So the reason why I bring this up is because since the Switch came out, things have gone from bad to significantly good for Nintendo and proof of that can be seen in the video above.
- Sales have got better.
- Support from big name publishers like Bethesda have been gained.
- Former third party support who originally parted ways with Nintendo such as Square Enix, EA and Ubisoft have been re-gained.
- Lots of great games that never originally released on a Nintendo system are coming to the Switch such as Skyrim, L.A. Noire, Dragon Quest Builders and Stardew Valley.
- And we are still getting amiibo and mini retro consoles which have lots of people saying "Shut up and take my money!!".
Where Nintendo kind of met their downfall, was that the Wii and DS were advertised as causal game consoles which did get them sales, but the limitations both systems had, made big name publishers unable to get games on them. In other words, Nintendo fans will have missed out on a great deal of Assassin's Creed games and at least 2 Batman Arkham games and many others. And it was Nintendo not realising how powerful the PS3 and Xbox 360 were compared to them that led to them quickly upping their game (but we did get a great library of retro game via Virtual Console so its not all bad).
So we then got the Wii U and 3DS. The 3DS was and still is one of the best things Nintendo made as far as innovation is concerned and it had less limitations and even had a more powerful version called the "new 3DS". And it has a huge library of great games both retail and downloadable and became the new home of Fire Emblem and Pokemon games and had more Luigi games than the Wii U during the Year of Luigi.
But what about the Wii U? Well unlike the launch of the 3DS (which failed to include any first party games from Nintendo's biggest franchises like Mario and Zelda), the Wii U was able to get two Assassin's Creed and Batman Arkham games as well as Mass Effect 3. But since the Wii U wasn't as well advertised as the Wii, the sales of the system plummeted big time which led to Nintendo losing support from Ubisoft and EA and had to solely rely on its own first party titles. Despite that:
- Bayonetta got Nintendo as her home with the release of the Wii U exclusive sequel to the original game. Followed by her appearance as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
- Mario Kart 8 became the biggest game of the series as far as tracks, vehicles, modes and characters are concerned.
- The dream of making your own Mario Bros. levels became a reality with Super Mario Maker.
- Star Fox came back after a long hiatus.
- Nintendo made tablet gaming on home consoles a thing which much like with the motion sensing of the Wii, led to its competitors trying it for themselves, but not doing a great job of it.
- And Nintendo saw a goldmine in Amiibo and made countless figures earning them a lot of money as a result.
But it was clear that as far as moving forward was concerned that the Wii U would be axed but keep on supporting the 3DS, Amiibo and Virtual Console while introducing what would eventually be called the Switch. And with that, they got third party support back and sales went through the roof.
So to answer my original question, I'd say yeah. Nintendo know what they are doing and I'm glad that things a looking up for them. A few things they still need to do here and there, but its all good.
But I can't finish without mentioning Satoru Iwata who poured his heart and soul into all these things during his time as President and CEO of Nintendo and without him, Nintendo (despite their problems) wouldn't be where it is today.
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