The sheer popularity of the Switch tapped into a desire for people to be able to take their games on the go with them, inspiring other companies to follow Nintendo’s lead.
Valve, owner of the huge PC game Steam store, has sold millions of its “handheld PC” Steam Deck, and Sony and Microsoft are also reported to be looking into releasing portable gaming devices.
Analyst George says there is more competition for the core gaming audience than there was in 2017.
“So there is that question about whether the Switch 2 can be enough of a step up to convince people who’ve maybe dipped into a Steam Deck as well to go, ‘yes, I want to buy a Switch 2 to go alongside it’,” said George.
Matching the sales of the original Switch will be a tall order, but it’s fairly safe to assume demand will be high when it’s released.
The launches of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles – during a global microchip shortage – were marred by scalpers hoovering up the few consoles that were available.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furakawa previously told investors the company had held off releasing the Switch 2 to ensure enough launch units would be available.
Whether you’ll be able to get your hands on one remains to be seen.
