From start to finish, 2023 was Nintendo’s year

To put it into perspective just how good things have been for Nintendo, we’re currently in the Switch’s sixth year on the market, the platform has been emphatically lapped by its competition in terms of hardware power, and yet 2023 may very well go down as Nintendo’s greatest year during the Switch era.

It’s culture shock following previous generations where Nintendo’s home consoles crawled to the finish line. Fans probably remember all too well the software droughts that the Wii and Wii U experienced in their respective final years on the market, where their release schedules were deserts. Back then, we couldn’t wait for the next console to make its debut.

The Switch has known no such fatigue, even when it has served as Nintendo’s primary platform longer than any of its predecessors. It continues chugging along down the tracks as it approaches the seventh anniversary since its launch, posting strong sales numbers that most recently lifted it to 132 million units sold. Nintendo had no problems cranking out 40+ minute Nintendo Direct presentations this year filled with new releases from their own studios and third party developers. In fact, some of the Switch’s best software has arrived in the twilight of the console’s life cycle.

The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. lead the way

2023 will forever be associated with the long awaited release for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Despite coming in with immeasurable expectations set by its predecessor, and even a tinge of doubt from some fans following a conservative marketing campaign by Nintendo, Tears of the Kingdom quickly proved that it was another grand slam for The Legend of Zelda. It was lauded by critics, culminating in numerous end of the year awards, including Game of the Year honors from outlets like EDGE, Polygon, Game Informer, IGN, among others. More telling, it has been a commercial juggernaut, moving 19.5 million copies as of September 30th. Together, it and Breath of the Wild have combined for over 50 million copies sold.

Regardless of where you stand on the contentious debate over story-driven Legend of Zelda versus open world Legend of Zelda, there can be no denying the unprecedented heights that the franchise has reached this generation. The sprawling, open-ended nature of the Era of the Wilds games, where the player is given the freedom to progress however they please, has launched The Legend of Zelda to mainstream prominence that the series, for all of its previous accolades, had never experienced prior to the Switch years.

The Era of the Wilds games have been so successful, that their director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, was recently added to the Variety500 index, which lists “the most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry.” Tears of the Kingdom’s robust sales performance was theorized to have boosted Japan’s gross domestic product for a period of time in 2023. How often do you hear about a video game having geo-economic impact?

Their success compelled Nintendo to do something truly earth shattering, something that didn’t seem possible a few years ago — license a live action Legend of Zelda movie. But when a pair of titles combine to sell well over 50 million copies and counting, you don’t simply stick to video games. That project, set to be distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and directed by Wes Ball, will be another major stride for The Legend of Zelda into the global cultural zeitgeist, one that will bring more attention to the franchise than even the most lauded software could on its own.

Yet for everything that The Legend of Zelda accomplished in 2023, it was when Mario made a gigantic leap onto the big screen that Nintendo enjoyed its greatest mainstream presence. By collaborating with Universal Pictures and Illumination, Nintendo created a box office titan. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was the first wide release that audiences flocked to see in theaters, going on to collect a $1.36 billion worldwide gross. Were it not for the unstoppable power of Barbie (which grossed $1.42 billion), Mario would have claimed the highest grossing film of the year.

Mario also made sure that Nintendo had not one, but two bona fide Game of the Year contenders. Super Mario Bros. Wonder earned overwhelming acclaim that a 2D Mario hadn’t seen Super Mario World, and it has every bit of potential to be as influential on the new generation of gamers the way that World was for Nintendo fans growing up in the 1990s. It immediately cemented itself as one of 2023’s best releases, affirming that 2D platformers could still stand alongside the biggest budget AAA blockbusters. Whether you’re going it alone or playing the raucous, creative co-op, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is as good as 2D platformers get, and it has set up the series to be just as prestigious as Mario’s 3D adventures.

A nonstop wave of releases

No matter where we were on the calendar, the Switch had a steady stream of releases from the start of 2023 all the way to the Holiday season. Nintendo came out swinging in January with Fire Emblem Engage, another stellar entry in the long running Strategy RPG series that also acted as a celebration of the many entries that came before it. The following month saw the remake of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, and the unexpected, but very welcome debut of Metroid Prime Remastered.

Spring was bustling even before Tears of the Kingdom hit the market. Bayonetta fans were treated to an utterly delightful spinoff with Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s DLC finished on a high note with the Future Redeemed side story, which, if you ask the Xenoblade community, was about as perfect as a conclusion could be for the Xenoblade Chronicles trilogy. Advance Wars finally ended its 15 year hiatus with Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, a remake of the first two Gameboy Advance entries, and what will hopefully just be the start of the series’ revival.

Once fans were ready to take a break from Tears of the Kingdom, Pikmin 4 arrived in July to deliver a relaxing and charming experience, perfect for those lazy Summer days. Like many other Nintendo franchises, Pikmin reached new heights on the Switch, as Pikmin 4 immediately became a critical and commercial hit. It is far and away the highest selling entry in the series with nearly 3 million copies sold, and as shown by its win for Best Sim/Strategy at The Game Awards, it is in play for even greater recognition than simply high review scores.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Wario Ware: Move It!, and the fantastic remake of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars all provided loads of entertainment with the Mushroom Kingdom crew in the closing months of 2023. Filling in any gaps on the release schedule was continued third party support: Octopath Traveler 2, Sea of Stars, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, Atelier Ryzr 3, Disgaea 7, Star Ocean: The Second Story R. If anything stayed consistent in 2023, it was the Switch being a home to all the JRPGs a gamer could want.

Plenty more to come

Making Nintendo’s remarkable 2023 that much better is everything that is still to come. While hitting us with one game after another throughout 2023, Nintendo assured fans that they have plenty to look forward to on the Switch in the new year and beyond. Even if 2024 is indeed when the Switch’s successor makes its debut, the original console will remain alive and well for the time being thanks to efforts from Nintendo and third parties. The Mario vs. Donkey Kong remake, Princess Peach: Showtime!, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, Another Code: Recollection, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Unicorn Overlord, Decapolice, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, and especially the highly anticipated remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is just a sampling of what will keep Nintendo fans busy as the Switch finishes its run.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door being chosen for the remake treatment may be a bigger deal than merely the fun that comes from reliving a beloved classic. Between that and the Super Mario RPG remake, Nintendo has suddenly shown a lot of love for the more traditional Mario RPGs, this coming after years where the Mario & Luigi subseries has remained dormant, and where more recent Paper Marios have often shied away from RPG elements. 2020’s The Origami King took a step or two back in that direction, earning a warmer reception than other entries, but fans yearn for a full return to the days of partners, experience points, badges, and the like. Nintendo seems to have heard them loud and clear. Don’t be surprised if the Switch successor hosts a brand new Mario RPG that is modeled after Legend of the Seven Stars or the first two Paper Marios.

It’s not even out of the question that such a game turns out to be a regular old Switch release. A very interesting bit of info that has flown under the radar is that Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, which was first revealed in the February 2023 Nintendo Direct, and strongly implied to be a Switch title, is now looking at a 2025 release window. It’s entirely possible that it will eventually become exclusive to the Switch successor, making it the first game that we’ve seen from the future console. But it’s equally possible that Nintendo plans to keep it a Switch title, suggesting that they will continue supporting the Switch well past 2024. It could also imply that the Switch successor will be backward compatible, as Nintendo aims to make the transition between consoles more seamless than they have in the past.

After all of the expectations they defied in 2023, it is safe to say that anything and everything is in play for Nintendo going forward.