Issue #469

February 8, 2026

Will Nintendo’s Switch beat PS2?

Hi, Chris here with your Nintendo round-up for the week — it’s issue #469 of Hanafuda Report. Hope you’re doing well!

Nintendo revealed their latest quarterly results this past week, sharing news that the Switch 2, despite some uneven reporting on numbers, has managed to surpass 17 million units sold. Turns out sales in Japan have been super strong, but not quite as solid elsewhere – hence the mixed reports on how the machine is doing. Either way, the takeaway is a good one: the Switch 2 is Nintendo’s fastest selling console to date. What about the original Switch? Well, that has just overtaken the DS as Nintendo’s top selling hardware of all time, it still has a little way to go to beat the PS2 though. Think it will make it?

In addition to their financial report, Nintendo also played host to a Partner Showcase Direct – it highlighted a slate of upcoming releases from various third-parties. I saw some mixed response to the showing, but honestly, I thought it was a good showcase. Plenty of varied games, most of which are coming soon. I’ve shared more on this below, but would love to know what your highlights are.

There’s 24 games coming to the eShop next week, and boy are you spoiled for choice. There’s plenty of highlights, including Mario Tennis Fever of course, along with Reanimal, the recently revealed Tokyo Scramble, and Yakuza Kiwami 3. Full list is below — hit reply and let me know if you’re grabbing any of them. I’ve got Mario Tennis on preorder.

Alrighty, that’s a wrap from me — I’m gonna go play one of my recent bargain DS pick-ups. Catch you next time!

Cheers,
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing: Wario World

▶ Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase — February 2026

Nintendo of America // YouTube

Everything announced at the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase — If you’d rather not watch the video above, here’s an overview of every trailer shared so you can pick and choose which to watch.

Chris Brandrick // Hanafuda Report

Nintendo’s quiet Partner Direct made one of the strongest cases yet for Switch 2

Josh Broadwell // Polygon

As Switch 2 sells 17 million, the original Switch reaches a new milestone — My key takeaways from Nintendo’s earnings, including some charts to help visualise things.

Chris Brandrick // Hanafuda Report

Analysis: Nintendo Switch 2 sales remain well ahead of Switch 1, despite a softer first Christmas in some markets

Andy Robinson // VGC

Nintendo stock nosedives following earnings report, despite record-breaking Switch 2 sales — Yet another example of flawless investor rationale… 🙄

Hayley Williams // GameSpot

Nintendo Switch 2 sales in Japan are “better-than-projected,” and it’s hurting the Switch 2’s profitability — A curious business wrinkle in amongst all of the success that the Switch 2 is seeing in Japan — Nintendo buy a lot of their components in USD whereas Japanese consumers pay in the weaker yen.

David Carcasole // Wccftech

Nintendo president says increasing memory costs won’t affect Switch 2 price for now, but if it continues it will re-evaluate

Chris Scullion // VGC

REVIEW Dragon Quest VII Reimagined

Paul Roberts // Vooks

A history of Dragon Quest (and why to try it now)

Chris Plante // Post Game

PS1 games are officially on Switch 2 and they put Sony’s efforts to shame — Hamster’s efforts with their new ‘Console Archives’ line of releases shouldn’t be ignored, it’s essentially a new Virtual Console effort.

Good Vibes Gaming // YouTube

The Switch 2’s Virtual Boy sucks. And by that, I mean it rules

Giovanni Colantonio // Polygon

Third-party support for Switch 2 is already a dream come true

Ollie Reynolds // Nintendo Life

I’m already tired of ‘Nintendo Switch 2 editions’, and even new Mario Wonder content can’t change that — I kinda agree….

Logan Plant // IGN

Two more Game Boy games have been added to Switch online’s Nintendo classics library — Namely, Yoshi and Balloon Kid.

Chris Scullion // VGC

REVIEW Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass: The best Earthbound-like you’ve never heard of

Alana Hagues // Nintendo Life

▶ Microsoft Switch 2 ports: Halo, Forza Horizon, Gears when?

Digital Foundry // YouTube

INTERVIEW “Kids don’t like being treated like kids” – How 4PGP is harnessing the power of Sega Rally’s director to challenge Mario Kart

Damien McFerran // Nintendo Life

Squeakross: Home Squeak Home free content update now live, limited-time sale announced — I somehow missed this game on its initial release, but for you nonogram/picross fans out there, this may well be worth a look.

