It was a mere few months ago that the gaming industry was mocking Nintendo for having almost next to nothing releasing until March 2017, when the Nintendo NX is almost confirmed to be releasing.

Nintendo fans were struggling to figure out what they were going to play and whilst it’s true that software on the Wii U is still quite light, recent announcements have given me faith that Nintendo could actually gain momentum on the road to the launch of the Nintendo NX.

Enter, the resurgence of the Nintendo 3DS.

Saleswise, I honestly thought that Pokemon Moon and Sun would be enough to get Nintendo through, especially with the recent success of Pokemon GO and the inclusion of a number of Gen 1 Pokemon, but Nintendo have pretty much shocked everybody overnight, by announcing a handful of new 3DS titles that will definitely bring them success this holiday season. Maybe not so much for the hardcore gamer, but definitely for the casual market, considering that almost 60 million people own 3DS units worldwide.

Overnight, Nintendo announced Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World which looks absolutely incredible. Everybody loves Yoshi and Yoshi’s Woolly World was an incredible game, but definitely wouldn’t have reached the amount of people that it should have.

They are also bringing Super Mario Maker to the 3DS and whilst I was expecting them to hold out for an inevitable Nintendo NX version, it makes sense for them to release it in time for the holiday season, although there isn’t a shortage of Mario games hitting this holiday season, I have no doubt that it’ll do incredibly well.

Mario Party: Star Rush had an incredibly rocky start with it’s janky Spaghettios tin boxart, but it’s honestly the first time in a while that I’ve been excited for a Mario Party game. It actually seems like Nintendo have thought about the gameplay and tried to craft an experience that’s suitable for handheld. It seems like they’ve tried to speed up the gameplay and focus on the minigames which is exactly what the franchise needs. The best part of Mario Party has always been the minigames. Mario Sport Superstars could go two ways. It could either be an incredible package or it could be a cheap cash-out. Mario Tennis is one of my favourite gaming franchises of all time, but Mario Power Tennis on the 3DS was absolutely terrible by Camelot’s standards. It is said to include online multiplayer, which is a great start in terms of Nintendo functionality, so i’m actually really hopeful that it’ll be fully fleshed out.

The biggest announcement, and to be honest, probably the most unexpected was the announcement of a Pikmin side-scrolling adventure. By the time it releases, it’ll most likely be after the Nintendo NX. It looks great, but it’d have been much better served coming out this holiday season. Outside of the 3DS, we’ve got the Nintendo Entertainment System Mini which will no doubt sell like hotcakes providing Nintendo can provide stock, and also Paper Mario: Colour Splash, which could be great, but definitely won’t sell as much as most of the games on this list.

One thing is certain, Nintendo seem to finally be wisening up a little bit, and actually thinking of their software offering as a whole. I’m hopeful that they’ll have learnt a lot in the last few years and will put absolutely everything into making sure that the Nintendo NX has a solid launch lineup and a steady stream of good titles through the first year.

NINTENDO’S UPCOMING GAMES

September 3rd 2016: Metroid Prime Federation Force (3DS)

September 17th 2016: Dragon Quest VII (3DS)

October 8th 2016: Mario Party: Star Rush (3DS)

October 8th 2016: Paper Mario: Color Splash (WII U)

October 15th 2016: Yo-Kai Watch 2 (3DS)

November 10th 2016: Nintendo Entertainment System Mini

November 18th 2016: Pokemon Moon and Sun (3DS)

December 3rd 2016: Picross 3D Round 2 (3DS)

December 3rd 2016: Super Mario Maker 3DS (3DS)

February 4th 2017: Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World (3DS)

TBC 2017: Pikmin Side-scroller (3DS)

TBC 2017: Mario Sport Superstars (3DS)

TBC 2017: Ever Oasis (3DS)