It’s Crazy How Much The Nintendo Switch Will Have In Its Final Year

Another Nintendo Direct has come and gone, and with it, we have a look at what Nintendo is planning out for the end of 2024 (and even some of 2025). Personally, I wasn’t expecting the world out of Nintendo’s latest Direct, but the lineup of games Nintendo has to offer is pretty incredible. Even on a smaller scale, there are several exciting games across Nintendo’s different franchises that are bringing things Nintendo fans have been asking for for a long time. It’s excellent to see that, even as Nintendo begins to sunset the Switch, their many talented developers aren’t skimping on the quality or quantity of first-party games.

What’s more, the initially deemed expectation that Nintendo’s remaining first-party Switch lineup would be heavy on re-releases seems to have been greatly exaggerated, as much of the lineup from here on out for the Switch is comprised of wholly new entries in established franchises. Through it all, the Nintendo Switch will continue to be jam-packed with exciting titles across a variety of franchises, and it will continue to establish why the Switch is in the conversation as having the best first-party lineup in Nintendo’s storied history.

Plenty To Play This Holiday (And Beyond)

Typically, the late part of a console’s life is when the game lineup starts to slow down, but don’t tell that to Nintendo, as they are wasting no time pushing the Switch’s game library as far as humanly possible in its final year. This week will see the release of the publisher’s final title for the first half of 2024, Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. Then, entering into the Direct with major questions regarding what the lineup would look like across the second half, Nintendo quelled concerns with a very exciting lineup spread across the final few months. Kicking things off in July will be Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, a package of bite-sized challenges centered around classic NES titles. This new game aims to bring back the style of the NES Remix titles released on the Wii U and should serve as an excellent nostalgic throwback for gamers.

September is where things really start to kick off, as we will see the release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the first mainline, Nintendo-developed Zelda title where players will finally be able to control Princess Zelda, as opposed to Link. Following along in October will be the release of Super Mario Party Jamboree, the latest entry in Nintendo’s premiere party-game franchise that seems primed to be the biggest entry in the franchise yet. Then, to round out 2024, November will see the release of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the return of Nintendo’s long-dormant RPG franchise that also serves as the first fully 3D entry in the series.

Early January will see the release of Nintendo’s only other re-release on the docket, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, but even though it might’ve been nicer to get a new entry in the series, Nintendo still has a few games in the bag for the rest of the year. After all, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A are both set for launch in 2025. And sure, there’s a strong possibility that these two titles will be cross-generation titles released alongside Nintendo’s next platform, but that doesn’t take away from the impact they’ll have on the Switch lineup. Throw those into the pile alongside a mainline Zelda game where you finally get to play as Zelda, what looks to be the biggest Mario Party in a while, and a revival of the Mario & Luigi series, and Nintendo is putting together potentially one of the best “end-of-life” lineups for one of its platforms.

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The Best Lineup Nintendo’s Put Out?

Moreover, with this set of games, Nintendo may have done the impossible and established the Switch as having the best first-party lineup of any Nintendo platform. It’s home to a bevy of high-quality titles across a variety of franchises, and it’s impressive just how many of those franchises have had multiple critically acclaimed titles across the system. Franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Fire Emblem have seen multiple mainline entries released on the Switch, and Nintendo has managed to do this without sacrificing the high quality of each series. The Switch has also had series-best entries in franchises like Super Smash Bros., Animal Crossing, Kirby, and Pikmin, and it’s seen fantastic revivals of once-dormant franchises like Metroid and Luigi’s Mansion.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that Nintendo has actually put together a quality assortment of third-party titles. For decades, third-party publishers did what they could with Nintendo platforms, but several of them shunned Nintendo, and nowhere did this show itself more than on the Wii U. With the Switch, Nintendo managed to build a much better console for third-party publishers to support, and it’s continued to see releases from publishers like EA, Capcom, Square Enix, and Bethesda. These are just a few publishers that previously refused to bring their biggest titles to past Nintendo platforms that have been continuing to support the Switch in a big way. Hell, the Switch has become such a popular destination that even Sony and Microsoft are publishing titles on it. Nintendo has really fired on all cylinders with the new platform.

And while sales don’t necessarily paint the picture of a game’s quality, it certainly goes to show the Switch’s popularity that it has 21 games that have sold over at least 10 million copies, which is not only the most for any system, but it’s ahead of the second-place platform (the Xbox 360) by 10 games. It’s become a fantastic destination to play, and it’s a big reason why Nintendo put out so many re-releases of Wii U titles, like Mario Kart 8 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. After being stuck on a platform that Nintendo couldn’t convince people to buy, these games have earned a new lease on life on the Switch, and they only add to the magic of the console’s lineup. It’s amazing to see how much of a turnaround Nintendo’s had on the Switch, and it’s even more amazing to see that they’re not even close to done yet.

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