Nintendo Switch 2 Rumors Fueled by Switch Games Disappearing from Stores

Whether you've dubbed it the Nintendo Switch 2, the Super Nintendo Switch, or something else, fervent Nintendo fans are looking for connections to a Nintendo Switch successor in every bit of Nintendo news lately. So when several of Nintendo's most popular first-party games like Super Mario Odyssey and more started disappearing from stores, Nintendo fans quickly took notice. While some are realizing that they probably need to double check their collections of physical games so as not to miss out on any Nintendo Switch games before they're hard to find, others are thinking the disappearances of these Nintendo Switch games from retailers means that a Nintendo Switch 2 is indeed coming this year.

The Twitter account and deal tracker Nintendeal first noticed recently that the physical release of Paper Mario: The Origami King was apparently out of print with big retailers no longer offering the game for shipping, pickup, or otherwise. After more sleuthing, a Discord user known as AShadowLink as well as ResetEra user Neoxon, a larger list of Nintendo Switch games was put together to show other first-party Nintendo games that have apparently gone out of print, too.

Nintendo Switch Games Disappear from Stores

While the games in the list below that was put together by Neoxon aren't impossible to find right now, you'll have a harder time finding them from some of the go-to retailers like Amazon, GameSpot, and more. Some of the games being out of print aren't too surprising due to their age, but others like Super Mario Odyssey are surprising given how successful that game was.

• Paper Mario: The Origami King
• Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019)
• Pikmin 3 Deluxe
• Metroid Dread
• Kirby Star Allies
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses
• Fire Emblem: Engage
• Yoshi's Crafted World
• WarioWare: Get it Together!
• Nintendo Switch Sports
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Splatoon 2
• Super Mario Maker 2
• Mario Strikers: Battle League

So, what does it mean for the Nintendo Switch 2 if these games are indeed out of print, and if it's not related to that console, what are some other possibilities? As many users pointed out, it could be that these Nintendo Switch games are being pulled from retailers so that they can be reprinted with new branding that signifies that they're playable on both the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2. Among the seemingly endless rumors about the new console are frequent suggestions that it'll support the use of Nintendo Switch games, too, via backwards compatibility which would make sense considering how sizable some fans' collections of Nintendo Switch games will be by now. If that's the case and these games have reprints ahead of them, it bolsters theories that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be out this year.

Others have speculated that this could mean Nintendo is looking to revive its Nintendo Selects marketing strategy where it handpicks a number of defining first-party games and discounts them after they've been out for awhile. The last time this happened was with the Wii U, so if this isn't related to the Nintendo Switch 2, a collection of Nintendo Switch Selects is the next best guess.