Nintendo Switch Games Coming 2019
Lilly Solo
2019 was a fantastic year for Nintendo Switch owners, with a stellar lineup from the platform holder itself joined by a near-endless stream of brilliant third party games; finding the time to play them all was by far the biggest problem facing Switch (and Switch Lite) gamers.
2019 gifted us several top-drawer Nintendo-made Switch titles in the form of Super Mario Maker 2, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, the quirky Ring Fit Adventure, Luigi's Mansion 3 and the all-conquering Pokémon Sword and Shield, but nearly every week brought more essential games to the eShop from other studios, huge and tiny alike.
The following list of the 50 best Switch games from 2019 is ranked according to the user ratings associated with Switch games on Nintendo Life's database. As such, it can still be influenced after publication by your ratings. If you've yet to give your personal score to some (or all) of 2019's Switch releases, the ranking below could yet change, so feel free to score your favourites. Can't see your favourites? Just head to our library of Switch games for 2019.
There's some good games I've missed out on, haven't I? I'm definitely leaning towards getting Luigi's Mansion 3 now - it seems to fix most of my qualms with Dark Moon (which I admittedly habe not played much of yet), and I'm interested in a lot of stuff on the list. GRID Autosport being so high is a bit surprising, but it must be worth a look as well. 2019 was definitely a great year for the Switch, though.
Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair: a beautiful game, clearly made with love, has a lot of variety in it, a unique touch to things, excellent level design, a ton of stages, a very nice overworld, a huge number of collectibles, a difficulty level that makes you keep coming back to it. Almost left out of the list. As for the overpriced Resident Evil games ports, it's easy to understand why they keep being rereleased for such a price
The Nintendo Switch[m] is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a hybrid console. Its wireless Joy-Con controllers, with standard buttons and directional analog sticks for user input, motion sensing, and tactile feedback, can attach to both sides of the console to support handheld-style play. They can also connect to a grip accessory to provide a traditional home console gamepad form, or be used individually in the hand like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, supporting local multiplayer modes. The Nintendo Switch's software supports online gaming through Internet connectivity, as well as local wireless ad hoc connectivity with other consoles. Nintendo Switch games and software are available on both physical flash-based ROM cartridges and digital distribution via Nintendo eShop; the system has no region lockout.[n] A handheld-focused revision of the system, called the Nintendo Switch Lite, was released on September 20, 2019. A revised higher-end version of the original system, featuring an OLED screen, was released on October 8, 2021.
The design of the Switch was aimed to bridge the polarization of the gaming market at the time, creating a device that could play "leisurely" video games along with games that are aimed to be played "deeply", according to Shinya Takahashi and Yoshiaki Koizumi, general manager and deputy general manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development Division (EPD), respectively.[16] This approach also would apply to the cultural lifestyle and gaming differences between Japanese and Western players; Japanese players tend to play on the go and with social groups, while Western players tend to play at home by themselves.[23] The design of the Switch would meet both cultures, and certain games, like 1-2-Switch, could potentially make social gaming more acceptable in Western culture.[24] Two key elements that were set to address this mixed market were the ability for the unit to play either on a television screen or as a portable and the use of detachable controllers.[16] The "Switch" name was selected not only to refer to the console's ability to switch from handheld to home console modes, but to present "the idea of being a 'switch' that will flip and change the way people experience entertainment in their daily lives".[25]
Nintendo revealed technical details of the Switch, including its worldwide launch date and price, at a press event in Tokyo on January 13, 2017.[44] The event was livestreamed,[45] with an English voiceover provided by Nintendo of America through their broadcast and regional Twitter accounts relaying details in other languages. A Nintendo Treehouse event occurred the following day to reveal the full launch lineup and upcoming games for the Switch.[46]
Although the Nintendo Switch had not officially been released in China prior to December 2019, it is still widely available in the country due to grey market imports from Hong Kong and other regions, such as Japan.[66] In January 2018, former Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said in an interview with Chinese news website QQ that Nintendo has tried to release the Switch in China, but has been unable to do so.[66][67] Nintendo partnered with Tencent in April 2019 to gain the necessary approvals to release the Switch in China, along with a test version of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe;[68] it was released on December 10, 2019, at a base price of 2,099 RMB or about US$298.[69] Tencent will continue to help Nintendo bring other Switch games through China's approval process via National Radio and Television Administration.[68] In addition, Tencent will help localize various titles, and help implement the Nintendo Switch Online service within the country, integrating its offerings with the WeChat payment systems.[70]
In September 2018, with the release of Nintendo Switch Online, Nintendo introduced NES Controller style Joy-Con controllers alongside its classic games service. In September 2019, when SNES games were added to the service, wireless SNES Controllers were released. In September 2021, when Nintendo 64 games and Sega Genesis titles were added to the service alongside the Expansion Pack, wireless Nintendo 64 Controllers and SEGA Genesis Control Pads were released for use with their respective services.
