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Switch is biggest console launch in Nintendo’s history, ‘Zelda’ sales even better

Nintendo Switch review
Mike Epstein/Digital Trends
After the commercial failure of the Wii U, it appears that Nintendo is back in a very big way — the Nintendo Switch had the biggest launch of any console in the company’s history, and early sales numbers for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are just as impressive.

In just March, which Nintendo notes as “a nontraditional month for a console launch,” the Nintendo Switch sold more than 906,000 units in the United States alone. The console has done remarkably well worldwide, as well, with 1.5 million consoles sold in just its first two weeks on the market. At the time, research data suggested that about a third of those sales were in the United States, and if those sales trends continued in the following weeks, the worldwide sales number is likely much higher than 1.5 million at this point.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 1.3 million copies in the United States during the month of March, of which 925,000 were for the Nintendo Switch — that’s 19,000 more units than actual Switch consoles sold during that time, which Nintendo attributes to dedicated collectors who wish to keep one copy of the game, likely a limited edition, sealed in the box.

If Nintendo’s supply of Switch systems could keep up with prospective buyers’ demands, these sales figures would likely be even higher. The company recently announced plans to double production, with an additional 8 million Switch systems being manufactured by April 2018. Nintendo estimates that it could sell up to 10 million consoles during that span, which would put the system’s lifetime sales close to that of the Wii U, which has been on store shelves since late 2012.

Though the early software lineup for the Switch has been light aside from Breath of the Wild, a number of games will be available within the next few months. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe arrives later this month, and both Arms and Splatoon 2 hit the console this summer.

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Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
What games will Nintendo Switch 2 launch with? We have some ideas
Mario and friends zip through a race course in Mario Kart 8.

We’re officially on “new console watch.” Reports from credible publications like Eurogamer say that Nintendo secretly showed developers its next system behind closed doors at this year’s Gamescom. While it’s only a rumor, it’s a realistic one. We’re six years into the Nintendo Switch’s lifespan and even the longest-running consoles turn over at eight. If Nintendo’s next system is one or two years away, it’s time to start lining up support from third-party developers.

We’ve speculated on features we’d want in a new system before, but the reality of a new platform has me asking another question: What games would you launch with something like this? The Nintendo Switch’s launch day was crucial to its long-term success thanks to a bonafide classic in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While the rest of its launch lineup wasn’t as impressive, Nintendo capitalized fairly quickly with titles like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2. If Nintendo’s going to push Switch owners over to a new system, it’ll have to roll out the big guns.

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Nintendo’s next console may feature DLSS and ray-tracing support
Mario high-fives Nintendo Live guests.

New reports affirm the rumors that Nintendo has started to show its next-generation console -- referred to colloquially by fans as Nintendo Switch 2 -- behind closed doors at a recent video game industry expo. It reportedly featured tech demos highlighting features like Nvidia DLSS support and ray tracing.
Gamescom 2023 was held in Cologne, Germany, between August 23 and August 27. Nintendo attended the European game industry event, and shortly thereafter, rumors emerged that Nintendo had shown its next console behind closed doors. Now, new reports from Eurogamer and VGC are corroborating these claims.
Specifically, both sources say that Nintendo showed tech demos for its next game console in private during meetings with some other game developers at Gamescom. Both sources confirmed that an upgraded version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was shown off on this "Switch 2" hardware.
VGC also had a source who claimed that the impressive The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo -- used to promote Epic Games' new engine and the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X back in 2021 -- was also shown to developers and seemed to confirm that the new Nintendo system will support Nvidia's upscaling DLSS tech as well as ray-tracing. Keep in mind that tech demos for systems often don't make the transition to full-game releases.

We don't know much else about what was shown, although VGC claims that this system will be usable in a portable mode like the Nintendo Switch is. Currently, the launch window for Nintendo's next new piece of hardware is expected to be sometime in fall 2024, although Eurogamer's source stated that "Nintendo is keen to launch the system sooner if possible."
Nintendo has not commented on these rumors, and is unlikely to ahead of an official console reveal. Still, the idea that the next Nintendo console is nearly upon us should be exciting for fans of one of the video game industry's most storied companies. 

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The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC is not happening, says Nintendo
Link and other characters from Tears of the Kingdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the year's most successful games, but a developer from Nintendo has confirmed that it doesn't have plans to make any DLC for it. Speaking to the Japanese publication Famitsu, series producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed this was the case because the development team had already explored all of the ideas they wanted to in the base game and is now looking to the future.

"At this time, we are not planning to release additional content. We feel like we have already fully explored and exhausted the gameplay possibilities in this world," Aonuma said in comments translated by Video Games Chronicle. "Initially, the reason we decided to develop a sequel was because we believed there was still value in experiencing new gameplay within that particular Hyrule. If, in the future, we find a compelling reason, we may revisit that world once again. Whether it’s another sequel or an entirely new title, I believe the next game will offer a completely new experience."
While Aonuma's explanation is sound, it's still a pretty surprising move by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received two expansions after it came out in 2017. Some fans expected that Tears of the Kingdom would follow in that game's footsteps, especially as it would make sense for Nintendo to find more ways to capitalize on a game that has already sold 18.51 million copies. Still, it's probably best for Nintendo to move on from Tears of the Kingdom and create something new rather than making underwhelming DLC for the sake of having post-launch content. 
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.

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