THE SWITCH 2 ADVANTAGE
Nathaniel Tan, Data Analyst at Virtuos, and Ryo Nakagawa,
Production Director at Virtuos, explain how Nintendo are winning the hearts of gamers from casual to core
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Top: Nathaniel Tan and Ryo Nakagawa
nimal Crossing, Super Mario, and The Legend of Zelda are just some of the beloved first-party franchises that have become synonymous with the
Nintendo Switch. The iconic hybrid and portable console has sold over 150 million units, transforming both couch gaming and play on the go, and winning the hearts of a broad gaming community. In a recent study conducted by Virtuos on the top Switch adaptations, we found that 70% of the leading Switch titles carry an ESRB rating of “Everyone”, while none of the corresponding top-selling Steam games are rated as such. While Nintendo has strategically cultivated an audience of all ages through its offerings, the Switch’s hardware limitations likely also presented challenges for developers in bringing larger, more demanding titles to the platform. The advent of the Switch 2 provides an opportunity to
overcome hardware barriers while preserving the accessibility and charm that made the original console so popular. The central question now is whether the Switch 2 can effectively serve both the casual players who embraced the original Switch, while attracting core gamers who primarily play on the PC or other consoles. To address this, we examine how the Switch 2’s hardware specifications, game lineup, pricing, and new features contribute to its potential success.
42 | MCV/DEVELOP August/September 2025
THE SWITCH’S GROWING THIRD-PARTY LANDSCAPE Third-party developers are capitalising on the Switch 2’s enhanced capabilities to bring more demanding titles to the platform, with games like Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy VII Remake showcased during the Nintendo Switch Direct in April serving as prime examples of this shift. AAA developers are showing strong confidence in the Switch 2, actively pursuing opportunities to bring their premium titles to Nintendo’s upgraded platform. Among them, Phil Spencer from Microsoft has publicly committed to supporting the Switch 2 with Xbox ports, with at least eight confirmed titles, including Call of Duty, through a 10- year deal with Nintendo. FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods, arriving in 2026, represents their first Nintendo-exclusive project and demonstrates the company’s investment in the platform. Supporting that shift is the fact that the original Switch’s
limited processing power often meant it was not chosen for simultaneous releases with other platforms—developers faced high costs optimising games to run well on the less powerful hardware. Significant hardware improvements of the Switch 2, however, make cross-platform development
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