The Swap goes out with a bang. Forward of the seemingly reveal of the Nintendo handheld hybrid’s successor subsequent yr, the getting old {hardware} continued receiving a tremendous slate of latest video games in 2023, together with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the most effective entries up to now within the long-running fantasy journey sequence. Final yr, the Swap felt prefer it was quietly fading away. 2023 proved that the barebones console nonetheless had just a few extra tips up its sleeve, displaying as soon as once more why it’s one of the crucial beloved gaming machines ever made.
The story of the Swap these final six years has been a easy one: make superb video games and gamers will present up. Reasonably priced {hardware} that prioritized comfort over specs proved you don’t want teraflops and nice on-line play to promote a console, simply an open-world Zelda or two and a dependable drip-feed of different stellar first-party exclusives. What’s exceptional in regards to the Swap will not be how a lot it’s grown since 2017 however how little it’s modified. In 2023 it nearly seems like we’ve come full circle once more, with Nintendo neglecting each expectation of a contemporary gaming platform whereas it as a substitute tinkers away on new hits.
That’s to not say that the famed Japanese recreation firm has retreated into itself. It’s accomplished something however that, branching out into films, theme parks, and new toy crossovers. However 2023’s stacked launch calendar did purchase Nintendo some further time and goodwill whereas it brushes off myriad questions on a Swap 2, backwards compatibility, and what the hell ever occurred to Metroid Prime 4. An outdated pill working on a 2015 graphics chip nonetheless had some fuel left within the tank in spite of everything.
The console itself is identical because it ever was. As an alternative of latest peripherals, equipment, or up to date {hardware}, Nintendo launched particular version Tears of the Kingdom and Mario OLED Switches. The software program was equally untouched. Regardless of six firmware updates, the Swap acquired no significant new software program options in 2023. One thing so simple as customized backgrounds are nonetheless MIA and celebration chat stays unique to the cellular app for a lot of video games. The third-party social hub Discord was totally built-in into PlayStation and Xbox this yr. Not on Swap, nonetheless. Like Netflix, it doesn’t look like the app is destined to return to Nintendo’s console. What did come to the hand held hybrid had been nice video games.
Zelda and Mario save the day, once more
The Swap launched in 2017 with Breath of the Wild and, later that yr, Tremendous Mario Odyssey. The star-studded lineup felt like a once-in-a-generation second of serendipity, however Nintendo managed to copy that magic to bookend the console’s lifecycle. Tears of the Kingdom wasn’t only a remix of the open-world Zelda system, it was a basic remodeling of it that made constructing a rocket ship really feel as pure as firing an arrow at a Keese. Breath of the Wild let gamers free in large, stunning landscapes stuffed with monsters and puzzles. Tears of the Kingdom took them underground and to the skies as nicely, including new verticality to a sprawling open world and taking crafting out of a menu display screen into the pure atmosphere.
Nintendo completed 2023 with Tremendous Mario Bros. Surprise, a maximalist return to the platformer’s 2D roots bursting with new mechanics, visible prospers, and memorable side-scrolling setpieces. It featured the affect of dense Tremendous Mario Maker-style stage designs and dangerous impediment programs alongside callbacks to Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 and Tremendous Mario World, culminating in a conservative crowd pleaser that nonetheless ended up being the fastest-selling recreation within the franchise’s historical past.
These tentpoles make it simple to overlook how sturdy the remainder of the Swap’s launch calendar was this yr. Issues kicked off with Hearth Emblem Engage and Metroid Prime Remastered. Pikmin 4 made an enormous splash in the summertime. Detective Pikachu Returns and Tremendous Mario RPG helped spherical out the top of the yr. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continued including new characters and tracks, whereas Pokemon Scarlet/Violet and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 each acquired sizable expansions. Swap additionally scored large with a timed unique console port of Steam sensation Dave the Diver, and variations of lots of the yr’s greatest indie video games from Dredge and Area for the Unbound to Sea of Stars and Blasphemous 2.
The one division wherein Swap stays extremely poor is ports of main third-party blockbusters. Followers are used to not getting the most recent big-budget releases like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or Diablo IV, however even the video games that do make the soar are noticeably nerfed. Deliberate Swap variations of Evil Lifeless: The Recreation, RoboCop: Rogue Metropolis, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns had been all canceled. In the meantime Hogwarts Legacy did finally arrive after an extended delay, however with severely stripped-down visuals. A shock Batman Arkham Trilogy launch was additionally a dud, with painful tradeoffs that made the gathering nearly unimaginable to advocate on the underpowered {hardware}. Clearly the wizards at Nintendo know one thing about optimizing video games for the Swap that others don’t.
Swap On-line ranges up
Nintendo’s multiplayer and retro library subscription service added Recreation Boy, Recreation Boy Colour, and Recreation Boy Advance video games in 2023, answering the prayers of followers determined to have the ability to formally entry classics like The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap and Metroid Fusion once more. The brand new video games had been added to the Enlargement Pack tier, which nonetheless prices $50 a yr at the same time as different companies have been elevating costs. The subscription additionally gave Swap homeowners entry to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s new DLC and the brand new battle royale spin-off F-Zero 99.
