Nintendo will launch Switch Console 2 for R $ 2,600; See more details

THE Nintendo announced on Wednesday (2), the Switch 2 the sequence of its huge success hybrid game console released over eight years ago. Now, the video game company needs to prove that it can follow a box office hit with another, one goal that had difficulty achieving in the past.

In January, the company had only revealed Switch 2 design and its compatibility with previous generation games. Switch 2 will be launched on June 5 for $ 449.99, ie $ 2,561.25 (in the current conversion, consulted through the Central Bank coin converter on April 2) a significantly higher value than the price of $ 300 ($ 1,707.54) of the first generation model.

The first switch popularized the idea of ​​a game console that can be played on the living room or on a plane, taking a wave of PC game brands to follow the example. Switch 2 has been the company’s largest release since the arrival of the first generation in 2017 – and will probably dictate the next decade for one of the largest and most recognized video game companies in the world.

Nintendo will also have to overcome challenges that did not exist in 2017: rates on Chinese products that can impact production and shipping costs, higher mobile games competition and pressure to correspond to the high levels of the pandemic era that the game industry has experienced in 2020. And above all, it is making a great bet that Nintendo fans are willing to spend $ 450 ($ 2,567.02) In what is essentially a reformulated version of your current console, instead of a fully new approach to games.

“Switch’s success is a two -edged knife,” said Mat Piscatella, director of video game coverage of the Circa Market Research Company. “On the one hand, a huge and great base to build. On the other hand, a huge target to try to achieve in terms of the same level of success.”

What’s new on Switch 2

Switch 2 itera about its predecessor with several new features, including a voice chat function in the game that allows players to communicate in real time. It also allows users to share certain games with other switch owners while playing in person, even if the other player does not have the title.

Joy-Con controls, which connect to the switch when it is being used as a portable console or can be used separately, will now support feature-like computer mouse functionality. The console will also work with a separate camera so that players can see on the screen when using voice chat in the game and other features.

Nintendo is counting on these changes to differentiate the gameplay from its predecessor’s switch 2. During its live broadcast from Nintendo Direct, the company showed how players will slide Joy-Con controls on a surface like a computer mouse to move the character on the screen in different ways.

Nintendo also gave the console hardware a very necessary update. Switch 2 has a larger 7.9-inch screen compared to the original 6.2-inch screen, and Joy-Con controls now fit the console magnetically fit into the console, which should make them easier to connect or remove from the console. The console has eight times more storage than its predecessor and dock supports 4K resolution, two changes that should give players more space to store games and improve their appearance when connected to a compatible TV.

Nintendo also announced new games of some of its best known franchises, including Donkey Kong and Mario Kart . Nintendo’s titles are a fundamental reason why players continue to buy Nintendo consoles.

But the company has also concentrated much of its presentation in games from other companies, which is crucial because Nintendo is traditionally better known for its own exclusive titles, and doing so can help the company attract new audiences.

These games include Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Hogwarts Legacy and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 and 4.

Recreating success

Switch 2 is the successor of the third best selling game console of all time. Nintendo sold approximately 150 million Switch units, putting it behind the 2004 Nintendo portable DS console, which sold 154 million units, according to the Nintendo website. Sony says it has sold 160 million units from its PlayStation 2 console since it was launched in 2000.

Nintendo had difficulty replicating success in the past. For example, Nintendo only sold about 13 million Wii U devices after its release in November 2012, only a fraction of the approximately 101 million Wii consoles that were sold in the previous generation. And approximately half of the 3DS units, a version of the company’s 3D -screen portable DS console, were sold compared to the original, which remains Nintendo’s best -selling console.

But Nintendo is moving away from its usual manual.

Sometimes it marks new consoles as different products of the same family, as was the case with Wii U and Wii. Other times, it has launched new consoles with new names that introduce new ways to play, such as the Wii, which succeeded GameCube and popularized movement controls, and switch, which acts as a portable and home console.

This time, it is positioning Switch 2 as a direct sequence, an updated version of the same device.

“This would be the first time we would really see something like the switch for Switch 2,” Piscatella said. “It’s such a direct transition, especially for Nintendo, who has always tried to mix some new and different things.”

A series of challenges

But even with a new manual, the company may have trouble recreating its 2020 success when the video game industry saw an increase in engagement during pandemic lockdowns. Nintendo’s profit jumped over 400% in the quarter ended in June 2020.

The use of consoles has remained virtually stable since then due to postpandeia slowdown, among other factors, according to Piscatella and Anders Christofferson, global boss of Bain & Company video game industry.

Sony and Microsoft’s latest consoles have been on the market for several years, so players may not be as engaged to them as when they first bought them, and there are more mobile games competition. Mobile players represent most of the game market growth, according to a Bain & Company report.

“It’s no secret that video games have been through a very challenging journey in recent years,” said Christofferson.

Then there are President Donald Trump’s rates on Chinese products, which can increase electronics prices, although more than half of imported Nintendo devices for the US now come from Vietnam and Cambodia, according to Financial Times. But it is not just production: high inflation and price increases due to tariffs would make it harder for consumers to spend on non -essential items such as game consoles. This is especially true considering that Switch 2 is remarkably more expensive than the $ 300 original, putting Nintendo’s new console in greater competition with Valve’s Steam Deck, which starts at $ 399 and is designed to run PC games in motion.

“In terms of general market behavior, we are seeing consumers direct their expenses to daily spending categories such as supermarket, housing and insurance,” Piscatella said. “It’s an incredibly difficult environment to try to sell things.”

But Nintendo’s robust library of characters and beloved games can give you an advantage against these difficulties. The company’s approach to gameplay is also more cinematic and focused on solo adventures compared to most mobile games, says Michael Pachter, administrative director of Wedbush Securities that covers entertainment software. This can help differentiate it from telephone-based competitors.

Pachter compares the situation to the restaurant industry; Although McDonald’s can attract more customers than a premium steakhouse, it offers a superior and unique experience. In comparison of Pachter, mobile games are analogous to McDonald’s, while Nintendo is steakhouse.

“McDonald’s restaurants probably surpass in revenues the best steakhouse in the city, and there are thousands of them,” he said. “But it’s not such a good experience.”

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This content was originally published in Nintendo will launch Switch Console 2 for $ 2,600; See more details on the CNN Brazil website.

Source: CNN Brasil