When it comes to new games and consoles, one long-running trend in the industry is for critics and reviewers to get copies of them prior to the official launch day. This is done so they can get their reviewers and coverage ready for day 1, and potentially provide more information about them than would be possible in just a few hours of playtime.
But it seems like the Switch 2 might buck the trend. Why? Because according to The Game Business, Nintendo has informed journalists that they won’t be receiving the console until launch day. It’s a surprising move for the company, and one with a potentially even more surprising explanation.
Since according to Nintendo, it’s because the console is receiving a major day 1 update.
But we don’t believe that at all. After all, the console is still likely to run without said update, it’ll likely just be missing a few bits of functionality. So unless Nintendo’s patch is required to make Mario Kart World or the Switch 1 remasters playable at all, this doesn’t appear to be the full picture.
Instead, our suspicion is that leaks are a much bigger factor here. That Nintendo’s need to maintain ‘secrecy’ is the real reason behind the lack of review copies and hardware.
And that would make a lot more sense on some level. Remember, every major Switch 1 game so far has been leaked in advance. Super Mario Odyssey, Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Mario & Luigi: Brothership… if a Switch game has sold at least a million copies, it was posted online a good week or two before its official release date.
So, it’s very probable that the company is now paranoid as all hell about the same thing happening again. About spoilers for games like Mario Kart World ending up online days or weeks in advance, and things like the new Rainbow Road being shared on every social media timeline in existence.
Even if Nintendo Korea leaked it themselves by including this icon on the official website…
But CM30 you may ask. “Don’t most leaks come from early customer copies of games and systems, rather than dodgy journalists and media personalities?”
Yeah, that’s true. The percentage of leaks caused by questionable media coverage and clout chasing pales in comparison to that caused by random consumers getting lucky.
However, it’s happened before. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was basically confirmed to the entire world due to media figures getting their hands on internal Ubisoft info about the game, and the entirety of the Pokémon Sword & Shield Pokedex got leaked due to a journalist sharing the game’s strategy guide online prior to launch day.
This generation’s whole Pokedex got leaked due to a journalist sharing a strategy guide
And there are likely plenty of other examples too. So, it’s understandable that Nintendo may want to be a bit cautious here.
Regardless, what do you think? What are your thoughts on Nintendo generally not shipping the Switch 2 and its games to reviewers and journalists in advance? Will the lack of day 1 coverage hurt the console in any way?
Leave your thoughts in the comments below, or on our Discord server today!
Source:
Major media outlets will not have Nintendo Switch 2 reviews at launch (The Game Business)