5 Games the Nintendo Switch Owes a Lot of its Success To

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

5 Games That Have Been Critical to The Nintendo Switch’s Early Success

If there’s one game that really boosted the Nintendo Switch’s success, or, heck, was even the reason why people picked up a Switch during launch, it was Breath of the Wild. The console’s launch lineup was off to a shaky start, with titles such as 1-2 Switch, Snipperclips, Just Dance 2017, and I Am Setsuna releasing alongside the hybrid console. But Breath of the Wild was the foundation that kept the Nintendo Switch afloat and kept the ball rolling until games such as ARMS and Splatoon 2 hit the market.

When you’re launching a new console, consumers are definitely going to be looking for at least one game that would convince them to actually buy the device. And with Nintendo’s collection of triple-A titles, fans were definitely expecting to see something big. The gaming giant came prepared during the official Nintendo Switch presentation back in January 2017, saving their biggest surprise at the end of the conference. Fans were absolutely blown away, with the release date trailer now sitting with over 15 million views.

While a new Zelda was pretty much guaranteed to sell a good handful of units, its departure from the mainline series is one of its biggest selling points. Nintendo tossed everything out the window and decided to build from the ground up, going for an open world adventure. Players could do whatever they wanted, so long as it was within the game’s limits. The final boss is literally within your reach after finishing the tutorial, or you could choose to go around and take on a slew of sidequests beforehand. Nintendo also managed to inject a sense of innovation and creativity within the game through physics, which led to players discovering some pretty quirky tricks. Breath of the Wild stands for what a true exploration game should be like, with discoveries lurking around at every corner.

Since April 2018, Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch has managed to sell over 17 million units. Not only is it the best-selling entry in the series, but was also our Game of the Year for 2017.

Stardew Valley

5 Games That Have Been Critical to The Nintendo Switch’s Early Success

Stardew Valley had been around for roughly a year before it launched on the Nintendo Switch, and people loved it. The farming game felt like a spiritual successor to the traditional Harvest Moon games, bringing players away from the city and down the valley of, well, Stardew Valley. Players can create their own avatar and live life the way they see fit. Despite being a farming sim, there is a lot more depth than simply planting and selling crops; you could go out and mine for gems or sell fish to make a living – it all boils down to how you want to play.

Before launching on the Nintendo Switch, Stardew Valley was only playable on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Sure, they’re great platforms, but they lacked one thing the Nintendo Switch offered: portability. Stardew Valley is one of those games that you can literally sink hours into when you’re managing farms, caring for livestock, wooing a townsperson, or just lazing the day away. With the Nintendo Switch, you can literally take your farm with you wherever you go, letting you continue right where you left off, be it on the bus or in bed.

Overall, the option to pick up and play worked extremely well with Stardew Valley, making it the most globally downloaded game on the Nintendo Switch in 2017. And, yes, it even topped Minecraft.

Super Mario Odyssey

5 Games That Have Been Critical to The Nintendo Switch’s Early Success

If there’s one game that’s absolutely guaranteed to be a system seller, it’s going to be a new mainline Mario game. The big N seized the opportunity during the Nintendo Switch’s first year and popped out Super Mario Odyssey, a game in which you can control a frog. While that might sound a bit underwhelming, people went crazy over the Mario’s latest ability – the power to capture and control his enemies.

Super Mario Odyssey follows Mario on yet another journey to rescue Peach, who is being forced into marriage by none other than Bowser. In an attempt to stop him, the plumber teams up with a new ally, a cap named Cappy who has the ability to let Mario take control of all sorts of things. This opened up a completely new way to play, offering over 50 new characters to capture, each coming with their own abilities. From Cheep Cheeps to Coin Coffers, Mario had an expansive list of new skills he could use to explore the ends of each kingdom.

Similar to the other entries in the series, Super Mario Odyssey also features collectibles in the form of Power Moons. To explore new kingdoms, you’ll need to power your ship with these moons which are hidden in each part of the map. Oh, and did we mention that there are more or less 900 Power Moons to collect?

With all these new mechanics and more, it isn’t all too surprising as to why Super Mario Odyssey became such a major hit. As if releasing the game wasn’t enough, Nintendo even took things a step further by releasing a Nintendo Switch bundle that came with exclusive red Joy-Cons. As of April 2018, this Nintendo Switch game has reached 10 million sales.

Skyrim

5 Games That Have Been Critical to The Nintendo Switch’s Early Success

If there’s one thing that divides to Nintendo Switch from the Wii U, it’s third-party support. Nintendo has always been a bit finicky when it comes to third-party games on their consoles, but it seems like the Switch has been a big turning point for the company. In just last year, we’ve seen a good handful of amazing titles from developers such as Bethesda, Capcom, Ubisoft, Square Enix, and Nippon Ichi Software.

One particular game that really stood out from the third-party crowd was none other than Skyrim. Yes, we’re well aware that Skyrim is a seven-year-old game that ran on the PS3, but you can’t deny the convenience that comes with the Nintendo Switch’s portability. Having Skyrim on the go was a huge game changer, letting you take the adventure wherever you go. More importantly, however, was the fact that running an enhanced version of Skyrim on the Nintendo Switch is a good sign for the console. Bethesda’s role-playing game on the Switch was a solid step towards building a better third-party library and proved that the console was more than capable of running demanding games, even in tablet form.

In fact, Bethesda’s been a solid Nintendo Switch supporter since porting over DOOM and Skyrim. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is slated to arrive later this month, and it seems like we can expect more games in the future.

Splatoon 2

5 Games That Have Been Critical to The Nintendo Switch’s Early Success

The Splatoon series hit it off pretty well on the Wii U, managing to attract a pretty large fan base with its colorful cast of characters and gameplay mechanics. While some may argue that Nintendo’s IP might have felt wasted on the Wii U, Nintendo was quick to bring their party shooter over to the Nintendo Switch.

Instead of making a port, however, the developers decided to make a full-on sequel with more guns, maps, fashion, and an all-new story mode. Gameplay stayed fairly the same, with the addition of a new Salmon Run mode that has players teaming up in frantic fights against waves of Salmonids. With Splatoon 2’s massive popularity in Japan, it’s pretty easy to see why fans flocked over to buying the console. In celebration of the game’s launch, the company even released two new colors for the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons, including a brand new bundle with the game.

Not to mention that one big reason why players continue to ink up the battlefield is thanks to the constant free updates. Nintendo continues to shell out new weapons and maps as DLC, and they even released a completely new expansion pack called the Octo Expansion. This Nintendo Switch managed to surpass the 2 million sales mark in Japan and continues to grow with the ongoing support from both fans and developers.