2015 - Nintendo Loses A Legend
This year will always be remembered by Nintendo fans as the one which saw the tragic passing of Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. Aged just 55, he left behind a considerable legacy, having presided over one of the most successful periods in the company's long history. He is missed to this very day.
Tatsumi Kimishima stood in to replace Iwata, and was tasked with steadying the ship during one of Nintendo's most challenging periods – but light was at the end of the tunnel in the shape of the Wii U's successor, codenamed 'NX'. Right from its first official announcement, it was stated clearly that NX would unite Nintendo's home and handheld businesses under one platform – something we thought was a pretty sound idea. Before his passing, Iwata claimed that it would "surprise" people and "change their video game lives". He was 100% correct on both counts; it's just a shame he didn't get the chance to see it.
With its successor looming on the horizon, the poor old Wii U endured a torrid year. Big-name projects were pulled after months of build-up, and we also got reports that promising projects had been abandoned before we even knew they existed. Still, the news that a new Zelda was in development caused hopes to rise, as did the news that former Rare developers were reviving the 3D platformer (although sadly, that particular game wouldn't see release on the Wii U in the end).
2015 was also the year that the near-mythical SNES PlayStation was unearthed; previously assumed lost to history, a working prototype was discovered, triggering thoughts of what could have been had Nintendo and Sony remained friends. It was also the start of Nintendo's move into the world of smart devices, with an announcement that it would be working with mobile content firm DeNA on a series of games based on its most famous properties.
The Wii U's release schedule was pretty dire in 2015, with Minecraft proving to be our most-read review. This was closely followed by Splatoon, one of the most exciting Nintendo exclusives in ages, as well as Super Mario Maker. Xenoblade Chronicles X was another rare highlight, while the likes of Mario Party 10, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Devil's Third and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash rather felt like they were simply making up the numbers. The system was desperate for third-party support, but Lego Dimensions was perhaps the biggest non-Nintendo release of the year.
Meanwhile, on 3DS, Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D resurrected an old classic, and the New Nintendo 3DS exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles 3D introduced the Wii RPG to a new generation of fans. Stella Glow was another 3DS RPG worth a look, as was Code Name S.T.E.A.M., the latter being criminally underrated and seemingly forgotten today. Yo-Kai Watch finally made its western debut after taking Japan by a storm, while Chibi-Robo Zip-Lash ended up being something of a disappointment – and perhaps the final outing for the cult character, as the studio behind it appears to have vanished.
2015 got a new Zelda outing, but it wasn't exactly what people wanted. Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes failed to get our pulses racing, and was joined by Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer on the 'naughty' step. When even Nintendo is pushing out duds of this magnitude, you know it's a bad year to be a fan.
Most Popular Article of 2015: Not Everyone is Thrilled That Metroid Prime Trilogy Lands on the Wii U eShop Tomorrow
Most Popular Review of 2015: Minecraft: Wii U Edition (Wii U eShop)
2016 - What Once Was Old Is New Again
With the 'NX' still a year away and the Wii U and 3DS slowing down dramatically, it fell to vintage hardware to save Nintendo's bacon in 2016 – namely the NES Classic Edition, the announcement of which was comfortably our most popular article of the year in terms of traffic. The micro-console was a runaway commercial success and has paved the way for loads of imitators – as well as a follow-up in the form of the SNES Classic Edition.
The NES Mini wasn't the only thing that got people talking about Nintendo in 2016, however – the launch of Pokémon GO on smartphones was a global phenomenon which everyone was talking about. The success of the monster-catching app helped Nintendo's bottom line, and was one of several ventures into the world of smart devices – the other two being Super Mario Run and the now-defunct Miitomo.
With NX's official reveal mere months away, the rumour factory went into overdrive during most of 2016. The most notable example was a faked NX controller which fooled a great many people (not us, though). When the machine was officially shown off in October, it caused quite a stir.
