Mixed Reception Highlights Strange Launch Strategy

The Nintendo Switch 2 has been a smash hit with its wildly successful launch, but an odd pattern has emerged when looking at the console’s first-party exclusives. These are usually the games you buy a Nintendo platform for, which over six million people have already done. The developer, publisher, and hardware manufacturer is world-famous for its gameplay-first creations, not only inventing some of the most iconic characters on the planet, but also some of the best games ever made.

New console launches are usually pretty slow; game development takes longer than ever, but even before the current console generation, games released around the same time as a new platform tend to be limited in scope. Nintendo is actually on a pretty impressive run considering its output in the Switch 2 era, but it’s hard to look at the slate of first-party exclusives and not wonder if this was really the best strategy the company could’ve come up with.

Drag x Drive Review Scores Are Not Great

The Latest Switch 2 Exclusive

Drag x Drive is the most recent Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, having come out on August 14. At the time of writing, it has a critical aggregate score of 62 on Metacritic – “Mixed or Average” according to the site’s categorization. This isn’t exactly a surprise, as Drag x Drive has been seen as a glorified tech demo since it was first revealed. It makes use of the Switch 2’s mouse controls in a high-octane adaptation of wheelchair basketball.

In the interest of transparency, I haven’t played Drag x Drive. I do, however, think it’s a charming concept. I’ve enjoyed the console’s mouse controls quite thoroughly when playing Civilization 7‘s Switch 2 version, and bringing increased awareness to the sport of wheelchair basketball can only be a good thing. I don’t think anyone really expected Drag x Drive to be a big hit, though.

Even at face value, it lacks Nintendo’s signature charm. I also remember watching a Nintendo Treehouse Live segment after the Switch 2 was revealed earlier this year and thinking how exhausting Drag x Drive looked to play. It was always going to be a niche experience, and perhaps Nintendo pricing it at $20 is an admission of the company knowing that.

Only Half Of Nintendo’s Switch 2 Exclusives Are Hits

Batting .500 Is Incredible In Baseball

Drag x Drive is just the latest data point for Nintendo’s first-party games on the Switch 2. There have been three others: Mario Kart World, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, and Donkey Kong Bananza. For comparison, the list below shows each game’s current Metacritic score.

• Mario Kart World: 86
• Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour: 54
• Donkey Kong Bananza: 91
• Drag x Drive: 63

If Drag x Drive is a glorified tech demo, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a literal one, and neither are even in the same ballpark as the PlayStation 5’s beloved Astro’s Playroom. Mario Kart World was well-received, even if its open world got a lot of criticism, but Donkey Kong Bananza is among the year’s best games. Considering Nintendo’s usually illustrious track record, it’s quite bizarre to see two relative misses among the first four Switch 2 exclusives.

Nintendo’s First-Party Switch 2 Support Has Been Odd So Far

An Eclectic Bunch

Hardware sales figures speak for themselves, but the first-party software support is strange. Even taken alone, Mario Kart World felt like an odd marquee launch title. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe being the best-selling Switch game of all time probably had a lot to do with the decision, but World is notably not the single-player opus the Switch 2’s predecessor debuted alongside: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

In my opinion, Donkey Kong Bananza could have been a more compelling launch title than Mario Kart World. It’s a single-player game, so it’s not partially reliant on internet connectivity or having friends who also purchased an expensive new console, and it does a great job showing off the hardware’s capabilities. Bananza‘s voxel tech is impressive, and it runs very smoothly (despite the frame rate dropping when you spin the map around too fast).

I understand why Nintendo held onto Bananza for a month, though. DK is a gaming icon – not to mention the progenitor of the Mario franchise – but he’s never been as popular as many other Nintendo characters. Donkey Kong isn’t a Mario game, and it’s not a Zelda game, so it makes sense to release Mario Kart World first.

Then there’s Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which would have been a neat pack-in game, but Nintendo instead sold it for $10, on top of all the accessories you need to play all its micro-games. It’s in a similar boat to Drag x Drive; they’re both interesting ideas, but don’t really reach their full potential, and collectively feel out of place as half of Nintendo’s initial slate of outings on the Switch 2.

There are plenty of Switch 2 exclusives still coming – I’m personally curious to learn more about Splatoon Raiders. Then there are exclusives not developed by Nintendo that are sure to draw a lot of attention. I’m eager to finally play Metroid Prime 4, and I can’t be alone in wanting to see more of The Duskbloods soon. And there is, of course, a behemoth on the horizon: Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The Nintendo Switch 2 is off to a blistering start sales-wise, and there’s plenty to look forward to, but Drag x Drive‘s lukewarm reception is just the latest indicator of a strange launch window lineup.

9/10

Brand

Nintendo

Original Release Date

June 5, 2025

Original MSRP (USD)

$449.99

Operating System

Proprietary

The Nintendo Switch 2 is the successor to Nintendo Switch, scheduled for release in 2025. Confirmed as backwards compatible, it will play both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. A full reveal is pencilled in for April 2, 2025.