TheMisterManGuy on 25 March 2025
At its core, the Nintendo Switch is the merger of Nintendo's home console and handheld lines, being a console that you can play on your TV, or anywhere you go. Various elements of both lineages were present all throughout the Switch generation, and this consolidation allowed the Switch to have a much more consistent stream of releases over a long period of time compared to many of Nintendo's past consoles, blending elements from its handheld and home console libraries in unique ways.
But what if Nintendo was still running two separate platforms? What would the Switch library look like if it was arbitrarily divided up between separate a home and handheld console again?
As far as first party content goes, Most of the Wii U ports and GameCube/Wii/3DS remasters such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and Pikmin 3 Deluxe would probably go to the handheld, as Nintendo often preferred to re-release their older home console games on its portable systems. The Switch also had some franchises that had both a "handheld-esque" entry, and a "home console style" entry. WarioWare, Metroid, and Zelda are all examples of this. So games like WarioWare: Get It Together!, Metroid Dread, and Zelda Link's Awakening Remake and Echoes of Wisdom would be on the handheld. And games such as Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the Pokemon and Kirby games, and some of the Nintendo Labo kits, would all be handheld exclusive.
So that would leave the Home console side with Super Mario Odyssey, BotW and TotK, Pikmin 4, Nintendo Switch Sports, Ring Fit Adventure, the rest of the Labo, and others. Which means Nintendo would have to create console versions of the missing franchises, or just leave them blank. Games like Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Mario Bros. Wonder could honestly go either way as console or handheld entries too.
Third party support is where it becomes very interesting. The Switch has the best third party support of any post-SNES Nintendo system. But one big reason for that is because the system inherited the third party relations and support from Nintendo's handhelds. Many franchises heavily present on GBA/DS/3DS, continued in some way shape or form on the Switch via either remakes, remasters/ports/compilations, or straight up brand new entries. And the system got a lot of conversions of PS4/XBO titles, as well as remasters of PS3/360 era games.
Bringing PS/Xbox-dominant console franchises/games to weaker Nintendo handheld hardware was a very common practice among third parties during the GBA and DS days, and the Switch continued that trend. Games that also would've been exclusive to Nintendo/PlayStation handhelds before such as with Unicorn Overlord or the Atelier series, are now multi-platform with home consoles and PC as well. So I believe a lot of these games would go to the handheld side, since remasters of older console games, "impossible ports" of current gen games, AA/niche Japanese games, and indie games are seen as more acceptable/impressive on a handheld than they are on a home console.
The home console side probably still would've been a step up from the Wii U in terms of support. But seeing as the Switch already misses most of the big graphics-heavy AAA titles, the situation wouldn't be much different from Nintendo's past home consoles, in that it'd primarily be a Nintendo box with a little third party content. At best, it'd probably look like the Nintendo GameCube and Wii, where it would get the bare essentials (Minecraft, Fortnite, Sports games, Just Dance, etc.) some late/gimped ports of games from PS/Xbox, shovelware, and a few exclusive bones here and there.
But what if Nintendo was still running two separate platforms? What would the Switch library look like if it was arbitrarily divided up between separate a home and handheld console again?
As far as first party content goes, Most of the Wii U ports and GameCube/Wii/3DS remasters such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and Pikmin 3 Deluxe would probably go to the handheld, as Nintendo often preferred to re-release their older home console games on its portable systems. The Switch also had some franchises that had both a "handheld-esque" entry, and a "home console style" entry. WarioWare, Metroid, and Zelda are all examples of this. So games like WarioWare: Get It Together!, Metroid Dread, and Zelda Link's Awakening Remake and Echoes of Wisdom would be on the handheld. And games such as Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the Pokemon and Kirby games, and some of the Nintendo Labo kits, would all be handheld exclusive.
So that would leave the Home console side with Super Mario Odyssey, BotW and TotK, Pikmin 4, Nintendo Switch Sports, Ring Fit Adventure, the rest of the Labo, and others. Which means Nintendo would have to create console versions of the missing franchises, or just leave them blank. Games like Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Mario Bros. Wonder could honestly go either way as console or handheld entries too.
Third party support is where it becomes very interesting. The Switch has the best third party support of any post-SNES Nintendo system. But one big reason for that is because the system inherited the third party relations and support from Nintendo's handhelds. Many franchises heavily present on GBA/DS/3DS, continued in some way shape or form on the Switch via either remakes, remasters/ports/compilations, or straight up brand new entries. And the system got a lot of conversions of PS4/XBO titles, as well as remasters of PS3/360 era games.
Bringing PS/Xbox-dominant console franchises/games to weaker Nintendo handheld hardware was a very common practice among third parties during the GBA and DS days, and the Switch continued that trend. Games that also would've been exclusive to Nintendo/PlayStation handhelds before such as with Unicorn Overlord or the Atelier series, are now multi-platform with home consoles and PC as well. So I believe a lot of these games would go to the handheld side, since remasters of older console games, "impossible ports" of current gen games, AA/niche Japanese games, and indie games are seen as more acceptable/impressive on a handheld than they are on a home console.
The home console side probably still would've been a step up from the Wii U in terms of support. But seeing as the Switch already misses most of the big graphics-heavy AAA titles, the situation wouldn't be much different from Nintendo's past home consoles, in that it'd primarily be a Nintendo box with a little third party content. At best, it'd probably look like the Nintendo GameCube and Wii, where it would get the bare essentials (Minecraft, Fortnite, Sports games, Just Dance, etc.) some late/gimped ports of games from PS/Xbox, shovelware, and a few exclusive bones here and there.
