2019 is shaping up to be an unusual year for the console game industry, as Microsoft and Sony seem to be winding down the production of games for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, looking ahead to the next console generation, all while the Nintendo Switch is still only two years into its lifespan and has a plethora of exclusive games on the way.
The release schedules of all three consoles are jam-packed with third-party titles that are appearing on multiple systems, but the most important games will be the exclusive titles that are limited to a single system, as those are the ones that prompt people to choose one console over another.
Nintendo entered 2019 with a lot of games on the schedule that had shaky release dates. The retooling of Metroid Prime 4 has also made some fans nervous that other first-party titles might be delayed until 2020. The latest Nintendo Direct helped to fill out some holes in the Switch’s schedule for 2019, but will these games be enough to help the system overtake PS4 and Xbox One?
- This Page: Yoshi’s Crafted World, Super Mario Maker 2, & More Page 2: Nintendo Switch Games Planned For 2019 Page 3: Sony/Microsoft Exclusives & Who Will Win 2019?
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe - Available Now
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is available to purchase right now. The game includes both New Super Mario Bros. U and the New Super Luigi U expansion, as well as the ability to play as Toadette, which spawned all kinds of unsavory memes. A lot of critics and fans who first saw footage of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe thought that it wasn’t going to sell very well, as it didn’t offer much in the way of new content over the original. The allure of Mario (and the desire to see Bowsette) were strong, however, as New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe sold way more during its launch week than the original did on the Wii U.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes - Available Now
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes is another Nintendo Switch exclusive that is currently available for the system. The story involves Travis Touchdown being hundred down by Badman who is the father of an assassin that Travis slew in the first No More Heroes game. Travis and Badman are both trapped within a gaming console and have to fight through several different video games in order to survive. The concept of having to switch through different genres of video games is novel, but the game received a mixed reception from critics due to the execution of its premise involving a lot of repetitive kinds of gameplay.
Yoshi’s Crafted World - March 29
Yoshi’s Crafted World was one of the only first-party Nintendo titles with a solid release date in 2019 for a while, but the latest Nintendo Direct added a few more games to that list, so the burden is no longer on Yoshi to carry the rest of the year. There is currently a demo available for Yoshi’s Crafted World on the eShop and the game is reminiscent of the other games in the Yoshi series, as you still turn enemies into eggs and fire them at parts of the stage in order to progress. The visuals and world design of Yoshi’s Crafted World are stunning, with everything look as if it was made by hand and the levels containing numerous secrets based on how the creative materials can interact with each other.
Super Mario Maker 2 - June 2019
Nintendo opened their latest Direct with the announcement for Super Mario Maker 2, which had previously been leaked online. A lot of fans expected the original Super Mario Maker to be ported to the Switch, but it seems that Nintendo is going the extra mile with a full sequel that adds new playable characters, new kinds of hazards (including automatically scrolling stages), new kinds of puzzles, new power-ups, and most importantly of all, slopes!
Super Mario Maker 2 will be adding the evil sun from Super Mario Bros. 3 to pursue the player through the stage and will allow levels to scroll vertically, which just goes to show that Nintendo has been listening to what the fans wanted from the original game. Super Mario Maker 2 will now include elements from the New Super Mario Bros. games, though it’s still lacking representation from Super Mario Bros. 2.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - July 26
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is shaping up to be one of the biggest Switch games of the summer. The plot of Fire Emblem: Three Houses has gone in an unusual direction for the series, as it has combined elements of Hogwarts from Harry Potter with the warlike setting of the Valkyria Chronicles series. The protagonist of Three Houses is a mercenary who is chosen to teach at a military academy that houses three sets of students from different nations.
The setting of Fire Emblem: Three Houses is different from the one used in earlier games and you will now control groups of units on the battlefield instead of single characters, which means that the game has the capacity to include battles of a much larger scale than those seen in previous Fire Emblem installments.
Astral Chain - August 30
Astral Chain, by PlatinumGames, was also recently announced; it’s a fast-paced action game that involves controlling two different characters at once. Astral Chain is reminiscent of the Xenoblade titles in terms of visuals, but the action itself comes straight out of Platinum’s playbook. The story of Astral Chain takes place in a city called Ark, which is under siege from extra-dimensional beings.
The only thing that can stop the monsters invading the city is a police unit whose members use the power of a new kind of weapon called the Legion, which you will control in battle alongside your character in order to fight two-on-one against the enemy.
The announcement of Astral Chain was a huge surprise, especially as fans were expecting to hear more news about Bayonetta 3, but a fast-paced action game made by Platinum is welcome on any system and Astral Chain looks amazing in the footage we have seen so far.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order - Summer 2019
The Marvel Ultimate Alliance series is making a comeback on Nintendo Switch, with a new storyline that focuses on the heroes of Earth battling Thanos and his Black Order, in a manner similar to that of the plot of Avengers: Infinity War, except that the X-Men are now involved.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order is bringing back the four-player teams of the previous games, which you can now form with your friends using local or online multiplayer. The trailer for the game shown during the Nintendo Direct put a lot of focus on Captain Marvel’s role in the game, which is likely due to how the Captain Marvel movie is going to be released in March and how she is going to have a role in Avengers: Endgame.
