Nintendo could avoid a Switch 2 shortage, a rare occurrence for console launches

 

Nintendo Switch 2: A Coming Revolution for the Gaming Industry

 The launch of Nintendo Switch 2 promises to be a major event. While its importance can already be gauged from the media hype, the real question is not the scale of the launch but the impact it will have on the video game industry as a whole. 

Nintendo has kept a tight lid on the Switch 2's capabilities and release date, which won't be revealed until after April 2. When it arrives on the market, it won't just be a new console: it will illustrate an essential lesson that the industry is struggling to learn. In an era marked by studio closures, waves of redundancies, and aborted projects, Nintendo is reminding us of a fundamental truth: video games must above all be a source of pleasure, not a frantic race for graphic one-upmanship.

Nintendo Switch 2: A Response to Industry Challenges

“The Switch 2 will undoubtedly be a success, but above all, it represents a response to the current challenges facing Nintendo and the video game industry as a whole,” says Joost van Dreunen, gaming market expert and professor at NYU's Stern School of Business. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, who rely on ever more powerful components to seduce consumers, Nintendo is adopting a radically different strategy. 

This is not to say that the Switch 2 will immediately match the record sales of its predecessor. However, according to analyst Serkan Toto, the console should sell out in “boatloads” in its first month on the market. A credible prediction when you consider the phenomenal success of the Switch, which has sold 150 million units in eight years, according to Nintendo's latest financial results.

The Switch 2 has just one challenge: to present itself as a convincing upgrade for owners of the first Switch. It must embody the very essence of Nintendo, a manufacturer renowned for its “fun, original, and sometimes eccentric” consoles. It would be enough for Nintendo to offer moderate improvements, such as 4K support - possibly optimized by AI upscaling - for gamers to already see it as the long-awaited modernization of the Switch's aging hardware.