As the Switch 2 continues to break sales records, a reader predicts that the PS6 and next gen Xbox will be unable to catch up when they’re released in 2027.
Nintendo has a reputation for consistency with the quality of their games but they’re not nearly as consistent when it comes to the success of their consoles. In their history, they’ve had four hits and three misses (the N64 is kind of a grey area but I’ll put it in the misses) and a lot of people were predicting the Switch 2 would make it even-stevens.
That was based primarily on the price, the lack of game info, and the fact that everyone always underestimates Nintendo. Or rather hardcore gamers, that take themselves too seriously, always underestimate them. But now we’ve got the latest data from the US, and it turns out that, actually, the Switch 2 is the fastest selling console ever.
It’s achieved that in the middle of summer, when people don’t usually buy consoles at all, and things are speeding up even more now we’re getting closer to Christmas. The games line-up might not be as legendary as the Switch 1’s first year but there’s a lot of games, in most of their major franchises, and I think it’s going to be more than enough for most casual gamers.
We’re all used to the Switch 1 being successful but at the same time it doesn’t really factor into what PlayStation and Xbox does, because it’s so underpowered in comparison. Nothing really factors into Xbox now, as they’re basically out of the console race, but the standard logic goes that if you want to play the biggest games you have to do it on PlayStation 5.
That’s not really true though, as we’ve seen with excellent ports of things like Star Wars Outlaws, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It probably can’t handle GTA 6 but there doesn’t seem to be much else that is completely out of bounds, as long as you don’t mind taking a hit in terms of frame rate and resolution.
Hardcore gamers won’t want to do that, but most people won’t even see the difference, let alone care about it. That puts Nintendo in a position it hasn’t really been in since the SNES era, where it can run almost any game, without any major restrictions in terms of storage or graphics.
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The PlayStation 5 is winding down, Xbox Series X/S is dead, and the replacements for both are going to be so expensive it makes it look like the Switch 2 is being given away. At that point Nintendo’s console is going to look like an even better bet, especially if you imagine how many more first party games it’s going to have by Christmas 2027.
When the Switch 1 first came out, and started doing well, there didn’t seem any way it could catch up with the PlayStation 4 or even Xbox One, given they had a more than three year head start. But it did and beat both handily.
Now the situation is reversed and the Switch 2 is going to have a roughly three year start on the other two, but it seems to me the chances of them catching up are very low. The Xbox won’t, obviously, but if the PlayStation 6 is going to be expensive, have as few exclusive games as the current gen, and no massive improvement in graphics I can’t see it being a big hit. People will just stick with the PlayStation 5, for very obvious and legitimate reasons.
That means that the Switch 2 has already won this generation and there wasn’t even a fight about it. I’m not even saying that’s a good thing either. I’m a Nintendo fan but if they get into a position of dominance they’ll start to abuse it, just like any company would. They need the competition to keep them trying but I’m not sure they’re going to get it in the years ahead.
By reader Onibee
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