Gaming Inbox: When will Nintendo Switch 2 be announced?

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Sooner or later
Interesting breakdown of UK sales in 2022. I guess I would have expected things to slow down given the cost of living crisis, but that console sales are down by a third… that’s a lot more than I thought it would be. I don’t even understand the stock statement. I know it’s been bad for most of the last year but it’s certainly been better than 2021 and pretty much no problem until Christmas? It seems to me that people are tightening their belts right now and the lack of news games isn’t tempting them to do anything else.

The real problem is Nintendo, however, as the Switch’s falling sales aren’t primarily due to inventory. It’s not surprising that it’s peaked considering how old it is now, but I think in an ideal world its successor would have been announced by now, and yet the rumors suggest there’s no chance that it’s coming out this year.

However, I’d be very surprised if it weren’t announced this year, probably at E3 in June. I’m increasingly clinging to the theory that Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom is the last major Switch game and that everything else will be for its sequel, or at least cross-gen.

Obviously predicting Nintendo is insane, but if they don’t announce it this year then I think they’ll miss a beat. I’m guessing they could announce it next year and release it a few months later, but while that might work for some games, I don’t think it’s a good idea for an entire console. We’ll have to wait and see, but I believe this year will be filled with some very important revelations.
carlton

According to plan
A friend of mine is convinced that the PlayStation VR2 is going to be a massive flop, and at first glance it’s hard to disagree. It’s terribly expensive at a time when most people don’t want to spend large amounts of money on unnecessary luxuries.

On the other hand, wasn’t it the same situation with the original headset? It didn’t have the bad timing issue, but it was super expensive and not essential. And yet it apparently did well enough for Sony to support it for a long time, and I can only assume it did well enough that the idea of ​​making a more expensive follow-up wasn’t immediately quashed.

I don’t know how much Sony can afford to sell it at a loss, or if they even have to, but I’m willing to believe they know what they’re doing with this one.
magnolian

uphill battle
So I took the plunge and bought Elden Ring as CDKeys recently had for £29.99.

I can appreciate the craftsmanship and all of that, but I realized very quickly that I’m just not interested in devoting so much of my precious time to mastering something where the learning curve is the Y-axis.

Good for people who love that sort of thing, but I’m putting it back for now to focus on… more enjoyable gaming experiences.

It was a digital purchase so not a resale for me, which means I might revisit it in a few months and try again.
FoximusPrime81 (Gamertag/NN-ID/Twitter)

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second best
After finally retiring the Valkyrie Queen Gna in God Of War and getting the platinum trophy, I decided to stay in a masochistic mood and started playing Nioh 2. I have a long backlog of titles yet to be played that haven’t had them yet When I played the first one I jumped right in. Although I was initially confused by the Burst Counter mechanic, it finally worked and now I’m in love with it.

The combat is arguably better than most of FromSoftware’s work (Bloodborne aside) and there’s a dizzying array of alternate movement sets as both switch between stances and weapons. Most feel great, and the Yokai Shift is a welcome addition. The bosses are also great for experimentation. At times it pays too much homage to FromSoft’s work (Mezuko’s intro comes straight from Father Gascoignes), but it’s way, way better than other clones.

As someone who wasn’t a fan of FromSoft going into the open world, the sheer weariness of that genre makes Nioh 2 remind me of why I love intricate looping levels. They’re not as good as Bloodborne (what is?) and they’re beautifully designed layouts, but they’re still great. But I have to admit. I use photo mode to find out where the hidden enemies are. One can never hate the surprise attack enough to rob you of your accumulated hard work.

It seems rather overlooked when it was released, but it certainly deserves a lot of praise.
insanity

CONDITIONS: It’s great and we agree with you. You should keep an eye out for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty in March, which is from the same team and seems similar in many ways.

A bad sign
I wanted to write and tell everyone that Marvel’s Midnight Suns is currently 33% off all formats, and then I realize what that must mean: the game was a massive flop. It only came out a few months ago and has already received massive discounts on all versions… not a good sign at all.

It’s an amazing game and I would highly recommend it to anyone, whether you’re a strategy fanatic or not, but what its failure means is definitive proof that a Marvel game isn’t a guaranteed sale. In fact, it seems to be box office poison. Avengers, Guardians Of The Galaxy and now this… the only thing that hasn’t failed is Spider-Man.

If I were EA I would wonder if this Iron Man license was really worth the money because I’m not sure it will sell no matter how good its Robert Downey Jr. impersonator is.
worst

call of the ditch
Following your highly rated review, I’ve been investing many hours into Vampire Survivors lately. I was never put off by the graphics as I loved Gauntlet as a kid and it’s very reminiscent aesthetically. It was very, very addictive and a lot of fun, and I’ll definitely be coming back to it without ending it entirely. The price of it means anyone can play it, afford it, and it’s available on Game Pass.

One that eluded me was Rogue Legacy 2. I hadn’t heard of it until I read your top 20 games of the year. I must have missed the review when you did. What kind of game is this! I have a lot of fun with it. The character classes and random runs absolutely make the game. Love the gunslinger in particular and all the encumbrances you get to increase the gold when you re-enter the castle for another playthrough.

I wonder how many triple-A titles have underperformed these indie games? For my part, I left Call Of Duty in the ditch to play the indie games you recommended.

For me, gameplay will always come first, and these indie gems have that in abundance.
Nick the Greek

CONDITIONS: We didn’t review any of the games when they originally came out, we had to catch up on them later.

No explanation
Is there a reason Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals is available on every format except every Xbox console? I was so intrigued by your review of the first game that I bought the game at full price on the day it was released, as I love supporting these kinds of games.

I’m glad I did as I can gratefully say that I enjoyed every minute of the game and was excited for the sequel when I heard about it. I have to say it feels like a little kick in the teeth.
Chaossphere616 (Gamertag)

CONDITIONS: The exclusivity deals for indie games are often puzzling. Perhaps the developer recently bought by Netflix had something to do with it.

rest in peace
First of all, Happy New Year to all GC, the readers and contributors.

I was saddened to read the news of Archer Maclean’s death just before Christmas. As a Commodore 64 owner, I’m fully aware of the impact its games had at the time. Dropzone was a brilliant derivative of Defender and International Karate picked up where Way Of The Exploding Fist left off and improved on it in many ways. I also remember buying Archer Maclean Presents Pool Paradise on the GameCube as you could play Dropzone as a bonus game. I really feel the need to dig this out of the attic now and throw a party on it for old times sake.

RIP Archer Maclean and thanks for the memories.

Speaking of memories, a few people in the underbox asked for an update on my most recent Reader’s Feature, My Most Memorable Christmas Video Game Gifts 1980 – 2022, and what I got in 2022. The answer to that is a Sega Mega Drive Mini 2.

I’ve only managed to spend about an hour or two on it since Christmas, but first impressions are very good. I’ve immersed myself in Sonic CD, Final Fight CD and Viewpoint, a game I’ve wanted to play for a long time after seeing some screenshots in a game magazine many years ago. So I have many other games to work through.

I was also hoping for a copy of Strictly Limited Games’ Wonder Boy Anniversary Collection, which included the Sega Master System versions. Unfortunately, this won’t be released until later this year.

I wish everyone a happy 2023.
Mulled wine tinted glasses

inbox mitran
Happy New Year everyone! I’m optimistic about 2023. 2022 was better than I expected (for games) and I’m hoping the pandemic will be even less of an issue now.
cordite

I just noticed that the Suicide Squad game is coming out two weeks after Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom. Will it be the latest Western game to be Horizon-ed from a major Japanese open-world game?
watson

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