With the launch of the next Nintendo console only days away, there’s been plenty of discussion amongst friends and strangers in-person and online about whether they would purchase the Switch 2. Or perhaps, the better discussion surrounds whether they would obtain the Switch 2 upon launch. While cost and supply are large factors, I’ve heard many complain about the launch game lineup. If you are getting the Switch 2 on launch day (or around that time), what will be your first video game purchases?
The Mario Kart franchise is a juggernaut if I’ve ever seen one. While it may not be for everyone, it is a party game that is almost a given when it comes to commercial success. Need I remind you that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the highest selling game on the Nintendo Switch at approximately 68.2 million copies sold* with the second highest–Animal Crossing: New Horizons–selling sitting at 47.82 million. Despite the historical success, it all comes down to personal preference. In my own friends and gaming circle, it is almost a 50/50 with regards to enthusiasm for Mario Kart World as Nintendo’s first party launch title for the Switch 2. While I’m more of a single player experience kind of girl, I don’t think I can turn up a Mario Kart game, especially one that seems to tout an open world.
The other Switch 2 launch games I’m eyeing are Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut and Cyberpunk 2077. I personally never played a Yakuza game, and I’m excited to see this as an opportunity for more titles from this franchise to make its way onto a Nintendo platform. The majority of these games have long avoided Nintendo consoles, and a port of the “origin” story is a great way for me to finally hop in.
I also never played Cyberpunk 2077. After its initial buggy mess, I never developed that appetite to revisit it, even after its fixes and high praise. Yet again, there is something magical about its entry onto a Nintendo console that makes me go “Welp, there’s no time like the present”. There is also a curious side to me where I want to buy any massive game on the Switch 2 to see how well the console can actually function compared to its more technologically advanced siblings: the PlayStation 5 and Xbox series. Seeing the technological leap from the first Switch to the second is one I’m dying to experience first-hand.
With that said, I don’t really have many other titles I am dying to get my hands on day one. I am more excited for titles that will release further down the line like Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Donkey Kong: Bananza, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.
Could I have waited on the Switch 2 console if the games I’m most excited for won’t come out for a while? Probably. Did the hype and ulta-quick pre-order frenzy drive me to be a day-one purchaser? Yes. Do I regret it? Absolutely not!
Other games releasing on launch day include (but is not limited to):
- Bravely Default: Flying Fairy
- Deltarune
- Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition
- Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
- Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
- Sid Meier’s Civilization VII
- Split Fiction
- Street Fighter VI
If you are getting a Switch 2 on launch day (or launch week)–what are the first games you’ll be playing on it? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
Pow Block Podcast – A Nintendo Podcast by Boss Rush
Nintendo Pow Block is the weekly Nintendo Podcast for Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Edward Varnell and Corey Dirrig, as well as their friends from around the internet dive into the week that was in the world of Nintendo, including news, rumors, new games, discuss weekly pickups, and fan favorite segments like Question Block where they answer community questions, what they’ve been playing in Playing with Power, and their latest food quests in Snacktendo! New episodes every Monday on YouTube and podcast services.
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