With the Wii U drifting into memory, it was up to the 3DS to keep things afloat in the world of Nintendo. Pokémon Sun & Moon – one of the most commercially successful entries in the series – did just that, while Fire Emblem Fates, Dragon Quest VII, Final Fantasy Explorers, Bravely Default: Second Layer, Super Mario Maker, Hyrule Warriors Legends and Monster Hunter Generations all contributed to a decent year in terms of releases. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the much-maligned Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
Over on Wii U, the much-delayed Star Fox Zero was perhaps the year's biggest new release. It was joined by the likes of Paper Mario: Color Splash, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and Pokkén Tournament. With Switch coming early in the following year, it was the Wii U's last chance to shine – and it didn't really, did it?
Most Popular Article of 2016: Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition Coming This November, Ships With 30 Games
Most Popular Review of 2016: Pokémon Sun and Moon (3DS)
2017 - Switch Cleans Up
While Nintendo began the decade brightly, by 2016 its stock was well and truly in the pits. The Wii U had failed to sell as expected, and the 3DS – while still popular – was beginning to show its age. The arrival of the Switch was timely, then; this all-in-one hybrid system has placed Nintendo at the vanguard of the gaming sector once more, and 2017 is where the road to redemption began.
It's genuinely hard to think of a better first year for any Nintendo platform when it comes to software. Following its arrival at the start of 2017, the Switch was blessed with Sonic Mania, ARMS, Splatoon 2, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, DOOM, NBA 2K18, Snipperclips, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Rocket League, LA Noire, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap, FIFA 18, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Pokkén Tournament DX, Fire Emblem Warriors, Yooka-Laylee and Super Mario Odyssey – as well as loads of other worthy games. Considering the lack of support the Wii U suffered, the flood of games the Switch received was a breath of fresh air and unquestionably helped it sell like hotcakes throughout most of the year, giving it valuable momentum which has arguably been maintained up to the present day. We still found the time to grumble about it, though.
Switch wasn't the only hardware success which Nintendo experienced in 2017, however – it also released the SNES Classic Edition, a follow-up to the NES Classic which boasted some of the best titles of the 16-bit era – as well as the previously unreleased Star Fox 2. The company also refreshed its 3DS line (again) with the New Nintendo 2DS XL.
While the Switch got the cream of the crop as far as games were concerned, the 3DS still scored some sizeable titles, with Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon being the most noteworthy. It was joined by the utterly superb reboot Metroid: Samus Returns and the exclusive JRPG Ever Oasis. Elsewhere, Capcom's Monster Hunter Stories finally made it to the west, while Hey! Pikmin failed to live up to its potential. Oh, and the Wii U got Zelda: Breath of the Wild – something that's easy to forget given that it was the biggest Switch launch title.
2017 was a big year for Nintendo and Nintendo Life, in more ways than one. Esteemed editor Thomas Whitehead announced he was moving out of games journalism to join Circle Entertainment.
Most Popular Article of 2017: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild All Shrine Locations Walkthrough And Map
Most Popular Review of 2017: NBA 2K18 (Switch)
2018 - Sophomore Success
When 2018 began, the bad old days of the Wii U felt like a distant memory, but there was always the question of whether or not Nintendo could keep the momentum up for another 12 months – especially as it seemed to have front-loaded its release schedule to ensure that the console enjoyed a bumper 2017.
The year gave us some usual news stories, such as Nintendo Switch consoles cracking under pressure (or heat, as some believe) and the arrival of Bowsette on the scene. Oh, and a dusty copy of Mario Kart 64 was discovered under a store shelf where it had remained hidden for two decades.
There were also legal battles, with the rapper Soulja Boy being forced to withdraw a bunch of cheap Chinese-made emulation consoles from his personal store after a negative reaction online. Nintendo also flexed its legal muscles in a case involving two Arizona-based ROM-sharing sites.
The Switch continued to get a regular supply of amazing games, too. Nintendo offered up the likes of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pokémon: Let's Go, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Tennis Aces, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition and Super Mario Party. However, it was third-party support which really counted during 2018, with the console benefitting from the likes of NBA 2K19, Starlink, Octopath Traveler, Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, Wolfenstein II, Dark Souls Remastered, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom and Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle. Oh, and there was the little matter of Fortnite, one of the world's biggest games, coming to the system.
It was also the year that indie releases really stepped up a gear; 2018 gave us Hollow Knight, Celeste, Dead Cells, Undertale and The Messenger – a fine selection of eShop classics which were accompanied by many, many other worthy indie releases as Nintendo's system revealed its suitability for small-scale projects with big hearts. On the 3DS, meanwhile, Luigi's Mansion and Wario Ware Gold provided something to get excited about.
