During the one-hour presentation on Wednesday, Nintendo fired two buyers at two buyers, including information about the new console and its game, including a port torrent from a third-party publisher. But once the dust settled, it was easy to succumb to the creeping anxiety. Where was the title of Nintendo’s first party launch? Mario Kart World It looks good, but is it $79.99?
Yes, no. Depending on how you define a launch game and how you define a Switch 2 game, Switch 2 will launch with 1-9 Nintendo games. You don’t need to extend these definitions to absolute limits and realize that Switch 2 is booting up with relatively strong first-party support compared to Nintendo’s past systems. However, it is true that Nintendo is approaching this launch in a slightly different way.
First, a bit of a historical perspective: in the last 20 years or so, the new Nintendo consoles have only started with two or three first-party games. For example, there was on the switch The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 1-2 Switchand SnipperClipsa small eShop game. Plus, there was clearly a murderer on the Wii. Zelda: Twilight Princess and Wii Sports Double Header; DS is a more suspicious pairing Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime Hunts: First Hunt.
As for the exclusive Nintendo game, Switch 2 has two titles on the first day. Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. However, the latter is a virtual guide dedicated to hardware downloads that most people don’t consider a complete boot title. So yes, compared to previous systems, it looks a bit light.
But consider Donkey Kong Bananzascheduled to be released on July 17th – just six weeks after the console’s release. This is clearly a major Nintendo platformer, and given what we know about the conservative approach to completing Nintendo’s games and setting a release date, it appears they’re ready to hit the June 5th launch date if they want. (It may be finished already.)
It’s possible that Nintendo has shifted BananzaThe launch dates back as a deliberate marketing strategy. Perhaps it’s to extend the hype window beyond launches and probably cover a second inventory. Or maybe you’re not worried about it Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza Both are major titles, so if they launch together they may even have cannibalism with each other. This is the important point. If you consider it Bananza The launch title, and I think it’s right, then Switch 2 will be released with the best two exclusive Nintendo games. This is definitely the first one.
First-party support for Switch 2 goes further when you consider two editions of existing Switch games. The system boots with an enhanced version The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The tears of the kingdomIt continued quickly in July Super Mario Party Jamboreereceived quite extensive updates tailored to the GameChat feature on the console and camera. In August, Nintendo will release an expanded version Kirby and the Forgotten Land With a completely new storyline. Some of these upgrades, especially the Mario Party and Kirby Release, seem to be very large enough to compare to the Deluxe Switch version of the Wii U game Mario Map 8 and New Super Mario Bros u.
(By including three GameCube Reissues in NintEndo Switch Online, you can only reach nine first-party launch games. The Legend of Zelda: Windowwaker, Soulcalibur 2and f-zero gx. This is pushing it forward, I’ll admit, but I’m sure these will be some of my most played games in my first few weeks on the new console. )
Throughout the rest of 2025, we will get Drag the x drive, Hyrule Warriors: age of imprisonment, Kirby Air Riderand toggle between 2 editions Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and The Legend of Pokemon: ZA. Overall, beyond Switch 2 Exclusives and Switch 2 Editions, Nintendo announced 12 titles in person in 2025 on Wednesday.
That’s a lot of games anyway. (Indeed, compare it to the first-party support given to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 in the first nine months on the market.) That looks different as Nintendo chooses to broaden its release date, so the Switch 2 edition is a more spreading concept than the ports and remasters registered on the console before Nintendo stock. Nintendo is certainly hedging a bit of bets in the two biggest games of 2025. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and The Legend of Pokemon: ZAit also comes to the switch. But switching between two first-party support is much stronger than you initially saw, even if you cut it.
