It is clear that Sony has run away with the “win” in the current video game console generation in terms of raw console sales numbers, but as it turns out, selling the most systems doesn’t equate to having the most — or the best — exclusive games. With that in mind, we looked at the library of games released for this generation’s gaming consoles to find out which one has the most exclusive titles — Sony’s Playstation 4, Microsoft’s Xbox One, or Nintendo’s Wii U — and which console has the best exclusive games. For this analysis, we are defining “exclusive” as those games that are only available to play on a single console, and nowhere else. In other words, we are not counting “console exclusives” (i.e. games that are available on only one of the three consoles, but also on PC or a handheld platform) or “timed exclusives” (games that are available only on one console for a limited time but then come out for other systems). So which system wins the exclusive games contest?
Wii U by a landslide. The following table tallies the number of exclusive games for each console, and breaks the stats down based on Metacritic scores to provide a sense for the quality of the exclusive titles, as well — with 90 to 100 qualifying as “Amazing,” 75 to 89 as “Good,” 50 to 74 as “Meh,” and below 50 as “Awful.” With 40 exclusive games so far, Wii U is crushing the competition in the exclusives race. PS4 has seventeen exclusive titles, and Xbox One has just nine. The Wii U wins the quality competition, as well. Twenty-two of the games exclusive to the Wii U have a Metacritic score of 75 or better, which is true of just seven Playstation 4 exclusives and a mere four exclusives on Xbox One. Although Sony has sold nearly three times as many systems as Nintendo in this generation, Nintendo’s continued dedication to developing and publishing great games has cemented the Wii U’s position as the home for the best unique games. There is no doubt that Nintendo relies heavily on its signature characters.
Eight of its twenty-two top exclusive titles are Mario or Mario-spinoff games. But unlike series such as “Assassin’s Creed” or “Battlefield,” whose recent entries typically earn review scores in the 70s to mid-80s, it’s not uncommon for the most recent flagship Mario platforming title to score better than 90, and they rarely pull down scores below 80. Much of Nintendo’s success in these popular franchises can likely be attributed to legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s continued involvement in creating the company’s top games. The 63-year-old grandfather of gaming has been creating games for Nintendo for nearly 40 years, continually drawing from a well of creativity that seems to never run dry. Sony and Microsoft do have a few more exclusives in the pipeline for 2016, such as “The Last Guardian” and “Ratchet & Clank” for the Playstation 4 and “Crackdown 3” and “Gears of War 4” for the Xbox One, but with “Star Fox Zero” and a new “Legend of Zelda” also on the horizon for Wii U, Nintendo is unlikely to give up its lead in the exclusives race this generation.
Turning the tide of Nintendo’s fate with the Wii U, the Switch already has plenty of games en route from your favourite game developers, including EA Sports and Bethesda, with more to be announced in due course. Read on for all the Nintendo Switch games confirmed at the January 13 presentation: There are 80 titles in active development for #NintendoSwitch. — Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 13, 2017 Release date: March 3, 2017 The most highly anticipated game for the Nintendo Switch, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is vast, open-world game that mixes up the classic Zelda gameplay. Stunning graphics, weapon and item crafting, a new menace to face and wide variety of landscapes, Breath of the Wild has got it all. And what’s more, it’s coming on the Nintendo Switch release date, March 3, 2017! Taking advantage of the split Joy-Con controllers, 1-2 Switch is a brand new, casual multiplayer game for the Nintendo Switch and will be available right from launch.
You and a friend grab one of the Switch controllers and battle against each other in a variety of challenges. Whether you’re racing to milk the most cows, draw quickest in a cowboy shootout, become the best samurai in all the land, guess the number of balls inside your Joy-Con controller or crack a safe against the clock, the mini-games contained within 1-2 Switch are varied and plentiful. It might have been released last year, but that hasn’t stopped creator Ubisoft from making sure that Just Dance 2017 is one of the first games you can play on the Nintendo Switch. As you’ll probably know, Just Dance is a series focused on teaching you awesome routines to your favourite pop songs by tracking your movements. On the Switch, this is all done by simply holding the console’s awesome Joy-Con controllers while you boogie, so get dancing! 2016’s entry to the Skylanders series saw families creating their very own character for the very first time and bring them to life in game.
Skylanders Imaginators also brought back some old pals too though, with Crash Bandicoot and Neo Cortex both getting their own Skylanders figures and themed world within the game. It’s a strong entry, and a perfect game to get the whole family involved with the Nintendo Switch. Another Nintendo Switch day one game is Super Bomberman R, which sees you play with the classic characters, battling with enemies and rivals to place bombs and win matches. With 3D stages and photo-realistic graphics, it’s certainly not the Bomberman of 1985, but it’s pretty fun. There’s a Story mode for one or two players, or a competitive Battle mode for a maximum of eight players online. One of the unsung heroes of the Nintendo Switch games line-up is Snipperclips. It’s a creative action-puzzle game for one or two players, but better when tackled in co-op. You solve a variety of puzzles by cutting your two paper characters into different shapes in order to complete the activities you’re presented with.
From what we’ve played so far, it’s tricky yet hilarious and utterly adorable. Another brand new game for the Nintendo Switch is Arms. It’s a fighting game where all the boxers have hilarious, extendable arms – hence the title. When you punch, your character also punches, and you can twist your wrist to use a spin punch attack. Moving is simply controlled by leaning the controllers left and right in your hands, and you can also dash and leap to make you quite the formidable foe in the ring. It basically takes the motion controls you learned by playing the original Wii, but now in a much more awesome, compact form. Arms can be played alone, using split screen on the TV using an additional set of Joy-Con controllers, or against another player using two Nintendo Switch consoles. #ARMS can be played single-player, split-screen against a friend, or by connecting two #NintendoSwitch systems locally or online. NINTEN-GO A GO GO Release date: April 28, 2017
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a re-release of the Wii U version, but with all the DLC tracks and characters included along with new faces too. Inkling Boy and Inkling Girl from Splatoon, King Boo, Dry Bones and Bowser Jr are all on board for some Mario Kart Nintendo Switch fun, especially as there are some new tracks and gameplay tweaks to discover too. Following on from the success of the original Splatoon, the Nintendo Switch will be home to a sequel, Splatoon 2. The game will feature a range of new special weapons and new arenas to play them on. Those new weapons can be controlled using the individual Joy-Con controllers for some motion-controlled ink-splatting fun, or using a more traditional controller setup. You’ll be able to battle against other players online, or link up multiple Nintendo Switch consoles for some intense local multiplayer action. The game we've all been waiting for, a new 3D Super Mario title exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. For the first time since Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo has created a massive open world for gamers to explore.
Jump out of the Mushroom Kingdom to go on a new sandbox-style journey in #SuperMarioOdyssey, coming to #NintendoSwitch by the end of 2017. — Nintendo of Europe (@NintendoEurope) January 13, 2017 You are cordially invited to… Mario has jumped out of the Mushroom Kingdom for the first time, with Nintendo's plumber mascot forced to chase Princess Peach and Bowser across unknown lands and countries including the huge New Dork City. Super Mario Odyssey will also see Mario's famous hat playing a huge, but as yet unknown, role in the game, just check out those eyes. It looks absolutely fantastic, it's just a shame we're going to have to wait such a long time to play it. Although there's not many details on this new title from Square Enix, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is coming to the Nintendo Switch. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is coming to #NintendoSwitch! Another game we know very little about at this stage, Fire Emblem Warriors will introduce a new range of characters to the series, exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.