[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nintendo Switch is off to a successful start. With more than 900.000 Units sold in the U.S alone. Worldwide Nintendo managed to sell more than 2.4 Million consoles. Even Zelda: Breath of the Wild somehow managed to sell more Switch copies than actual Nintendo Switch consoles in North America. There is no doubt that Nintendo has the option to turn the downwards trend after the failure of the Wii U around.

The one and only important thing that can make or break a console is the video game lineup. The Switch started with one of Nintendos most anticipated and highest rated games of all time Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The first party game broke records on many levels, and was the main reason the Switch has sold as well as it did so far. There are many other 1st Party games in development like Splatoon 2, Arms, Pokemon and Mario Odyssey just to name a few. But hardcore gamers are starting to be concerned about the lack of 3rd party support – but does the Nintendo Switch really need extensive support from 3rd Party developers?

Looking at the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, two consoles in direct competition with PC gaming. These next-gen horsepower consoles are trying to get as many 3rd party developers signed up for their platforms as possible. Sony for example is getting games like Destiny or Call of Duty on board, which results in DLC packs to be released first on the Playstation 4, or time limited exclusive content. These kind of deals cane make a gamer swing in either direction when choosing a system.

Nintendo has always been a little different. If someone opts to buy a Nintendo System, one usually decides in doing so based on Nintendo video games. People don’t usualy chose a Switch or 3DS in hopes to get the best Skyrim or Fifa experience. People bought the 3DS for Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Zelda and so many other games that can only be found on Nintendo made systems. While some 3rd party developer support is necessary, do we really need Bethesda to bring Skyrim to the Switch? or is the port of the 2013 Payday 2 really going to make players more likely to buy into Nintendos eco system?

Electronic Arts has announced to bring Fifa 18 to the Switch, one of the most popular sport franchises in the world. Just like Skyrim and Payday 2 the soccer game will also be released on PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Without a doubt players will most likely have a better experience playing those games on the other 3 systems than on the Nintendo Switch. Taking Bethesdas amazing Open World Game Skyrim as an example. The game has amazing mod support on the PC and runs like a charms on PS4 and Xbox One. There is little hope the Switch version can possibly exceed anyones expectations. Unfortunately it may even be the opposite, and all it can do, is make Nintendos latest hybrid console look weak and underpowered – just because the consoles strength is not the horsepower.

Gamers have the choice of multiple systems to play these kinda games and get a better experience than the Switch could ever offer. This does not mean the Nintendo Switch is a bad console, it’s simply not meant to compete with these sorta games. As mentioned earlier one buys into the Nintendo eco system for a whole different reason, than someone who opts to buy a PS4, Xbox One of gaming PC. Lego City Undercover was a perfect example of a game that released across all major platforms, and performed the worst on the Nintendo Switch. This was not necessarily driven by the weaker hardware, but was maybe also a lackluster port to the Switch. In the end the comparison videos all highlighted the Switch for underperforming compared to PS4 and Xbox One.

Switch owners, want the next best Animal Crossing, an amazing Pokemon, or a colorful fighting game like arms and Splatoon. This is where the console shines the most, and this where it can beat the competition. Releasing 3rd party games to put the Switch in direct competition with Sony and Microsoft seems like a social media disaster. Thinking of the comparison videos, that will unveil the lower frame rate, the lack of anti aliasing on the Switch and more, will hurt the reputation of Nintendos latest console. This is a shame because the focus should be on the niche Nintendo is covering. All the 3rd party exclusive games on Nintendo like Story of Seasons and Fantasy Life, these are the games from 3rd Party Developers that Nintendo needs to get on board.

Looking at the best selling videos games on the Nintendo 3DS of all time – we need to go all the way done to #12 – Monster Hunter by Capcom with 4 Million Units sold. That’s right the top 10 best selling video games on Nintendo 3DS are First Party Nintendo Games, and yet the console managed to sell 65 Million units.

Putting the Switch up against Sony and Microsoft is an unfair fight, and one that is only driven by 3rd party developer releasing hardware heavy games on a console that is meant to be the opposite of that. While a Skyrim port is welcome, it can not convince players to buy a Nintendo Switch because people opting to join Nintendos Eco System are looking for more than just a visually stunning game.