The Switch did not launch with any bundled games or have any pre-loaded games or game demos; Fils-Aimé stated that once they had decided on the price point and evaluated the forthcoming game lineup, they opted to allow consumers to choose which games to get rather than include one in the bundle and increase its price.[53][301] At least ten games were shipped or digitally available alongside the Switch in time for its North American launch, including Nintendo's first-party titles The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 1-2-Switch.
In September 2017, Nintendo announced a partnership with Tencent, the leading publisher for mobile games in China, to bring their title Arena of Valor, the international version of their mainland Chinese game Wangzhe Rongyao, to the Switch following its December 2017 release in Western markets on mobile platforms. At the time, the game had an estimated 200 million players, most in China, and analysts anticipated that Nintendo would be releasing the Switch in China by 2019 as part of this deal. As a result, Nintendo's stock price rose overnight on the news by 7%, reaching a nine-year high.[426][427][428] Nintendo's stock reached its ten-year high shortly after the October 2017 expansion of Switch production to 2 million units per month and speculation that Nintendo would likely start selling the unit in China sooner than anticipated.[429]
Nintendo successfully obtained an injunction in December 2019 against a distributor of a hack made by Team Xecuter that enabled Switch users to obtain and run copyright-violating copies of Switch games on the console.[451] Subsequently, Nintendo filed lawsuits initially against several resellers of Team Xecuter products in 2020, and in one case, settled with the reseller for $2 million.[452][453] After members of Team Xecuter were arrested and charged with eleven felony counts by the United States Department of Justice in October 2020, Nintendo filed another lawsuit against one of the arrested members, Gary Bowser, asserting two counts of trafficking and one count of copyright infringement.[454]
A list of Nintendo Switch games released in Europe, sorted to show the highest average rating across the reviews we've collated at Switch Scores. This list only contains games released in 2019. Games need to have 3 or more reviews to be ranked.
And, in the second half of 2019, Nintendo's hottest console in years is expected to see some of its biggest games yet: a new Pokémon game, a major Mario sequel, and a long anticipated "Animal Crossing" game. For those who don't own a Nintendo Switch just yet, Nintendo has major games coming on smartphones, too!
The 10 upcoming Nintendo Switch games on this list are in keeping with Nintendo's insular, focused nature; they're remakes, ports, or reimaginings of video games you know and love, with just enough of a twist to keep things fresh. You can always count on Mario to be Mario, on Samus to be Samus, on Link to be Link, and ok Nintendo to be Nintendo; you love them for it.
On this page, we look at the many upcoming Nintendo Switch games we know about - from known release dates to vague 2020 estimates put out by developers and Nintendo itself. There's a lot to look forward to!
2019 is coming to a close and it has been an exciting year in the world of games. As the Xbox One and PS4 begin to prepare for transitions to the next-generation of consoles, Nintendo fans may be feeling like the Switch is still just hitting its stride after a successful couple of years. Hopefully, the portable Nintendo console still has a handful of years left and continues in its 2019 trend of being a great place to play some of the best games of the year.
eebf2c3492