The Switch is my favorite console of all time. Its portability, its crowd of indie games all more interesting than each other, its excellent games, it has everything to please (except a tripod that may be).
But we must admit that so far, 2020 has supported the critics of the console who say that there are no games on Switch. Where are the big exclusives?
Mystery and gumdrop.
THE release of the year, Animal Crossing
We can’t say that Nintendo hasn’t launched anything this year. Indeed, on March 20, the Kyoto firm launched THE pandemic game, Animal Crossing.
The title was exceptionally successful, with 5 million copies sold digitally in less than a month, a record. It almost seems like people feel the need for a small, normal refuge where everything is always fine.
But afterwards, what are the next headlines to come, if you are one of the people who, like me, are not charmed by the Animal Crossing proposal (I know, I just committed a sacrilege).
There is Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, a remaster of the title of Wii which will rediscover the adventures of Shulk with less hideous graphics on May 29.
But after?
Upcoming announcements?
At the start of the year, when people noted that Nintendo had few titles announced for 2020, I was one of those who weren’t too worried.
I was confident that the focus was on the release of Animal Crossing, and that the games for summer and fall would be announced soon.
Except that we’re now in May, and nothing has been announced. I don’t want Nintendo to like announcing its titles too far in advance, but it seems more and more that Xenoblade will be the only notable release of the summer on Switch. We are far from last summer which brought us Super Mario Maker 2, Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Astral Chain.
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The great drought of Nintendo Direct
To add fuel to the fire, we learned this week that Nintendo would have canceled its Nintendo Direct scheduled for June during what would have been E3 if 2020 had not been a long endless apocalypse.
The coronavirus also complicates the task of Nintendo, which would have chosen to postpone its presentation until the end of the summer.
This is understandable, of course, but it is all the more unfortunate for Nintendo fans, who have not been spoiled in terms of Directs this year. We were treated to a mini-direct in March, but he was stingy with the big announcements, even if he came after more than 180 days of absence.
Rumors of upcoming games
So, what lies ahead for the rest of the year?
There is a growing rumor that Nintendo is releasing revised versions of Mario’s 3D episodes to celebrate the famous plumber’s 35th birthday.
We dream about it, especially since Super Mario 3D World is perhaps the best Mario game that (almost) no one has played.
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If not, let me venture to predict that the Zelda sequel, unveiled at E3 last year, will be released for the holiday season. After a meager year in outings, and faced with the release of new consoles from its competitors, Nintendo may want to score a big blow.
And hard to beat than one of the most popular games of all time.
But please, Nintendo, give us news. Your silence is on the verge of making me lose my mind!
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