Let's put it this way. Nintendo's own financial data indicates that first-party software sales are in any given quarter consistently between 70% to 90% of all software sales. That by itself should indicate how dependent Nintendo is on their own first-party output. While exclusives are still important for any console brand, they are absolutely the lifeblood of Nintendo consoles.
Also, let's look at it from a different angle. The list of best-selling games on the Switch is dominated by Nintendo titles. Here's every multi-million seller to date:
| Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | 57,010,000 | Nintendo |
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 43,380,000 | Nintendo |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | 32,440,000 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | 31,150,000 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario Odyssey | 26,950,000 | Nintendo |
| Pokémon Sword and Shield | 26,020,000 |
The Pokémon Company & |
| Pokémon Scarlet and Violet | 23,230,000 |
The Pokémon Company & |
| Super Mario Party | 19,660,000 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | 19,500,000 | Nintendo |
| New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe | 16,700,000 | Nintendo |
| Ring Fit Adventure | 15,380,000 | Nintendo |
| Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!and Let's Go, Eevee! | 15,070,000 |
The Pokémon Company & Nintendo |
| Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl | 15,060,000 |
The Pokémon Company & |
| Pokémon Legends: Arceus | 14,830,000 |
The Pokémon Company & |
| Splatoon 2 | 13,600,000 | Nintendo |
| Luigi's Mansion 3 | 12,820,000 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury | 12,580,000 | Nintendo |
| Mario Party Superstars | 11,440,000 | Nintendo |
| Nintendo Switch Sports | 10,770,000 | Nintendo |
| Splatoon 3 | 10,670,000 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario 3D All-Stars | 9,070,000 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario Maker 2 | 8,420,000 | Nintendo |
| Monster Hunter Rise | 7,700,000 | Capcom |
| Kirby and the Forgotten Land | 6,960,000 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | 6,460,000 | Nintendo |
| Minecraft | 5,030,000 |
|
| Suika Game | 5,000,000 | Aladdin X |
| Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics | 4,640,000 | Nintendo |
| Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | 4,620,000 | Nintendo |
| Mario Tennis Aces | 4,500,000 | Nintendo |
| Kirby Star Allies | 4,380,000 | Nintendo |
| Super Mario Bros. Wonder | 4,300,000 | Nintendo |
| The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD | 4,150,000 | Nintendo |
| Fire Emblem: Three Houses | 4,120,000 | Nintendo |
| Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity | 4,000,000 |
|
| Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa Mo Teiban! | 4,000,000 |
|
| 1-2-Switch | 3,740,000 | Nintendo |
| Paper Mario: The Origami King | 3,470,000 | Nintendo |
| Yoshi's Crafted World | 3,350,000 | Nintendo |
| Among Us | 3,200,000 | Innersloth |
| Metroid Dread | 3,070,000 | Nintendo |
| New Pokémon Snap | 2,740,000 |
|
| Arms | 2,720,000 | Nintendo |
| Xenoblade Chronicles 2 | 2,700,000 | Nintendo |
| Pikmin 4 | 2,610,000 | Nintendo |
| Mario Strikers: Battle League | 2,540,000 | Nintendo |
| Mario Golf: Super Rush | 2,480,000 | Nintendo |
| Dragon Ball FighterZ | 2,430,000 | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Pikmin 3 Deluxe | 2,400,000 | Nintendo |
| Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker | 2,350,000 | Nintendo |
| Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun! | 2,270,000 | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Octopath Traveler | 2,160,000 |
|
Out of 52 games on this list, only seven were neither developed by Nintendo nor were based on a Nintendo IP. The remaining 45 games on that list amount to 528.05M copies, or 46.6% of the Switch's total software sales. And that's just 45 games! There are a lot more Nintendo games on the Switch than what's on this list.
No matter how you look at it, first-party titles represent an absolutely massive share for software sales on Nintendo systems, and they utterly dominate the best-sellers list on Nintendo systems as well. This is well beyond what you see with first-party titles on PlayStation or Xbox.
SOURCES
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2019/190131_2e.pdf
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2020/200507_4e.pdf
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/91457/nintendo-made-27-billion-from-first-party-games-across-switchs-lifespan/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_Switch_video_games
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In accordance to the VGC forum rules, §8.5, I hereby exercise my right to demand to be left alone regarding the subject of the effects of the pandemic on video game sales (i.e., "COVID bump").