Most Popular Article of 2018: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Full Character Roster List
Most Popular Review of 2018: Starlink: Battle For Atlas (Switch)
2019 - Ending On A High
We're nearly up to the present day, and what a way to round off the decade. 2019 saw Switch sales going through the roof, and while Sony and Microsoft ready their next-gen systems, Nintendo has been given the chance to steal back some mindshare – which it has unquestionably done with its latest system.
After months of rumours, Nintendo even added to the Switch family, releasing the Switch Lite, a system aimed at younger players or those shopping on a tighter budget. It wasn't all good news in the world of Switch, however. Issues with Joy-Con analogue sticks 'drifting' resulted in a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo. Oops.
2019 was also the year that Reggie-Fils Aime announced that he would be leaving Nintendo, to be replaced by the excellent-named Doug Bowser. A match made in heaven!
Other big news items included the saga of the Sonic movie trailer; the first caused quite a stir (for the wrong reasons), forcing Sega to go back to the drawing board by delaying the movie's release date and changing Sonic's look.
Keeping on the topic of Sega, we also saw the company's answer to the NES and SNES Classic Edition consoles: The Genesis / Mega Drive Mini. In a year where Nintendo declined to add to its Classic Edition line, we also got offerings from Capcom and SNK, as well as Analogue's amazing Mega Sg. Analogue also confirmed that it would be producing a FPGA system capable of playing all Game Boy games.
While the 3DS drifts into memory, it was kept in the public eye by the fact that some crazy fool actually released a game that cost $100 for it.
The Switch's sales momentum was maintained by yet another crop of excellent games, with Nintendo leading the charge via the likes of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Astral Chain, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Super Mario Maker 2, Luigi's Mansion 3, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Yoshi's Crafted World, Daemon X Machina and Tetris 99. Pokémon Sword & Shield also made its debut, but its release was overshadowed by 'Dexit', one of 2019's more controversial moments.
The Switch continued to benefit from some fine third-party support during 2019, with the likes of Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, Wargroove, Witcher 3, Collection of Mana, Hellblade, Cuphead, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, Final Fantasy VII, Crash Team Racing and Alien: Isolation, to name but a few. We were also treated to not one but two releases in the Assassin's Creed series, as well as the amazing Cadence of Hyrule, one of the best (and most unexpected) mash-ups we've seen in ages.
Most Popular Article of 2019: Best Nintendo Switch Couch Co-Op Games
Most Popular Review of 2019: Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (Switch)
So there you have it – Nintendo's decade in review. Do you think the company had a good ten years? What do you think the next decade will bring? Let us know with a comment – and have a great 2020!
Comments 52
Best moment for me is the start of the “Nintendo directs”. So used to them right know, but it’s not for that long that we are having them. And they are (almost) always exciting!
Still love to train my amiibo and then get destroyed by them. Definitely a highlight of the decade for me.
2010's was the beginning of Minecraft type games booming.
So many fresh or great ideas for gaming during 2010's, especially on 3DS and Switch.
But it was also the darkest and the worst moment of Nintendo on year 2015.
Amiibo mandatory, Worst sales of Wii U, Absurd ideas from Nintendo (Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer & Amiibo Festival), spinoff controversy, milked franchise to death (Mario & Luigi RPG), etc.
My highlights--The Wii U's game library (best pound-per-pound Nintendo library?) and the Switch console. And that amazing moment of watching the reveal when the guy takes his dog and his Switch for a walk . . .and a later promo video with the Switch visiting the bathroom for the first time. You couldn't watch these and think the Switch would flop. Great way to end the decade, and I really hope Nintendo builds up the Switch library with ORIGINAL TITLES and some excellent (non-cardboard) peripherals and joy-con variants in the decade to come!
I thought things turned around when kimishima took over. This is not a slam to anyone else. But when that bull dog took over, advertising went through the roof. It seemed Nintendo got real brave at that point. It paid off.
That was a great read. Thank you
@graysoncharles How did I miss that?! Added!
The falloff of the Wii started the decade, followed by 3DS becoming the undisputed leader of handheld gaming, to the absolute failure of the Wii U (which I loved), to the tremendous success of the Switch.
