Nintendo president explains ‘weak’ Switch launch lineup

There’s no hiding it, there are less games available for the Nintendo Switch day one than we’ve seen in the past. Not just from Nintendo but from third parties as well.

It’s not an accident, Nintendo has actually planned this one out, well according to them they have. Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has today explained Nintendo’s method behind the apparent madness.

Here are the announced first-party titles that will follow the system launch, releasing through 2017 in Japan. Some of those who have seen this lineup have expressed the opinion that the launch lineup is weak.

Our thinking in arranging the 2017 software lineup is that it is important to continue to provide new titles regularly without long gaps. This encourages consumers to continue actively playing the system, maintains buzz, and spurs continued sales momentum for Nintendo Switch.

For that reason, we will be releasing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, which is making its debut on the Nintendo Switch during the first half of 2017, and Splatoon 2, which attracted consumers’ attention most during the hands-on events in Japan, in summer 2017. We believe that these titles exemplify the concept of the Nintendo Switch, which is to be able to play anywhere with anyone and at any time, and will expand and invigorate competition between players.

The Wii U had a lot of great games, there was just months and months of distance between them. Could this steady stream of games from Nintendo do better for the company?

Source: Nintendo IR