Exclusive games have gradually become a thing of the past for PlayStation and Xbox. Over the past console generation, we have seen both giants embrace PC ports of first-party titles and entertaining ports to rival platforms that felt unimaginable just a few short years ago.
Xbox is likely going to leave the console landscape behind before long, while the budget and development time of triple-A experiences nowadays means to recoup costs you want games to be released on as many platforms as possible. While there are also elements of preservation we need to consider, as last week’s Direct saw PlayStation exclusives Everybody’s Golf and the glorious Patapon announced for Nintendo Switch. Things are changing in big ways. That is, unless you’re Nintendo.
Nintendo Switch 2 Already Has Exclusives Worth Buying The Console For
The PS5, for all its faults, was dealt a bad hand at launch. It was released during the height of a pandemic and, as a consequence, was incredibly hard to get hold of for months. It felt like you were living on a prayer trying to find one even a full year after its initial release. What we’d expected to be a honeymoon period of excellent exclusives and third-party titles was a quiet lull in which the only games worth buying the console for were Astro’s Playroom or the criminally underappreciated Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. There’s also Demon’s Souls, but such a remake feels like it appeals more to a niche audience than the mainstream masses.
Exclusive titles would follow, like Final Fantasy 16 and Spider-Man 2, but there was also the distant possibility of a PC port that kept thousands of potential players on the edge instead of taking the plunge. It hurt PlayStation, and turned what used to be a marquee console into just another platform. Yes, it’s the most popular, but I would struggle to find a game that I would cough up hundreds of pounds just to play on it. That just isn’t the case when it comes to consoles anymore. Well, that’s what I thought until the Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed. It has already showcased a number of titles I am opening my wallet for and then some.
Mario Kart World and The Duskbloods Are Going To Sell Consoles
Let’s start with Mario Kart World, which somehow manages to improve on what was already the greatest kart racer ever made. And, to my surprise at least, it will be exclusive to Switch 2. I expected this game to straddle the line between generations after Deluxe sold millions of copies, but it has instead been decided to make this new entry a technical showcase for the new console with far more characters on the track and an entire open world to explore between Grands Prix and similar challenges. It looks incredible and likely feels even better to play.
You have to respect this level of bravery – and the nerve to sell it for $80 – because this could have easily been a risk-free venture that supported both consoles and held itself back for no good reason, but it’s instead going full-hog and will be so much better for it. Nintendo has also decided to bundle Mario Kart World with the console itself if you shell out a few pennies extra, meaning the majority of Switch 2 owners are going to be playing this title on release.
The Duskbloods makes me wonder what else Nintendo might have up its sleeve in the months to come. I doubt it would stop at one high-profile third-party exclusive.
Looking forward to the future, however, we have The Duskbloods by FromSoftware. Like so many others watching the Direct this week, I expected this title to be a multiplatform release that would be available on everything. Nope, it’s a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki that is basically a spiritual successor to Bloodborne. You got me, here’s my giant pile of money. This is a move I don’t think anybody expected Nintendo to pull, and in one fell swoop, it positions it as the only console worth caring about in the years to come.
While The Switch 2 Enhanced Editions Are Icing On The Cake
I’m not surprised that Nintendo is going to charge for enhanced editions of existing titles on the Switch 2, although certain upgrades will be available on NSO. What I’m most excited for is Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which are both set to run and look better, all thanks to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second support. These technical additions are all well and good, but I’m most excited about how the ‘Zelda Notes’ feature will be adding new lore through audio logs and journals found across the open world. It adds more to a place that I have long been in love with, and now there is even more substance to play around with.
This sets a precedent for the Switch 2, and hopefully such mechanical and narrative additions will become commonplace for enhanced titles in the months and years to come. I’d be fine with them looking and playing better, especially considering how often the original console fell short, but this takes things to the next level. Combine that with exclusives you can’t find anywhere else, and it puts the Nintendo Switch 2 in a position I never expected it to be in.
- Brand
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Nintendo
- Operating System
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Proprietary
- Storage
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256GB internal / MicroSD
- Resolution
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1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)