this is fair, I suppose. software sales are seemingly bulletproof (there are tens of millions more switches than mario kart 8 deluxe copies, for instance), but hardware saturation is a real thing that will be reached eventually.
Sure, of course. I was a little confused as to whether there was a suggestion the game was in full production for a very long time, but it overlapped another title and shifted consoles so a slightly protracted development makes sense.
I don't see this as that implausible, games take a while to make, especially for a system that will likely be in the range of PS4-PS5 power.
the problem is that these are all sequels to switch games. who buys a switch for botw2, unless they're after that OLED display?
I think the fact that it's an HD console is less relevant than an R&D cycle that would've been planned out and funded a decade ago. They would've gone in with a 5 year turnaround plan (to satisfy investors) and success is allowing them to be more strategic about manufacturing agreements and software development.
They aren't going to truncate development to please investors, development for HD games takes longer and a decade ago that would have been obvious. Nintendo isn't going to set an arbitrary 5-6 year cycle just because that's what their other consoles have done, they have to shift based on tech and software.
Yep, my prediction: there will be a Gold colored/zelda themed OLED switch this holiday season to go with BOTW2. Thats gonna be the "hardware" this year.
oh fuck that could definitely do it lmao
Would be a very weird move for a notoriously secretive company.
MP4 is in no way comparable to Mario Kart or 3D Mario, they could easily put that out towards the end of the Switch lifecycle without much fuss.
I wouldn't describe it as truncating development to please investors, more setting a series of milestones for expected returns on investment over a defined period.
This is why I see Nintendo following the cross gen strategy and launching significant updates for existing games in the same timeframe. A big graphical update for Zelda, maybe alongside new content, could be a good way of getting gamers to make the switch without having to rush out the next one. Splatoon 3 could end up having a significant lifespan for similar reasons.
And given they moved away from price cut, valuing their brand even more than before; new hardware starting the end of the year with zelda and I don't even know what they're cooking for that mario movie release...
I won't milk any boys! The boys' have been milked dry! It's time for new beefier boys.
I don't get why people think Q1 ever makes sense. Nintendo only ever launched consoles in Q1 because they had to delay them from the previous holiday season.I think a Q1 2023 launch of Dane makes much more sense:
The timeline just adds up so well with a lot of these studios. Only like 1 delay (BotW2), and extra dev time for polish (BotW2, Xenoblade 3 if it was originally planned for 2022)
- Zelda BotW2 delayed to be a cross-gen launch title
- EPD4 casual game - Launch
- Mario Kart 9 - Spring/Summer 2023
- Xenoblade 3 - launches cross-gen in Summer 2023 - 4.5-5 year development
- Metroid Prime 4 launches cross-gen in Summer/Fall 2023 - 4-4.5 year development
- Next Level Games game for Fall 2023 - 4 year development
- 3D Mario in holiday 2023 - 6(!) year development
- New Pokemon either in Holiday 2023 (2 year development) or Holiday 2024 (3 year development)
- Astral Chain 2 in 2023 - 3-4 year development (or 4-5 years in 2024 if 2023 is too dense)
- Animal Crossing in 2024 (3 years after Happy Home Paradise)
- Splatoon 3, Bayonetta 3, Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak Enhanced Ports
- 3rd party games
- 3rd party exclusives
Also PS4 Pro launched 3 years after PS4 in Fall 2016. Fall 2024 would mean borderline PS5 Pro territory
No way it launches that late especially with studios already making games for it all the way back in 2020
I think Q1 makes a lot of sense, actually.
Prime 4's 2023, I feel it in my bones. Though we'll have an idea of how far off it is when they reveal Prime Remake this year; I imagine they'd rather show a trailer than pull the "we're still hard at work" stunt yet again, so if they can't show it I'm interpreting that to mean it's still a ways out.
Mario Kart is Nintendo's GTA; the attach ratio is so high that the game tracks up and down with the hardware sales. Which means that sales should be on the decline now that hardware sales are. At a certain point, Nintendo is losing money by choosing not to cash in on launch year sales; Mario Kart 9 could probably do close to Animal Crossing numbers in terms of year one sales if they released one now. That's significant, even compared to MK8D's current sales. I don't think releasing MK9 even this year would be nonsensical, though I do think it's over a year away based on what we know is coming this year.
There must be a reason none of the big three ever plan to launch in Q1 though. You're getting big sales at launch but that's at the expense of sales in the previous quarter. It just doesn't seem like something anyone would intend for.
Even digital foundry vouched for it at the end of last summer while they had nothing to say in march, which lines up with more devkits being sent after e3 and bloomberg going for another round with that 12 sources article...
2024 is predicated on believing Nintendo that the reporting is false and that there are no devkits
I would perish
it's reality in a proless timeline (besides the game being f-zero I guess)
some idiot in a boardroom: "people want worse performance"
That's me
"people want worse performance and bad tokusatsu shows like kamen rider drive"
I had actually forgotten that they vouched for it too.
