Nintendo NEEDS Some Heavy Hitters Beginning this Fall
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Switch 2, I've been reflecting on Nintendo's first year with the system.
And honestly? I'm pretty satisfied with it so far.
That might sound strange considering Nintendo has only really released one true AAA Switch 2 exclusive so far: Mario Kart World.
Beyond that, we've gotten titles like Donkey Kong, Kirby Air Riders, Yoshi, and a handful of other smaller projects. I'm not counting things like Drag x Drive or some of Nintendo's more experimental releases. Those have their place, but they're clearly not intended to be major system sellers.
There have also been some important cross-generation releases. Metroid Prime 4 is probably the biggest example. I'd consider it a AAA release from a fan perspective, even if it won't sell at the same level as a Mario Kart or Pokémon game. And of course we've had Pokémon as well.
But despite the relatively light first-party lineup, I've been perfectly happy.
Why?
Because for me, the Switch 2 has largely been about revisiting and enhancing my existing library.
The performance improvements alone have been transformative. Games with unlocked frame rates now run at their maximum performance. Dynamic resolution games are holding higher image quality far more consistently. Load times are much faster. Everything just feels so much smoother.
And then Nintendo added Handheld Boost Mode.
That feature alone has breathed new life into a huge portion of my Switch 1 backlog. I've actually been playing in handheld mode more than I ever did on the original Switch because so many games now perform at their docked settings while on the go.
In many ways, the Switch 2 has breathed new life into my back catalog. It makes old games feel new again.
Then you add official Switch 2 Editions on top of that, and it's easy to see why I've been spending so much time revisiting older titles.
The third-party support has helped as well.
A lot of games that either weren't available on Switch 1 or weren't ideal experiences on the original hardware are now part of the conversation. I plan to spend time with games I still haven’t played like Cyberpunk 2077 and Fallout 4.
So when I look at the first year of Switch 2, I think Nintendo has largely been able to coast on three things:
Improved performance for Switch 1 games
Switch 2 Editions of existing titles
Third-party games that weren't feasible on the original Switch hardware
And honestly, this has been enough for me.
At least so far.
Hot Switch Summer
I think Nintendo is set up for a really strong 2026 summer.
Splatoon Raiders and Star Fox are both on the horizon. Neither is likely to be a Mario Kart-level system seller, but they're Switch 2 exclusives and both franchises have dedicated fan bases. More importantly, they're arriving before the upcoming hardware price increases fully take effect.
Nintendo has essentially given consumers one last opportunity to jump into the ecosystem before the higher pricing kicks in. Between the software lineup and the new hardware bundle options, I wouldn't be surprised if Switch 2 has a very strong summer.
But after that?
Things might change.
Nintendo Needs to Bring the Big Guns This Fall
Once the higher price point becomes the new normal, Nintendo needs to start showing some heavy hitters. The fall and holiday lineup can't just be "pretty good." It needs to be big.
I think Nintendo needs at least two major AAA announcements for the back half of the year. The rumored Ocarina of Time remake would certainly qualify as one of them. If the rumors are true, that would be a huge release.
But Nintendo needs more than that.
Maybe it's The Duskbloods. Maybe it's something completely unexpected. Whatever it is, Nintendo has to demonstrate why consumers should be willing to pay $500 or more for Switch 2 hardware.
And the good news is that Nintendo has no shortage of franchises to pull from.
We still need:
A new Smash Bros.
A brand-new mainline Zelda
The next open-world Zelda project
A release date for the new Fire Emblem
Whatever Monolith Soft is working on next
The next Xenoblade
Generation 10 Pokémon
Future Metroid projects
Rumored remakes like Super Metroid
And that's just scratching the surface.
Nintendo's first year has largely been about making old games better and introducing players to the new hardware.
The second year needs to be about proving why Switch 2 is the future.
Final Thoughts
I've been very happy with the Switch 2's first year. The hardware improvements, Switch 2 Editions, Handheld Boost Mode, and stronger third-party support have given me plenty to play. But we're approaching the point where Nintendo needs to start flexing its first-party muscle.
The good news? Nobody has a deeper bench of franchises than Nintendo.
The question isn't whether Nintendo has the games.
The question is when they're ready to show them.