>>58398742Interesting. Especially with ZA originally planned for Q4 2024, and the DLC+Champions targeting 2025.
They've never launched a new generation of games exclusively on next-gen hardware, without there being a budget hardware option. The price of the base Switch 2 isn't coming down anytime soon, and it's unlikely there will be a budget console ready for Q4 2026.
Without a 2DS or Lite model, it's not going to do those big holiday Pokemon numbers. I can't see Pokemon selling their next big game to such a small audience. Nintendo has always bent over backwards to ensure there's a cheap hardware option alongside Pokemon, maybe they'll offer a deep-discount Black Friday deal, really play into FOMO, just to ensure little timmy gets his Pokeyman game and stays in the Nintendo ecosystem.
Maybe Nintendo will leverage Shiver Entertainment to make a custom Switch 1 port. They specifically bought a studio who specialize in custom made downgrades, and Pokemon is their golden goose. I could see them doing a Hogwarts Legacy style downgrade on Switch 1, rather than hamstring Game Freak again. It avoids all the issues we saw with them targeting Switch 1 for ZA and SV, and avoids a situation where Gen 10 has limited reach or appeal because kids are priced out of it.
