The Nintendo Switch has a ton of great games coming down the pipe, and we can't wait to see how Nintendo plans on surprising and delighting gamers in the future. It remains to be seen how Nintendo will follow up their amazing 2017.

This decision lead to one of my favorite new characters of the year, Rabbid Peach. They deserve high praise for taking a chance and allowing Ubisoft to experiment with their IP crown jewel, Mario. It is clear that Nintendo's development teams are now more focused and able to crank out quality titles at a pace not seen in quite some time.Īs a publisher, Nintendo also took some interesting risks in 2017. Nintendo released Splatoon 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and even showed us a new IP with ARMS. Nintendo Switch is both a Nintendo handheld and console that can be docked and this allows for the company to pool their development resources, The result is a game like Super Mario Odyssey being able to release in the launch year of the Nintendo Switch. Both of these were excellent games, but the resources of Nintendo had to be split across both projects.

In the previous generation, we saw the release of Super Mario 3D Land for Nintendo 3DS and Super Mario 3D World for Nintendo Wii U. The hybrid nature of the Nintendo Switch allowed for developers to focus on their projects differently than in the past. This accomplishment speaks to the strength of the company's new strategy. From a developer standpoint, they successfully released a brand new Zelda and Mario game in the same calendar year in the United States.

We are proud to award Nintendo with the titles of Shacknews Best Developer and Publisher of the Year. From releasing games on iOS and Android to the release of the Nintendo Switch console, the Big N is once again playing with power. 2017 was a year when Nintendo clearly demonstrated their vision for the future of the company. This has been the refrain of doubters for as long as many gamers can remember. They should get out of the hardware business and become a third party developer.

Connan best games of 2017