At the start of 2017, Nintendo kicked off one of their biggest years in recent memory with the launch of their fairly revolutionary console, the Nintendo Switch. The system merged console gaming with the handheld nature of something like a Nintendo DS and a PSP, giving players the ability to play AAA console experiences like Doom, Skyrim, LA Noire, and more on their TV or on the go.
The console was a major success and one of its launch titles, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, garnered itself The Game Awards’ Game of the Year award. Furthermore, Super Mario Odyssey was nominated in that same category. With two critically acclaimed exclusives, major third party support, and a unique presentation, Nintendo managed to meet their goal of selling 10 million units in a year way ahead of schedule which is no small feat.
With that, Nintendo is hoping to continue pushing out consoles at a steady rate as they’ve set a goal of selling 20 million units by March 31st, 2019. Right now, Nintendo has yet to lockdown any dates on any major first-party titles like Pokemon, Metroid, let alone announce rumored titles like Super Smash Brothers and Animal Crossing. The company is ambitious with their plans and maybe they’re planning on surprising everyone with a big 2018 lineup at their January Nintendo Direct or E3 or they may be able to coast off of extensive third party support as they prepare their next big hitters.
It’s tough to say but the Switch has been a success so far, it’s unlikely sales will begin to plummet after a strong first year for the console. As we head into 2018, players already know they can expect Wolfenstein II, Payday 2, Steep, and many other third-party titles and there will likely be some big surprises from other studios after they saw how publishers like Bethesda were.
The Nintendo Switch is out now.
