Nintendo’s new hybrid console is breaking records left and right, but aside from Mario Kart World, the games for the console are selling really poorly. This has been reported in several quarters, with third-party publishers describing the launch and numbers as far below even their lowest estimates.

One source said, among other things:

“Most third-party Switch 2 games posted very low numbers,”

And a report that reached The Game Business described the situation as:

“Third-party publishers characterised these lower sales to them as below our lowest estimates”

So why, you might ask? I guess it’s partly because a lot of the titles are old re-releases – Hogwarts Legacy, Hitman etc. Games many have already played on other platforms. In addition, there is still a lot of scepticism about Game Key Cards – Nintendo’s cartridges that are just a glorified download code.

It’s hardly surprising that game collectors prefer complete games on their discs or cartridges, and the only exception to the rule is Cyberpunk 2077, which, as you probably know, is actually a complete game on a cartridge. Including all DLC.

Nintendo’s own games, on the other hand – Mario Kart World and co – are selling like hotcakes and accounted for about 80% of the physical sales figures at launch.