The Kat Take: Switch 2's Holiday Tentpole Has Already Been Revealed

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the fastest-selling video game console in U.S. history, according to new numbers from Circana. So now what? This week provided some clues.

In another busy week in Nintendo news, we got a fresh look at Pokémon Legends Z-A and a bunch of new sales data to further cement the Switch 2’s strong launch. This was also our first full week with Donkey Kong Bananza, which really is that good. Observers are already looking ahead to what’s next, though, and there’s plenty of question marks around Nintendo’s holiday season. I’ll talk about what I’m expecting to see in this newsletter while also recapping yesterday’s Pokémon Presents and more. Here we go!

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The Kat Take: Nintendo (probably) doesn’t have a super secret tentpole release waiting

I guess I’ll get this out of the way first: I don’t think Nintendo has a super secret tentpole release waiting for the fall. Maybe we’ll get that long-rumored Fire Emblem remake, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment still has to be dated, but I expect that to be the extent of it. Someone pointed out that it’s Mario’s 40th anniversary this year, which brought me back to when Nintendo released a Super Mario All-Stars rom in a nice-ish package for Mario’s 25th anniversary.

As the kids say, we have Nintendo’s holiday 2025 tentpole release at home. That game is Pokémon Legends Z-A – the sequel to the extremely successful Pokémon Legends: Arceus. It’s easy to forget, but Arceus was huge when it released in January 2022, with sales outpacing even the mainline Pokémon Sword and Shield despite feeling in some ways like a rough prototype. It went on to sell close to 15 million copies by March 2023 and it remains a bright spot among Pokémon’s traditional console releases.

Excitement around Pokémon Legends Z-A has been a bit more muted among fans, but there’s still plenty of reason for Nintendo to be optimistic about its prospects. Pokémon is strong as ever – complaints about Scarlet and Violet’s performance wasn’t enough to stop it from selling close to 27 million copies – and Pokémon Legends Z-A looks like a much more fleshed out version of Arceus. The Switch 2 version is also a big step in terms of performance, even if the environments are still quite simplistic.

Pokémon Legends Z-A will release in October 2025 and figures to be a huge part of Nintendo’s holiday promotions. It fits into Nintendo’s plans in another sense as well – it will appeal to a younger audience that may not necessarily have been there for the Switch 2’s launch, which was geared toward core Nintendo fans. Absent a price rise, Pokémon Legends Z-A should go a long way toward keeping the Switch 2’s momentum going.

In the shorter term, rumors of a Nintendo Direct are starting to pick up – likely a partner direct in which Nintendo shows off the third-party games releasing in the fall. And there’s Donkey Kong Bananza, which is just a fantastic 3D platformer – a showcase for the Switch 2 and a real joy to play. It’s up there with Nintendo’s absolute best, in my opinion, lending the Switch 2’s library some very welcome depth in addition to its breadth.

I see two potential pitfalls as we head into the second half of the year. One is that a sudden price is still on the table as Nintendo clears out its initial inventory, which may derail the Switch 2’s hard-won momentum. The other is that a lot of the Switch 2’s biggest games are secretly Switch 1 ports. How long can that continue before it becomes tiresome? Longer than you probably think, but it is hard to ignore that nagging “it’s just a Switch 1 game” feeling at times (to be clear, this is not an issue with DK Bananza, which started on Switch 1 but very much feels like a full-blooded Switch 2 game).

One way or another, the first phase of the Switch 1’s launch is over, and the second is about to begin. Oh banana.

What you missed from the Pokémon Presents

As I alluded to earlier, a Pokémon Presents took place yesterday. Here’s what you may have missed from the presentation.

• A fresh look at Pokémon Legends Z-A’s gameplay, including the big reveal of Mega Dragonite (it’s a Dragonite with wings on its head).

• Continuing its lifestyle brand push, The Pokémon Company is getting into daily puzzles with Pokémon Friends on mobile and Switch.

• Aardman’s animated project is officially titled Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu. It’s predictably adorable. Pokémon Concierge is also getting a new season (or the second part of season one) on September 4.

• For hardcore fans, we got a closer look at Pokémon Champions, which is the official standalone battle simulator set for Switch and mobile in 2026. Watch out, Pokémon Showdown.

• Oddly, Pokémon TCG Pocket didn’t feature in this stream, but various new cards were revealed for the core card game’s Mega Evolution expansion.

• For the Disney adults, a 26,000 square foot outdoor attraction called PokéPark Kanto is opening in Japan. It will feature a forest with all sorts of Pokémon as well as a town with lots of stores and events. Look, I don’t even like theme parks, but I’m going to this. Seriously.

More Nintendo Reading: Mario Party Jamboree is officially here

• Some more Switch 2 data from Circana: 82 percent of Switch 2 buyers in June also bought Mario Kart World. The Switch 2 Pro Controller has a 32 percent attach rate. Cyberpunk 2077 was the best-selling third-party game (which we already knew).

• Donkey Kong Bananza isn’t the only big release this month — Mario Party Jamboree is also out. So many Mario Parties! Reviews have been largely positive, but a warning to parents — apparently it has a minigame where you literally scream into the mic. Evil.

• Julian LeFay, known as the “Father of the Elder Scrolls” series has died, age 59.

• Digital Foundry has reviewed Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom on Switch 2, calling the jump to 60fps “transformative.”

• Where’s Kat this week? I’m going Comic-Con! Over the past two months I’ve been building a video show on behalf of Restart.run alongside Stella Chung, Narz, Jesse Vitelli, and many other talented creators, and we’re ready for launch. And if you see me at SDCC, make sure to say hi!

• I was also on two podcasts this week. The first was Retronauts, where I looked back on the history of Monster Hunter with Bob Mackey. The other was Remap Radio with Patrick Klepek, where I talked about building this newsletter and the state of Nintendo. Stay tuned for both!

Mailbag: What social feature should Nintendo bring back?

One of the perks of being a premium subscriber is that you get to submit questions to the weekly mailbag via the comment section in each issue. This week’s comment is from Adam M:

I miss StreetPass so much. It was so much fun to take my 3DS to events, collect up Miis, and complete the little games that came with it. It was equally delightful to fill up the tavern in Dragon Quest IX, which had its own version of Street Pass that served as a kind of prototype for the 3DS. As I discussed on Remap, that era of Nintendo feels long gone, but moreso than odd control schemes or AR games, it was these features that made their systems feel special. I also miss Miiverse. Bring it back. Bring it all back. Let’s rewind the clock to 2013.

Thanks for reading another issue of Nintenkats! We’ll be back with more Nintendo news, opinions, and mailbag questions next week!