Over the last several weeks, Nintendo fans have been absolutely itching for news on the upcoming Switch successor; news that, if today’s announcement is anything to go by, likely won’t be occurring until 2025. Alas, the blow has been significantly softened by the reveal that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be making its way to the Switch on 20th March 2025.
The migration of Xenoblade Chronicles X from the Wii U to the Switch is pretty significant for two reasons. The first is that it now sits alongside Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (plus all the DLC) on one console, completing the set and making the Nintendo Switch the go-to platform for Monolith Soft’s remarkable RPG series.
The second reason is that this truly feels like the final Wii U exclusive of consequence to make the jump over to the Switch. Now if you want to get all technical, then yes, there are a few more titles that remain locked to the Switch’s misunderstood predecessor, but in terms of games that people desperately want to see ported to the Switch, Xenoblade Chronicles X is perhaps the most significant. That is, beyond the obvious Twilight Princess and Wind Waker – but those are remasters of existing titles that are playable on other consoles.
In fact, we asked the community which Wii U games people wanted to see ported to the Switch all the way back in January 2020, and Xenoblade Chronicles X came in third place with 13% of the vote. Super Mario 3D World bagged 21% (and of course, received its own Switch port with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury) while Wind Waker came out on top with 25%.
To be clear, we’re not saying we’re against a port of Wind Waker – we’d bloomin’ love one – but at this point we suspect Nintendo will want to wait until it can give it the ol’ 4K boost via more powerful hardware.
So yes, any reason you might have had to potentially track down a secondhand Wii U console has probably just gone out of the window. Sure, you might want to try out the quaint party title Nintendo Land or the divisive Sonic Lost World, but we’re not convinced these games are enough to warrant spending the money and making the space for a Wii U if you don’t already have one. Even if you do, we suspect it will sit and gather dust until one quiet, rainy day when you decide to bust out Star Fox Zero.
In some ways, it’s a shame. The Wii U was great (shut up, it was), and to see its excellent library of games effectively cancelled out by so many Switch ports does hurt in some respects — not to mention the closure of the eShop — but goodness, the benefits certainly outweigh the negatives in this instance. The Switch is still a stunning piece of kit, and we can’t wait to experience Xenoblade Chronicles X on the go.
Rest in peace, Wii U.
