Given how well a certain system has done for Nintendo over the last sixish years, it’s hard to think that The Big N was ever in a position of failure. But with the Wii U, that’s what happened. They tried to bank off the success of the Wii and its name and failed miserably. They didn’t even sell 15 million console units, making it one of their biggest flops ever. There were even rumors about how Nintendo could fold like SEGA and focus solely on making software instead of hardware. But then, six years ago, an event revealed the Nintendo Switch to the world, and nothing was the same after that.
The Switch had been teased a little before then with hints of what would come. But on January 12th, 2022, Nintendo held a massive event to fully showcase the Nintendo Switch and reveal many of the games people could get for it within the first year. As you’ll see in the tweet below, many heavy hitters were announced on that day that would help define the Switch for years to come.
Legend of Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles, and even Octopath Traveler were highlighted, and all became million-sellers on the Switch once they were released. Breath of the Wild alone drove hype for the Switch via the previous E3 event. But seeing that trailer with the release date sealed it for fans: they were getting this console.
There were other significant moments at that show too. First, Suda 51 revealed the next game featuring Travis Touchdown, the first of two we’d get on Switch. Then, Todd Howard showed up and said that for the first time, Bethesda would bring some of their games to Switch, and they did that with DOOM and Skyrim.
We cannot state enough how much this singular event affected Nintendo’s future. By the time March 3rd arrived, the Switch, its launch titles, and the Amiibo connected to them were selling like hotcakes. Nintendo thought they would sell maybe two million Switch’s in the first month, but they far outpaced that, and getting a Switch for a while was hard!
Thankfully, they would continue to make the console and provide excellent software lineups for the Nintendo Switch almost every year. 2022 was a banger year for Switch owners, and six years later, the titles are still coming.
Fire Emblem Engage, Tears of the Kingdom, Octopath Traveler 2, and more highlight 2023 so far, and there’s likely more to come.
Source: Twitter
