You can’t say enough that the Nintendo Switch has been one of the most successful video game platforms ever. When all is said and done, it could be the best-selling platform ever! However, even with its hardware and software success, you can’t deny that there are certain “gaps” in its gaming lineup that have frustrated gamers for years now. One of the biggest ones is key characters from The Big N’s lineup not getting new titles, such as Pit, Fox McCloud, and, of course, Donkey Kong. Yes, the beloved primate has had titles on the Switch, but they were remasters and remakes, not new entries. That’s a big difference.
The tragedy here is that DK almost did have a new title that would’ve been on the Nintendo Switch had it not been scrapped in 2016. The team behind that title was Vicarious Visions, and by all accounts, it would’ve been cool if Activision had not ruined things. A shocker to hear that, we’re sure. You see, at the time, Vicarious Visions was under the Activision umbrella, and since the publisher wanted to focus on other things, like a certain FPS franchise, they decided to shut down the collaboration, and fans have been starved for a new DK entry ever since.
Today, a new leak dropped that highlighted a key piece of concept art from what was dubbed “Donkey Kong Freedom” at the time. It looks beautiful, and one can only wonder how this would’ve been seen in full on Nintendo Switch.
Another irony of this is that DK is one of the few Nintendo platforming icons who hasn’t been put into an open or semi-open world to have fun in. You could argue the N64 game was like that, but that was still a rather contained game compared to other titles we would soon get.
As noted, DK has had titles on the Switch, and in the case of his Wii U port, it sold millions of copies, which many felt would be enough justification to make a new title. Instead, we’re getting a port of the Wii title, and it’ll be a full $60 at launch. Many aren’t happy with that at all. The character has been proven many times over to be a million-seller, and gamers definitely want Donkey Kong to come back and get his due. Perhaps, with all that’s going on, we might see him on the Nintendo Switch 2. Then again, with our luck, we’ll just get another port of his past glory.