It was a rollercoaster indeed for the Big N.
Decade started strong with 2010 being arguably the Wii's best year (2007 was great as well). The Wii U/3DS era I mostly checked out as far as Nintendo gaming but the Switch brought me back in 2017. The true successor to the original Wii and easily my favorite Nintendo system since the SNES. 2019 ended things with a bang. Seemed like from June forward there was a great big budget game every month along with lots of awesome indie stuff.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
Bit like this decade as a whole, then...
The Switch brought me back into gaming after largely "checking out" of it after the Wii Sports bowling phase ended and my Wii became a dust collector. I never was a fan of that system. The Virtual Console was cool and I loved Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 outside of the fact you had to use motion controls, which almost killed the game for me, despite it being perhaps the two best Mario games ever.
I haven't gamed this much since my PS2 days in college. In fact, I think the Switch has overtaken the SNES as my favorite console of all time.
The Nintendo Wii U had great untapped potential and a vast number of possibilities that both Nintendo and third-party developers did not dare experiment with, out of fear of loosing time and money due to the large number of complaints regarding motion controls from people who are either to lazy or inept to learn/adapt to the changes with the growth and evolution of the new generations.
(basically lots of people prefer to stay stuck with the old ways)
It also most definitely did not help the console at all with how strictly Nintendo was being with their family friendly policy at the time, that definitely made a lot of third-party developers back away from working with that system, unfortunately.
And ofcourse they did not advertise the console probably which caused it to become somewhat obscure during the beginning of the Wii U's lifetime.
(Heck, i didn't find out about the console's existence until 2014)
The Wii U's marketing was absolutely dreadful. Advertising in non-video game locations like Pottery Barn, always have kids as the stars of the commercials, not pointing out that it's a separate system, not an accessory for the Wii. It really nailed all the things people criticized Nintendo for during the Wii era of "going kiddie friendly casual only." They learned their lessons and the marketing for the Switch has been much, much better.
@Gamer83 Honestly while I got so much in 2019(and specifically in the last Fall season XD ), I'll probably still be busy playing a lot of my current games well into 2020.
Nonetheless I'll be -really- curious for what surprises the big N might have in store next year... and in some cases if some of them might even include present titles. I'm enjoying Pokemon Sword a lot right now despite the controversy, but I'm starting to feel like and wonder if there might be some stuff specifically held back for Pokemon Home's release, just judging by how much is already in the game data(35 pokemons not in the GalarDex, with moves/models/etc et al) but also what is "not"(a yet to be revealed "Gen8 Mythical" with ties to the Galar Region....which is one tradition I don't expect a studio as predictable as Game Freak is going to go without, even with "Dexit" shaking what we might used to think of as "predictable" from them).
Then there's ton of other possibility in future titles such as apossible late 2020 release of Breath of the Wild 2, more than three years since the title from whose foundations it is most likely being directly being built from. And that's not mentioning hypothetical titles we might not know of "yet".
@kingbk "the marketing for the Switch has been much, much better."
It did tackle that, but it still has to work at being more realistic to what people actually think/do with the products and finding some copy writers that create less cringey scripts (way less cringey!).
It always warms my heart to see anything related to Iwata. I was recommended this video last month, where Iwata delivers his famous "heart of a gamer" quote, and I was baffled I had never seen the full speech before. It was very inspiring, and I highly recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to give it a watch. (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RMrj8gdUfCU&t=1596s) The man also spoke for like an hour with a sore throat, which is a further testament to his dedication. It was a moving testimony, and many of his statements about the gamingh industry are still relevant today. We lost a true visionary this decade--a man whose humility makes him, in my eyes, the Mr. Rogers of Japan: someone who just makes you smile. Because it wasn't always just the games that made me smile.
@KingBowser86, oh no question, the marketing still has some work to do, but the level of improvement from where it was with the Wii U is noticeable and I believe a big factor for Nintendo's drastic turnaround.
@kingbk Certainly the advertising spend helped. I think? Eh, a good perception in North America does wonders for every other region (for whatever reason).
@bluedogrulez
I agree that the wiiu has a great library but I prefer the switch hardware.
