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2024 for Nintendo was as much what it didn’t show as what it did. With no new console revealed, and less heavy duty hardware, the company can be forgiven for muddying the waters a bit.
We discovered that the system will be announced in the current financial year, giving The House of Mario until the end of March, but the best news we’ve had so far is that Switch 2 evening backward compatible – though whether this includes physical games remains to be seen.
However, this year we had a new one Mario & Luigi RPG, a Zelda game where the princess is the star, and a Paper Mario: The Door of a Thousand Years remake – everything that made our list of the the best Nintendo Switch games around
While the next year is expected to be a colossal one for the company, Nintendo still had a solid 2024. Let’s find out.
There was hardware, but not the hardware you wanted
At the beginning of 2024, we certainly hoped to see the successor of the Switch before 2025, but we are still waiting for the end of the year – almost eight years have passed since the launch of the Switch.
In fact, the only thing we know is that it is coming and that it will be backwards compatible with Switch games.
This is Furukawa, president of Nintendo. We will make an announcement about the successor to the Nintendo Switch this fiscal year. It will be more than nine years since we announced the existence of Nintendo Switch in March 2015. We will have a Nintendo Direct …May 7, 2024
It’s very welcome because Nintendo has been inconsistent with this in the past (how many times have you eShop versions of Nintendo classics only to have to buy them again on the Switch?), and the current console has one of the best old bookshops.
Our hope is that the Nintendo Switch games that are available for the current console will look or run better when the Switch 2 (or whatever it’s called) launches. After all, we had some ports quite rope and even the last generation of Pokemon it was a bit of a mess on the 2017 system.
In a June post on X (formerly Twitter), the official Nintendo account explained that the company will announce the new console in the current fiscal year (which lasts until March 2025), but did not mention new hardware in a next June. Direct.
That June direct presented Metroid Prime 4 for the first time since that logo reveal all those years ago, and it looked so good that I think my Switch threw a little ice at the prospect of having to run it. Was it running on the new hardware? It’s hard to say, but it certainly seems a cut above other titles, even Nintendo’s first holiday offering.
Luckily, Nintendo has sneaked in some cool hardware in late 2024 with… Alarm. This smart alarm clock can wake you up with classic Ninty tracks like “Jump, Super Star!” if you are into this kind of thing, and it certainly ranks as one of the most surprising revelations of the year.
Still, with a relatively modest lineup of first-party titles (more on that in a moment), I wonder if Nintendo will keep options like the next Mario 3D ready for its next generation of console hardware.
Nintendo celebrates its history
Nintendo’s long-standing refusal to put its older games on Switch hardware has begun to wear off over time, and this year saw the company introduce some heavyweights from the NES, SNES, and N64 to Nintendo Switch Online. Killer Instinct, Battletoads in Battlemania, Perfect darkand more all made their way to subscribers and a remaster of Luigi’s Mansion 2 and the remake of Door of a thousand years helped keep these titles relevant today.
Nintendo shut down online services for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U software on April 9 — a sad, but understandable day almost eight years into the Switch’s life cycle. While I’m sure many of us still love it Pokemon Red and Blue added to the Switch’s online library, it’s clear that Nintendo has heard fan demand for older titles that don’t necessarily need a remake. Here’s hoping it continues in 2025, and also on the new console.
Elsewhere in August, the company released a special Nintendo Direct focusing on the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, which opened in October – the same month Nintendo revealed its Nintendo Music streaming service.
Keep players checking
2024 was a mixed bag in terms of games. Nothing that Nintendo released was bad, of course, but of course nothing reached the heights of 2023. Tears of the Kingdom.
It started the year with Mario vs. Donkey Kong in February, and while we did not loveIt’s another first-party exclusive to add to the Switch’s huge library, while we still have it Princess Peach: Showtime! in march Then came one of our favorite Nintendo games of the year Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remakewhich we have awarded 4.5 stars in our magazine.
November finally saw the launch of Mario & Luigi: Brotherhooda fresh RPG that doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but offers an art style that looks good – but also shows that the Switch is struggling to fuel some of Nintendo’s ambitions in terms of performance. We awarded 4 out of 5but as many games that Nintendo launched this year, it seemed that it was Pokemon TCG Pocket that captured the zeitgeist more than any other – and that’s a mobile title.
In some ways, this was the year when titles that didn’t launch on Switch were more in focus because of it. Persona 3 Reload launched in February, but not on Switch. It is remarkable because the original Person 3 gained a lot of fans through its PSP version, and the original was ported to Switch. In many ways, it still feels like a franchise—best enjoyed on a handheld.
“Of course, the idea is there, but it’s a matter of discussing with the team and seeing what they think, and we’ll see what happens,” game director Takuya Yamaguchi said at the time.
This is not to say that there were no ports, however. In March, Switch players finally arrived Kingdom Come Deliveranceand also the disappointing ones South Park: Snow Daywhile April saw The eartha title from Xbox Game Studios, arriving on Switch, with Microsoft also discussing his commitment to putting Call of duty on the Switch.
Sports fans still have little reason to pick up a Switch, though. F1 Manager 2024 It was a rare point for the genre, and September saw it EA Sports FC 25 and NBA 2K25 free
At least the Switch continued to offer great indie games. Good animal and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes both coming in May, and our game of the year Balatru he also cleared his way onto the platform.
From franchise revivals to new entries with fresh protagonists, Nintendo has done well to keep Switch owners checking in with new titles every few months.
With third-party ports dwindling, and attention turned to whatever comes next, it wasn’t the best year the Switch has seen, but it offered plenty of fun. However, it is difficult to see 2024 as a year where Nintendo has cost a little, but we expect great things in 2025.
A new console, paired with something like a new 3D Mario title, would do very well, and even just a performance patch for the likes. Tears of the Kingdom Go some way to sell us on the new system.
