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The story
On October 15, Shanghai Alice Reprise announced that a physical edition of “Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic” (for Nintendo Switch/Switch 2) will launch on December 17. Coming roughly a month after the digital release, the announcement quickly drew reactions on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board. Thread participants pointed to September’s digital sales rankings — 14th place for the Switch version and 7th for Switch 2 — and the discussion ranged from the strength of the Touhou IP and the lack of a PS5 version to the series’ growing popularity among younger fans.
Shanghai Alice Reprise announced that a physical edition of “Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.” for Nintendo Switch 2/Nintendo Switch will launch on December 17, 2026.
Source: gamespark.jp / Original article here
What people said
Switch: 14th
Switch 2: 7th
PS5's monthly ranking isn't out yet so who knows, but you can probably guess.
Didn't expect it to do that well in the crowded Switch/Switch 2 market.
I underestimated Touhou Project.
No, seriously.
The original download version was only about ¥2,000, so it must have sold a serious number of copies to chart that high.
If it's doing this well on the Switch store and apparently did pretty well on Steam too, just how popular is this thing?
You could say the same about Gradius or other famous shmups.
Actually, that's true of plenty of games outside the shooter genre too.
On top of that, the names are hard to remember.
Doesn't matter anyway, PlayStation's discontinuing discs.
Well, the higher-ups' policy is to phase out physical media, so there you go.
Re: #19
Guess content strength really matters after all.
Makes Sony, who couldn't maintain their own IPs and basically killed most of them, look even more incompetent.
People are still cranking out fan works for it.
It's in constant demand for rhythm games.
Even people who don't know Touhou know the music or the "Yukkuri" characters (slow-talking voice-synth meme characters).
And now the original source material itself shows up.
That's a kind of IP strength in its own right.
For the past few years I've only watched Yukkuri Nikki (a "diary" video series narrated by Yukkuri voice-synth characters).
It's great for killing a bit of time.
I'd be happy if they added more Yukkuri-style content if possible.
I don't know anything about the original Touhou though.
I'm curious about it.
I'd guess it's pretty high — you even see Touhou characters in the character-goods corner at Daiso (100-yen shop).
What's popular specifically is ""Yukkuri"" Reimu.
Compatibility stuff, or the cartridge price bump?
Well, the image shows a game card, but it might actually be a key card in reality, so who knows.
Same with falling-block puzzle games — if you're not into them, a new entry just looks like "what's different from the last one?" to outsiders.
Releasing that balance-wrecked, slot-machine-tier trash game wouldn't sell anyway.
And it probably wouldn't have cross-play either.
Apparently those frilly outfits are popular with young girls, and I think he mentioned Touhou stickers are even sold at 100-yen shops.
Wait, seriously?
I never expected it to be popular with little girls…
Yukkuri stuff aside, I always figured the original Touhou was pure otaku content…
Given how fast the Steam concurrent player count dropped off, not many people are actually playing it.
The story itself is over in about an hour, so of course that's how it goes.
The majority probably just use unlimited-lives mode to watch the ending and call it done.
Especially true for the Switch version, which has more casual players.
Grinding for a one-credit clear is really just arcade-game logic anyway.
If it were a bit over 10% for a no-continue clear on Lunatic difficulty, that'd make sense, but that's for Normal no-continue…?
Man, tough times (blame soaring semiconductor prices).
Switch 2 game cards only come in 64GB, with 32GB only just recently added, so there's not much flexibility.
That's why even low-capacity games tend to end up using key cards.
Whether to put out a physical version should be each publisher's own call — a blanket ban just doesn't make sense.
Indie titles?
Capcom, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Sega are all putting out physical editions for their games releasing next year too — what are you talking about?
A download code for the "Classic Edition" and the soundtrack player
A reversible jacket styled after the 2002 Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
Koumakyou character & bullet-pattern stickers
Marisa's Guide to Solving Incidents
@SAliceReprise
It's been about a month since Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic launched.
In quick response to requests for a physical edition,
we've decided to release a physical version of Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic for Nintendo Switch / Switch 2!
It launches December 17 (Thursday)!
Pre-orders are open now,
so please check with your local game shop to reserve a copy!
The physical edition comes with 3 bonus items:
・A reversible jacket styled after the 2002 Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
・Koumakyou character & bullet-pattern stickers
・Marisa's Guide to Solving Incidents
This really was decided on short notice, so if you're interested, please contact your local store soon.
https://touhou-project.news/shanghai-alice-reprise/
Re: #96
This is exactly what we need, this right here.
Where did that even catch on?
…Maybe because her sparkly wings are pretty?
Whether to release a physical copy is the publisher's call — how is that "owning" anyone?
Digital just doesn't sell on Switch… 😭😭
The Switch 2 version supports mouse controls.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
The Touhou Project originally began as a shooting game series made by a doujin circle, and its policy of broadly permitting fan works has let the name spread — via music arrangements, “Yukkuri” (slow-voiced meme) videos, and other surrounding content — even to audiences who don’t know the main series itself. This time, “New Classic” getting a physical edition roughly a month after its digital release is an unusual move, and the digital sales rankings cited in the thread (14th for Switch, 7th for Switch 2) were seen as a factor that helped push the decision through. The thread also noted, as context for questions about pricing, that Nintendo Switch 2 game cards mainly come in 64GB, with the 32GB option added only later, meaning even low-capacity titles tend to end up priced higher than expected. Whether a PS5 version exists remains purely speculation within the thread, and this article does not treat that point as fact.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Good News] Physical Edition of “Touhou Koumakyou: New Classic” for Switch 2/Switch Launches December 17!“
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