Best first year for a Nintendo console (pre-Switch)

[curl-6]

farlaff said:

curl-6 said:

As we gear up for the first year of Switch 2, which of Nintendo's consoles before the Switch do you think had the best lineup of games in it's first 12 months, and what makes your pick worthy of the top spot?

For the record, here are some of the key titles for each:

NES (Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Excite Bike, Golf, Ice Climber, Wild Gunman, Hogan’s Alley)

SNES (Super Mario World, F-Zero, Street Fighter II, Final Fantasy IV, Contra III, Super Castlevania IV, Super Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts)

N64 (Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 007, Starfox 64, Mario Kart 64, Pilot Wings 64, Turok)

GC (Luigi’s Mansion, Pikmin, Super Smash Bros Melee, Super Mario Sunshine, Rogue Squadron II)

Wii (Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Wii Sports, Super Paper Mario, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn)

Wii U (New Super Mario Bros U, Nintendoland, Pikmin 3, Call of Duty Black Ops II, ZombiU)

I really think Street Fighter II was a second year release (third, if you count Japan - console in 1990 for JP;1991 for NA;1992 for SFII release). I actually remember the announcement and all the excitement while we were waiting for the release. Great times!

IIRC it was a second year game in Japan, but just fit into the first year of SNES in NA and Europe.

TruckOSaurus said:

SNES, Wii, N64 are all strong contenders but I think SNES would be my pick. Also, including the Wii U in this poll is cruel.

Yeah I considered not even including it tbh, maybe I shouldn't have, but maybe somebody really really likes ZombiU and Pikmin 3?

Jumpin said:

Easily the SNES and Wii. But for me, personally, the Wii by far, as it's the system I bought the most launch year games for.

Apart from the games you listed:
Super Mario Galaxy
Zelda Twilight Princess
Metroid Prime 3
Wii Sports
Super Paper Mario
Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn

I also own and liked:
Godfather: Blackhand Edition
Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles
Scarface Wii
WarioWare: Smooth Moves
SSX Blur
Tiger Woods 08 (Tiger Woods 07 also came out during launch year)
Elebits
Trauma Center
Sims 2 Castaways
The Simpsons Game
Zack and Wiki
NiGHTs
Geometry Wars
Endless Ocean
Wii Fit* (Checked up on this one, it only came out launch year in Japan)

I also enjoyed Excite Truck, Call of Duty 3, and Medal of Honour Heroes 2 from Wii's first year. 

Last edited by curl-6 - on 19 March 2025