizons”.
“The much larger audience of Switch users should translate to stronger adoption in the opening part of its lifecycle,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, an analyst at Ampere Analysis. “Nintendo is better prepared this time around” to deal with the high demand, he added.
The $499.99 Nintendo launch of the Switch 2 is an important test for the company’s supply chain, especially after the trade tensions during President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Japanese game maker estimated last month sales of 15 million Nintendo Switch 2 consoles during the current financial year.
President Shuntaro Furukawa stated that Nintendo plans to boost production capacity to meet strong demand and will concentrate on sales promotion to exceed expectations.
The company, which is known for cautious forecasts, also predicts a sale of 4.5 million Switch consoles.
Nintendo declared 2.2 million applications for the Switch 2 sales lottery on the My Nintendo Store in Japan. Also, it did not take longer than two hours for Target pre-orders to sell out.
“You are looking at weeks or months until you can walk into a store and buy a Switch 2,” said Toto of Cantan Games.
Investors have equally high hopes for the new device. Nintendo’s shares have jumped nearly 30%, approaching record highs.
Concerns include whether enthusiasm for the Nintendo Switch 2 will continue after the core gaming audience has upgraded.
“The volume of first-party gamers on offer at launch isn’t as strong as it could be, so some more casual users may wait and see how the games available build over the next one to two years before making the leap,” said Ampere’s Harding-Rolls.
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