With a new Nintendo Direct being rumoured to be dropping soon, the fans thirsty for a reveal of the rumoured Switch 2 will be salivating. Yet Nintendo has a big problem on the horizon and one that a new console will only exacerbate.
It is, in theory, an exciting time to be a Nintendo fan as an announcement seems inevitable. This will in turn bring in a swathe of reveals for exciting technology and games using it. Yet, for all the success of the Switch, it has created a bit of a ‘greatest hits’ problem.
Too much of a good job?
See, if you take Nintendo’s biggest franchises, you have Mario, then you have Zelda, and maybe one other series but either way, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros round off their top five game series. The Switch, including the games’ respective DLCs, had the ridiculously packed instalments of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. The former had a ridiculous 96 tracks, which span almost all of the greatest stages the series has seen.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is in a similar, arguably difficult state, with 89 characters in the game alongside 114 stages. Now 18 of those characters are third-party, which requires their own rights negotiations to allow them in the game. Series creator Masahiro Sakurai has spoken of the difficulty in getting some of these over the line all for one game.
The point here is that there is very little chance that Nintendo can surpass these entries in their respective series. Smash Bros, now known for being an utterly ridiculous crossover, will have to lose a lot of characters and I can’t see Nintendo surpassing 96 tracks for Mario Kart. Both games are a complete ‘greatest hits’ for their entire series so far.
Nintendo don’t have a choice, they have to try
Granted, quantity doesn’t beat quality but there was a ridiculous amount of the former without ever seemingly sacrificing the latter. It just leads to an enormous amount of pressure because whatever the next big idea for the two series is, it’ll have to be big. It’ll have to be brilliant so that it can shake off the chains of the immediate predecessor being utterly full to the brim of great content.
These are two series that are a consistent cash cow for Nintendo: As of 30 September 2023, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had sold 57.01 million units, with Smash Bros having sold 32.44 million. They’re the top and third highest-selling games on the Switch. They can’t afford to ruin or make a dud title in either series, there is just too much money in them.
You cannot underestimate the importance of these two franchises to Nintendo.
So what can they do?
Smash Bros at this stage needs a gameplay overhaul, but they’ve reached the limit on what can be done with the 2D arena fighter. A refresh into a 3D plane would allow them to reset and freshen up the gameplay. It would expand the possibilities for the move sets and also make much more sense for having a vastly reduced roster. Ultimate was a fitting title, the best incarnation of what they have and I don’t think any change like a bigger adventure mode or a fleshed-out version of Smash Run would be enough of a reinvention.
Mario Kart is even harder to pin down what more could be done. It is a light-hearted racing game through primarily Mario environment, the consistent additions to the gameplay mechanics of the series have made it feel complete. A switch to a ‘Super Smash Kart’, whereby the roster is compiled of a lot more of Nintendo’s series, might be a way forward, but that might contribute to franchise fatigue across both games. I don’t see what quirk could reinvent the tracks or the feel of racing but this writer hopes to be proven wrong.
The size of these two franchises means that simply not trying is just not an option. They have to have a go at an idea, they have to make something work. Those sales figures cannot be ignored, Nintendo needs these franchises.
So while excitement is there for whatever the Switch 2 is called, unless it’s called the Switch-U in which case I give up, there is also a concern.
Nintendo did unbelievably well with the Switch and provided some admirable experiences, but as they say, the reward for work done well is more work. Nintendo have been fantastic, now they have their work cut out for them.