GoNintendo

Taito’s 1987 Outrun clone ‘Top Speed’ makes its debut on modern consoles

Jack Yarwood // Time Extension

‘Christian pastors declared Pikachu to be a demon’: How Pokémon went from moral panic to unifying global hit

Keza MacDonald // The Guardian

▶ Why Animal Crossing got rid of “rude” villagers

Thomas Game Docs // YouTube

“We’re finishing history, decades later” – Analogue 3D’s latest limited editions are based on unreleased N64 prototypes

Damien McFerran // Time Extension

Link needs to start talking in the Zelda games

Corey Plante // Polygon

I put a real-time 3D shader on the Game Boy Color

Danny Spencer // Danny’s Blog

The Week in Numbers

4.63M

The sales gap (in millions) between the original Nintendo Switch and Sony’s PS2.

Upcoming Releases

⭐️ = One to Watch

📦 = Physical Release

🔑 = Game Key Card

🎮 = Demo Available

Tue

10

The Prisoning: Fletcher’s Quest — A comedic Metroidvania about a game developer, anxiety, and therapy. Acclaim (remember them) are publishing. M for mature.
Greyhill Incident Re-probed Edition — Alien invasion story-driven survival-horror set in the 90s. M for mature.

Wed

11

🎮 Hunters Music World — A budget friendly rhythm game.
⭐️2️⃣ Tokyo Scramble — This was featured in the recent Partner Showcase Direct. It’s a survival puzzle action game about avoiding dino-like baddies in an underground wasteland.

Thu

12

Down Among the Dead Men — A high-seas pirate choose your own adventure.
A Dance of Fire and Ice — Guide planets in this deceptively simple rhythm game.
Egg Console Eggy PC-8801 — An action game from 1985.
Calyssa — Budget-friendly 2D precision platformer.
📦 Hakuoki SSL: Sweet School Life — Otome visual novel. (Physical release)
⭐️ Centipede Gun — Try lots of different combos in this creature-building roguelite.
⭐️ Dear me, I was… — A short, textless adventure exploring various stages of life. This launched on Switch 2 last year, but is now coming to the original Switch.
⭐️ Heart of the Forest — An interactive psychological horror FMV game inspired by German folklore. M for mature.
⭐️ Lil Gator Game: Gator of the Year Edition — This 2022 adventure returns, complete with a new sizeable ‘In The Dark‘ DLC.
⭐️📦🎮 Blazblue Entropy Effect X — A striking, fast-paced 2D action roguelite set in the BLAZBLUE universe. (Physical release)
⭐️2️⃣📦 Mario Tennis Fever — Mario and pals return to the court with a fever. (Physical release)
⭐️2️⃣📦🔑🎮 Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties — A double-bill of Yakuza 3 action, including the new Dark Ties tale. M for mature. (Physical release)
2️⃣ ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard — Often described as ‘Portal with more colours’. If you like Portal-style puzzling, this will be worth a look.

Fri

13

Clue: Murder By Death — story-rich detective mystery set in 1930s England.
Speed Dates — An interactive FMV romance game with 54 unique paths.
Bartender Simulator 2026
Ready or Die — Tactical FPS.
Backrooms: Poolrooms — Tension-filled creepy lo-fi horror.
⭐️📦🔑2️⃣🎮 Reanimal — A co-op horror adventure from the creators of Little Nightmares. M for mature. (Physical release)

Sun

15

The Island: Escape Room — Solve puzzles and escape the mysterious island.

Release dates are for Europe & U.S. markets unless otherwise stated.
Data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.

Quick Links

As mentioned above, Yoshi and Balloon Kid are on NSO now – however Japan gets the Balloon Fight GB Game Boy Color version.
Pokemon are gracing the cover of TIME magazine…again.
The first third-party offering of a Switch 2 grip with programmable GL/GR buttons has arrived.
YouTuber Goldpro has had a go at thinking what a Super Mario Maker 3 might include.
Borderlands 4 development has been ‘paused’ on Switch 2.
Like to nerd out on hardware details? Here’s some Alarmo patent data.

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Will Nintendo’s Switch beat PS2?

The Week in Numbers

Upcoming Releases

Quick Links

Everything announced at the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase — Feb 2026

As Switch 2 sells 17 million, the original Switch reaches a new milestone

It’s 2026 and the Virtual Boy is sold out