| burninmylight said: (...) To answer your question, I don't think any of those IPs really move the needle that gets Switches off of shelves. They'd sell to the existing fanbase. Rhythm Heaven is forever niche. A brand new DK is a maybe, but that screams "Switch 2 launch window" to me. I don't think the Switch Sports and Nintendog crowd is coming back in force anymore; they have smartphones now. The only thing I can think of at the moment that might capture some buzz and set the gaming world on fire would be the return of F-Zero, either a brand new one or F-Zero GX ReFalconed. It's always been a niche IP itself, but the first game in two decades of a beloved franchise wouldn't go unnoticed and I can see it getting some lapsed fans to get a console to play it, especially now that online matchmaking and ranking is a thing. |
New games in popular IPs keep selling consoles, even late in the lifecycle and even if there were already multiple games of the given IP. The hardware boost isn't as big as the first few times, but it's there nonetheless. Hence why a Pokémon game for the holidays still makes sense.
As for low-hanging fruits, you mentioning F-Zero as the prime candidate for some late life buzz is the perfect example of a low-hanging fruit in more than one way. Firstly, I can't see the IP getting better treatment than the dreadful Star Fox Zero (also a new game in a dormant franchise that people have kept asking for). Secondly, I don't think old fans are looking forward to online multiplayer and all the bullshit it brings with it, such as having to pay for it and the long waiting times from one race to the next. The game would have to be legit good to have any chance, which is why it can absolutely not be a remaster of GX which was the starting point of the end for F-Zero. Sega just couldn't live up to the task of making a Nintendo game.
And before I forget, there's another low-hanging fruit in your post: The Switch Sports crowd has smartphones now. You must have completely missed that both Ring Fit Adventure and Switch Sports went past the 10m mark with ease on Switch, putting it among the big Nintendo IPs of this generation.
Anyway, we won't be seeing any big hardware pusher anymore for Switch, because the console is closing in on saturation. A hardware revision would be more significant than any single game. However, a continued steady stream of new Nintendo releases is still important, because it will prevent sales momentum from collapsing before the successor is launched. So the answer to that question is that every game counts, even something as niche as Another Code Recollection which can only dream of reaching 1m units in sales.
Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.