I still remember Adam Sessler being confused after the Wii U reveal. He didn't know if it was an accessory to Wii or a new console. I always thought he was an idiot to not see it was a new console, but of course millions of others had the same problem.
Honestly I think this was kind of a weak decade for Nintendo. Last decade was a much stronger time period for them with the GBA, DS, Gamecube and Wii. This decade felt like their popularity really went on the decline, at least when it came to the home console scene. The 3DS managed to sell well but that said most Nintendo enthusiast seem to agree that the DS and GBA had better games, especially when it came to 3'rd party. The Wii was really showing it's age at the start of this decade and the Wii U was a failure.
It is really the Switch that stands out as savior of Nintendo, they would have been firmly cemented in third place if it wasn't for the Switch taking off. Honestly I think the whole Reggie era was disappointing time for the company, the Bowser era is looking a lot more optimistic.
Great article and look back guys. I still remember just being stone cold stunned at the new of Mr. Iwata's passing in 2015 - and so close on the heels of that very disappointing E3 that year. Such a wide range of emotions in such a short amount of time.
I feel Reggie's surprise retirement announcement was so out of the blue that it, too, felt like an unexpected loss and a period of mourning followed it as well.
As Nintendo fans (especially those in North America who was under Reggie's leadership), it was a decade of two losses that provided significant change.
It is still sad to me that Mr. Iwata never physically saw the success that the Switch is enjoying.
@JayJ Reggie's enthusiasm was infectious, but he was the one who pushed the "blue whale" marketing strategy of reaching non-gamers. It worked for the Wii, but it also pushed Nintendo into the "kiddie friendly casual" box that turned off many gamers until the Switch won back their trust.
I will miss him. It's still early for me to grade Doug Bowser, but he doesn't seem to have the same joy for Nintendo that Reggie did.
@kingbk You bring up a good point, I think the wild success of the Wii era directly influenced Nintendo's decisions in the 3DS and Wii U era. They had a ton of success in the casual and kiddish audience with the Wii so they must have assumed that was the direction to focus in on. I think most people will admit that the motion control was the real draw back then and they heavily overestimated their ability to succeed by focusing on a casual/kid audience. It worked with the Wii because the motion controls were a new and attractive gimmick that drew in a ton of people outside of the usual gaming audience, but the Wii U tablet didn't have the draw that motion controls had.
Lol at the angry birds guy.
Xenoblade came out this decade.
@kingbk Yeah I mean I definitely can't be all negative about Reggie, he did a lot of great things for the company and you can really see his passion. That said I have often found myself disagreeing with him and his philosophies towards gaming, and I felt like his influence turned Nintendo consoles into something that I struggled to enjoy.
What stands out to me now is how I loved the N64, Gamecube, and Wii (I was a Sega gamer back in the 16-bit era). I also loved the Game Boy, GBA, and DS. Yet I always struggled to enjoy the Wii U and 3DS and barely played them. To me the problem with those consoles was always a lack of great 3'rd party, Nintendo games can be great and all but it is really everything else that keeps me interested in a console. I enjoyed the virtual console support but that is just retro gaming and it doesn't really make the consoles appealing on their own.
Anyways the Switch has truly succeeded where Nintendo failed in the recent past, and I am truly enjoying it. It seems to have a bit of everything for everyone, so it is no wonder that I have managed to get a bunch of games that I want to play often. I think that is what makes the Switch the success that it is. It isn't designed around being only kid/casual friendly, it is designed to work for anyone.
Nothing about "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu"? I think the first live-action Pokemon film / second live-action Nintendo film deserves a mention.
I'm glad Nintendo is picking back up, after Iwata sadly pass away and the Wii U coming to an end. with the Switch doing really well, a lot of my worries were gone for the Switch.
@JayJ Yep, I totally agree. Nintendo learned numerous lessons from the Wii/Wii U and has found the perfect balance of appealing to Nintendo fans, casual gamers AND dedicated gamers with the Switch. The gaming library, with solid first party titles, loads of indies and a growing number of third party AAA games, is a testament of that.
This decade has started with and ended with Nintendo for me. GameCube was my secondary console to my PS2 from 2003-2009 when I got a Wii in late October. The virtual console (and a raft of affordable games) got me into Nintendo on a big way (I was SEGA at school and only dipped into Nintendo with the N64 and Gameboy line).
