Current Events > Data shows Switch has more and better video games than any other console.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://metro.co.uk/2024/10/01/nintendo-switch-better-games-console-ever-21713239/

Nintendos current console has more games on it than the PlayStation 4 and 5 put together, but also the best record of quality on Metacritic.
In the modern era of gaming. you can usually guarantee two things about a Nintendo console: that it will feature a number of highly acclaimed first party exclusive games, and that it probably wont have many top titles made by third party publishers. After all, no one expects the latest Grand Theft Auto or Call Of Duty on a Nintendo console (not that both havent happened occasionally).
People happily buy the Nintendo Switch knowing that many games available on the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 4 will never appear on it, but that doesnt mean that, overall, the Switch has less games. In fact, surprisingly, the opposite is true.
A fan has added up all the games available on Switch and discovered it has an incredible 11,555 games. Thats more than any other previous console, including the PlayStation 4 and 5 combined, the PlayStation 1 through 3, and all Xbox consoles including backwards compatibility.
If youre wondering how that can be, its because the Switch has become a haven for indie games many of which sell better or are only released on Nintendos console (and usually PC).
Its also due to a lot of what can only be described as shovelware: low quality games thrown onto the eShop with little care on the side of the creators and with no attempts at curation from Nintendo.
The Last Of Us knock-off that Sony insisted be removed from the eShop is one of the few famous examples, with most of the others being sub-mobile style rubbish no ones ever heard of.

The original observation was made on the forum ResetEra, using data from Mobygames and DekuDeals, which highlighted some small inconsistences between the two sources.
Forum member St. Eam the 3rd found that while Windows PC has by far the largest library, at 66,569 games, thats because its backwards compatibility stretches all the way back to 1993.
The Switchs total though is comparable to both iOS and Androids games libraries which are also filled with mountains of anonymous shovelware and well ahead of its nearest console rival, the PlayStation 4, at 10,870 games.

Even when you take backwards compatibility into consideration the Nintendo Switch beats all comers, which is ironic because it isnt backwards compatible itself, since its predecessor was the disc-based Wii U.
With the PlayStation 5s catalogue added to the mix the total for Sonys most recent consoles still only comes to 11,463, compared to 11,555 for the Switch. Interestingly, 8-bit computer the Commodore 64 has the seventh biggest library, behind the various modern PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

However, that does not mean that the Nintendo Switch has achieved its total at the expense of quality. The Switch also has the greatest number of games receiving a 90+ Metacritic score, the greatest number of 75+ games, and the second greatest number of 60+ games.
Once again, its the PlayStation 4 which is closest behind, although obviously thats been around longer than the Switch, and the PlayStation 5 is newer than both.
Its a fascinating collection of stats and while you could argue that ultimately it doesnt matter, given the small number of games most people end up owning for their format of choice, the Metacritic results alone are very impressive.
Whats definitely interesting is that, unlike the current Switch, the Switch 2 is heavily rumoured to be backwards compatible, which could mean the majority of current Switch games will be available on the new format from day one which will certainly be a sizeable head start for the console.

Nintendo Switch number of 90+ Metacritic games: 39
PlayStation 4 number of 90+ Metacritic games: 33
Xbox One number of 90+ Metacritic games: 26
PlayStation 5 number of 90+ Metacritic games: 25
Xbox Series X/S number of 90+ Metacritic games: 16
Nintendo Switch number of 75+ Metacritic games: 962
PlayStation 4 number of 75+ Metacritic games: 921
Xbox One number of 75+ Metacritic games: 575
PlayStation 5 number of 75+ Metacritic games: 382
Xbox Series X/S number of 75+ Metacritic games: 242
PlayStation 4 number of 60+ Metacritic games: 1,861
Nintendo Switch number of 60+ Metacritic games: 1,783
Xbox One number of 60+ Metacritic games: 1,078
PlayStation 5 number of 60+ Metacritic games: 660
Xbox Series X/S number of 60+ Metacritic games: 383

Interesting numbers especially with the knowledge that Sony values high Metacritic scores.

That is interesting. I knew Nintendo could churn out games faster just because of less production value in general, but I was not expecting it to be that much more.

