The Switch 2 may have had a stellar launch for Nintendo, but former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé admits that the new console's 2025 games lineup initially left him a little confused.
Speaking in a new interview with The Game Business, Fils-Aimé discusses his thoughts on the Switch 2's first year of games, noting: "From a business perspective, when I first saw that line-up, I scratched my head a little bit."
It's certainly not that the Switch 2 has been without games this year, but a number of them – like Pokemon Legends: Z-A and the upcoming Metroid Prime 4 – aren't exclusive to the current-gen console, also appearing on the Switch 1. As far as exclusives go, we've had Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza as the main players so far (sorry, who could forget Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour?!), but arguably slightly more niche choices filling the rest of the year like Kirby Air Riders and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.
Not only that, but the lineup has also been padded out with Switch 2 Editions of games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild, which add improvements and sometimes extra content on top of the OG Switch releases, but aren't exactly all-new offerings.
But, while the slate might not be quite as packed with massive names like we saw with the OG Switch, which had Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, and Xenoblade 2 in addition to Breath of the Wild (admittedly a cross-gen release itself) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (an enhanced Wii U port), Fils-Aimé hasn't been unimpressed.
"Certainly, what I underestimated was the enhanced Nintendo Switch 1 content, which I think has been compelling," he explains. "The stuff that you get for free as part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, I think that has helped drive some of the momentum. And then certainly, [Donkey Kong] Bananza was a key driver for them."
Again, the lineup has clearly not been detrimental – it was revealed this month that the Switch 2 has passed 10 million sales in just four months.
