The Switch 2 is in GREAT position in Japan

The Switch 2 is in a really strong position in Japan right now - and honestly, it feels like we’re watching a quiet power shift happen in real time.

At this point, Nintendo isn’t facing much meaningful competition from Sony in the Japanese market. The PlayStation brand still matters, of course, but it no longer dominates in a way that guarantees massive software sales. As a result, I think we’re about to see the Switch 2 become the default platform for a ton of Japanese third-party games.

Square Enix, in particular, NEEDS the Switch 2. Sales for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Final Fantasy XVI did not meet expectations, especially in Japan. That’s not entirely surprising - the PS5 alone simply isn’t enough to move the kind of units these big-budget games need to justify their development costs anymore. Releasing exclusively (or even primarily) on PS5 just isn’t cutting it. I’ll dig into that more in a future post, because that’s a bigger conversation.

Capcom clearly sees the writing on the wall too. The rumored Monster Hunter Wilds port already says a lot, but bringing Resident Evil 9 and Pragmata to Switch 2 day and date? That’s huge. That kind of parity used to be unthinkable for Nintendo hardware beginning with the Gamecube, but now it’s becoming the norm again.

At this point, third-party developers don’t just want the Switch 2—they need it. Square Enix especially. I genuinely think their games are going to perform far better on Switch 2 than they have on PS5, and they need those sales to compensate for the weaker-than-expected Final Fantasy sales on PlayStation.

I’m very curious to see how Final Fantasy VII Remake performs over the long term on Switch 2. FFVII Remake Intergrade launched in Japan with over 23,000 units sold in its first week, which is honestly solid for a five-year-old game. This release feels less about immediate profit and more about onboarding Switch 2 players into the FF7 ecosystem ahead of future releases.

The real test, though, will be the true day-and-date releases. Watching how Resident Evil 9 performs on Switch 2 versus PS5 in Japan is going to be incredibly telling. Right now, the Switch family has already crossed 4 million units LTD in Japan, while the PS5 sits just over 7 million. That gap isn’t as decisive as it once would’ve been and it’s shrinking FAST.

We won’t have to wait much longer to see how this plays out, but if early signs are any indication, the Switch 2 has become the platform Japanese developers can’t afford to ignore.