Nintendo admits Switch launch lineup is slim, promises continued stream of games

By Gabe Gurwin February 2, 2017

Nintendo Switch Super Bowl LI Commercial - Extended Cut

The Nintendo Switch isn’t exactly coming out of the gate with the strongest launch lineup of games. Aside from the obvious heavy hitter The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the mini-game collection 1-2 Switch, the majority of the games releasing alongside the system are ports from other consoles, but Nintendo doesn’t believe this should concern fans.

Speaking at an investors’ meeting, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima admitted that critics have been unimpressed with the game’s limited launch titles.

“Some of those who have seen this lineup have expressed the opinion that the launch lineup is weak,” Kimishima said. “Our thinking in arranging the 2017 software lineup is that it is important to continue to provided new titles regularly without long gaps. This encourages to continue actively playing the system, maintains buzz, and continued sales momentum for the Switch.”

Kimishima has a point there, especially considering the Wii U’s situation. That system launched in 2012 with a pretty robust number of games, including Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, ZombiU, and Scribblenauts Unlimited, but 2013 didn’t see its first major first-party Wii U game release until Pikmin 3 over the summer.

The Switch is looking to avoid repeating this mistake by releasing first-party games every few months through the remainder of 2017. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, an enhanced port of the Wii U game, arrives in April, while new IP Arms debuts this spring and the much-anticipated Splatoon 2 releases this summer. Super Mario Odyssey, which was rumored to be a launch title, will actually be out this holiday season, giving present-shoppers a reason to consider the Switch.

Unlike the Wii U, it appears that the Switch will have plenty of software support from third-party publishers, as well. More than 70 publishers are currently working with Nintendo on over 100 games, and Nintendo said recently that it is still receiving development requests from additional companies.

The Nintendo Switch is out March 3.

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Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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