Nintendo Wants More Switch Exclusives Like Tetris 99
We could see more games like Tetris 99 come to Nintendo Switch Online in the future, according to a new report. Nintendo Life recently published a translation of a question and answer session Nintendo had with investors, and in it, Nintendo makes it clear that it would love to have more Switch Online exclusives.
The company's president, Shuntaro Furukawa, noted during the Q&A that subscriptions to Nintendo Switch Online are increasing, but admitted that there are some subscribers who come and go. Then he got into the juicy bits.
"There are also new members who joined after Tetris 99 was released in February as an exclusive game for Nintendo Switch Online members, and others who have remained members because of Tetris 99," Furukawa said. "To expand Nintendo Switch Online even further, we need to continue offering elements like this, that highlight the distinct value of Nintendo Switch Online."
In addition to praising Tetris 99 for helping to "maintain Nintendo Switch engagement," Furukawa also gave a shout out to the company's NES Online app, which adds classic NES titles on a monthly basis. Switch players, according to Furukawa, come back specifically to check out the new NES games, so it seems this initiative is also something Nintendo might want to expand on.
However, we wrote earlier today that Nintendo might be reaching a bit on some of its more recent NES additions, and we weren't alone in that. USgamer also felt that Nintendo was "starting to scrape the bottom" in terms of the NES games it could provide, so there's a question of how long Nintendo can keep adding to NES Online before it has to find another well to draw water from.
But getting another killer exclusive like Tetris 99 would be huge for Nintendo. The game was instantly popular when it dropped out of nowhere back in February, briefly taking over Twitch as the battle royale game that no one saw coming. If Nintendo can secure another Switch Online exclusive of that caliber, it would do a lot to add to the service's value. And it would certainly get more people to pick up their Nintendo Switches again.
We'll keep you apprised on any other Nintendo news that comes our way.