The success of the Switch has shown once again that Nintendo operate in a different world to everyone else but this time around they are happily bringing other developers along for the ride. Judging from their Nintendo Direct it seems they should just continue doing whatever they do because it’s looking good even if they do seem like they were holding a lot in reserve. The opening trailer was for mech battler DAEMON X MACHINA sets a great tone with its glorious anime art style and epic robot battles. It’s definitely the kind of game that I wish I could play on my own systems and that soundtrack is pretty darned cool as well.

The versatility of the hardware just makes it so easy for a broad spectrum of game titles to find their way onto the Switch. From multiplayer motion control extravaganzas like Super Mario Party to touchscreen free to play titles like Fallout Shelter there’s few games that can’t find a way to fit onto the system. Even if the “real” Pokemon games are still some ways off, Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee! might fill the void for the time being and those Pokeball controllers are going to drive fans crazy in a good way, but I do think there’ll be plenty of other titles to keep players occupied. Still it’s a beginning with some neat possibilities!

Fortnite finally makes the jump to Switch and for existing players it’s great because you can bring your existing account and purchases along with it. Well… you can as long you’re not a PlayStation 4 player anyway. Sony’s boneheaded move just made cross platform gaming a happy universe where they’re not invited. And with it involving the biggest game of the moment, that’s bad for them. The game is apparently going to support voice chat directly from the Switch itself and that’s a big change from relying on the mobile app but does help make it a viable mobile alternative for the players and let everyone enjoy the experience together. Making the transition for players to a new platform as seamless as possible is what will win players over and it’ll be interesting to see if it succeeds as much as I think it will.

Nintendo did have one big gun to roll out with Super Smash Bros Ultimate which judging from the size of the roster is going to be attempting to prove the name is appropriate. I’m not a big follower of the series but it really looked like they were trying to satisfy the fans as best they could.

With the strength of their line up (there’s also Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Octopath Traveler and Fire Emblem Three Houses on the way too) and a surprising willingness to innovate in areas previously thought unlikely to happen from them (cross platform play) they really are in a position that can only strengthen the the platform in the long term. And once again they’re doing it in the way only Nintendo can.

The full Nintendo Direct is below, via their YouTube Channel: