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TalkBack / Re: Switch 2 Sells 3.5 Million Units In First Four Days To Become Fastest Selling System In Nintendo

« Last post by Adrock on June 11, 2025, 02:57:48 PM »

Just goes to show how once again the online gaming space is literally an insanely small bubble that represents less than 1% of the real world.  All the negativity that so many were saying would hurt the system, is once again something the average person doesn't give a **** about.

I don't think anyone can make this claim yet. All sales so far have been early adopters, largely the kind who wait in line for hours at a midnight launch if they couldn't preorder.

If you're strictly referring to people who claimed Switch 2 would bomb, sure. That wasn't a likely scenario given Nintendo hasn't made any dramatic, glaring mistakes. However, like Ian and a lot of people have been saying, the bigger issue is game pricing. Whether all that negativity ultimately hurts the system is yet to be decided. In the current global economic climate including and especially long-term wage stagnation, I'm inclined to lean toward yes, game prices will hurt the system.

This isn't a Nintendo specific problem. Sony and Microsoft have raised prices on hardware that has been on the market for nearly half a decade. Across the board, everyone is going to feel the squeeze. The shortsighted view is that this is merely a $10 or $20 price hike depending on the game. The reality is that even $60 for a video game was getting hard to justify because everything else was getting more expensive. It's just the hierarchy of needs, can't spend recreationally when you have to pay rent and buy groceries. Even fast food isn't cheap anymore. 🤷‍♀️

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TalkBack / Re: Switch 2 Sells 3.5 Million Units In First Four Days To Become Fastest Selling System In Nintendo

« Last post by Ian Sane on June 11, 2025, 01:31:32 PM »

I expected the launch units to sell out.  The biggest issue with the Switch 2 is the pricing.  That's going to cut out the poorest of the existing Switch 1 userbase but there would certainly be 3.5 million people above them in the list that could easily afford the higher price and wouldn't care about paying it.  The real test is long term when the earlier adopters all have their Switch 2s.

But the system price is not unreasonable for the tech you get.  The bigger issue are the game prices.  So what will the attach rate be for games compared to the Switch 1?  If the games cost more, but a person's gaming budget doesn't change, they'll buy less games.  Nintendo might be ready to declare the $80 game experiment a success because of Mario Kart World but anyone who got the bundle paid only $50 for it.  Let's see how it works for an $80 game with no alternate price option at release.

I also would be curious to see how these figures break out by country.  Here in Canada the most expensive Switch 2 games are $115, which is insane.  Mario Kart World is $110 as the $115 price seems to be for Switch 2 versions of certain Switch 1 games.  So how are those games selling in that country or any country where the prices have shot up over a hundred bucks?  We don't think of our money as a conversion from USD.  $100 is $100.  So I think there's a possibility that Nintendo may be pushing right up to the limit for the American pricing but in other countries they may be pushing far past that.  There is a psychological element to something going from a two digit to three digit price.

Nintendo does deserve credit for having produced a good amount of these things.  The early adopters will all get one within the first few months, presumably without having to go through a scalper which is great.  Christmas will give us good numbers as those sales will have moved beyond the most devoted to the more general population.

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TalkBack / Re: Switch 2 Sells 3.5 Million Units In First Four Days To Become Fastest Selling System In Nintendo

« Last post by Luigi Dude on June 11, 2025, 11:18:38 AM »

Just goes to show how once again the online gaming space is literally an insanely small bubble that represents less than 1% of the real world.  All the negativity that so many were saying would hurt the system, is once again something the average person doesn't give a **** about.

At the end of the day, if people want to play the newest Mario Kart, the sequel to a game that sold close to 70 million copies they'll need to by the Switch 2.  If they want to play the upcoming 3D Donkey Kong, the next game from the 3D Mario team whose last game sold close to 30 million units, they'll need to buy a Switch 2.  Hell if they want to play the newest installments in most Nintendo franchises, which all exploded in popularity over the last decade, they'll need to buy a Switch 2. 

The argument for the Switch 2 not succeeding always relied on some weird thinking that would literally have to involve someone like Thanos snapping the Infinite Gauntlet to make everyone in the world suddenly decide they hate Nintendo games.  You don't go from Nintendo's long running series having their biggest success ever, to suddenly selling worse then ever, especially when hardly anyone else is even trying to make alternatives to Nintendo's games that might draw people attention to other systems.

