The Switch 2’s first year was better than the original Switch’s in every way

Nintendo had a lot to prove when the Switch launched in March 2017, both to consumers and to its publishing partners. The Wii U was a commercial failure, selling only 13.56 million units in its lifecycle, and before The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild launched, Nintendo hadn’t released a well-received first-party game for years. In other words, Nintendo had little choice but to lead the Switch lineup with the marquee franchises, if the company wanted to regain trust. But between those big launches, the Switch’s first year was far from being a glitzy parade of Nintendo’s finest.