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Kai_Mao on 05 July 2023
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Can’t say for sure what’s Nintendo’s first party lineup for the Switch successor’s launch. My best guess would be:

- New 3D Mario: Whether it would be a sequel to Odyssey or an entirely new concept, Nintendo knows that they need a big first party title to lead the way. Zelda TOTK would already be old news by 2024 (assuming that’s the launch year) and a GOTY version of TOTK won’t really turn heads the way an entirely new Zelda would (unless TOTK somehow acts like MK8D and sells like crazy over time on the successor).
- Mario Kart 9 (or whatever the next one will be titled): MK8D has proven to be a go-to title for new consumers. Where MK9 will go remains to be seen, but Nintendo should realize that a big title like Mario Kart can’t wait too long to release in a console’s lifespan.
- Metroid Prime 4: at this point, I can see Prime 4 be a cross-Gen title. To fulfill the promise that it would come to Switch and to be that hardcore title that consumers seek during the launch of the next system. I’m not sure that, despite the hype, Prime 4 can be a system seller like BOTW, Smash, Splatoon, Animal Crossing, or Pokémon, but I can see it reach 4-5 million to be the best selling Metroid game ever, which is kinda tough for Metroid fans who’ve long wanted Metroid to be recognized as that third pillar in Nintendo’s arsenal of franchises.
- Some random new IP: We’ve seen Wii Sports, Nintendoland, and 1-2 Switch as among new IPs that launched with their respective systems (though 1-2 Switch was never bundled, funny enough). I can see Nintendo emphasize the new features of the next system with an out there title.
- A Nintendo musou title: I can see it happen. Whether it would be Xenoblade, Mario, Pokemon, or another Nintendo franchise, I can see it happen during the launch period.

Other than that, I’m not sure. Smash is hard to gauge since Ultimate just finished its DLC a couple of years ago and we’re not sure if Sakurai will come back to it or who would even take the reins of Smash after him. Zelda just got TOTK this year so expecting a big title next year is not feasible. Though a smaller Zelda title isn’t out of the question in a year or two. Pokémon may follow similar patterns when the 3DS and Switch launched, just release a title on DS and 3DS, respectively, before taking the next step onto the successor. Hopefully the Switch successor is backwards compatible so the next Pokémon won’t have to stay on Switch during the launch year. Any other IP can be on the successor. We’ll just have to find out.

My big question would be what third party devs will be on board from the jump?
The Switch had some nice smaller third party titles, indies, Mario+Rabbids, and Skyrim in 2017 with some surprises like Doom and Wolfenstein announced in the September 2017 direct. You’d think that by now, third parties would be more on board with a potential switch successor (especially Japanese devs), but I’m not sure if I should hold my breath. I would like to see games like Tales of Arise, Street Fighter VI, Tekken 8, King of Fighters XV, Final Fantasy VII Remake (if the successor can’t get XVI for one reason or another), Dragon Quest XII, etc.

It’s hard because we’ve seen the Switch be a runaway success and games like Monster Hunter Rise, Stories 2, Octopath, Triangle Strategy, Live a Live, DQXIS, Doom, and even The Witcher 3 did well on Switch even under Nintendo’s big shadow. But it took so long to see more original titles (or big titles in general), come to Switch. I get specs and power are factors, but if the rumors are true regarding the successor’s specs and DLSS, then I should expect more big titles (from last Gen to current) to be possible on Switch. But I just can’t help but think that even if the Switch successor does well, that third parties won’t bother releasing bigger titles on the system. Why did the Switch just get a Street Fighter anniversary collection after Ultra Street Fighter II? Why just a Tales of Vesperia remake? I know big Japanese third parties are focusing on the West, but the Switch has shown that you can do really well in all regions. The Switch has Japan in the palm of its hands, but I guess like some users here and other forums, some of the big Japanese third party devs don’t give a damn.

Sorry for the long post/rant.