I think the ongoing Software Lineup has a lot to do with this.
The following table includes games that have either sold 5+ million copies and/or were among the Top 10 best-selling games on their respective platforms (becaause we need to show some Wii U games). I'm also bolding best-sellers for each system.
DS | Wii | 3DS | Wii U | Switch | |
Year 1 | Big Brain Academy Brain Age Mario Kart DS Nintendogs Super Mario 64 DS | Legend of Zelda: TP LEGO Star Wars: Complete Saga Mario Party 8 Super Mario Galaxy Wii Play Wii Sports | Legend of Zelda: OoT 3D Mario Kart 7 Super Mario 3D Land | Legend of Zelda: WW HD New Super Luigi U New Super Mario Bros U Nintendo Land | Legend of Zelda: BotW Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Splatoon 2 Super Mario Odyssey |
Year 2 | Animal Crossing: Wild World Brain Age 2 Cooking Mama New Super Mario Bros Pokemon Diamond/Pearl | Link's Crossbow Training Mario Kart Wii Super Smash Bros Brawl Wii Fit | Animal Crossing: New Leaf New Super Mario Bros 2 | Mario Kart 8 Super Mario 3D World Super Smash Bros Wii U | New Super Mario Bros U DX Pokemon: Let's Go Super Mario Party Super Smash Bros Ultimate |
Year 3 | Mario & Sonic 2008 Mario Party DS Pokemon Platinum | New Super Mario Bros Wii Wii Fit Plus Wii Sports Resort | Luigi's Mansion 2 Pokemon X/Y Tomodachi Life | Mario Party 10 Splatoon Super Mario Maker | Luigi's Mansion 3 Pokemon SS Ring Fit Adventure Super Mario Maker 2 |
Year 4 | Dragon Quest IX Pokemon HGSS | Donkey Kong Country Returns Just Dance 2 Super Mario Galaxy 2 Wii Party | Pokemon ORAS Super Smash Bros 3DS | Animal Crossing: NH Super Mario 3D All-Stars Hyrule Warriors: AoC (Tentative) |
Year 1 is "the year following launch day" and so on, which I chose because otherwise the 3DS and Switch with their Q1 launches would look strange next to the other systems and their Q4 launches.
Note that the DS peaked circa years 3/4, the Wii circa Year 2/3, the 3DS year 2, and the Wii U in Year 2. The Switch seems to have peaked in Year 4. Also note that some games were delayed in some regions.
A few things I notice from this
- The DS's peaking in its third and fourth years makes sense when you realize that many of the games listed in Year 2 were released later than that in the West, including Pokemon DP and Brain Age 2.
- The Wii peaked in the years where three of its five big games came out, with only the launch window titles of Wii Sports and Wii Play not coming out in this timespan.
- The 3DS peaked in 2012, by the end of which all its biggest titles besides Pokemon were out.
- The Wii U peaked the year it got its three big non-bundled games.
- The Switch has both its best-selling titles and its 5+ million sellers in general fairly evenly spread across its entire life so far. The main exceptions are the DS, which doesn't introduce any of its top sellers after Year 2, and the 3DS, which relies on Pokemon games for Years 3, 4, and 6, likely not attracting new audiences.
Love and tolerate.