Summary
- Despite predatory monetization practices, gacha games could be a good fit for the Switch 2 at launch, especially while we wait for a full roster of next-gen titles.
- Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete and Mario Run would be good choices as they lack gacha mechanics.
- Some Nintendo mobile games have ended service, but they could be the basis for new concepts, like a new iteration on Miitomo.
Do you remember Nintendo’s mobile games initiative? It’s mostly dead except for the stalwart Fire Emblem Heroes, but that doesn’t mean Nintendo shouldn’t consider bringing some form of these games to the Switch 2.
Gacha Games Could Be Important for the Switch 2
Before you grab your pitchforks, let me get this out of the way immediately: yes, gacha games have inherently predatory monetization models. That’s not to condemn them, as I’ve played my fair share. It just needs to be said from the off.
There’s a reason many of these games are popular beyond the gacha, though. Games like Infinity Nikki and the HoYoverse lineup (Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero, and so on) offer compelling gameplay loops that exist outside Skinner boxes. These games skipped the original Switch, but they come with existing player bases in the tens of millions that would automatically translate to the Switch 2.
However, Nintendo could take the whole cut by introducing its own mobile games to its new platform.
These Are the Best Fits
First up is the obvious home run launch window game of the bunch: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. While this game saw its end of service last year, this was followed up by a paid premium version without microtransactions.
I already posited this when listing 10 games I anticipate will be part of the Switch 2’s first-year lineup. It would be the perfect small-scale Nookfest for the large audience of people who bought a Switch just to play Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Pocket Camp Complete offers a decent enough taste to entice this player base to the new console while they wait for a proper new title to truly sate them.
Fire Emblem Heroes is also a smart pick. It’s going eight years strong with a mountain of content and a vibrant player base who would love a more premium way to play. The game’s become complex enough that it could make use of the vertical screen space to show extra information and could even add Switch 2-exclusive maps that make use of that real estate. This might be even enough for me to pick the game up again for a spell or three!
If Nintendo really needs some decent filler content and wants to avoid gacha altogether, Super Mario Run is a good choice. Nintendo has updated the game with promotional content for its customizable plaza, so the company hasn’t forgotten about it. While the game was considered by some to be overpriced at launch for $10, release it on the Switch 2 with a handful of new levels and people would probably take to it better. It’s a decent auto runner that deserves another shot, and the Switch 2 launch window might be the best moment for it.
I’ll also throw in the recent phenomenon that is Pokémon TCG Pocket. It’s my current gacha game of choice, one I can see myself sticking with for quite some time. I find it to be a brilliant mobile translation of the trading card game, and not particularly predatory. In fact, the most fun you can have with it is forgoing a completionist mindset and just digging into the cool cards you open for free every day (I, of course, have not taken my own advice).
Pokémon cards have seen a real resurgence in popularity, so having a version on Nintendo’s new console that many people have already built collections for would be an immediate hit. They could also try to translate the full TCG rule set, but in my opinion, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company should go where the people already are, not make them start from nothing again.
Maybe Not These, Though
Okay, let’s hit on the mobile games that Nintendo shouldn’t, can’t, or won’t bring to the Switch 2 by first throwing a banana peel at Mario Kart Tour.
This game is slowly racing toward its end of service and was made redundant when its unique courses were repurposed as downloadable content for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. But more importantly, we know from the Switch 2 reveal trailer that we’re getting Mario Kart 9, perhaps even on launch day. That puts a stake in Tour, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of its influence—like costumes—show up there.
Another one that can’t happen given its augmented reality mechanics is Pikmin Bloom. However, I think we’ll see something featuring Pikmin in the Switch’s first year to help Nintendo cement their place as secondary mascots. Maybe some cozy slice-of-life fun such as a virtual Pikmin garden you can tend to in real-time. Or perhaps StreetPass will return and a version of Pikmin Bloom will be implemented into that, in which case I’d be happily wrong about putting it in this category. Bring back StreetPass, Nintendo!
The last two to mention are Dragalia Lost and Dr. Mario World, both of which lived short lives long since led. Anyone who wants Dr. Mario can load up the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy app, which is already confirmed for Switch 2. It’s the better way of playing the pill puzzler, even if it lacks three stacked Goombas in a lab coat.
As for Dragalia Lost, there just wasn’t much there. It had some cool crossovers but otherwise wasn’t particularly compelling. I wouldn’t be opposed to them resurrecting the franchise in some capacity, though given Nintendo may share the rights with Cygames, I’m not counting on it.
This One Should Return in Another Form
We end at the beginning with Miitomo, Nintendo’s first mobile outing. It was a fairly simple social app where you created or imported a Mii, asked and answered questions from friends, and had little hang-outs. The thing was novel for a minute (“There’s a Nintendo on my iPhone!”) but there’s no reason for it to return in that form. Instead, Nintendo should use it as a blueprint for a “new” social platform, something the original Switch sorely lacked.
You may know where I’m going with this already, and I’ll validate your foresight: bring back Miiverse. The Wii U’s chaotic message board is possibly the most unhinged and surreal thing Nintendo’s ever knowingly created. Instead of fumbling to describe how, I’ll start you down a rabbit hole instead. At your own peril.
In all seriousness, I think Miiverse got away with being crazed because the Wii U was a flop. So, barring that, a fun twist on digital socializing like Miitomo would imbue the Switch 2 with some serious personality. For example, maybe achieving certain feats in games could give you furniture for a Mii apartment. Maybe that could also take the form of fun lobbies for your multiplayer parties. Heck, it would even be a good way for people to offload those ever-expiring Platinum Points.
I figure we’ll find out if any of this is in the cards during the next Nintendo Direct, coming April 2. Missed out on the Switch 2 news? Get the full lowdown on Nintendo’s new console.