At the same time I also got into Xbox this decade two and between them the Wii and Xbox 360 were brilliant for the first half of the decade. Then I got the 2DS in 2014 (I missed out on the DS line completely the previous decade) and it was so good that I eventually went back and built up a decent library of DS games too, as well as a few systems...). Then I got the WII U in late 2014 and I supported it fully, buying as many games as I could but it never really matched the fun of I’d had with the Wii for the previous 5 years (I couldn’t even connect it to the internet to do the infamous day one update. The single lost annoying gaming experience ever!).
I upgraded the 2DS to a 3DS XL (uncomfortable to hold and bad 3D) and then to a New 3DS (big improvement) but honestly wished I had stuck with the 2DS and saved my money. My son now plays the 2DS regularly though, so it’s still in use.
I got the SNES and NES minis which were great, but shied away from the Switch, feeling burnt after the Wii U. Now my main go to system is the Xbox One but I finally have in and snagged a Switch Lite on sale recently and it is a good little system. Glad I didn’t pay out for a full Switch; as a console it pales in performance to the Xbox but as a handheld it is superb!
So my decade has started with Nintendo Wii and ended with Nintendo Switch . Here’s to another decade, hopefully of more highs than lows!
Nintendo DS games were $40 not $50 though right?
I was also shocked for a minute about wipeout 3.
An incredible decade. And one that hopefully will define how Nintendo enter the next decade. The 3DS was my personal favourite just for the sheer volume of quality games. Yes, I enjoyed the Wii but I found it bored me for a while as the novelty wore off. That said, it was incredible how it brought everyone into gaming and it is no wonder that it sold so well.
The disastrous marketing drive (or should that be lack of) that was the Wii U has to be the lesson that Nintendo learn from. Never scared of making mistakes - something that endears them to so many - Nintendo totally fluffed it with the Wii U. As with all Nintendo consoles it was a day one purchase for myself. And I enjoyed every minute of its short life. The concept was good, the execution truly terrible.
And then Nintendo does what it does best. Realises that it is at its best when it keeps it simple but with an added element of novelty. The NX became the Nintendo Switch and it is brilliant. There are no other words. Even those at the very top of Sony and Microsoft couldn’t help admitting they bought one and openly congratulated Nintendo. Some of that was because they knew that Nintendo had not tried to compete with them but to be alive in their world.
2020 sees the release of the X Box Series X (Wii U style cock up incoming) and the PS5. Can Nintendo still survive with a console which will effectively be 2 generations older?
That is up to the big N themselves. And a Switch pro or Switch 2 wouldn’t go amiss in around 18 months time. It’s time for Nintendo to stop changing the consoles they release and embrace the continuity with the Switch. If they do that they will be selling hundreds of millions of consoles for decades to come.
And I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Happy New Year!
Only jumped on board the Nintendo systems in 2017 as the Switch suited me perfect with its hybrid setup. Prior to that I was xbox all the way. Now im not sure il get on board with the new xbox next year. Im loving the Nintendo exclusives and portability.
This was a pretty impacting decade for gaming. More than I'd remembered. Still love my WiiU and a part of me still wishes that it had been popular enough for nintnedo to allow the gamepad to connect to the switch dock. The loss of Iwata-denka is still a heavy one. I feel like we are just now really entering Nintendo without any of his left over guidance (aside from the mere existence of the switch.) and I think 2020-2021 will be the years that we really see where the New Nintendo will go without him.
I still think Amiibo is not worthy of mentioning here... A silly technology with little to no relevance on (most) gameplay. My highlight of the past 10 years was definitely the 3DS XL. I played on mine for the longest, and I still fire it up once in a while to play my Ambassador Games Right now, I'm obsessed with my Switch Lite and playing Zelda: links awakening and Tetris 99. Here's to another great decade of Nintendo!
Can we stop pretending that ARMS was a good game please?
@Grumble, the Amiibos are more fun to collect if you like toy figurines. I'm glad they are going more in that direction and less meaningful to gameplay itself.
No mention of LABO, I guess cardboard is forgettable material. No Ring-fit either? Come on, it's only a couple months ago how can you forget?
