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The story
It’s become a hot topic on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (“geha”) board that Square Enix and other publishers are increasingly releasing titles simultaneously (multi-platform) on Nintendo’s new home console, the Switch 2. Threads pointed to Resident Evil 9 hitting the series’ fastest-ever sales after going multi-platform on Switch 2, and to Square Enix’s financial results reportedly improving since its pivot toward Switch, with many posters calling multi-platform releases “just obvious business sense.” Others noted, however, that some titles are skipping physical PS5 releases and that PS5’s retail shelf presence seems to be shrinking, sparking debate over where each platform stands going forward.
What people said
Octopath Traveler and Dragon Quest Monsters went multi-platform too, you know
Probably a condition for tearing up the FF exclusivity deal with SCE (Sony)
People will just buy it on whatever hardware they want to play it on
True, but for some reason there are people who lose their minds whenever something goes multi-platform on Switch 2
As long as you can play the game you want on the hardware you already own, there's no problem at all
Man, these character models are awful
Worse than Endfield even (referring to Arknights: Endfield)
There's got to be at least one platform where it's a money-loser
Resident Evil 9 hit the series' fastest-ever sales even after going multi on Switch 2
If sales had dropped from going multi, sure, but since the results are there, there's no reason to cut any platform
Xbox doesn't seem to be selling, but the former CEO was out doing the rounds, so maybe there's some contract obligation?
That's especially true for Japanese third parties — pretty much all of them make their money off special-edition packages anyway
Overseas publishers are putting whatever they can onto game cards for users furious about discs disappearing
PS5 is basically self-destructing on its own and handing its users over to Switch 2
PlayStation stuff is still on store shelves though?
Are you under the impression physical copies are disappearing?
There are already publishers skipping physical releases for the PS5 version only
That's clearly them trying to funnel users onto Switch 2
They know full well boxed copies don't sell anyway
It's a distribution issue
Retail carry of PlayStation stuff is declining
There's no upside to stocking hardware alone when the profit margin is razor-thin
Square Enix's earnings have been booming ever since they shifted to Switch, you know (´・ω・`)
It's already proven it has the capacity to sell 10 million units in Japan alone
Seriously?
It sells more than there are consoles out there?
Are they buying back unsold stock or something?
It's a business, after all
If there's a solid market, of course they'll release for it
All that whining and crying (lit. "ongi ongi," mimicking a baby's wail) up until now was the weird part
That alone probably has more impact than running a prime-time TV commercial
Isn't it just the same 1.5 million people watching every time lol
TV commercials force themselves on people who don't even want to watch, but a Direct draws in people who actually want to watch — so the promotional effect is on a whole different level
And 9 million people watch the Direct without Nintendo paying a single yen in ad fees to any network
Even Power Pro had a PS4 version
https://hstorage.jp/dl/ZB4KyLvaejgM.png
If you strip out Steam and multi-platform titles, the gap's probably even bigger
The fact that China and Russia together make up 60% of the whole Steam market
sounds like it could end up a target for economic sanctions lol
Here it is with discontinued-service titles and multi-platform titles excluded
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HSCRF_wW0AMF4YH?format=jpg&name=orig
This is after 5 years!?
Nintendo has kept a cartridge-only factory under contract this whole time, hasn't it? So why doesn't Sony keep a disc factory running just for PlayStation?
Manufacturers across the board are discontinuing optical disc drives
Sony's just the last one still hanging on
Because lenses and cameras sell better [than optical drives]
Let's just copy it and go double — two slots
Since it's a home console, why stop at two — let it take as many cards as you like
You could even use the same cards as the handheld model that showed up in those PS6 leaks nobody talks about anymore
Make it a USB dongle and you could just add a USB hub to plug in as many as you want
I've got my doubts about that too, but it lets you roll out without extra peripherals
If you want to keep the retail sales channel alive, it's definitely a better option than a code-in-a-box
Honestly, USB would be fine
It's a home console, so it's not like it'd snag on something and snap off
Because they don't sell
Switch has low specs, so even if they wanted to release on it, they often can't
PS5 has high specs, so they could release on it, but don't
That's the difference
Seriously, even counting indies, there's zero buzz about anything selling well on PS5 😃
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The Switch 2 is Nintendo’s new home console released in 2026, and like its predecessor, it has seen publishers embrace a strategy of releasing many third-party titles simultaneously (multi-platform) across systems. Posters pointed to Resident Evil 9, said to have hit the series’ fastest-ever sales after going multi-platform on Switch 2, along with reports that Square Enix’s own earnings have been strong, as evidence in favor of the multi-platform approach. Meanwhile, the PS5 continues to be marketed as a home console, but some titles have skipped physical releases on it, which posters linked to a perceived shrinking of its retail presence. Opinion in the thread split over whether going multi-platform is simply sound economic sense or amounts to sidelining a particular platform, with some praising the cost-effectiveness and outsized promotional reach of Nintendo Direct, while others questioned what purpose PS5 versions still serve. Note that the sales comparisons and Nintendo Direct viewership figures cited in the thread are unverified numbers from the discussion itself and may differ from official figures.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “geha”) thread “Square Enix: “Going multi-platform on Switch 2 was a great move. It really delivered wonderful results.”.”
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