Despite Switch 2 Having Strong Third-Party Support, Publisher Report Lower Than Expected Sales

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Switch 2 May Not Be Able To Compete In The AAA Gaming Market Afterall!

Story Highlight
  • Third-party Switch 2 games didn’t sell well, with one publisher claiming that the sales were below their expectations.
  • This is due to most titles having an older initial release.
  • First-party sales were decent, but aren’t considered an improvement over the original Switch.

Even though the Switch 2 launch may not have been that exciting, the handheld has easily become the fastest-selling console of all time.

With almost 2 weeks since its release, the first statistics for the Switch 2 are being revealed. As usual, good first-party sales are supported in both hardware and software. However, things seem a little complicated on the third-party end, which was a big focus for Nintendo this time around.

New report reveals that third-party Switch 2 games haven’t been performing that great.

Why it matters: Nintendo’s biggest marketing point for Switch 2 was its expansion of supporting third-party games. However, this tactic isn’t working for them, judging by this report.

cyberpunk 2077 switch 2
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Reported via The Game Business, one third-party publisher characterised these lower sales to them as “below our lowest estimates.” Out of all these third-party games, Cyberpunk 2077 secured the most sales.

The lack of third-party game sales could be due to these titles being older releases that have just been ported to Switch, such as Hogwarts Legacy, Hitman, and more. Moreover, the Switch 2 isn’t the best place to play these AAA games in general.

For the first Switch, most owners already had a primary way of gaming, whether it was a console or a PC. The same scenario is also expected for Switch 2, and gamers will likely prefer it for Nintendo games only.

ps5 switch 2
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First-party sales were good and weren’t an improvement over the original Switch, since more consoles were sold this time, and the first-party catalogue was also bigger.

This is primarily due to the backwards compatibility support that the Switch 2 has, meaning players can play their existing game library on the new console. Overall, Mario Kart Bundle had the most first-party software sales, accounting for 80%.

What are your thoughts on this report? Do you think Switch 2 is a viable platform for third-party gaming, or is the first-party area where they’re fine at sticking? Let us know in the comments below, or at the official Tech4Gamers Forums.

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