Okay, this is just getting ridiculous at this point. The Nintendo Switch, for the most part, has done an excellent job of representing Nintendo's vast and storied assortment of franchises. Sure, people will always find something that needs to be brought back, and I never claim that Nintendo's selection is perfect. I mean, how could it be without a claymation Earthbound remake?
But generally speaking, this generation's output has been incredibly diverse. Series that people had practically decreed dead rose from the ashes in glorious fashion. Pikmin 4, Metroid Dread, Advance Wars 1 and 2, Mario RPG, and this year alone, another Code, Endless Ocean, and Classic Paper Mario.
It's clear to me that, especially in the latter years of its life, Nintendo realized the full potential of the so-called Switch effect. This thing prints money. You could sell a plague to people and see 2 million units sold.
Putting as many franchises on this system as possible makes perfect sense. The Switch is an inarguable IP maximizer. Everything reaches its full sales potential on this 6x4 screen. And clearly, Nintendo has become acutely aware of this fact. So, it is with complete, earnest, inquisitorial intent that I ask the following question.
Where is Tomodachi life? The Wii U in 3DS generation was one of few winners for Nintendo. Not in terms of quality, some of my favorite games come from these, but in terms of sales success.
The 3DS, while keeping them afloat, didn't reach the commercial and casual success of its predecessor, and the Wii U... We know the Wii U. As such, the games topping their ranks were the same ones you'd normally expect. 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Smash Bros, etc. Meaning that the ones diverging from this typical lineup were worthy of special attention. Splatoon, a new IP standing toe-to-toe with these multi-decade-old titans, one of the few titles to send reverberations through the entire Nintendo community at the time. Animal Crossing, far from a new series, but one that reclaimed its fire after poor reception on the Wii, cementing itself as one of Nintendo's top franchises with its 3DS outing.
But there is one more title that felt like it, for a time, ruled this generation for Nintendo, one whose legacy is still routinely spoken of to this day. Tomodachi Life. This random, out-of-nowhere, me-game quickly gained momentum, cementing itself as the 12th best-selling title of this Nintendo era.
Though 6.72 million might not sound like a lot in a world ruled by the Switch's insane numbers, but do you know what that is? More than Splatoon, more than Mario Maker, more than any Zelda title, original, or remake of this generation. Tomodachi Life was built for success. While most of Nintendo's efforts to recapture the blue ocean market of their previous gen failed horribly in this time, Tomodachi Life's casual fame was inevitable. It's just a winning formula, taking the beloved Wiis and shoving them into a more layered and wacky environment than they had ever been in before, with the player essentially finding themselves as the god of their own little world.
And it was clear that Nintendo knew that they had something special at the time. Tomodachi was pushed and marketed like they firmly understood that this could be one of the few big successes to take away from the generation, something that absolutely proved to be true. Ten years later.
Somehow, in spite of the game's competence, Tomodachi Life has remained shackled to the now-dead, soon-to-be-extra-dead 3DS, forced to sit on the sidelines as other franchises and, heck, other 3DS titles make the jump to potential success. So I once again ask, where is it? And why isn't it on the Switch?
Well, I think there are three potential answers to this, varying from heart-wrenching to hopeful. 1. Me de-emphasization. Very understandably, Nintendo was not willing to go through another Wii U era.
I don't think any of us were. So, moving to a new system didn't just mean new hardware, it meant a new identity. New outlook, new target audience, new marketing that wasn't... this.
And while I think everyone can agree that this was for the better, even the biggest Wii U fan would struggle to prove otherwise, in my opinion, it was at a cost. A relatively minor cost in the grand scheme of things, but a cost nonetheless. In their dedication to completely separating themselves from the previous generation, Nintendo might have overcorrected in certain instances. The differing menus between the systems convey this pretty well.
The Wii U menu was lively, maybe... overly so, housing an entire Wii community while presenting your game selection. It was soft, bouncy, and colorful, very much in line with the Nintendo's angle at the time.
The Switch menu... Okay, to act like this thing is all bad would be overdramatic. It works, it's effective. Nothing wrong with being sharp and to the point.
There's absolutely comfort in simplicity. But it's definitely the result of Nintendo course correcting by shooting to the complete opposite side of the spectrum, and in doing so, I'd say you lose some charm. I mean, come on guys, no menu ambience? Really? People still post about random 3DS bangers to this day.
You couldn't have given us one track? And no funny little guys either? Who are people gonna draw when you take the servers offline? We're getting off topic.
The point is, in that seeking complete separation from the previous era's identity, Nintendo might have gone a little overboard. And nowhere is that seen more evidently than with the Wiis. Now claiming that Wiis have been completely absent on the Switch would be an exaggeration, they still pop up here and there.
