Like with any system, you’re going to have people with unrealistic expectations but anyone looking at it logically is going to think overall it’s been a really solid first year.
Hardware-it’s a full generational leap over Switch, bigger screen, more storage, bigger/more comfortable Joy-Cons, some neat new features like Mouse controls & GameChat.
Price-it’s expensive but so are PS5 ($600-900), Xbox ($400-800), Steam Deck ($790-950), Rog Ally ($600-1000), flagship smartphones ($800+) and gaming PCs ($1000+). At $500 it’s one of the cheaper options for playing high end games.
3rd Party Support-Whereas Switch support started slow and grew over time, 3rd parties seem to be on board from the get go and even improved where Switch left off. More AAA titles are releasing day and date with the competition along with the return of games like Madden & Call of Duty which skipped Nintendo platforms for well over a decade.
1st Party Output-This is the area where people can really get delusional about what is possible and expect a mega release every month. It started with the 1-2 punch of Mario Kart at launch and Donkey Kong in the launch window, since then it’s been a steady stream of exclusives, cross-gen titles and updated ports.
Here’s the full Nintendo lineup in the 12 months from June 2025 to May 2026
Exclusives
June 5-Mario Kart World
July 17-Donkey Kong Bananza
November 6-Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
November 20-Kirby Air Riders
February 12-Mario Tennis Fever
March 5-Pokemon Pokopia
May 21-Yoshi and the Mysterious Book
Cross-Gen
October 16-Pokemon Legends ZA
December 4-Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Updated Ports
June 5-Breath of the Wild
June 5-Tears of the Kingdom
July 24-Super Mario Party Jamboree
August 28-Kirby and the Forgotten Land
January 15-Animal Crossing: New Horizons
February 19-Xenoblade Chronicles X
March 26-Super Mario Bros Wonder
Via Backwards Compatibility
October 2-Super Mario Galaxy 1+2
April 16-Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
eShop
June 5-Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
August 14-Drag x Drive
You can’t rationally look at that list and think Switch 2 had a poor first year.
When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.
