RolStoppable said:
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. |
Thank you for reminding me about Switch Sports; I forgot that one even exists. I thought of RFA, but figured that like Wii Sports Resort, a sequel would mostly attract people who already have the console, not potential new customers. Funny that you didn't mention Nintendogs, where the 3DS sequel sold like a sixth of the original. It was so popular of a launch title that it helped Nintendo slash the price of the system four months later.
F-Zero has a critic score of 89 and a user score of 8.7 on Metacritic. I'm sorry if you couldn't get past the second race in story mode. EDIT: almost forgot about your other low-hanging sore anus I mean fruit, that being F-Zero going online. You must have completely missed F-Zero 99, an entirely online version of the SNES game. It currently has an 8.4 rating on Metacritic among 74 user ratings and is still supported. Is that the "the long waiting times from one race to the next" and online bullshit you're referring to?
Never said that new games aren't important. I just don't think there are any last big blockbusters for the Switch at this point. Every release now is for the massive install base and to show that the current console won't be left out in the wilderness to rot like many Nintendo consoles of the past.
Last edited by burninmylight - on 26 February 2024
