Where Do They Go From Here? - Nintendo

I am one of those people that considers the Wii U and the Switch as part of the same console generation. I realize that's controversial in some corners, but since neither were more powerful than the PS4 or Xbox, it's hard for me to think of the Switch as "next generation" just because they decided to jump ship on the Wii U early. With that specific belief in mind, I consider the impending launch of the Switch 2 to be the actual beginning of the next generation of consoles. If you disagree, please send all hate mail to my editor, Aaron. He will be happy to read it. Since the Switch 2 is the beginning of a new generation, I thought I'd write a series for each of the big 3 console manufacturers on where I think they stand today and where I think they should go from here. In case it's not obvious, this will be my opinion entirely. I'll try to ground my takes in stats, but at the end of the day, it's vibes. Again, you know how to reach Aaron if they aren't immaculate. 

I decided to write about Nintendo first because in some ways it's the hardest to cover, and in others the easiest. We all know the story by now, the Big N was in deep trouble before the release of the Switch. Sure, they were making money courtesy of the 3DS, but what's the point if your home console does Sega Saturn numbers? Calls were everywhere for Nintendo to drop out and become a third party developer. Thank God they didn't. Since then the Switch has done almost everything right, been a juggernaut at the "box office", and has a lineup of games that you can argue puts the Switch in the highest tier of consoles ever made. While that doesn't make everything Nintendo has done with the Switch flawless, it does mean that most of the potential downside to the Switch 2 rests in decisions Nintendo makes.

Before the Switch 2 announcement, the most obvious self-inflicted wounds Nintendo could've made would be trying to change the handheld nature of the Switch, and not allowing for backwards compatibility (BC). Thankfully, Nintendo appears to be staying the course while allowing for broad BC with their upcoming system. Sometimes if it ain't broke, don't fix it, though there's danger in that approach as well (just ask Sony in my next article!). Still, with these announcements in hand I believe Nintendo will at minimum stick the landing with their new system and not roll out anything truly disastrous to their brand.

Unlike just about everyone else who creates content around video games, I am a big believer in console exclusives made by the console maker. While it is a bit of a consumer unfriendly approach, I believe it benefits everyone in the end (more on this in my Xbox article). Nintendo exemplifies this more than anyone else. By having a weaker console and investing in their 2nd and 3rd tier IPs, Nintendo is almost single handedly keeping the AA format alive in video games. While Sony, Microsoft, and the studio conglomerates chase realistic graphics and professionally voice acted and story boarded games, Nintendo releases games like Echoes of Wisdom. The behind the times graphics of the Wii was once a disadvantage, but with the exponential increase in development time (with arguably slimmer returns) Nintendo now benefits greatly from this approach.

With the Switch 2 allegedly being closer to the PS4 in terms of power, that really represents one of the last self-inflicted risks for Nintendo: chasing graphics. The limitations of the Switch allow Nintendo to pump out at least one marquee title a month. That particular game may not be everyone's cup of mushroom coffee, but it'll be someone's. Losing that release schedule to have ultra realistic sweat dripping off Kirby's...head...would not be in Nintendo's best interest and I hope this is something they avoid. I think their competitors are learning a tough lesson on the diminishing returns of graphics and scope of game worlds (Astro Bot and Hi-Fi Rush aren't driving home the point enough apparently), and it would be a shame to see Nintendo lose the uniqueness of their titles and the dev time advantage by going down this path.

As I alluded to early, that doesn't mean there aren't issues that Nintendo needs to fix on the periphery. For starters, their multiplayer focused games often lack content in my opinion. The Splatoon, Smash Bros, and Mario Kart games appear to have been spared this, but games like Switch Sports, Wario Ware, and Super Mario Party have all been criticized for being one note. These games desperately needed DLC rather than wholesale sequels (three in the case of Mario Party!). I realize that Nintendo prints money right now and there's no incentive to do this, but it would be a much improved experience and reason for people to purchase these titles.

On the subject of printing money, many Switch ports were notoriously unoptimized for the console this generation. This is obviously because people will rebuy old games on the Switch in order to play them on the go, but fiascos like the GTA ports or the Arkham ports should never have been able to happen. Nintendo needs to have a tighter quality control grip on their third party partners: if you want your game on the Switch it needs to work properly. This goes double for the situation with Pokemon. GameFreak simply cannot continue to be allowed to release half baked games like Scarlet/Violet, otherwise you risk eventually doing real damage to the franchise.

Still, these are all either minor gripes or merely the potential for error. Odds are good that the Switch 2 doesn't quite match its predecessor in sales figures, but every sign points to it being just as successful. A new owner will inherit a robust back catalogue of games, a much more fleshed out NSO emulation service, and the promise that Nintendo will continue to mine creative feats from its lesser known franchises. In my humble opinion, Nintendo is the most successful of the big 3 right now, and so the question of "where do they go from here?" is a lot simpler to answer. They don't have to deal with Sony's malaise or Microsoft's headless chicken act, they just have to keep making great games. With their track record, that is a guarantee. 

Tune in for part II of this series where I discuss the current state and future plan for Sony and their PlayStation.