Mario Kart 8 is probably my most-played Switch game, which means that Mario Kart World was easily my highlight of the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. But even as Nintendo pins its launch campaign around its karting phenomenon, the Switch 2's real system-seller is lurking in the background.
The Duskbloods is the new game from FromSoftware and legendary Dark Souls and Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki. An open-ended, multiplayer twist on the Gothic architecture of Bloodborne's Yharnam, its elevator pitch features a lot of words and phrases that make me think it will probably be very good. More important for Nintendo than any of those words, however, are these ones: The Duskbloods will launch as a Switch 2 exclusive.
Over the years, Dark Souls has gone from cult classic to cultural touchstone. Elden Ring's huge, breakout success carried FromSoftware into the mainstream, and Shadow of the Erdtree cemented its place there. For Nintendo to have locked the studio down for an exclusive release on its new hardware is a tremendous coup. It might not be a launch title, but that probably works in its favor – any issues with supply chains and scalpers will probably have been rectified by the time The Duskbloods launches.
Of course, there are plenty of other upcoming Switch 2 games – Elden Ring among them. But ports of games like Hogwarts Legacy and Cyberpunk 2077 aren't likely to be the reason someone shells out $500 on a new console. James Bond game Project 007 might drive some decent sales, but those will be diluted by the fact that it's set to be available on multiple platforms. The Duskbloods is the successor to a game that's shifted nearly 30 million copies. Even if it only matches previous FromSoftware console exclusive Bloodborne's first year sales, it could be responsible for a huge chunk of the Switch 2's purchase base.
Naturally, there's an elephant in the room. Mario Kart World looks great, and will probably be a huge part of the Switch 2's early success. But I don't think it's a system-seller in its own right. A very large proportion of the tens of millions of people who own Mario Kart 8 on the Switch 1 will be casual fans who aren't going to run out and buy a $500+ bundle straight away. They already own a Switch and a Mario Kart game to play on it, so what need do they have for another? A few Christmas sales and a price drop or two down the line, perhaps they'll pick one up, but for now they're covered.
On the other side of the coin are a host of new FromSoftware fans looking for their next hit. By the time The Duskbloods launches, it's likely to have been 12-18 months since the launch of Elden Ring: Nightreign, and it usually takes about two years before this fanbase starts to really fall off the deep end in their search for a new game. So when the Switch 2 is the only platform that will offer their next FromSoftware hit, it stands to reason that an awful lot of them will be pretty quick to pick it up.
Now, some of you might be prepared to stay patient. You might plan to avoid shelling out on a new console by simply waiting for The Duskbloods' console exclusivity window to end, and then just pick up a copy on PC or PS5. It's a fair plan, but it's not one with good precedent. The last time FromSoftware released a console exclusive game was Bloodborne, and a decade later that game is still stuck in PS4 jail with no sign of any kind of eventual freedom. I think that's the kind of risk that many Miyazaki fans won't be prepared to take, and the kind of precedent that could help sell many millions of new consoles.
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