Even after 7 years, it’s still a great time to own (or buy) a Switch

It’s been well over seven years since Nintendo brought its innovative Switch handheld-console hybrid to the market, having launched on March 3rd, 2017. At the time, Nintendo’s future seemed to be hanging in the balance reeling from the catastrophic Wii U failure and subpar 3DS popularity compared to its predecessor. Everything was riding on this new concept, and many weren’t sure if it would work, even with the launch of one of the best games of all time alongside the console.

But now in the 8th year of its life, and with yesterday’s Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo has proven that it’s learned from its past mistakes, and it’s making the Switch what might just be the company’s best hardware ever. You might think at this point it’s best to wait for the next generation, but Nintendo is still giving us plenty of reasons to be excited for the Switch.

A nearly 8-year-long journey

The Switch is an incredible success story

First off, it’s absolutely remarkable just how long Nintendo has been riding the Switch wave by itself. It’s incredibly rare for any console generation to last more than seven years, and when you consider what people were saying about the Switch even back in 2017, calling it underpowered and incapable of competing with other major consoles, it’s truly impressive how far the Switch’s lifespan has stretched without any kind of performance upgrade, price cut, or a successor.

For seven years (and counting), the Switch has been Nintendo’s main platform, and it still costs the same $300 it did at launch, with only the cut-down Switch Lite offering a cheaper $200 option.

That long-lasting success has been sustained by what is arguably Nintendo’s most robust lineup of first-party games we’ve ever seen on any console, paired with great third-party support, at least compared to previous Nintendo endeavors. Every year of the Nintendo Switch has had some incredibly successful and/or high-quality games. Here’s just a tiny overview of the highlights:

• 2017 – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, and Super Mario Odyssey
• 2018 – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Octopath Traveler, andDonkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
• 2019 – Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Super Mario Maker 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
• 2020 – Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition, and Paper Mario: The Origami King
• 2021 – Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Metroid Dread, Monster Hunter Rise (exclusive at the time), and Shin Megami Tensei V
• 2022 – Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Bayonetta 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatoon 3, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, PokémonScarlet and Violet
• 2023 – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Fire Emblem Engage, Metroid Prime Remastered, Pikmin 4, and Super Mario RPG.

Even if some of these titles aren’t for you, that’s a lot of years with a lot of major releases that are exclusive to Switch and all generally received very favorably. It’s no wonder this system has sold as well as it has.

We thought 2023 was the end

The Switch 2 was expected this year

In its seventh year on the market, it felt like 2023 was the year the Switch would come full circle, with 2024 paving the way for new hardware. After all, 2023 had Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to Breath of the Wild, which was arguably the best launch title Nintendo could have asked for. It had an inventive and refreshing 2D Mario game with Super Mario Bros. Wonder. And it brought us the long-awaited Pikmin 4 nearly ten years after it was said to be nearly completed. It was the perfect final note.

It wasn’t all that surprising when Nintendo decided to skip its usual February Nintendo Direct for 2024, as the release schedule seemed to lean more heavily on remakes and ports or other lower-tier releases like Endless Ocean Luminous. Though, even then, titles like Another Code Recollection were a very significant upgrade from the original release, and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was a massive release considering fans have been begging for its return for over a decade. Regardless, it’s fair to say that expectations for this year were pretty low, even when the June 18th Nintendo Direct was announced.

Proving the Switch still has life left in it

2024 is still packed

But leave it to Nintendo to come out swinging when no one expected it to. The June 18th Direct presentation was full of exciting announcements for Nintendo fans. Here’s what we’re still getting in the next few months:

• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (September 26, 2024) – The first all-new 2D Zelda title since Triforce Heroes in 2015, and the first one to feature the titular Zelda as the main playable character. It also brings a more open-ended play style inspired by Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
• Super Mario Party Jamboree (October 17th, 2024) – An all-new Mario Party title promising to be the largest game ever in the series. It features seven game boards (five being new to this title), and over 110 minigames.
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership (November 7th, 2024) – The first new Mario & Luigi title in nine years, and the first since the closure of the original series developer AlphaDream. The franchise was thought to be abandoned, but it’s making a grand return with a stunning new art style.
• MIO: Memories in Orbit (2025) – A 2D Metroidvania title that appears to have very fast-paced and smooth movement and combat. Since Hollow Knight: Silksong clearly isn’t happening, this may be a great alternative, and it looks absolutely stunning. It’s not exclusive, but it was revealed first at the June 18th Direct presentation.
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (2025) – Seven years after it was announced at E3 2017, Metroid Prime 4 has finally showed its face and it seems to be pushing the Switch’s hardware to its limits with stunning visuals and intense action scenes you don’t see very often on the platform. It’s also the first new Metroid Prime since 2007.

This isn’t even including things that weren’t at this Direct, like Pokémon Legends Z-A, or titles that are remakes or collections, but still very exciting, like Donkey King Country Returns HD, Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection, or Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. We even saw a PlayStation franchise come to Switch with Lego Horizon Adventures. This was a packed Nintendo Direct, and the year ahead is looking far more stacked than you’d expect for a Nintendo platform nearing the end of its life.

It’s still a great time to be a Switch owner

I’d like to end with a little fun fact. A poll on online forum Famiboards, ran for 24 hours after the Nintendo Direct aired. That forum has run similar polls for every Nintendo presentation since February 2022, and the latest Direct has now become the highest-rated presentation since then, with an overall rating of 4.36 stars out of 5.

The sample size here is obviously very small, but it serves to paint a picture that Nintendo has learned from its past mistakes, and it isn’t letting its platform die while we wait for the new one. Even if you don’t have a Switch today, 2024 is still a great year to buy one. Hopefully, these lessons carry into the next generation.