But their relevance has absolutely taken a major hit. Because of the time they show up, it's because There's an unavoidable reason for them to, i.e. everyone is here, or they were already present in a port's previous iteration, like with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The only original Switch titles to feature playable Wiis are Super Smash Bros.
Ultimate and Nintendo Switch Sports, and the latter makes a point to shove them out of the spotlight in favor of these things. Even the home menu treats them like an afterthought, revoking their previous prominent icon and burying them in the settings instead. Nintendo clearly doesn't want Wiis at their former level of prominence. So, if that's the case... Maybe that's why Tomodachi Life, I'm calling it Tomodachi Life, hasn't happened.
It's very possible that Nintendo is weighing their options here, and while Tomodachi on Switch could be a solid success, it wouldn't be worth it in the grand scheme. If they're trying to slowly phase out Wiis, or at the very least lessen their presence, I doubt they'll ever fully disappear, a big successful game would be counterintuitive to that mission. Because now you've revived an IP and fanned the flames of that audience, practically forcing yourself to utilize it again in the future.
It sounds silly, but maybe they're scared of success. It's a short-term versus long-term thing, you know? But speaking of reviving IPs, that actually brings us to the second possible explanation for Tomodachi's absence. Wiitopia. Yeah, yeah, I was gonna talk about it, you can revoke that did-this-guy-forget-about-miitopia comment that you had brewing.
Remastered by Grezzo and dropped almost three years ago now, this Wii-focused adventure seems in conflict with the philosophy I claim Nintendo has adopted. If they really wanted Wiis out of the picture, why drop this game? Well first of all, obviously it being a remaster lessens the resources needed to develop it, but secondly, I think this was a test.
And not just a test to see how accurately people can recreate Sans when given any semblance of power, but a franchise test. Like I said, Nintendo's weighing those scales. Do we capitalize on this IP's inherent potential, or do we let it fall to the wayside to avoid tampering with our new identity?
And a 3DS port that never got a chance in the system's final days is the perfect low-key experiment to make. And here's what worries me. We might have failed. Now, don't get me wrong, 1.7 million is not bad, especially for a 3DS port. Again, we can't let Switch numbers cloud our judgment.
But what if they wanted more? I can't stop thinking about it. What if Nintendo was willing to test out Wiis in this new generation, but used Wiitopia's middling performance as an excuse to finally drop the axe? A very scary idea, but one I feel we need to consider nonetheless.
Okay, but let's shift gears from negativity to copium for a second. I need something positive to chew on. And all I ask is that you hear me out, okay?
What could be the final reason for Tomodachi Life's lack of a presence on the Switch? It's still on its way. We are in the final stretch of the Nintendo Switch.
Whether you're a rumor believer or not is irrelevant at this point. We all know this to be true. One look at 2024's release schedule tells you everything you need to know. Remake, remake, Peach, Orca, remake, remaster.
The quantity of new titles is running thin. And hey, this is natural when a system's on its last legs, with what we've got on the horizon, I know I'm not complaining. It's clear that development for most major titles has shifted over to the Switch's successor, with the Switch 1's final solo year taking a very understandable hit as a result.
But, be that as it may, Nintendo's still running a business here. They still want people buying games in the latter half of 2024. So, they've got a very fine line to walk, one where they drop games big enough to garner interest, but small-scale enough to not function better as system sellers taking advantage of the new hardware. A lot of the long-rumored break glass and case of system delay titles fit this bill. Zelda Ports, Fire Emblem 4, Metroid Remasters, you know the list.
But do you know what else would fit perfectly in that slot? Tomodachi Life. Think about it, unlike most of their franchises, it wouldn't benefit from stronger hardware.
I don't need to see my Wii's pores. It isn't a development hog and could likely be made on a relatively modest budget. And yet the outcry is immense. I'm thinking 5 million on this title, easy.
Wii Sports nostalgia. carried Switch Sports to a cool 12 million and that didn't even have golf for like half a year! I guarantee that the now nostalgia-fueled Tomodachi life could perform very strongly as well.
The kids that grew up with this game are now the same 20-somethings that make up the Switch's primary demographic. This would be an easy home run. Maybe a light, Pokemon-less year without a lot of heavy hitters is finally the push Nintendo needed to bite the bullet and give Wiis another chance, even if it's their last chance. Those scales could finally end up tipping in our favor.
Do we know this for certain? Absolutely not. Of the reasons I stated, I feel like any or all of them could border on the truth, but I'm gonna put all my eggs in one basket mood, what else is new?
Inevitable disappointment, here we come. Is what I would say if we weren't getting Tomodachi Life in late 2024. Pray for me. But as always, I'd love to hear what you think. Does Tomodachi Life still have a chance on this system or future ones? And how would you feel if the series returned?
Let me know in the comments below and I'll see you later.