Page 2 of 3: Other Nintendo Switch Games Releasing In 2019
Animal Crossing - Late 2019
One of the most notable absentees from the last Nintendo Direct was Animal Crossing, which is one of the most hotly anticipated games of the year. Next to nothing has been revealed about the next Animal Crossing game, except for the fact that it will be on the Nintendo Switch. The release of a console Animal Crossing game with gorgeous HD graphics and compatibility with Pocket Camp is going to be a huge draw for the system. In terms of what has been revealed about the Nintendo Switch’s 2019 line-up: Animal Crossing is tied with the new Pokémon games with regards to general hype, which is no small feat.
Daemon X Machina - 2019
Daemon X Machina was first announced at E3 2018, where it looked like a rail shooter with giant robots and seemed like a more stylized version of Star Fox. A demo of Daemon X Machina is now available and there is far more to the game than we originally realized, as it’s a lot more similar to the Armored Core series than Star Fox. Daemon X Machina has full freedom of movement, allowing your mech suit to fly around huge open areas and fight off hordes of enemies. The UI is a little cluttered, especially when lots of enemies appear on screen, but the game has some amazing action set pieces and will satisfy anyone with a love for giant robots.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 - 2019
Luigi is returning to the starring role once more in the third entry of his own spooky series, with Luigi’s Mansion 3 coming to the Nintendo Switch this year. Fans suspected that a new Luigi’s Mansion game was in development when Luigi showed up in Simon Belmont’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal trailer with a new ghost-hunting weapon. Luigi’s Mansion 3 takes place in a massive hotel, which suggests that the game will be returning to one huge setting, instead of the segmented levels that appeared in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.
Pokémon Gen 8 - 2019
The most hotly anticipated games for the Nintendo Switch in 2019 are either Animal Crossing or the next generation of Pokémon games. As far as we know, the next generation of Pokémon games are still due to be released in 2019, where they will be the first mainline entries in the series to appear on a home console. The success of the Pokémon: Let’s Go games proved that there is still a huge audience for the Pokémon games, many of whom have waited decades to see the series finally move to a home console. The lack of any information on the next generation of Pokémon games is worrying, but they will almost certainly be some of the biggest games of 2019 if they ship on time.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening - 2019
The big closing announcement of the last Nintendo Direct was the reveal of a modern remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening still uses the same top-down view of the original version of the game, but the graphics have been overhauled and the world looks like a cartoon, which has given the game a gorgeous new visual style. It’s good to see another Legend of Zelda game on the Switch, but it’s a shame that it’s a remake of a game that is over 20 years old.
Page 3 of 3: Sony/Microsoft Exclusives & Who Will Win 2019?
The Sony Exclusives
Sony is in a similar position to Nintendo in that it has several games that with tenuous release dates. The Last of Us Part II is shaping up to be the biggest release of the year, even though it doesn’t have a solid release date yet. There have been hints from people within the industry that the game is due to come out this year, and if it does, it’ll undoubtedly become another phenomenon.
In terms of confirmed PlayStation 4 exclusives that are due this year, there is Concrete Genie, Days Gone, Dreams, Judgement, and MediEvil. These are all amazing looking games, with Dreams looking like it’s going to be incredible, though they don’t have the mass-market appeal or name value to be system sellers.
There are also games like Death Stranding and Ghost of Tsushima, which don’t have specific dates but seem as if they are close enough in development that they could be released this year. Death Stranding is shaping up to be a huge hit for the PlayStation 4, but there are still too many unanswered questions about the game to say for sure whether it will find an audience or not.
The Microsoft Exclusives
There are some incredible games coming to the Xbox One in 2019 as well, many of which will also release on PC through Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative. The Xbox One is receiving Battletoads, Crackdown 3, Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, Gears 5, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Phoenix Point in 2019; it’s unlikely, though, that Halo Infinite will hit store shelves this year.
Some people may consider the fact that Microsoft releases Xbox One exclusives on PC to be a mistake, as companies like Nintendo and Sony tend to release console-only exclusives, such as Bloodborne, God of War, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But the fact that Microsoft, which people should remember who also owns the Windows operating system, releases Xbox exclusive games on other platforms only increases their presence, beyond just a first-party publisher.
With Microsoft purchasing developer after developer over the past year, it seems they have much more planned for the future than they are letting on. So while they’re currently behind the Switch and PlayStation 4 with regards to a steady stream of exclusive games, all is not lost.
Who Will Win The 2019 Exclusives War?
The current console generation will be defined in the future by the exclusives that appeared on each system, which is partly why Sony gained so much ground over Microsoft despite how similar the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are in terms of hardware.
Nintendo has a stellar line-up of games, but only in theory, as there are too many games that are still questionable at this point. We haven’t seen enough of Animal Crossing or the new Pokémon games to say that they will definitely be released this year, and the recent issues with Metroid Prime 4 have proven that Nintendo has no problem canning a game or delaying it if they don’t think it’s up to snuff.
The current line-up of confirmed Nintendo Switch games for 2019 is impressive, but none of them are system sellers in the same way that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate were. If Nintendo manages to get Animal Crossing and the next generation of Pokémon games out by Christmas, then the year is theirs, but if they’re relying on the games that we know for sure are coming out, then they will be left in the dust by Microsoft and Sony.
