2020 was not a fully great year for the Nintendo Switch. Yes, there were titles like Animal Crossing New Horizons and Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity to headline the year, but the rest of the year had rather sparse pickings. 2021 has already done better in certain ways in both 1st and 3rd party titles that have been released, but fans are very eager to hear plans for the rest of year. And Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa understands that desire.
In a chat with Nikkei, Shuntaro Furukawa noted many things about Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, the next potential Nintendo console, and more. But what might interest gamers the most is that of what he said about their gaming IP.
“As we spend more time in our homes, we are becoming increasingly spoiled for choice when it comes to entertainment. For people to choose to play our games with their limited free time, the games must be interesting. Competition is fierce and we’re not looking at the current situation lightly. We are constantly looking out for new ideas and researching what we can utilize next. In future, we want to not only work on our staple series like Mario and Zelda but also work on new games and new series.”
Early on, the Nintendo Switch was praised for its use of many IP across the Nintendo line. Pokemon, Mario, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Mario Party, Animal Crossing, Xenoblade Chronicles and more IP have been used to some effect with others like Metroid, Mario Golf, and more likely to come. But, fans are hoping to see things from franchise that they haven’t touched on in a while like with Star Fox, Donkey Kong, Kid Icarus, Golden Sun and more.
We’ll have to see if Shuntaro Furukawa and the rest of the Nintendo team want to bring back those franchises, and what new IP like ARMS or Splatoon they try and make next.
