While initially, I thought it was a good idea to bring ports over to the Nintendo Switch, after this latest Nintendo Direct, Nintendo has gone overboard. While Captain Toad Treasure Tracker was the only Wii U port that was announced at this particular event, it seemed like every other game was a port. As great as Okami HD is, it’s been out a while. South Park: The Fractured But Hole was a fantastic game and a great addition to Nintendo’s mature audience, so I do give them props for that. Little Nightmares: Complete Edition is another PS4/Xbox One leftover. Only six of the 15 games showed during the Direct were original games. Considering what was announced earlier in the year. the Switch is becoming a port machine. And that’s bad for everyone.
Smash Brothers for the Nintendo Switch was an incredible announcement. It doesn’t take away from the fact that the Direct was overloaded with ports. Up to this point, Nintendo is releasing more ports than any other system this year. Whereas the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have hit their stride, the Nintendo seems to be releasing all these ports to fill the gap because they don’t have much to release at this current place in time. Kirby was great, but there doesn’t seem to be anything else original, Nintendo-made, coming out in the near future (Smash doesn’t count). The World Ends With You, Hyrule Warriors, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, and Bayonetta 2 were all announced at the Nintendo mini direct. It seems Nintendo is continuing this trend.
While Nintendo had an incredibly successful first year with the Nintendo Switch, the success of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a port, may have gotten to their heads. Either that or they simply don’t have any original content to release during the first half of this year. For those who didn’t own a Wii U, this may be a nice opportunity to play games that they otherwise missed out on. These are old games though, and not even the best games that came out on the Wii U (minus Donkey Kong and Bayonetta). Some ports, like Dark Souls, are fantastic. Maybe it would be okay if there weren’t so many coming out all at once. There aren’t any original games to add into the mix and this is a problem.
The Nintendo Switch is a fantastic console. It’s the most innovative console to come out in years. Nintendo had an incredible first year and released the best content of any system’s first year, with two Game of the Year contenders. The software has fizzled out though. Mario Tennis Aces looks spectacular though and is one original piece of software coming out this year on June 22. Despite sales, if Nintendo keeps this up, the Nintendo Switch will be remembered as a very good console instead of an incredible one.
Saying that though, not all ports are bad. A port of both Zelda HD remasters needs to happen. Xenoblade Chronicles X needs to happen. But those are fantastic games. Titles like Captain Toad and Hyrule Warriors are just okay. I can see the rationale behind Bayonetta 2 and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze is one of the best 2D platformers of all time, but it’s too much at once. It needs to be spaced out more. And that’s really the true problem with all of these ports, especially the Wii U ports releasing on the Nintendo Switch.
Hopefully, at E3 they announce some incredible software, other than Smash because one game doesn’t make a console. They need more, regardless how big and popular a franchise may be.