Lately several games have been released for gameplay on the Nintendo Switch. Two of these exciting new port additions are:

DOOM Eternal

This game, whilst only being relatively new (with a release in March 2020) is completely new to the Nintendo Switch platform and has been released as a port and one of the few good first-person shooters available to Nintendo consoles. The Switch is unique to its predecessors with regards to first person shooters wherein they are practically non-existent for Wii and Wii U.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

The second exciting port game to come to Switch came as a surprise announcement earlier this year and took quite a bit of hard-work and dedication to make possible. Developers wanted to ensure the graphics were not compromised to the point of not being able to give the game the quality of visuals that are expected of this series.

To celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Super Mario, Nintendo did several special releases this fall to commemorate this incredible classic. September saw the release of the Super Mario 3D All-stars which included an omnibus collection of Mario games that were originally released for either the Nintendo 64, Gamecube and Wii. Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy can be purchased as one package either in a physical or digital version but is only available until 31 March 2021!!

Other note-worthy Mario releases this year, released as of October, are the Super Mario Bros 35, which is designed like a Tetris 99 model and pits other players against each other in a battle royale. This game is free to NSO subscribers and offers a fun new way to ‘Mario’. Additionally, October saw the release of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. This Mario Kart version is similar to the Mario Bros 35 in that you are also competing against other players and like 35, offers a fun new remix of a classic game.

Nintendo continues to deliver incredible games to meet the ever-growing demands for excellent entertainment. 2020 has presented a challenging year and during lockdown and social distancing has most likely seen an increase in game play across the board. It will be interesting to see the numbers and most played game for 2020 and compare them to 2019. The 20 most played games in 2019 were:

1. Fortnite
2. The Legend Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
4. Minecraft
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!
7. Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!
8. Super Mario Odyssey
9. FIFA 19
10. Splatoon 2
11. Pokémon Sword
12. Pokémon Shield
13. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
14. Super Mario Party
15. Super Mario Maker 2
16. Fire Emblem: Three Houses
17. FIFA 18
18. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
19. Diablo III: Eternal Collection
20. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Originally only released for the 3DS and Switch, in a frantic attempt to expand, the creators sought to push the games reach to include the Wii and Wii U, which is not as easy as you might think. But thanks to some dedication and clever optimisation, it was approved for European Wii consoles. It will contain all the latest updates, including The Mogul Update, the Full Tank Update and several other important improvements.

It will come with both 50hz and 60hz, NTSC and PAL outputs as well as being supported on the Wii Remote, Wii Classic Controller, Wii Classic Controller Pro and GameCube Controller. It can also be played entirely on the GamePad with touch control.

The entire game fits onto the Wii’s system memory so you will not have to experience any load times once the game boots up. It also offers both SD and HD modes with 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios.

The Just Dance franchise has done it again with their Just Dance 2020 game released 5 November 2019. Surprisingly, this game has sold more copies than expected for the aging Nintendo Wii compared with newer compatible platforms. 21% of all copies sold during the launch period were for the Nintendo Wii in comparison to 10% sold for Xbox One, 14% on PS4 and 55% sold for the Nintendo Switch.

Ubisoft have proved the point that the demand is still there for games playable on the Wii. With the Wii being one of the highest selling consoles in the world, and most of its content also being playable on the Wii U, it is hardly a surprise that there is still a vested interest in new games that are Wii compatible. The original Wii will soon be a 14-year-old platform and for it to still have the popularity that it does, speaks volumes. Wii Just Dance fans, thank you for keeping the dream alive.