Early Lineups: 3DS in 2011 vs Switch in 2017

[Salnax]

Earlier, I wanted to make a comparison between the early lineups of the Wii U and Switch. But looking into the matter, I noticed that there are some interesting parallels to the 3DS. Its release date was also early in the year, and the Switch's early 3rd Party support seems at least as reminescent of early 3DS support as early Wii U support. Besides, I've heard people compare the two systems' launches a few times recently.  So I'm going to compare the Switch with the 3DS first.

First, lets look at Nintendo's lineups for the 3DS and Switch

	3DS (2011)	Switch (2017)
Launch & Q1	Nintendogs + cats Pilotwings Resort Steel Diver	Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 1, 2, Switch
Q2	Ocarina of Time 3D 3DS Virtual Console, 3D Classics	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Arms
Q3	Star Fox 64 3D	Splatoon 2
Q4	Pokemon Rumble Blast Super Mario 3D Land Mario Kart 7 Freakyforms, Pushmo, etc	Fire Emblem Warriors Super Mario Odyssey
TBD		Xenoblade Chronicles 2

As seen above, both the 3DS and Switch are launching with a single "major" game from Nintendo along with one/two "lesser" games. What's more interesting is that Nintendo seems to have learned from the 3DS. Rather than having a barebones Spring, with only an admitttedly high profile remake to liven things up, there are two major Q2 releases for the Switch. Furthermore, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is coming as early as April, whereas Arms seems to be a likely June release. And during the summer, whereas the 3DS only saw another N64 remake, the Switch is getting Splatoon 2. Admittedly, the Switch seems unlikely to have the stellar Holiday lineup the 3DS had in 2011, but things are better paced.

 

Third Parties

	3DS (2011)	Switch (2017)
Q1	Super Street Fighter IV 3D LEGO Star Wars III Professor Layton (Japan)	Super Bomberman R Just Dance 2017 Puyo Puyo Tetris
Q2	Dead or Alive: Dimensions Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D	LEGO City Undercover
Q3	FIFA, licensed games...	Skyrim NBA 2K, FIFA, etc
Q4	Monster Hunter 3 (Japan) Sonic Generations Inazuma Eleven Go (Japan)	Sonic 2017
TBD		Dragon Quest XI Minecraft Yooka Laylee

Comparing 3rd party support is somewhat harder, both because of the rising importance of digital exclusives (which the 3DS lacked for months at launch) and because many games were unrevealed at this relative point in the 3DS's life. Monster Hunter 3, for example, was only announced for the 3DS in September. That said, early indicators suggest that although the 3DS had more retail games in its earliest days, including a port of Street Fighter, neither it or the Switch will have many big hitters until at least Q3. However, with the eventual release of games like Minecraft, Skyrim, and Dragon Quest XI, the Switch will likely have at least one big third party hit before the year ends. Also, note that there's a Sonic game late in the year for both the 3DS and Switch.

 

Any thought? Is comparing the lineupes like this just a waste of time?