Key Takeaways
- Nintendo Switch 2 will be announced and possibly launched by March 2025.
- Replicating Switch’s first-year success is crucial for Nintendo.
- A strong lineup of games in that launch window can dictate the platform’s success right out of the gate.
We finally know that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be announced sometime this fiscal year, and all the rumors point to a launch in March 2025. If we’re to believe the reports from earlier this year, Nintendo pushed the Switch 2 back from late 2024 in order to ensure a great lineup of software at launch, so my expectations are set pretty high.
The Nintendo Switch launched in 2017 with a spectacular lineup for its first year, especially when you consider Nintendo probably had to fast track development in light of the abysmal Wii U sales. On launch day, you had The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildand throughout the year, you got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2and Super Mario Odyssey along with some smaller games like 1-2-Switch and ARMS. Plus, there was third-party support with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and a Ubisoft partnership resulting in the surprisingly good Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. That amazing launch definitely contributed to the massive success of the Switch, and obviously, Nintendo wants to repeat that for the Switch 2.
That got me thinking about how Nintendo can replicate that success in the first year of the Nintendo Switch’s successor. I came up with a list of 10 titles I’d like to see within the launch window of the Switch 2, or at least within that first year. Will all of these be there? Probably not, but it would make for a dream year for Nintendo fans and handheld gamers in general.
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10 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Definitive Edition
Yes, really
Okay, this one is pretty cheap, but I think it makes a lot of sense. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild defined the generation for Nintendo (and gaming as a whole), and it remains the best-selling Zelda game ever. While its successor is arguably better in most ways, it didn’t have the same impact, and Nintendo knows sales of that title dropped like a rock after the initial launch.
Fans still hold Breath of the Wild in a higher regard, plus, I think this is a game prime for an enhanced edition because it received DLC content. Nintendo can throw that content onto the package, maybe add a few more things here and there, spruce it up with faster load times and a higher resolution, and it will have a great value proposition. Considering this title was reportedly being shown to developers as a showcase for the new hardware, now with super-fast loading times and in 4K, I think Nintendo is probably thinking about this already, and I’d love to see it.
9 Xenoblade Chronicles X
It needs another shot at success
Xenoblade Chronicles has grown to become one of Nintendo’s most beloved series, and with two fully new games on the Switch, plus a definitive edition of the first, the entire series is easily accessible today… well, almost. The Wii U was one of Nintendo’s biggest blunders, but it was home to some great games, and among them is Xenoblade Chronicles X. Despite being part of the same series, X is actually pretty different from the rest of the Xenoblade games, with the player controlling a mech that can turn into a vehicle and an expansive open-world to roam around.
On the Wii U, Xenoblade Chronicles X was a technical marvel that was severely underappreciated because of the console it was on. Rebuilding the game on a more powerful piece of hardware to execute the original vision even better and give a new audience the chance to play the game would be a dream. Many would have expected to see it on the original Switch, but I think a Switch 2 version could really do this title justice.
8 Hades II
A return to one of the best indie games
Hades was one of the best games of 2020, coming from a relatively small studio, Supergiant Games. It was universally praised for its mechanics, and at launch, it was a console exclusive on the Nintendo Switch, even receiving a physical release later on. However, Hades II is currently exclusive to PC, and while developers have announced the game will eventually come to consoles after the early access period, the team has said it can’t confirm which consoles the game will be on.
That suggests a Switch version may be in limbo, or the company may be aiming for a release on the Switch 2 instead, which would be an exciting release to have so early on. The sequel is a bit more visually intensive than its predecessor, so maybe the Switch can’t run the game smoothly, but I’d love to see it on its successor.
7 Monster Hunter Wilds
It makes perfect sense
The Monster Hunter series has seen a lot of growth in recent years, and Nintendo’s partnership with Capcom probably helped with that. For a while, Monster Hunter games were exclusive to Nintendo platforms, with many games released across the Wii, 3DS, and Wii U. Monster Hunter World was the first game to skip Nintendo’s platforms in a long time, probably because that vision was simply too hard to bring to Nintendo’s hybrid. But things should be different with the upcoming MOnster Hunter Wilds.
Capcom saw great success with Monster Hunter Rise on the Switch, and if the rumor mill is right about the expected performance for the Switch 2, it seems perfectly viable that Wilds could run on it. The game is planned for a release in 2025, and currently only announced for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. But I suspect Nintendo’s next console could easily be added to that list once the hardware is fully unveiled. And I hope that’s the case because this new title looks fantastic already.
6 A new Kid Icarus
Who’s that?
Credit: Nintendo
There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of Kid Icarusbut I promise there’s a good reason this game is here. The Kid Icarus series has had a mere three games since its inception in 1986, with the latest one being Kid Icarus: Uprising on the Nintendo 3DS, over 20 years after the second game. But Uprising was such a fantastic game on the 3DS. The touch-focused control scheme was kind of painful, but the graphics, amount of content, and storytelling were all so good in this game. It was so much fun, and it’s no surprise that it was Masahiro Sakurai, director of the Super Smash Bros. series, who helmed the project.
Whether a new Kid Icarus game is a wholly new story and concept or a remake of Kid Icarus: Uprising with controls that don’t make my hands hurt, I don’t particularly care. I just want this franchise to spread its wings and get the recognition it deserves, because these are excellent games.
