Three Things Nintendo Needs to Do in 2018

Looking ahead

Nintendo had an incontestably great 2017. The Switch has been selling incredibly well, and is blowing past even the most generous pre-launch estimations. Nintendo has launched a great slate of titles, many of which have been met with overwhelming praise and completely re-invented their respective franchises. Nintendo even pulled Metroid out of purgatory with two new games: something none of us saw coming. Perhaps most importantly, Nintendo has firmly re-established itself within the Industry at large, eschewing the negative reputation they got during the Wii U era. Further cementing that position were Nintendo's many high profile award wins at last week’s The Game Awards; including the high honor of Game of the Year for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. However, they’re not out of the woods just yet. The worst possible thing Nintendo could do is simply fall back on their laurels and attempt to ride this year's success through 2018. There is still work to be done, and here are three things that Nintendo needs to accomplish in the coming year.

Keep delivering fresh, exciting content

If Nintendo only accomplishes one of these three goals in 2018, I sure hope it is this one. The Switch has already built a respectable library of games, but Nintendo needs to continue this momentum through the next year. However, Nintendo needs to be releasing fresh, exciting titles. As of now, the only concrete games for next year are Kirby: Star Allies, Yoshi, Bayonetta 1&2, and Fire Emblem. To be honest, with the exception of Fire Emblem, none of those games are particularly exciting. I bet I’ll have a great time with Kirby and Yoshi, but they’re certainly not going to be year-defining releases; similarly, Bayonetta 1&2 are ports. Nothing in that lineup holds a candle to the likes of Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Odyssey. Not every game needs to be on that scale, but Nintendo needs to maintain a steady stream of fresh, fun experiences throughout next year. I feel like I’ve played both the upcoming Kirby and Yoshi games ten times before, and in the case of Bayonetta, both of those games can literally be played right now. There are still several large franchises that can be drawn upon for 2018, such as Pokemon, Super Smash Bros and Animal Crossing. However, there are also plenty of smaller franchises such as WarioWare and Pikmin that are just begging for new titles. Regardless of scope, Nintendo needs to keep the games coming for a successful 2018.

Having Pokemon on Switch next year would be huge and would
bring in many lapsed Pokemon fans, myself included

Keep the community informed

Similarly, Nintendo needs to keep us in the loop. One of the biggest problems during the Wii U era was the lack of communication between Nintendo and the community. Not only would we go months without a new game release, we’d also go months without any word from the Big N at all. In 2017, Nintendo got into a pretty good rhythm, spacing out press releases, presentations, and Nintendo directs, but they could always be doing better. We got several single-game Directs, but only two traditional Directs, and we're entering a news drought right now. In 2018 I hope to see Nintendo surpass their level of communication from this year. That lifeline is incredibly important to keeping the community engaged and excited. As has been proven in the past, a good line of communication can be the difference between a good and bad year. I believe that had Nintendo been talking more with the community during 2015 and 2016, we wouldn't look at those years as such big blemishes. If we’re kept in the loop, things seems all the more hopeful because there's a road-map to follow. Stepping into a void of no games and no communication doesn’t inspire much confidence.

I hope Nintendo continues to release frequent Directs next year

Enhance the system-side user experience on Switch

The Nintendo Switch plays games, and it does that very well. However, outside of that, the Nintendo Switch just feels a bit bare-bones. Luckily, this isn’t a problem that cannot be solved. Firstly, Nintendo needs to sell us their online service. At $20 per year, I have no problem paying for it, but I know many other people are upset with the current Nintendo Network infrastructure and are a bit wary to invest in a paid version of it. Convincing people that this is a service worth paying for should be Nintendo’s main priority this year. Next, Nintendo should make the Switch feel, well, more like a Nintendo system. The current UI is devoid of almost all personality, and that is a huge bummer. Bring back menu music and home themes. These are simple additions to the Switch that will make it feel more fully featured. Then, fold in some messaging apps, a web browser, and multimedia opportunities, and the Switch is right where it should be. None of these additions would be that hard; all of these features have been present on Nintendo hardware for generations. If these quality of life changes were made, the Switch experience would be significantly improved.

Somehow, 3DS has Breath of the Wild themes before the Switch,
hopefully Nintendo rectifies this next year

What do you think Nintendo needs to accomplish in 2018? Let me Know!