2.2: (Nintendo) Switch It Up
Nintendo Switch sales clear 132m, Call of Duty drops a stinker, Elden Ring DLC development is going well + What's Releasing This Week
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This is Volume 2, Issue 2 of Early Access for Wednesday, November 8, 2023. In this issue: Switch sales continue to impress, Miles Morales to the front, Bungie apologizes to the Destiny community, Call of Duty disappoints, and Epic Games Store remains unprofitable.
“Heroes never die” - Mercy (Overwatch).
The Big Picture
1. NINTENDO SWITCH SALES CLEAR 132M
The Nintendo Switch is now in its sixth year on the market, and Nintendo has just announced that the console has cleared 132.46 million lifetime sales. That figure pits the Switch just 21 million units shy of Nintendo’s best-selling hardware, the Nintendo DS (154m), and 22 million units shy of the best-selling console, the PlayStation 2 (155m). And despite its age, the Switch shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, Nintendo has sold more Switch consoles (+2.4%) and games (+1.8) in the first six months of 2023 than it did in the same period last year. “The Switch is different from past hardware,” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa reportedly said. “It has the ability to give rise to different kinds of new demand.”
+ Best Sellers: As of September 30, 2023 (compared to June 2023), the five best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch are: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - 57.01m (+1.55m); Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 43.38m (+0.59m); Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - 32.44m (+0.67m); Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - 31.15m (+0.5m), and Super Mario Odyssey - 26.95m (+0.51m).
+ Nintendo Switch 2.0: A Nintendo Switch 2 could be on the way (some rumors suggest a late 2024 release window), but Nintendo declined to comment on plans to update the aging console.
2. MILES MORALES TO CENTER STAGE
Peter Parker and Miles Morales shared the spotlight in the recently released Spider-Man 2, but developer Insomniac Games has confirmed that one character will be its "main" Spider-Man as the series moves forward (spoilers follow). In a Gizmodo interview, Insomniac narrative director Ben Arfmann and writer Brittney Morris confirmed that Miles Morales will take center stage while Peter Parker takes a step back. "To me, it shows a great deal of evolution from Miles; at the beginning of the game, we see him struggling to figure out what he wants to do with his life," Morris explained. "By the end, we had Miles carrying the burden of saving the city, and also carrying Pete when Pete wasn't strong enough to carry himself at various points." Arfmann continued: "I think pretty early on, we knew that we wanted to have that moment of handling the reigns over. And as we developed it, as we started to lay down more track leading up to that moment, it just felt more and more right."
+ Spider-Man 3: Spider-Man 3 has not been announced, but after Spider-Man 2 became the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game in history, selling 2.5 million copies in its first 24 hours, it seems inevitable.
+ Universal Acclaim: Spider-Man 2 is currently sitting at a 99% Recommended score on the MetaMeter, and in VSGs summary of critics consensus, we wrote, “Spider-Man 2 is the quintessential superhero game, delivering a phenomenal story with better villains, a bigger world, and epic fights.”
3. BUNGIE APOLOGIZES TO DESTINY FANS
Last week it was confirmed that Bungie was the latest PlayStation Studio to be hit with layoffs, reportedly 8% of the developers workforce, amid reports that Destiny revenue was running at around 45% below what was projected, reflecting a damaging drop post-Lightfall in player retention/spending. According to Forbes, Bungie employees are “extremely angry with leadership now” but, “internally, really no one is blaming Sony for this.” In fact, Forbes reports that “some employees were told that if the Sony buyout did not happen, that with current Destiny 2 performance the studio itself would have been in jeopardy if the were still independent.” Now, Bungie has addressed its community for the first time following the news, calling this week “one of the most difficult . . . in our studio’s history” and acknowledging that it has “lost a lot of [players’] trust” with its recent Destiny content. “Destiny needs to surprise and delight. We haven’t done this enough and that’s going to change.”
+ The Final Shape as Make or Break: Destiny 2’s upcoming expansion, The Final Shape, has been internally delayed at Bungie from February 2024 to June. And there is widespread belief inside the company that it is make or break for the franchise. “To us the path forward is clear,” Bungie said in its statement, “we need to make The Final Shape an unforgettable Destiny experience.”
4. CALL OF DISAPPOINTMENT
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is set to launch on November 10, 2023 for consoles and PC, but Activision allowed week-early access to the campaign ahead of the release of the game's multiplayer suite. With the short turnaround since Modern Warfare 2’s release in 2022, however, it appears that corners have been cut. Although CoD campaigns are never very long - typically taking around 6-8 hours to complete - MW3’s campaign is just 3-4 hours. And in terms of quality, almost all feedback has trended negative, even among players who liked the previous MW campaigns. IGN’s Simon Cardy, for example, writes that MW 3 is “a pale imitation of the past, made up of underbaked story moments that clash with attempts to introduce new open combat missions designed to encourage player freedom that instead fall flat on their face.”
+ A Modern Warfare 2 DLC: Modern Warfare 3’s short length might be explained by reports that it was originally designed as a DLC and continuation of last year’s Modern Warfare 2. At some point, however, it morphed into a full game. Bloomberg reports that Activision mean to create something that feels “like a standalone, full-price release and also an extension of Modern Warfare II.”