Nintendo Directs totally changed the ballgame. I think that has been my favorite Nintendo contribution of the decade. We miss you, Iwata.
@kingbk agreed! While I say that, I do have a MARIO amiibo still in the box unopened lol 😂
Hold up...... I just realized there's no mention of Super Mario Galaxy 2 in the 2010 section. That might be the best Nintendo game of the decade!
@Superzone13 agreed, except for the damn requirement to use motion controls. I'd love for them to remaster it for Switch and let you use a pro controller or joy cons.
the Nintendo switch was the reason I became a Nintendo fan again since early on in the Wii’s lifetime
Been a very interesting decade for Nintendo. At the start of it they had begun to take their eye off the ball. The complacent launch of the 3DS and the subsequent rescue job needed then led to the disappointment of the Wii U. The turnaround with the Switch where Nintendo have got so much right is amazing.
My personal Nintendo experience reflects that. After Mario Galaxy 2 right at the start of the decade I lost interest in the Big N. My PS3 took up most of my gaming time as things like DKC Returns and Skyward Sword were ruined for me by the controls.
3DS didn’t impress me (I only got one when Mario Kart cane out) and the Vita was my preferred handheld of choice for a long time. Wii U didn’t impress me at all, I didn’t bother until getting bought one for Christmas 2013 and while I used it a fair bit at first the slow trickle of worthwhile games meant it got sidelined for the PS4. I honestly thought Nintendo had lost it-another system as bad as the Wii U and thy would have been in big trouble.
However the Switch totally brought me back to the Nintendo fold. The ease and speed of use combined with the quality and variety of games makes it one of my very favourite systems ever. If anybody had told me back in 2014 that by 2019 a Nintendo would be my most used system I would have left, so fair play Nintendo.
I remember reactions to 3DS selling poorly (around launch, anyway), Mario Kart 7, the "New" SMB games, Wii U launch Smash for 3DS and Wii U, and the Watch Dogs debacle very well. Also, the launch for Splatoon and Splatoon 2 announcement, the latter of which some people assumed was a port (which is a ridiculous claim for anyone who'd played both games). This decade started out pretty badly, but ended well for Nintendo. Here's hoping for another great decade from Nintendo.
Also, calls for Nintendo to go third-party have gone on since at least 2001, when Sega went software only.
Great article but I have to remind everyone that the decades start on the number "one" and end on the "ten" (same reason why the Millennium started in 2001)
P.s: sorry for being a party killer ups..
@Balta666 is right. We use the Gregorian calendar, which went from 1 BC to 1 AD. There was no "year zero". So from 1 AD to 10 AD is a decade, then the next sequence (decade) begins on 11 AD to 20 AD and so on and so forth.
@Balta666 @Iacobus technically true but is that important? It’s pretty pedantic to point out. Like people on New Year’s Eve In 1999 telling people that it wasn’t a big deal that the first digit of the year is changing for the first time in a millennium.
If decade reflections bother you then just think of this as the best of the period from 1 January to 2010 to 31 December 2019 (which just happens to be a decade long!)
@BongoBongo don't take everything you read on the internet so serious. Cheers
This decade was the worst in terms of the amount of deaths in two of my families, both in the workforce and life in general.
In 2011, I lost a former family member that was a helper to my grandmother as well, to a massive heart attack at the age of 64
In 2013, Hiroshi Yamauchi died
In 2014, my grandmother died from breast cancer at 74
In 2015, Satoru Iwata had died
In 2017, a former employee died from stage 4 cancer.
In 2018, another former employee died from a gunshot followed by blunt force trauma to the head with a baseball bat.
This is a great format for an article. I really enjoyed reading about Nintendo through the decade with links to your historical articles and reviews. I didn’t join Nintendo Life until part way through the decade, so I’ve really savoured reading the old news articles you’ve linked to while reminiscing about the 3DS and Wii U, and all the great games I played on those systems.
You should definitely do this format again or similar when suitable. I don’t want to have to wait until 2029 for the next one! 😀
I really enjoyed this feature. Thank you. I remember leaving IGN's Nintendo channel behind and bookmarking this site after the greatness of E3 2013 (Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Xenoblade X, Smash), and reading through these old articles brought back some great memories.
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