Nintendo Fans Agree That There Was a Big Missed Opportunity With the Switch 2 Launch

Many gamers think that Nintendo missed out by not having Donkey Kong Bananza as a Switch 2 launch title. The latest mainline Nintendo console was released a little over a month ago, though its launch lineup mainly consisted of updated Switch 2 versions of previous games like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The two major exceptions to this were Mario Kart World and Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, a sort of tech demo that many feel should have been packed into the Switch 2 like the PlayStation 5 did with Astro’s Playroom.

Meanwhile, Mario Kart World was included in a special Nintendo Switch 2 bundle at launch, and earned rave reviews as a solid introduction to the more advanced console. About a month later, Nintendo released Donkey Kong Bananza, marking DK’s first solo gaming outing in nearly 11 years. So far, Donkey Kong Bananza has been met with widespread acclaim from critics and players alike, with much of this praise going towards the game’s environmental destruction gameplay and charming story.

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Donkey Kong Bananza is such a big hit that some fans are wondering why Nintendo didn’t include it as a Switch 2 launch title, especially since it seemingly makes more use of the Switch 2’s new features than Mario Kart World. Reddit user theerealdeal asked this question in a post on r/NintendoSwitch2, with commenters either supporting the idea that Donkey Kong Bananza should have been a launch game or arguing that it was smarter of Nintendo to space out the releases of its major first-party titles across the Switch 2’s first few months.

Nintendo Fans Argue About Donkey Kong Bananza Being a Switch 2 Launch Title

These Reddit users note that Nintendo likely wanted to capitalize on the party game nature of Mario Kart World to draw consumers to the Switch 2 out of the gate, especially given how the Mario Kart franchise is a reliable big seller. Meanwhile, waiting about a month before releasing Donkey Kong Bananza arguably helped keep the Switch 2 fresh in the public’s mind, as it gave players another big Nintendo title so soon after the new console launched.

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With Pokemon Legends: Z-A set to launch in October and the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4: Beyond supposedly being released at some point later in 2025, it looks like the Switch 2 will have a solid first year on the market in terms of major first-party exclusives. Nintendo seems to have laid the foundation with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, both of which have already performed incredibly well.