On condition that Swap On-line continues to be the one subscription service that doesn’t embody entry to new and up to date third-party video games, it’s onerous to say if it’s any extra “price it” in 2023 than it was when it first launched. The choice of video games has greater than doubled, with the N64 library including GoldenEye 007 and Pokémon Stadium this yr, and even the NES getting shock drops like Thriller Tower and Satan World, a Miyamoto-designed maze recreation by no means beforehand localized in North America.
On the identical time, it’s grow to be clear that the Swap On-line retro library is a double-edged sword. Customers can’t purchase the video games outright, forcing them to subscribe for the entire bundle reasonably than simply buy the few they really need to play. In addition they have to remain subscribed in the event that they don’t need to lose entry to them. Cease paying for even a month and The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Masks will get locked down once more. And video games ripe for remakes or remasters will seemingly by no means get added to the service to start with, like Tremendous Mario RPG. Last Fantasy IV and Last Fantasy VI are apparent candidates to extend the worth of Swap On-line’s SNES library, however as a result of they’re obtainable individually by the Pixel Remaster assortment, the retro library that subscribers are paying for stays woefully incomplete. After all, all this might be forgiven if Nintendo lastly added Mom 3.
Nintendo’s crackdown on leakers and followers
It’s now routine for large first-party Swap video games to leak earlier than their official launch date, get uploaded on-line, and unfold like wildfire throughout web backchannels. Followers started mining video games like Tears of the Kingdom and Tremendous Mario Bros. Surprise for secrets and techniques and spoilers over per week earlier than they had been truly obtainable. Whereas Nintendo has maintained a tough line in opposition to piracy and leaks alike, subpoenaing whole Discord servers for person information to additional its authorized case in opposition to alleged infringements, the top of the Swap’s life could also be hastened by a new round of flashcarts that might facilitate piracy.
Much more notably, Nintendo appeared to intervene to get the Dolphin GameCube and Wii emulator locked out of Valve’s Steam market. A retailer itemizing for the longstanding challenge appeared in March. By Could, nonetheless, Valve had eliminated the itemizing whereas the 2 sides labored by the authorized points. “Nintendo respects the mental property rights of different firms, and in flip expects others to do the identical,” a spokesperson for the corporate informed Kotaku on the time.
Extra shocking has been Nintendo’s obvious warfare by itself tremendous followers, from YouTubers showcasing its video games to esports execs competing in Smash Bros. Final and Splatoon 3. Breath of the Wild content material maker Eric ‘PointCrow’ Morino begged Nintendo to depart him alone after it issued copyright claims in opposition to dozens of stunt movies. The crackdown appeared to focus on movies that includes modded content material, however hit generic ones as nicely. Later within the yr, a change to Nintendo’s official competitors pointers despatched shockwaves by its aggressive communities. New guidelines appeared to outlaw grassroots tournaments and ban modified video games like Venture M, the favored fan variant of Smash Bros. Melee. It’s unclear how the obvious conflicts with current aggressive communities will get resolved, however within the meantime it seems like a serious step again for the corporate’s neighborhood outreach.
Is the Swap 2 coming in 2024?
All of this brings us to what lies in retailer for Nintendo followers subsequent yr. Whether or not it’s a Swap 2, Swap Professional, or completely new piece of {hardware} altogether, it’s onerous to think about Nintendo not displaying its new console by the beginning of its subsequent fiscal yr in April 2024. There have been experiences of developer demos behind closed doorways at Gamescom, and of {hardware} specs which may put the successor inline with the PS4 period of consoles. President Shuntaro Furukawa denied Nintendo was displaying off a brand new machine to companions forward of the vacation, however the proof continues to mount for one thing coming subsequent yr. If it doesn’t, 2024 might be the slowest yr for the Swap because it launched.
But when it does, there’s cause to hope a Swap 2 would possibly provide a extra swish transition than the Wii U did. “Our objective is to attenuate the dip you usually see within the final yr of 1 cycle and the start of one other,” Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser mentioned earlier this yr. “I can’t converse to the attainable options of a brand new platform, however the Nintendo Account is a robust foundation for having that communication as we make the transition.”
It’s onerous to think about shopping for a brand new Nintendo console and beginning out from scratch at this level. Then once more, it’s Nintendo we’re speaking about. Who is aware of if the Swap 2 will help 4K, have an OLED display screen, or perhaps a slot for Swap 1 cartridges. It won’t even launch with built-in voice chat, not to mention streaming apps. If Nintendo does go the Swap 2 route, nonetheless, it’s clear it received’t be capable to capitalize on being the one handheld on the town. With Steam, Home windows, and cloud gaming handhelds sprouting up far and wide, there’s going to be much more competitors this time round. If it continues to place out video games nearly as good as these we acquired in 2023, although, it’ll most likely just do effective.