Nintendo’s next-gen console is reportedly due out during the second half of 2024. Assuming that’s true, we’re finally entering the late lifecycle of the all-conquering Nintendo Switch, which means now is a good time to check in on announced games coming to the console – and some that may skip it entirely.
Nintendo’s recent Direct showcase gave fans a decent idea of what to expect for Nintendo Switch for the remainder of 2023. First up we have Detective Pikachu Returns, which launches October 6.
This new game promises to dive deep into the origins of Detective Pikachu and let players solve a tonne of mysteries across Ryme City alongside Tim Goodman and other Pokemon.
Next we have the wonderful-looking Super Mario Bros. Wonder:
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a brand new 2D, co-op platformer that features playable characters such as Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and Yoshi, as well as the likes of Mario, Luigi, and Toad. It has a brand new power-up that transforms Mario into an elephant. Expect Super Mario Bros. Wonder to hit Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023.
Next, Nintendo Switch gets WarioWare: Move It! on November 3.
WarioWare: Move It! has over 200 micro-games to play, many of which are designed to get players up and moving with their Joy-Cons. Using two Joy-Con controllers, players move their entire body to strike different poses as they take on the various micro-games. You can play in local co-op, with up to four players in party mode.
Soon after, Nintendo Switch gets a Super Mario RPG remake.
This remake of the 1996 SNES classic is due out on Nintendo Switch on November 17, 2023, and sees the return of original composer Yoko Shimomura. This adventure, which stars Mario, Bowser, Princess Peach, Mallow, Geno, and more, sees our heroes attempting to take down the Smithy Gang while collecting seven stars to repair the Star Road.
Down for fall 2023 and winter 2023 is the two-part The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
In this story, you’ll leave the Paldea region and dive deeper into the world of the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games. Part 1: The Teal Mask has a planned release date of fall 2023 and Part 2: The Indigo Disk has a planned release date of winter 2023.
Other Nintendo Switch highlights include the release of Tears of the Kingdom’s Zelda and Ganondorf amiibo during Holiday 2023. Will DLC for the open-world masterpiece also come out then?
Looking to 2024, a visually enhanced version of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, originally released on Nintendo 3DS, is in development for Nintendo Switch. And Princess Peach will star as the main character in her own new game, which Nintendo has said will be available in 2024.
Conspicuous by its absence from June’s Nintendo Direct was the long-delayed Metroid Prime 4, which has suffered a dramatic development and is still without a release window six years after it was announced. Could that game be Nintendo Switch’s last hurrah in the summer of 2024? Or will Nintendo bump it to its next-gen console as a launch title?
One question mark hanging over Nintendo’s next-gen console is whether or not it will support backwards compatibility with Switch games. If it does, perhaps some of these Nintendo Switch games listed above will be playable on the next-gen console. If it doesn’t, that leaves the door open to Nintendo and third-parties to charge Nintendo fans for them again.
How do you feel about the end of Nintendo Switch’s life, and the upcoming launch of Nintendo’s next-gen console? Let us know in the comments!
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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