Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 certainly came as a surprise when Nintendo announced it last year. It's a sequel to an action RPG series that hasn't had a new entry in years, not from the original developer, and published by Nintendo as a first party Switch exclusive. Nintendo often produces and publishes niche, strange, and left-field projects to help bolster their console's library, creating variety on the system. But Ultimate Alliance 3 I think is the most un-Nintendo thing they've done in years. Firstly, it's a Marvel game, a brand that's predomedently western. Nintendo's produced niche Japanese games before, but this feels like an attempt at catering directly to western gamers. It's also a licensed game. While Nintendo's done licensed works before, with the Popeye arcade game, and the Hamtaro Game Boy titles, they mainly stick to their own homegrown creations. So Ultimate Alliance 3 does come as a surprise in that regard.
When Nintendo picks up games like this, it's mainly to appeal to hardcore Nintendo fans who want something a bit different. Think Xenoblade, Astral Chain, Bayonetta, etc. But Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 is one of those games that feels like Nintendo trying to appeal to non-Nintendo fans. It's use of a popular Western brand, and it being a sequel to a cult western RPG series, appears as though Nintendo is trying to use this game to cater explicitly towards western gamers than its diehard fans. Personally, I'm not complaining. Nintendo's been lacking in this area for a while now, so if the success of this leads to stuff like another Eternal Darkness or a new Western oriented IP, then I'm down.
