You’ve seen the shelf at Target. It’s a sea of red spines. Those red cases represent the heavy hitters, the nintendo published switch games that have basically defined this entire generation of gaming since 2017. But if you think you know every game Nintendo has put out, you’re probably missing about forty percent of the library. Most people count the Marios and the Zeldas. They forget the weird fitness trackers, the obscure Japanese puzzle games, and the "second-party" partnerships that blur the lines of what a Nintendo game actually is.
The Switch is nearing the end of its life cycle. That’s just a reality. With the "Switch 2" or whatever they call it looming on the horizon for 2026, looking back at the publishing history reveals a strategy that was way more chaotic than it looked on the surface. Nintendo didn't just succeed because of Breath of the Wild. They succeeded because they published everything from high-budget masterpieces to literal cardboard kits and $10 eShop oddities.
What it actually means to be a Nintendo published title
People argue about this on Reddit constantly. Is Bayonetta 3 a Nintendo game? Technically, PlatinumGames developed it. But Nintendo paid the bills, handled the marketing, and put their logo on the box. In the industry, we call these "second-party" titles. When we talk about nintendo published switch games, we are looking at the software where Nintendo holds the publishing rights for specific regions.
Sometimes it’s messy. Take Octopath Traveler. In Japan, Square Enix handled it. In the West? Nintendo published it. This matters because it dictates the price. Nintendo is famous—or perhaps infamous—for the "Nintendo Tax." Their published games rarely drop in price, even years later. While a Ubisoft game might be $20 three months after launch, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is still sitting there for $60 despite being a port of a game from 2014. It’s a ruthless business model, but it keeps the brand value incredibly high.
The Heavy Hitters and the "Evergreens"
The core of the library is the "Evergreens." These are the games that sell every single month, regardless of what else is coming out.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
These aren't just games. They are platforms. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is currently sitting at over 60 million copies sold. Think about that. That is more than the entire lifetime sales of some rival consoles. Nintendo publishes these with a "long tail" strategy. They don't need a massive opening weekend as much as they need a game that a parent will buy for a kid three years from now.
The Weird Side of the Publishing Catalog
Honestly, the best part of the nintendo published switch games list isn't the prestige stuff. It’s the experiments. Remember Labo? Nintendo published several "Variety Kits" that were literally sheets of cardboard. It was a bold move that mostly failed commercially, but it showed that they aren't afraid to look ridiculous.
Then you have the niche stuff like Buddy Mission BOND or Famicom Detective Club. These are visual novels that Nintendo brought to the West. They knew these wouldn't sell ten million copies. They did it anyway to fill the gaps in the calendar. This is the "filler" strategy that kept the Switch relevant during years when a major Zelda or Mario wasn't ready. By publishing smaller titles like Good-Job! or Snippetclips, they ensured that the "Recent Releases" tab on the eShop always had something with that Nintendo seal of quality.
The Monopoly on Fitness and Social Gaming
Nintendo basically owns the fitness market on consoles. Ring Fit Adventure was a cultural phenomenon during the pandemic, but they didn't stop there. They published Fitness Boxing (in certain regions) and Nintendo Switch Sports.
They also lean heavily into the "blue ocean" strategy. This is a term from the Wii era, but it’s still alive. They want people who don't consider themselves "gamers" to buy nintendo published switch games. That’s why we see things like 1-2-Switch and its weird sequel, Everybody 1-2-Switch!, which features a man in a horse mask. It’s bizarre. It’s polarizing. But it’s a distinct part of their publishing identity that Sony and Microsoft just don't touch.
Why the "Nintendo Tax" exists on these games
You’ve probably complained about it. I have too. Why is a game from 2017 still $59.99?
It’s about brand psychology. Nintendo views their published games as premium assets. If they discounted Super Mario Odyssey to $10, it would signal to the consumer that the game is "old" or "worth less." By keeping the price high, they maintain the perception that a Nintendo game is a permanent piece of value. It also protects the resale value. If you buy a physical copy of a Nintendo published game, you can usually sell it on eBay for 70% of its value years later. You can’t do that with Call of Duty.
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The Remaster Strategy: Genius or Lazy?
A huge chunk of the nintendo published switch games library consists of Wii U ports. Pikmin 3 Deluxe, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe—the list is endless.
Critics call it lazy.
Investors call it genius.
The Wii U only sold about 13 million units. The Switch has sold over 140 million. For the vast majority of people, these "ports" are brand-new games. Nintendo realized they had a goldmine of high-quality software that nobody played. By publishing them on Switch with a few extra features, they padded out the release schedule with minimal development cost. It’s why we haven't seen a "new" 2D Mario for a decade until Mario Wonder—they didn't need one because the ports were selling just fine.
Technical Limitations and the "Art Style" Save
When Nintendo publishes a game, they usually prioritize art direction over raw power. This is why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild still looks beautiful despite running on hardware that is essentially a mobile chip from 2015.
However, we’ve seen the cracks lately. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (published by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company) were technical disasters at launch. Frame rate drops, clipping, and crashes. This sparked a huge debate about whether Nintendo's "quality control" was slipping. The reality is that the Switch hardware is tired. Developers are struggling to squeeze more juice out of it. Yet, these games still sold over 20 million copies. This tells Nintendo that as long as the gameplay loop is there, the technical polish is secondary.
How to build your library of Nintendo published titles
If you are a collector, you have to be strategic. Because these games don't drop in price, you have to look for the rare "Mar10 Day" sales or Black Friday.
- Prioritize the "Out of Print" risks. Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Astral Chain tend to have smaller print runs. Once the physical copies are gone, the price on the second-hand market spikes.
- Check regional publishing. Sometimes a game is digital-only in the US but has a physical release in Asia with English support. Okami HD and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy are great examples.
- The Voucher System. If you have a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you can buy two vouchers for $99. This is the only consistent way to get nintendo published switch games for $50 instead of $60. It’s a small savings, but it adds up if you're buying the big $70 titles like Zelda.
The Future: What happens when the "Switch 2" arrives?
History tells us that Nintendo is hit-or-miss with backwards compatibility. The Wii could play GameCube games. The Wii U could play Wii games. But the Switch broke that trend because of the switch from discs to cartridges.
The big question for the current library of nintendo published switch games is whether they will carry over to the next system. If the next console is an iterative "Pro" style upgrade, your library is safe. If Nintendo does something wild and changes the format again, we might be looking at another era of "Deluxe" ports.
Given the massive install base of the Switch, it would be corporate suicide not to allow those games to work on the next machine. We’re likely going to see "cross-gen" titles for the next two years, much like how Twilight Princess hit both GameCube and Wii.
Actionable Next Steps for Switch Owners
- Audit your digital library. Go to the eShop and redownload anything you’ve archived. If Nintendo ever shuts down the servers (like they did with the 3DS and Wii U), you want those files on a high-capacity microSD card.
- Buy physical for the "Big Three." Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon games hold their value better than almost any other consumer electronic. They are essentially "gaming gold."
- Explore the "Publishing Partners" section. Look for titles like Metroid Dread (MercurySteam) or Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level Games). These show the peak of what the Switch can do when Nintendo’s production oversight meets talented external studios.
The era of the Switch has been the most prolific period in Nintendo's history as a publisher. They moved away from being just a "toy company" and became a dominant software force that rivals the biggest names in entertainment. Whether you're a casual player or a hardcore collector, the way Nintendo publishes games has fundamentally changed how we value digital and physical media. They proved that you don't need 4K graphics to dominate the market; you just need a red box and a character everyone recognizes.