2025 felt like a house divided. Nintendo rolled out the Switch 2 and—just as importantly—kept the original hardware in the conversation. The result was a year where new launch spectacle, critical consensus and local eShop tastes all pointed in different but overlapping directions.
Two consoles, one ecosystem
Nintendo’s gamble of straddling two generations paid off in volume and variety. Big first‑party releases and polished ports for the new hardware sat alongside continued support for the older Switch lineup, producing healthy momentum for the platform family as a whole. That commercial confidence even led Nintendo to raise its Switch 2 forecast midyear, a telling sign that the hybrid strategy is working for them.Nintendo Raises Switch 2 Forecast as Console Sales Soar
Critics and players didn’t always agree on the standout titles, but several names kept recurring across lists and charts: Mario Kart World, Pokemon Legends: Z‑A (and its Switch 1 edition), Hollow Knight: Silksong, and an array of remakes that reminded everyone why nostalgia still sells when it’s done well.
What newspapers of record and fan lists loved
Metacritic‑driven roundups (GameSpot’s compilation is a clear window into that) show a year where technical upgrades and meaningful reworks mattered as much as new IP. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild both scored top marks in their Switch 2 editions, while Mario Kart World proved that the series could pivot from tight circuits to a more expansive, open‑world design without losing its soul.
Indie and mid‑tier releases also shone. Hades 2 landed as a critical darling, Hollow Knight: Silksong fulfilled a long wait, and inventive entries like Ball x Pit and Split Fiction demonstrated that smaller teams can still crack the upper echelon of year‑end lists.
Siliconera’s staff picks leaned into the comfy, long‑form RPG space; their Switch Game of the Year, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, highlights how sequels that respect their roots can win both hearts and hours.
Japan’s digital tastes — what downloaded most
Looking at pure downloads in Japan gives a different, more pragmatic picture. Nintendo Everything’s chart of best‑selling digital games shows Mario Kart World on top for Switch 2, while Pokemon Legends: Z‑A dominated Switch 1 sales. The Japanese eShop list also underscores how remakes and local franchises (Kirby Air Riders, Donkey Kong Bananza, Tamagotchi Plaza) remained steady earners—sometimes outpacing flashy Western blockbusters.
Those rankings come from eShop and My Nintendo Store downloads across the calendar year and reveal how platform launches don’t erase older hardware’s momentum; they coexist. If you’re tracking the long tail of titles that keep players engaged, paid DLC and polished remasters are doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
The awards that enjoyed being weird
Not every accolade this year was buttoned up. Nintendo Life’s Alternative Awards leaned playful and specific—there’s charm in celebrating the weird: Squirrel with a Gun won the (deliberately silly) “Game Featuring A Squirrel With A Gun” prize, Skate Story took a category named after its glass‑skating protagonist, and Daemon x Machina: Titanic Scion nabbed the bittersweet “Game We Wish We Liked More” label because of platform performance hiccups.
Those pieces of coverage matter because they capture the cultural texture around games—not just the polished critical consensus but the conversations, jokes and little outrages that keep communities active.
Remasters, DLC and the long game
2025 made obvious the commercial and critical value of revisiting classics. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter turned heads for how deftly they modernized old favorites; Dragon Quest and other HD‑2D remakes likewise kept players buying into legacy catalogs.
DLC also remained a revenue engine. Chained Echoes’ Ashes of Elrant and the steady drip of Pokémon Legends: Z‑A updates reminded developers that meaningful postlaunch content can keep a title near the top of stores and in listeners’ conversation long after release. If you’re tracking where Nintendo and partners are placing their bets, look at how remakes, DLC and cross‑generation ports cluster together.
If you’re following Pokémon specifically, the Mega Dimension add‑on kept the game in the spotlight—an example of series stewardship that nudges downloads and discussion in tandem.Pokémon Legends: Z‑A’s Mega Dimension — Trailer, Leaks and What to Do While You Wait
Why this matters for 2026
Nintendo’s cautious but expansive approach—backing a strong Switch 2 launch while continuing to support Switch 1 with ports and remasters—changes the rhythm of the industry. Developers planning multiplatform windows can expect a hybrid lifecycle: new console sales and excitement, plus a profitable aftermarket of remasters and DLC for existing hardware.
Nintendo’s schedule for the new hardware remains ambitious: more first‑party and partner support is planned, and the company has been explicit about keeping a steady stream of releases for both devices through the next cycle. For context on that roadmap and what it means for players, Nintendo reconfirmed a busy Switch 2 release cadence that should keep the momentum going into 2026.Nintendo Reconfirms Big Switch 2 Release Schedule as Third‑Party Support Surges
In short: 2025 didn’t crown a single, obvious winner. Instead it gave us a crowded year where the familiar and the surprising shared the stage—high‑profile remasters rubbing shoulders with indie darlings, and a new console launch that didn’t kill off the old one. For players, that’s mostly good news: more choices, more chances to dig into old favorites, and a few delightful oddities to keep conversations lively.