 Hey everyone, Nathaniel Ruffle Jance here from Nintendo Prime and I've always been a big proponent that the Nintendo Switch doesn't necessarily need new hardware. And I, you might say BS, Nate, you've been talking about Switch Pro, Switch 2 for years. And I have because that's what the rumors and reports were saying. And I'm a bit of a tech enthusiast. I like having the latest and greatest tech. I mean, I have the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra right here, the latest from Samsung though, not only the latest, the biggest and best device from Samsung. I got the ROGECaster Pro 2 for audio. You can't really see it. It's just off camera. That's a brand new device that came out not that long ago. That's utterly amazing. These microphones here, they're not necessarily the best of the best. Well, okay, yes, they are. They've just been around since the 60s. See, here's the thing. I like using the best technology. I like having the best stuff. And it's because I'm just really interested in tech. I know it's really expensive to always want the best of the best. And I definitely don't know the best of everything. My main computer that I'm editing this on has a 6700 XT, not a 6950 X30 series graphics card or a 40 series graphics card. And it's got a 5900 X CPU, not the 5950 X or now the 7950 X is out there or the 13900 K. So I obviously have to stay within a budget on certain things that I can't always go and I want this camera as an example, we want to replace it with a camera that's going to cost twice what this camera costs. But reality is budgets aren't necessarily there to make that happen. So when I look at the next switch, and I talk about it, it's not that I'm not wanting new hardware. It's that I didn't really know that we needed it because, look, games are everything. Bayonetta 3 reviews are out 89 on Metacritic, just like Xenobite Chronicles 3. And look, as long as we keep getting amazing games, that's what really matters. Tears of the Kingdom. I'm going to be buying Tears of the Kingdom, whether there's a new Switch out or not, right? I'm all about the games. But something's happening in the market that I think Chintura Furukawa is paying attention to. And I think is a sign to him that new hardware needs to be coming out next year, not this holiday, but next spring, next fall, next winter, whenever, at some point in 2023, I think new hardware needs to come out. And I think the market is telling Nintendo this, and I hope they're paying attention. Now, I don't know if this new hardware is going to be a pro, going to be a switch to that's an entirely different debate. But I do think new hardware has to come that's more powerful, not just because Bayonetta 3 as much as it is awesome and has an 89 on Metacritic has frame rate and resolution issues. That sucks. That is literally an exclusive game having those issues. I don't find that to be excusable, but that is the reality of Bayonetta 3. What actually makes me think that it's time for a new hardware is where Nintendo's position in the market is. And to be clear, Switch is the market leader. Whether you consider it part of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series generation or not, in terms of currently sold platforms, it has more out there than anybody else. Its game sales are selling more than anybody and that is an obvious statement that this is the market leader. But the problem is that the tides are changing. For two straight NPD months, Nintendo Switch fell to number two in terms of overall unit sales. And for the first time in the NPD, it fell to number three in revenue behind the Xbox Series, which while there are more expensive Xbox Series systems, we had the S, but then there's also the X. It does suggest the Xbox isn't that far behind from passing the Nintendo Switch, making it the number three best-selling platform in the US. And this is happening as we get into the holiday season. It's also been dropping down the sales charts behind PlayStation and Xbox in territories like the UK, Australia, Germany, Spain. This has actually been slowly happening over the last handful of months. And now we've hit this tipping point where while Switch is going to sell well this holiday season, I don't doubt that it's going to sell out on Black Friday. It's going to have an incredible sales period in Japan at the end of December. Pokemon is going to sell really well. Bayonetta 3 might end up being the best-selling bayonetta ever. I guess we'll find out on that front. And so much more, this isn't about the here and now. This is about recognizing a sales trend that is going to continue once we get out of the holiday period and show a rapid decline for Nintendo Switch. We've seen this. When we took a downturn like this, it went fast. Wii U never really got to any heights. And obviously, it sales tanked fast. 3DS tanked fast. DS tanked fast. Once you get to market saturation and other platforms are starting to push your system down those sales charts and you've been out for five, six, almost seven years, it is time to consider something new. And as a March 3rd of 2023, this platform, not the OLED model in particular, but the Switch itself will have been on the market for six years. That is already a year longer than Nintendo's typical console cycle of five. Now, I mentioned it could be a pro, which means the Switch cycle is continuing. It could also be a Switch 2. But reality is, the market has turned and Nintendo needs to do something about it before it nose dives. In the passion, Turo Furukawa has talked about not falling off a cliff. Nintendo has always, when they've had big successes, fallen off the cliff, which essentially means their sales nose dive in the following platform doesn't do as well. And the reason this happens is because Nintendo waits too long to get the new platform out the door, right? They milk and milk and milk until there's nothing left to milk, and then they try to rebuild from ground zero instead of actually continuing the momentum previously established. And to be clear, I still think Nintendo Switch is going to hit its 20 million projected sales for the fiscal year ending March of 2023. But the year after, it's probably going to quickly sink down to 12 to 15. The year after that, below 10. Because Switch has hit market saturation. It is to the point that everyone who's really, really, really wanted to Switch probably already has one. And most of the sales of Switch you're seeing now are people buying secondary systems or extra systems for their children, rather than people looking at Switch as a brand new platform for them. I know they exist. So don't come at me and be like, well, I just wanted to switch last week. It's my first ever one. I'm really excited. I get it. But you bought in late in the game. So you can't really be upset when there's already 100 million plus other people waiting for what's next. So it is seemingly time for Nintendo to release their next system next year. They want to maintain any of the momentum Switch built up. If they wait two to three more years and Switch sales are next to nothing, by the time they bring out their next platform, guess what? The interest in Nintendo themselves will have sunk. And that next platform, even if it's a Switch two, will be starting from ground zero. PlayStation learned this a long time ago. PlayStation one, PlayStation two, PlayStation three, four and five. They always release their new platforms while their current one is still selling really well, still doing 15 to 20 million in sales per year. This isn't because they couldn't milk PlayStation for another year. Couldn't have had PS3 last another year or PS2, which lasted even well past when PS3 came out. It isn't that they couldn't have done that. Instead, it didn't make business sense. When your brand is still really popular, but the sales of the current device are dwindling, that's when it's time to reinvigorate that market. And while Switch OLED, I know this OLED, right? It just came out last year. What the hell are we talking about? Guys, it's the same platform. They gave us a prettier screen, and that's cool. They fixed the kickstand a little bit more storage, but at the end of the day, it's the same Switch that we got back in 2017. Nintendo, please recognize this. Shintaro Furukawa, you talked about not wanting to hit that cliff and fall off. While I'm telling you, the cliff is coming. If you don't release a new platform, at least by spring of 2024, you're going to hit the cliff. If you wait for holiday 2024, the cliff will have already happened. And I don't know that that next device will be able to carry the momentum. If you want momentum to continue from platform to platform to platform to platform, especially if your next Switch is a Switch Pro or a Switch 2, if your next device is like this, but better, then you need to get it out while this device is still the hot thing on the market. And honestly, it's starting to become the not-hot thing, and when that happens, it sinks fast. So, Nintendo, I know you might be tempted to melt this thing until it's the best-selling platform of all time, beat out PS2, but that's irrelevant. Maintaining 20 million system sales per year, now that is something that is achievable and can be done if you get a new platform out next year. Anyways, you guys let me know what you think about this down in the comments below. I'm Nathan DeRobo Jantz from Nintendo Prime, I'm just one man giving one opinion. I want to know what you guys think about this, and I'll catch you in the next video.