Why My Nintendo Switch Library Isn’t Expanding Like the Others

I believe the Nintendo Switch is an excellent console. It became the system that the Wii U should have been, combining a traditional and handheld console into a hybrid that gave players a true choice of whether to play at home or on the go. The library of games is enormous. But my biggest gripe with the Switch is that the main games are too expensive. For that reason, while my collections on other platforms have grown exponentially, my Switch collection has remained very modest in comparison.

My Switch collection is by no means shabby. Within my collection are some really terrific titles such as Fire Emblem Three Houses, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Super Mario Maker 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Astral Chain, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. My most recent pickups were highlighted by Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy, God Eater 3, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Because of the price of Switch games, I made sure that the games I choose are games I want in my library without question. They are titles either exclusive to the Switch or something I want to play on a handheld, and something I know would give me my money’s worth. But with an assortment of games that have been out for over three years still being sold at a full $59.99 price tag, I found my money went a lot further elsewhere than with Nintendo.

There used to be a part of me that was disappointed at how Nintendo went about the Wii U. I invested in the Wii U and was ready to see it through even though I knew it was struggling from the very beginning. It was the first Nintendo HD system. The first-party created games for the Wii U were tremendous. Furthermore, the New Super Mario Bros U, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 8, Super Mario 3D World, Yoshi’s Wooly World, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild all had their origins on the Wii U. The sad part is that not many people played these games, which is why Nintendo ported most of them over to the Switch. Because they were already great games on the Wii U, Switch owners ate it up. And it saved Nintendo from having to create a lot of games from scratch.

It felt like the Wii U was a lost cause from the beginning, but the Nintendo fan in me wanted it to work out. The big black clunky controller that looked like it was trying to halfway function like a handheld was a bad idea from the start. It was a terrible design choice with no true mobile capability and nothing that built on the innovative motion control scheme of the original Wii. I believe the gamepad turned a lot of people away from the Wii U who were expecting the next level of evolution from the Wii. The Wii U was kind of like the unfinished idea that became completed with the Switch. But I get it. Nintendo lost a lot of money with the Wii U. From a business perspective, it was wise to just take their losses and move on.

As bad as the Wii U fared for Nintendo, the Switch has more than made up for it. The console is the best selling system on the market today. The main games on the system maintain a high value, no matter how many years have passed since release. Even around the holidays, you may get one of those games at $35, but nowhere near the price drops you typically get with PC, Playstation, and Xbox games. It’s an expensive system to build a library for. But the numbers show that people are more than willing to put their money into the Switch.

At the end of the day, I have no personal animosity against Nintendo. The organization has done very well in turning around its misfortunes. I just can’t repurchase games that I’ve already bought before and I can’t justify spending $15 or more for a graphically inferior game that offers no option to back up a game save, and possesses no modding capabilities. For example, I’m glad I went with my instinct and bought Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night through GOG on PC instead of purchasing it for the Switch. The game was an optimization nightmare for Switch owners in the beginning. I bought Hades on Steam and Immortal: Fenyx Rising on Epic Games. PC was the better choice for those games as I wanted to best graphics and optimization possible. Plus, I prefer to play my games on a television display, not a handheld screen. My Switch is docked 90 percent of the time.

We will see what games start coming down in price this year for the Switch. But at this juncture, I refuse to pay full price for an older game and I will always lean towards the better deals. I would like to build a greater Switch library in the future, but the price has to be right. Just the option that I can play it on the go isn’t a big enough sell for me. What do you all think?

-TVGA
admin@videogamersadvocate.com