Nintendo Switch 2 sales started from a historical record: in the first days, 3.5 million devices were sold, which made a “portable” from Nintendo the most quickly sold by the gaming system of all times. "Big N" again proved that she knows how to launch platforms on a grand scale. But against the backdrop of the success of iron, the question arises: how are the third -party publishers? The journalists of The Game Business edition tried to answer him.

Strong start for the console – weak for games

At the start of Switch 2, the largest industry players announced the support of the console: from EA And Ubisoft to CD Projekt And Sega. The release list is Cyberpunk 2077, the updated version of Hogwarts Legacy, Street Fighter 6, Yakuza Zero and others. However, despite the impressive composition of the starting line of the console, the real sales of the games were far from the expectations.

According to the data Circana And Nielseniq, In the United States, at the start of 62 % of physical sales, I had to play the games Nintendo (without bank accounting with Mario Kart World). In the UK – 86 %, if we count Mario Kart, and 48 %if it is not taken into account.

For comparison: the original Switch in 2017 Nintendo was even higher – 89 % in the UK and 81 % in the USA. That is, in theory, third -party publishers showed progress. In practice – everything is more complicated.

CD Projekt "shot" – the rest are silent

At the moment, the best -selling https://euromania-casino.co.uk/ third -party Title on Switch 2 has become Cyberpunk 2077. At the start of Cyberpank, even The Witcher3: Wild Hunt on the original Switch. But this is a single success. As the analyst noted Daniel Ahmad (Daniel AHMAD), Cyberpunk 2077 It was already well sold on other platforms and became the technical “showcase” of the capabilities of the new console, and not an indicator of mass demand for third -party titles.

So Many People ARE TAKING CYBERPUNK 2077 at #1 to MEANTO NO ONE IS BUYING GAME KEY CARDS, BUT THETS NOT THE FULLLS. Going to Break it download in this post.

1. This Launch Mirrorors The Switch 1 Launch and Early Years What Late Ports of Third Party Games DID NOT NECESSARILY … https: // T.Co/53qgpkkslw

– Daniel Ahmad (@zhugeex) June 19, 2025

According to Ahmada, less than 5 % of Switch 2 owners bought at least one project from a third -party publisher in the first week. About 80 % of the sales of the consoles was on the gang with Mario Kart World, And most buyers simply did not take the second game at once.

Weak sales are explained not only by "force" Nintendo. There are many factors that could play against projects from third -party studios:

Lack of reviews at the start – Nintendo I did not send the media console in advance, and gamers could not rely on reviews when buying games.

Reverse compatibility – old hits like Pokémon Scarlet & Violet and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received improvements to Switch 2, and the players returned to them.

Almost all releases were ports – new exclusives from third -party studios were absent. Many projects from the Switch 2 starting line have long been released on PC, Xbox and PlayStation, and they already have a large number of players.

Part of the physical versions of the games were presented in the form of cartridges requiring data download. Although in the hardcore environment this caused discontent, Ahmad He believes that cartridges are not the main reason for low sales.

According to analysts, the situation can deal with time – especially when new or exclusive games appear, and not just belated ports. In the meantime, at Nintendo The same model is still the same: the console is sold brilliantly, but it is still not easy for third-party studios to break through to the buyer.