And before anyone goes, but the Wii U, the Wii U was hurt the most by the 3DS which had many of the same titles, as well as the fact the 3DS had bigger exclusives like Pokemon and an actually mainline Animal Crossing game.  The 3DS and Wii U showed Nintendo that people weren't willing to buy 2 Nintendo systems at the same time anymore to get similar experiences, hence why they merged everything into one.  A Wii U situation is never going to happen to a Nintendo that has only one unified platform they need to support.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Switch 2

« Last post by pokepal148 on June 09, 2025, 07:57:10 PM »

I dislike this kind of messaging but it feels particularly apt here. The Switch 2 is straight up what the Switch should have been when it came out. The joycon 2s are substantial enough in your hands to actually feel like worthy successors to the Wii remote, the magnets are way better than that sliding rail nonsense on Switch 1, and having a second USB-C port on top of the system is something that honestly should have been there from the start.

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TalkBack / Re: Zelda Movie Delayed Roughly Six Weeks, Now Releasing May 2027

« Last post by Cool Uncle Vince on June 09, 2025, 03:04:56 PM »

Avengers 6: Secret Wars was scheduled for May 7, 2027.  Last month, it was delayed to December 2027.

Zelda is swooping in & taking that date.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 928: Ultra-Italian Luigi

« Last post by Cool Uncle Vince on June 09, 2025, 01:34:33 PM »

We have two dogs & two elderly cats.  We have no carpet in the house & it is such a relief.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Switch 2

« Last post by Caterkiller on June 09, 2025, 12:31:50 PM »

I've been hearing that the Switch2 feels more like a premium product than the last Switch and I'd say that is definitely true. Feels sturdier, looks a bit sleeker and just functions more efficiently.

I was waiting for a Xenoblade X patch to finish my run of the game but decided to play anyway. Holy smokes, the resolution and the frame rate! I can clearly make out the creatures and armor sets now! I was not prepared for darn near every game getting some form of a boost in a generic resolution and/or frame rate boost. It really is an amazing plus especially since I have so many games just sitting unfinished.

I tell you what though, Mario Kart World really is something special. I remember being wowed by Mario Kart 8's visuals on the Wii U so long ago but that was about where it ended. I enjoyed my time with Mario Kart 8, but haven't LOVED Mario Kart since the DS version. I buy all of them, I play them when there is nothing else to play and it serves it's purpose as a family game to bond with everyone.

Now though? Nah bruh, this Mario Kart? I haven't smiled so hard or laughed this much with a game in a very long time. There are a few moments during races where I am in awe. The spectacle and presentation really hits me hard sometimes! There are some really cool tracks in 8D,  but with this game there is real context of where everything is and later on if I want to I can go there, so these tracks don't just feel real, they are real!

The wide open spaces do not detract from the experience. Not when there are 23 other racers trying to clobber you at every moment. Not to mention the wild life, road hazards and local vehicles going to and fro. I am always jumping, dodging and moving my butt to keep from being annihilated.

And with so many tracks like Big Blue and Mount Wario I am in absolute love! For my tastes this is just what the doctor ordered! A race around the world like Flash vs Super Man. I don't mind 3 lap traditional races but man am I glad this is no longer the majority of races any longer.

The item balance isn't nearly as maddening as it once was! I mean you get hit over and over but the recovery of the vehicles is just better! Charge jumping can get you out of a few jams if you are skilled enough and reliably dodging blue shells with mushrooms is so much easier now!

And Donkey Kong looks like sentient being again. Thank God!

Just let me adjust the music volume! That music is so good I really want to hear it without all the frantic engines and items all over the place. Oh and there is no way to join friends while they are playing randoms online. Hopefully they add that in like it was in 8D.

Anyone try Gamechat? I see a few of you online with your chats set up and eventually I'm gonna send you a chat request. We've been on these boards typing since we were in our teens and now that I'm nearing my 40's you should all enjoy my receding hair line! Game Chat works really well, and it's surprisingly a seamless and pleasant experience. I did not think I would be into it but playing while chatting with one of my buddies was really nice.

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TalkBack / Re: Hori Ultimate Anti-Glare Screen Protector for Nintendo Switch 2 Review

« Last post by Kairon on June 09, 2025, 12:08:42 PM »

The claims for screen protectors can be so hyperbolic that the real world pictures are a great help in figuring out just how the properties of a screen protector really help or hinder. Who woulda thought I'd be more desperate for screen protector reviews than game reviews 😄 Thanks a million!

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TalkBack / Re: Switch 2 Pro Controller First Impressions

« Last post by Kairon on June 09, 2025, 12:04:06 PM »

Yes, an octogonal gate! Now I know what it's called and what I miss so much from the early Nintendo analogbstick implementations!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Will you be willing to buy Virtual Game Cards, or would go all digital instead?

« Last post by ThePerm on June 06, 2025, 09:28:51 PM »

The reason why I prefer physical is because after a 3 year hiatus I turned on my Wii U. It still worked fine, but it kept telling me to update and I was like "probably shouldn't try that"

With my wii u I transferred all my digital games to the console, so yeah.