My data shows that data is doodoo

I don't know how well that can be verified going back, but Switch may well end up being comparable to the SNES and PS2 in the end.

is it really better when most of the switch library is also on other consoles/PC?

let's talk about the eshop and what an AI shovelware wasteland it is

Homeless_Waifu posted...

is it really better when most of the switch library is also on other consoles/PC?

tbf, a bunch of the games on the other consoles are also multiplat

It's not really surprising when the Switch has gotten actual third party support and NIntendo has a much larger focus on First party exclusives than Sony and Microsoft.

I love the switch but I tend to look past graphics and other console specific limitations when playing it more than I would on the PS5.

Some games I would rate lower if they were 1:1 the same on a different system.

Can't be arsed to read the article.

But my initial reaction. When you have a handful of ports from the last two generations of consoles that weren't previously available on the Wii and Wii U and a sizeable collection of indies again from the same time period it's going to boost your stats.

I think these lists could be vetted more. Bayonetta 2 + 1 and Bayonetta 2 are separate entries, and some DLC is counting as it's own game too.

Relient_K posted...

I love the switch but I tend to look past graphics and other console specific limitations when playing it more than I would on the PS5.

Some games I would rate lower if they were 1:1 the same on a different system.

Reviewed based on platform

02fran posted...

Nintendos current console has more games on it than the PlayStation 4 and 5 put together, but also the best record of quality on Metacritic.

I assume that means they're not counting Hentai Waifu 19 or however many there are now?

Nintendo is easily the best in the game and it isn't even close. The best PS5 game is basically the worst Mario game ever made.

I call bullshit on that for sure, given how much utter garbage is on the eShop.

If you told me right now I was forced to download and play a game randomly for any major system, Switch would be the system I would pick because I think it's far more likely I will have to play some garbage horrific game than something good.

Nintendo and their partners have always made decent to amazing games. That's never been in question.

Jeff_AKA_Snoopy posted...

I call bullshit on that for sure, given how much utter garbage is on the eShop.

If you can find the "new releases" section on PS5 and Xbox you'll see that most of those same shitty shovelware switch games or their equivalent are also on those consoles they just hide them better.

Homeless_Waifu posted...

is it really better when most of the switch library is also on other consoles/PC?

Thats true of every console. Switch has the most games exclusive to it over any other console by far, though.

Smashingpmkns posted...

If you can find the "new releases" section on PS5 and Xbox you'll see that most of those same shitty shovelware switch games or their equivalent are also on those consoles they just hide them better.

For awhile the shovelware ratio was even higher for PS5 because people were releasing games simply for easy platinums. Sony apparently made the release restrictions tighter but it hasnt slowed it down much.

Tyranthraxus posted...

I assume that means they're not counting Hentai Waifu 19 or however many there are now?

That are counted in quantity overall but of course don't count for the higher MC scores.

02fran posted...

That are counted in quantity overall but of course don't count for the higher MC scores.

I imagine it also makes it impossible to determine average quality of the systems as well, since Metacritic doesn't track score for games under 7 critic reviews.

Shah138 posted...

I imagine it also makes it impossible to determine average quality of the systems as well, since Metacritic doesn't track score for games under 7 critic reviews.

True but tbf most people aren't playing the low rankers, they'll want to play the most high rated games so quantity makes more sense than averaging.

Metacritic scores don't indicate quality. They're more representative of marketing, hype, and production cost. "Review" has become a euphemism for copying and pasting canned comments with no insight or critique. Also, of the great games that are on both Sony and Nintendo, Nintendo has an extra frame of lag.

It'd be perfect if it had Soulcalibur VI because the addition of the Ace Combat 6 port and Gundam Breaker 4 has made it my definitive favorite Nintendo console

As much as I love Nintendo, this is an incredibly biased and untruthful article.

viewmaster_pi posted...

let's talk about the eshop and what an AI shovelware wasteland it is

This part

Baron_Ox posted...

tbf, a bunch of the games on the other consoles are also multiplat

To be even more fair, the top 10 played games on Xbox and PlayStation are almost all multiplats (and have been that way for years)

Smashingpmkns posted...

Nintendo is easily the best in the game and it isn't even close. The best PS5 game is basically the worst Mario game ever made.

Well duh, your not gonna see Spider-Man crushing goombas & collecting coins