Nintendo News: Great news for Switch before Legend of Zelda, Dragon Quest E3 2019 updates

Nintendo received some great news about their popular Switch console this week that will also prove beneficial to owners.

It has now been confirmed that the Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console in the United States during the month of April.

And not only was it topping the hardware charts again earlier in 2019 but it’s also still the best selling console so far this year.

This is both good news for Nintendo, and their customer base as the continuing success story of the Switch console can only help make it more important to third-party developers.

While analysts may have been cautious after the handheld’s initial success, it looks like third-party partners can bank on the Switch sticking around a lot longer than the Wii U.

Industry analyst Mat Piscatella shared the news on Twitter, along with the details that Mortal Kombat 11 also managed to top the software charts.

“Mortal Kombat 11 launches as the best-selling game of April, while Nintendo Switch was the best-selling Hardware,” Piscatella posted online.

“Mortal Kombat 11 represents the first time a third-party published Nintendo Switch game was the platform’s top seller in a month since Ubisoft’s Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle topped the Nintendo Switch chart in September 2017.

“Hardware spending in April 2019 fell 29 per cent when compared to a year ago, to $160 million. Nintendo Switch sales growth was offset by declines across all other hardware platforms.

“Nintendo Switch was the best-selling hardware platform of both April as well as year-to-date across both unit and dollar sales. The Nintendo Switch 32GB with neon red and blue joy cons is the best-selling individual hardware item of 2019.”

The new data suggests that while the Nintendo Switch continues to sell well, it’s console rivals are heading in the opposite direction.

That doesn’t mean a terminal death spiral for either the PlayStation and Microsoft brand, as both the PS4 and Xbox One been on the market for a number of years and are expected to be replaced in 2020.

Exclusive games have been a big part of Nintendo’s success with the Switch, which leaves the question of what new gaming projects could be announced by Nintendo and their partners during E3 2019?

Recent rumours suggest that Nintendo are ready to tap into one of their most popular exclusive IPs, with The Legend of Zelda series getting three possible remakes.

We already know that Link’s Awakening is in the works and looks set to be featured among the new 2019 games.

There are also rumours that Wii U HD ports are also in the works for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

These haven’t been officially confirmed yet but would make sense as being part of Nintendo’s broader move to port over Wii U projects.

These two games will reportedly be released only on the Nintendo eShop, although there’s no guarantee that they will arrive in 2019. And if they are indeed planned for 2020, this would rule them out of Nintendo’s E3 2019 plans.

The company is only including games scheduled to launch in 2019 during their live stream, limiting the news that will be shared.

And after the Direct event, Nintendo Treehouse: Live coverage will begin, giving viewers a more in-depth look into select games.

In other news, a new Dragon Quest announcement is being made soon by Square Enix, which could lead to a bigger reveal at E3 2019.

We don’t know exactly what will be included, but this could have something to do with new character DLC for Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

There’s also the chance that Square Enix will reveal something Dragon Quest related that won’t be coming to the Nintendo Switch.

But whatever is being planned by the big companies, it appears that the Nintendo Switch is set to feature more in their plans in the months and years to come.

source: express.co.uk