Switch 2 is an iPhone moment for Nintendo

With the Switch 2, the Japanese video game company achieved what few gadgets can - it created a hype cycle out of a specification bump.

- By Lindsey Schutters

History will remember the Nintendo Switch 2 as the fastest-selling gaming system of all time.

In the first four days following its 5 June launch, more than 3.5 million devices found owners around the globe.

I'm not one of them, though, because my test unit will return to the local distributor and I will be left with only fond memories of my son red-shelling me on the last corner to continue his unprecedented win streak on Mario Kart World, but at least I have a digital copy of the game on my Nintendo account.

But that launch sales record isn’t to be sniffed at, especially in this constrained supply chain economy, and with the steep R13,500 launch price.

Just shipping enough of the devices to meet the demand was a phenomenal achievement.

Hardware is hard

In the eight years since the original Switch, Nintendo has launched an OLED screen as a midlife refresh, but I held firm to the idea that the next version would be “next year”.

And Mario Kart World — a new, free-roaming instalment of the beloved franchise that also brings back the feather boost item — was definitely worth the wait.

You see, in my world a Nintendo Entertainment System is a