+ Huge File Sizes: Massive install sizes continue to be a problem for the Call of Duty franchise, and Modern Warfare 3 can exceed 200GB depending on the number of packs players install. Some PS5 players have even reported file sizes of 240GB once the Call of Duty HQ and the campaign is installed. Activision has blamed the increase on being due to the “increased amount of content available Day 1.”
5. EPIC LOSS STORE
After five years, the Epic Games Store is still unprofitable. That’s according to Epic Games Store general manager Steve Allison’s, who took the stand Monday to give testimony during the opening day of the company’s antitrust battle with Google. Allison said that “the goal is still growth,” according the Verge, and emails produced for the trial suggested Epic “believed it could claim half of all PC gaming revenue if it kept paying for Epic Games Store exclusives - assuming ‘Steam doesn’t react.”
+ Strategies for Growth: Epic has made various attempts to attract developers and players to its storefront, including a more generous revenue split and free game giveaways. In August, Epic announced a new exclusivity scheme - the First Run program - where developers of any size would be able to claim 100% of revenue if they agreed to make their game exclusive to the storefront for six months post-release.
6. BOTTOM OF THE NEWS
+ Cyberpunk 2077: CD Projekt Red said it hopes that its Cyberpunk series has “a similar evolution” to its Witcher franchise. “Consider The Witcher games and how much they changed with each installment. We want a similar evolution here,” narrative director Igor Sarzyński told PC Gamer.
+ Elden Ring DLC: From Software’s parent company Kodakawa provided a brief update on Elden Ring’s announced DLC, saying that while “the release timing of DLC of Elden Ring has not yet been announced . . . development is proceeding smoothly.”
+ Far Cry 6: Ubisoft has announced that Far Cry 6 will no longer receive updates, although the game’s online services will remain operational. “Thanks to the millions of players who joined the fight,” Ubisoft wrote. “We appreciate your passion, creativity and love of Chorizo, even Anton is proud.” Earlier this year, press reports claimed that Ubisoft is currently developing Far Cry 7 as well as a standalone Far Cry multiplayer game described as an extraction-based shooter in the Alaskan wilderness.
Read the Reviews
Here are some highlights from the past week in review aggregation. Check out…
The Talos Principle 2 (Release: November 2, 2023; Platforms: PS5, XSX, PC; Developer: Croteam). With 21 critic reviews, The Talos Principle 2 is currently at 100% recommended. VSG’s Verdict: “The Talos Principle 2 is a brilliant puzzler, an incredible experience that excels as art and will challenge you while pondering the meaning and value of life and existence.” PLAY IT.
Jusant (Release: October 31, 2023; Platforms: PS5, XSX, PC; Developer: DON”T NOD). With 27 critic reviews, Jusant is currently at 93% recommended. VSG’s Verdict: “A contemplative, minimalistic climbing adventure with refined mechanics, beautiful scenery, and a wonderful soundtrack.” PLAY IT.
The Invincible (Release: November 6, 2023; Platforms: PS5, XSX, PC; Developer: Starward Industries). With 24 critic reviews, The Invincible is currently at 42% recommended. VSG’s Verdict: “The Invincible has a strong premise and stunning visuals - it's a surreal retro-themed space journey with a heady exploration of the nature of life. But it's plagued by repetitive activities, unnecessary mechanics, and technical issues.” SKIP IT.
Thirsty Suitors (Release: November 2, 2023; Platforms: PS5, PS4, XSX, XBO, PC, SWITCH; Developer: Outerloop Games). With 13 critic reviews, Thirsty Suitors is currently at 77% recommended. VSG’s Verdict: Waiting for more reviews.
Since launching in 2018, VSG has covered over 560 games and aggregated almost 40,000 critic reviews. Read more stats about VSG, and how the aggregator works.
New Game Releases - 11/08 to 11/14
Now . . . bring me that horizon.
Upcoming games calendar:
Alaskan Road Truckers [PC] – October 18
Artifice: War Tactics [PC] – November 8
Beyond Sunset [PC] – November 8
Big Fat Battle [PC] – November 8
Concealed [PC] – November 8
Risk of Rain Returns [PC, Switch] – November 8
Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void DLC [PS4, XBO, Switch] – November 8
9 Years of Shadows [Switch] – November 9
Bem Feito [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch] – November 9
Cuisineer [PC] – November 9
Demeo Battles [PC] – November 9
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO] – November 9
Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn DLC [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO] – November 9
Wildshade: Unicorn Champions [PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch] – November 9
Air Twister [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch] – November 10
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO] – November 10
Spirittea [PC, XSX, XBO, Switch] – November 13
Farming Simulator 22: Premium Edition [PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO] – November 14
Gods of the Twilight [PC] – November 14
Hogwarts Legacy [Switch] – November 14
Remnant 2: The Awakened King DLC [PC, PS5, XSX] – November 14
Notable game announcements/delays:
Destiny 2: The Final Shape [PC, PS5, XSX] - Though not publicly confirmed, rumors have swirled that The Final Shape has been delayed to June 2024.
Lies of P 2 Confirmed - Lies of P game director Ji Won Choi has announced that the game will receive DLC as well as a full sequel. Following its September release, Lies of P sold over one million copies during its first month of availability.
View all of the upcoming video game release dates (including DLC) for PS5, Xbox Series X, PC, Nintendo Switch, and more, over at VSG.
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