Yesterday’s Nintendo Direct was by far their most successful and intricate to date. They showed off 12 (!!!) games for their Nintendo 3DS system and 23 games for the Nintendo Switch, and that doesn’t even account for updates to games like ARMS and Splatoon.
Here’s a rundown of the 3DS games Nintendo showcased:
- Pokémon Ultra Sun & Pokémon Ultra Moon
- Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions
- Kirby: Battle Royale
- Yo-Kai Watch 2: Psychic Specters and Oni Evolution
- Layton’s Mystery Journey
- Minecraft for Nintendo 3DS
- Mario Party: The Top 100
- Metroid: Samus Returns
- ATLUS RPGs Journey to the West
- Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
- Fire Emblem Warriors for Nintendo 3DS
This is just for the Nintendo 3DS, an allegedly “dead” system. I was hoping for another 2D Zelda game, but hey, beggars can’t be choosers. Nintendo is also releasing two new versions of their 2DS portable system, the Poké Ball Edition New Nintendo 2DS XL and the New Nintendo 2DS XL Orange & White Edition. For everyone who thought the 3DS family of systems was done for with the release of the Nintendo Switch, think again. The software lineup for this autumn into the holiday season is as strong as ever.
Where the Nintendo Direct truly shined though was with their Nintendo Switch presentation. Nintendo led their coverage with a brand new trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which is my most anticipated game this year after Zelda. I have been a fan of Takahashi-san and his games since the beginning, and can definitely feel Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade vibes with the game. Tetsuya Takahashi has surpassed his former employer, Squaresoft, and his Xenoblade franchise is the new Final Fantasy in terms of quality. It’s far superior. There was an explanation of the world and even how the gameplay works which has me STOKED! We also got a release date for 2017 for all those haters: December 1!
There was more shown than just Xenoblade Chronicles 2, although that seemed to be Nintendo’s main focus. 23 additional games were shown for the Switch that are coming out in the near future, most of them before the holidays. This shocked me. The sheer amount of content, including software from third-party developers is astounding and Nintendo Switch owners will get all of these titles (that haven’t been released yet) at the same time as PlayStation and Xbox owners.
- Xenoblade Chronicles 2, including a special edition and a special Pro-styled controller based on the game.
- Fire Emblem Warriors
- Snipperclips Plus: Cut it Out, Together! (an additional 30 levels and other content)
- Morphies Law
- Rocket League
- Arena of Valor – Nintendo Switch MOBA
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- DOOM
- Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
- Flip Wars
- Arcade Archives Mario Bros.
- NBA 2K18
- WWE 2K18
- FIFA 18
- Pokkén Tournament DX
- Project Octopath Traveler (Working Title)
- Dragon Quest Builders
- Kirby Star Allies
- Lost Sphere
- Sonic Forces
- Resident Evil
- LA Noire
- Super Mario Odyssey
The Nintendo Switch will also see a Super Mario Odyssey Edition Nintendo Switch, Joy-Con, and Carrying Case.
Some of these games are older and coming to the Nintendo Switch for the first time, like DOOM, Rocket League, and Skyrim. The EA and 2K sports games are coming to the Switch at the same time as other consoles though, and FIFA is regarded as EA Sports’ best franchise. Nintendo is also bringing their old arcade games to the Switch, which sounds like so much fun, starting off with Arcade Archives Mario Bros.
Nintendo’s latest hit console then, of course, has their plethora of exclusive content, like Super Mario Odyssey, Pokkén Tournament DX, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Fire Emblem Warriors, and even a huge upgrade of Snipperclips. The Switch is also seeing updates to both Splatoon and ARMS, two of their new successful IPs. Also announced was the release date for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Champions amiibo, which will come out on November 10.
Nintendo is even getting Wolfenstein II on the Switch! Granted this is coming in early 2018, not 2017 like the other versions, but makes it even more apparent that developers are so excited for the Nintendo Switch. They are also getting Sonica Forces and the remaster of LA Noire, one of Rockstar’s greatest accomplishments, at the same time as Sony and Microsoft.
Nintendo, in the words of Reggie, is kicking ass and taking names. Not all of these games are 2017 releases, but enough of them are (the majority), and they showcased 23 games on the Nintendo Switch and 12 for a supposedly “dead” handheld. Nintendo has it together and their business model going forward is genius. What do Sony and Microsoft have to show (particularly Microsoft) in the coming months, not taking into account third-party games? Not a whole lot.
Destiny 2 is great and Call of Duty looks promising, as does Battlefront, but Nintendo has such a plethora of amazing content coming that the other systems cannot compete…at least right now. South Park, Ni No Kuni 2 (a January 2018 release), Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, and maybe The Evil Within 2; these are really the only appealing games I see coming out on Sony’s PlayStation 4 in the foreseeable future (I got Destiny 2 so I’m set.) I don’t even want to see Microsoft’s release schedule.
Nintendo is also seeming to outpace the PlayStation 4 in their initial sales in Japan, and have since release. This could be a sign of things to come, as the PS4 is on pace to become one of the best-selling consoles of all time. They have already sold around 5 million units globally. Nintendo is doing everything that they need to and not only have an incredible release schedule through the rest of the year, but have sustained this level of quality ever since the Nintendo Switch’s launch. They may not just win 2017; they’re probably going to change the way we play video games forever, again.