5 Elden Ring
One of the best games of the generation
Nintendo usually knows how to capitalize on some of the most popular titles of years past, and there’s no question that Elden Ring is one of the most influential titles of this generation. Taking some inspiration from Breath of the Wild and infusing it with the Dark Souls formula, Elden Ring is an absolute masterpiece of game design, with a large open world to explore and extremely challenging, but rewarding combat.
I’ve played Elden Ring on and off while reviewing PCs, but I simply don’t care about PC gaming. A version of this game on Nintendo’s next console would be a huge hit, and it’s easy money. FromSoftware hasn’t had the strongest partnership with Nintendo, but the original Dark Souls did release on the Switch, and there was even an amiibo figure of Solaire of Astora. Hopefully the two companies can work this out and make it happen.
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4 A new 3D Mario
There’s so much potential
Alright, I need to provide something more specific for this one since a 3D Mario game is all but guaranteed to happen at some point, and likely early on in the system’s life. A new 3D Mario could go in almost any direction, but I really want to see Nintendo build off of what was done in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. The Bowser’s Fury portion of this title featured a truly open world that gave you total freedom of movement and felt so good to explore. It was a relatively small world and a short campaign with some repetition, but it was so much fun to roam around and move from challenge to challenge with basically nothing to stop me.
I had such a blast with Bowser’s Fury that I stayed up until 6am completing the game on its launch weekend, and this was only three years ago, I was already an adult with a job. I just want this formula to be used again for a more full-fledged experience.
If not that, I think it would also be cool to see the team take another crack at Super Mario Sunshine. That game was a glitchy, overly difficult mess, but the world of Delfino Island was beautiful and one of the more unique concepts in the history of the series. I’d love a new version of the game that fixes up the issues and makes it a bit less frustrating.
3 Metroid Prime 4
Let it shine on new hardware
Metroid Prime 4 was one of the first games announced for the Nintendo Switch, first appearing as a logo at E3 2017. Since then, it has all but vanished, aside from the occasional reminder that it’s still happening. While I have no doubt that Prime 4 will still be on the original Switch, and I know it will look fantastic based on Metroid Prime Remasteredthis is a game that deserves to shine on the best hardware possible. Metroid Prime games already aim to look more photorealistic and they have a ton of visual effects, so an upgrade in power could really allow Nintendo to deliver on that concept in full.
I’m not alone in believing Metroid Prime 4 is a great candidate for a cross-generation title, seeing as the Metroid series doesn’t sell huge numbers most of the time. Having a version on the most popular console on the market while also launching a spruced-up versio n on its successor is a good way to ensure people on both platforms are potentially interested in it.
2 Grand Theft Auto VI
We can dream, right?
I’m probably reaching a bit too far with this one, but while we’re dreaming, why not? Grand Theft Auto games are insanely popular, and Grand Theft Auto V has basically defined three generations of hardware at this point. The hype around the announcement of Grand Theft Auto VI was unlike anything we’ve ever really seen in the gaming sphere, and it’s no wonder why.
It’s been a while since a fully new GTA game came to a Nintendo platform, but to be fair, Rockstar did bring both Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition and Red Dead Redemption to the Switch this generation, on top of The black being ported near the beginning of the Switch’s life. The first two titles were even published by Nintendo, which suggests these companies are working pretty closely with each other. I don’t think a port of GTA VIor even a very late port of GTA Vis totally out of the question, and it would surely be a massive hit.
1 Mario Kart 10
It has to happen
This is another one that’s basically guaranteed to happen, but I do hope it happens early on, much like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe did for the Switch. That game has gone on to become the Switch’s best-selling game with over 60 million units sold. And if you combine it with the original Mario Kart 8 sales on Wii U, it’s 70 million. It’s the best-selling Nintendo game ever outside of titles that are bundled with a console by default (such as Wii Sports). A sequel early on in the Switch 2’s life would be a huge deal.
I do think Nintendo has an uphill battle with making the game worthwhile, though, especially after doubling the number of tracks in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe via DLC. That game now has 96 courses to play on, and I don’t think Nintendo can replicate that for a whole new game. However, I do hope the number of courses will increase from the standard 32 we’ve had since Mario Kart DSthough. I think 48 courses, the number included in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at launch, would be a great starting point. I would also love to see Nintendo embrace the crossover aspect of the game a bit more. Mario Kart 8 was the first to feature non-Mario characters, with Link from the Zelda series, and Villager from Animal Crossing. I think more characters and tracks based on other Nintendo franchises would be a great addition, even if the focus is still on Mario.
Something else I’d also love to see is a more single-player-oriented mode. Mario Kart DS included a cool mission mode that even had some boss fights where you had to push some enemies off of a course, and it was awesome for those of us who mostly play alone. Some missions like this would make the game that much more enjoyable outside of party settings.
Making the Switch 2 a success
Maintaining momentum after a successful generation is something Nintendo has always struggled with, particularly with home consoles. The Wii was a phenomenon back in the mid-2000s, but the Wii U was a catastrophic failure sales-wise, leading to the only two quarters in recent history where Nintendo has posted a financial loss. The company is probably extremely wary to avoid a situation like that again, especially considering it doesn’t have a second pillar to stand on like it did with the 3DS when the Wii U was taking hit after hit.
This list of games may not all come true, but these are huge titles that would help drive sales and excitement for the Switch 2, and having them early on would surely get things on the right track to repeat the Switch’s success. The Switch wouldn’t have been as successful as it was if it didn;t have a huge library of great games. Hopefully we can come back in a year or so and say I was right about most of these.
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