UPDATE
What do you think about the 2023 Switch lineup? Do you think it’s one of the consoles’ best? Or do you think it could’ve been better? Let us know below!
ORIGINAL STORY
When you’re in the video game industry, every single year, you have a console out on the market that is just as important as the one that came before and the one that comes after. That’s because every year is a chance to launch new games, improve what you have, and bring in gamers to buy your hardware and software. For the last 6+ years, Nintendo has been doing that swimmingly with their Nintendo Switch console and the games they’ve attached to it. So much so that software-wise, the Switch has sold over a BILLION units. That’s not too bad, don’t you think?
Yesterday, fans were finally given the “full picture” of the Switch’s 2023 lineup regarding first-party titles, and it paints a unique picture, as one Twitter user showed:
Oh, and yes, we know there’s one 3rd-party game in there. The point is, now that we have this full picture, we can look at what it “all means” and how it could affect the Nintendo Switch in the future.
As the Twitter user notes, one of this year’s “defining characteristics” is remakes or remasters. In just those twelve games shown, we have a remaster or remake featuring Samus Aran, Kirby, Pikmin, and Mario. That’s 1/3 of the games right there.
Granted, such titles have sold well on the Switch in the past, but that’s also part of the problem. Nintendo has almost become reliant on “rehashing the past for the Switch” to get extra sales instead of building off of things and expanding their library of titles as they did early on in the Switch’s lifecycle.
To be fair, remakes like Super Mario RPG are welcome in gamers’ eyes because that hasn’t had the remaster or remake treatment before. Plus, that was for a SNES title, so you could argue it was “overdue,” same with the Advance Wars remake, as those games were on the Game Boy Advance and never got a port or remake before.
Some will point out that these remasters/remakes are counteracted by the successful original titles of 2023. Not the least is The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, which will likely be Game of the Year based on fan love for it. Add to that the new 2D Mario game that impressed everyone at the Nintendo Direct, and you get a lineup that any console would be proud to have in a single year.
Only time will tell how this year is looked back upon by fans and critics. But for now, they seem content.
