Nintendo's July in Review (Splatoon 2, New 2DS XL, & Switch Online App)

Going into July of 2017, Nintendo had a ton of momentum that they could capitalize on. With releases earlier this year that included a revolutionary new console, the likely undisputed game of the year in Breath of the Wild, a new IP in ARMS, and an incredible selling Mario Kart 8 port, Nintendo had been knocking it out of the park. July continued this momentous path for the Big N, as the month saw a major first party Switch game in Splatoon 2, a pair of first party 3DS games, the launch of the Nintendo Switch Online App, and even a new hardware release. A ton of great Indie titles also made it onto the Switch in July, However, major third party support made very little appearances. Let’s look in depth at the highs and lows of Nintendo’s July.

During the Wii U era, Nintendo set themselves up as a company who would fully support indie developers by bringing their games onto Nintendo consoles. The Switch has continued to further this stance, and the new hybrid system’s eshop has become packed full of stellar indie or “Nindie” titles. July saw some of the best Indie titles currently available come to the Switch. Ranging from a Resident Evil clone in Vaccine, all the way to the hit chaotic multiplayer game Overcooked: Special Edition. The Nintendo Switch continues to flex its muscles as an indie hit powerhouse. One indie game that launched in July that took the Switch by storm was Death Squared. This title is a multiplayer focused puzzle game that challenges players to work together to solve increasingly difficult puzzles. This is the best small multiplayer game to hit the Switch since Snipperclips!

One area that the Switch is still subjectively struggling in is large third party support. While I personally do not see the Switch as having a major third party problem, July does lend itself more toward seeming as if it does. At this point, Minecraft has to be considered a third party game, and no longer an indie hit. With that, I will include Minecraft: Story Mode’s July launch on Switch within third party support. Unfortunately, however, the only other real support that the Switch got from a major third party developer was the late July release of Namco Museum. While both of these games are great in their own right and each have their own niche audiences to appeal to, they still aren’t the massive third party games that people are desiring for their Switches. Sadly, there was no major third party support for Nintendo’s dedicated handheld, the 3DS, either.

As has been the trend in 2017, where Nintendo excelled in July was with first party releases. On the 3DS front, a pair of first party games were released. First of all, the quirky, personalized adventure RPG Miitopia was released alongside a new piece of hardware, the New 2DS XL. This new hardware offers all the great features of the New 3DS XL, in a light weight, kid friendly design, but removes the namesake 3D feature altogether. Also launched beside the New 2DS XL was Nintendo’s first Pikmin spinoff title, Hey! Pikmin. While none of these game or hardware launches could have been considered major, it was still a huge step in proving that Nintendo was not quite done supporting the 3DS family of systems just yet, which is a reassuring sign for many fans.

Now, for Nintendo’s magnum opus of the summer, the game that put July on the map for Nintendo and its fan’s, the July 21^st release of Splatoon 2. Without Splatoon 2, there would have been no major launch for July for Nintendo, and likely would have raised questions as to what was going on with Nintendo. However, this was not at all the case. Instead, Splatoon 2 made July a month filled with hype and excitement for the sequel to Nintendo’s hit third-person shooter. Thankfully, when the game finally released, it was revealed that Nintendo had another critical success on their hands, getting unanimously positive reviews, and scoring a 9 out of 10 on the Nintendo Tribune scale. It’s the one major game a month formula that Nintendo has implemented this year that has proven to be so successful for them, and July’s Splatoon 2 release was no different.

There are a few small notes and details that have to be mentioned to close out Nintendo’s July. First of all, the Nintendo Switch Online App has launched to unanimously negative reviews. Lacking in modern day conveniences and requiring players to dedicate their entire phone to chat services has shown that the app still has a long way to go. On a more positive note, the Super Smash Bros. Melee and Smash 4 championships were held in mid-July, while the latter championship was nationally televised on Disney XD. Finally, Nintendo released a ton of sales/financial numbers in July, showing just how successful the previous quarter had been for them. This even confirmed that nearly 5 million Switches have already been sold worldwide.

While not a flawless month, Nintendo once again proved why they have so much momentum as a company currently. With hit games like Splatoon 2, the growing success of the Switch, and continued support of the 3DS, Nintendo looks to be having a record breaking 2017. August will have a hard time topping July for Nintendo, but with a major third party game coming in the form of Mario + Rabbids, it will definitely be an interesting month. Splatoon 2 helped elevate Nintendo’s July, but a lack of third party support and the failure of the Switch Online App shows that the Big N still has a ways to go. I give Nintendo’s month of July an 8 out of 10.