Everybody’s 1-2-Switch Struggling To Overcome Playtesting Criticism

1-2-Switch Screenshot

Nintendo has reportedly developed Everybody’s 1-2-Switch, a sequel to 2017’s Nintendo Switch launch game 1-2-Switch. However, after a “brutal” response from playtesting groups, the company is unsure whether to release it.

That’s according to a report from fanbyte, attributed to “multiple sources with knowledge of the product in question.” The difficulties began right from the start, with Nintendo EPD Production No. 4 struggling to work out what the expectation would be for a sequel to 1-2-Switch. They could add new minigames but there was also a desire to create a separate product that could stand apart from the original game.

Inspiration soon struck, charting a path that resulted in a game that could draw comparisons to The Jackbox Party Pack series – moving away from minigames designed from scratch for two opposing players armed with a Joy-Con each and instead introducing smartphone compatibility that would allow as many as 100 players to compete against one another.

With a host called Horse – that fanbyte learns was “a bipedal horse that looked like a man wearing a rubber horse mask” – the minigames ranged from musical chairs to bingo to a virtual take on Spin the Bottle.

The rockier problems hit when the game was introduced to playtesting groups, where the target audience that Nintendo had hoped to attract – families with children – quickly lost interest in the minigames to the point that they didn’t even want to complete an entire round. The Team Battle Mode – in which two teams competed against one another in minigames – didn’t fare any better, even with the game’s localisation team.

There was no expectation that Everybody’s 1-2-Switch would receive such a negative reaction from playtesting, even though products being reworked or shelved entirely from such a response is common.

It’s unclear what will happen now. It is believed that Nintendo still wants to sell the game as a full physical retail release, but others have suggested that it is released as a bonus add-on for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers – similar to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Happy Home Paradise and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Booster Course Pass expansions. What eventually happens and whether it will ever see release, we’ll have to wait and see.

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