The whole point of a chart is to track sales numbers. NASB2, as far as I know, has never been on a chart whatsoever, this doesn't inherently confirm it sold poorly, especially given that licensed games tend to be granny-sees-SpongeBob-and-buys-it slow-burns instead of relying on hype, but a game that hasn't ever been on a chart is always going to be at a disadvantage against a game that has topped multiple charts, one of which it has topped multiple times - NASB1's second chart topping was AFTER NASB2 released in fact.
Yes, that is where money is better used for game quality, but we're talking about sales. Not game quality. Game quality and sales do not go hand in hand, never will, and never should, because sales are objective and quality is subjective. Marketing benefits sales, quality does not.
You call me out for using "circumstantial evidence" and then immediately say this? Anyway, here are the ratings of both games' most reviewed SKUs - NASB1 US Switch on left, NASB2 US code-in-box on right. I'm quite familiar with Amazon reviews, and negative ones are EXTREMELY rare for any product whatsoever.
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To put into comparison how rare negative reviews are on Amazon, here are the reviews for notorious "unplayable scam" Gollum (PS4 US SKU)
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Stop seeking validation and fighting the NASB1 stigma, and just play and be enthusiastic about the game you like.