Nintendo insisting on $70 for Tears of the Kingdom really makes me think it was supposed to be part of a dual platform launch. There's always the chance Nintendo is just going, "We want money, we know you'll pay it, we're going to start normalizing this higher price point with a nigh-guaranteed success." But it also feels like Nintendo going, "Here's the new price point for premium software on our next platform. You don't get it any cheaper on the old platform." And presumably, hopefully?, it would be some kind of "If you own this Switch version, you get the next platform's version for free." The wrench in this logic is that Pikmin 4 is still at $60, but this could be from before plans changed, or maybe Pikmin 4 would only see minor upgrades when run on the next hardware, instead of extensive differences for a native release of Tears.
Consensus right now is that Nintendo will wait until 2024 to release a Switch follow-up, pointing to the increase in production of existing Switch consoles. And they're probably right. Nintendo always pushes this stuff longer than I ever think they should. They know how to squeeze every last penny out of a platform based on hardware that was already a little old when they launched with it. So every time I think "It's been long enough, I can't stand waiting anymore," they push it at least another year. Except this time it's a bit different for me. Because I already have my Switch 2 in my hands thanks to Valve Software. Sure it's bulkier and a little pricier than what Nintendo would put out, but Valve announced and shipped a brand new portable platform to high praise. And while the scale of the launch was significantly different, I have to wonder if that has them concerned at all? Mostly likely not, but if anything, it introduces a comparison point when they do bring something to the market, one that didn't exist before.
And there's still that tiny, irrational, doomed to disappointment part of me that whispers, "There's still time." Nintendo announces April 1st (/March 31st), start of their new fiscal year, that a Switch successor will be discussed very soon. A special Nintendo Direct April 7th to 12th. Introducing the new Nintendo Plirthub. Just like Twilight Princess and Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom will too serve as a "bridge" title. Does it make a May release? Only if Nintendo has completely eaten the Apple and gotten 99% of it ready in secret, and that's hard to believe in this age of leaks. But we already know that 3rd party developers have had 4K Switch dev units for ages. Something's been going on for a long time now. There might be more ready to go than we realize, and this is no longer the era of leaving the old platform's content behind; the Switch may still stay around as the budget option, explaining the increase in production, as game releases are cross-generation for the first year or two. Games will just run and look better on the new hardware, as well as a selection of Evergreen Nintendo games receiving special enhancement patches so they can continue to sell on the new platform as Nintendo bolsters its library.
This is how I get hurt, you see.
