The_Liquid_Laser said:
Here is something to keep in mind about 3DS sales. 2015 7.33m The 3DS actually went up YoY in its sixth year. This is pretty impressive for a system that peaked long before this and was ready to receive a successor. Most systems would get a pretty significant YoY drop at this point. One big thing driving sales in 2016 was the release of Pokemon Sun/Moon. The 3DS already had x/Y and Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby, but another Pokemon game still ended up increasing sales YoY in the 3DS's sixth year. Big releases still drive sales even if the franchise is already represented on the system. Switch still has several Pokemon games that are yet to be released. And of course Mario Kart 9 would be huge. It's true that a new Wii Sports or 2D Mario would also be significant releases, but Switch actually doesn't need them. After 2021, what Switch needs is simply to keep YoY sales from "falling off a cliff". It could probably do this simply off of third party releases at this point. The quality and quantity of third party games increases each fiscal year for Switch (including this past fiscal year which had to face game delays due to COVID). However, Nintendo isn't resting on their laurels either. We already know Splatoon 3, BotW 2, and several Pokemon games are still coming. I also think Mario Kart 9 is likely to get released. These sequels drive sales too, even though they already have a franchise on the system. |
A full fledged AAA 2d Mario is a killer software. Don't underestimate his power.