Okay I’m a little late to the party on this one, but as I reported last week, Nintendo’s share prices haven’t been in the happiest of places – presumably in the aftermath of the E3 presentation that left some people underwhelmed. Is Nintendo’s 2018 Switch line-up strong enough to reassure shareholders?

Overall, I think there’s a lot to be excited about. The announcement that Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Eevee! would be coming out this winter certainly sent ripples through the internetsphere, even if it wasn’t quite the Pokemon title that many people were hoping for. On top of that, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Octopath Traveler tilt-shifted RPG epic that’s releasing this week, as well as Overcooked 2, Dark Souls and the little indie game that is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Now, despite having this reasonable Switch line-up on the calendar, there is still a strong feeling of nervousness amongst shareholders, perhaps because of Nintendo’s ambition to sell another 20 million Switches this financial year – which sounds bold, but not unattainable. I certainly think Smash Bros. and Pokemon will be enough to woo people into purchasing a console for the first time.

However, this hasn’t stopped Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima from reassuring shareholders that there’s still a library of unannounced titles ready to explode onto the platform (helpful link here 😉 ) Presumably these titles were just too hot to handle at this year’s E3, and Nintendo are waiting until the very last minute to reveal that Cyberpunk 2077 will be a Switch exclusive. (Although to be honest, I think a lot of people would settle for Animal Crossing…)

In summary, I think it’s all hot air. I’m picturing Mr Kimishima bursting into the Bandai Namco studios after a sweaty board meeting and shouting “Quick, make something!!”

Beyond that, I’m not sure how I feel. On paper, the Nintendo Switch line-up isn’t devoid of excitement, but I suppose it pales in comparison to the juicy autumn / winter schedule for Xbox and Sony. Is it more a case of Nintendo being overly ambitious in its sales projections? Or does it really need to step up to the plate and drop some titles that will make everyone’s jaws drop…? This is very much an evolving situation, and I’m curious to see how it plays out.