Call me a fanboy or what have you, but to this day, I have yet to see another game developer actually prioritize the philosophy of making gaming fun over making it more powerful like Nintendo. It’s honestly crazy to me just how much hate the company gets—though I can see the rationale behind the argument at times—because no one else is out there doing what Nintendo does, and to me, that’s one of the most important qualities a game developer can have. Even after decades, PlayStation and Xbox aren’t really trying to do anything different so much as they have been trying to outdo one another. Meanwhile, Nintendo is still off doing what it does best, and if 2026 has proven anything, it’s that whatever the developer is doing is absolutely working. This month, in fact, is once again clear evidence that Nintendo is a dominant force in the games industry, and it’s time PlayStation and Xbox take notice.
November 2026 has been a massively successful month for Nintendo already because it managed to release the highest-rated game of the year, and it happens to be a remake of a game from 1998. The game I’m referring to is, of course, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake, originally released on the N64 nearly 30 years ago and now fully rebuilt for the Switch 2. But the game hasn’t been Nintendo’s only big success this month, as it managed to sell an insane number of special edition Zelda Switch 2 consoles that didn’t even come bundled with Ocarina of Time. And I think that’s ultimately what separates Nintendo from just about everyone else in the industry. Its games and franchises don’t just stand the test of time, but they somehow manage to become just as valuable decades later as they were when they first captured everyone’s attention.
Nintendo Makes Games That Outlive the Hardware They Were Built For
I don’t think it’s particularly controversial to say that PlayStation and Xbox have produced some incredible games over the years. In fact, some of my favorite games have come from developers working under those brands, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest Nintendo has a monopoly on making something worth playing decades later. But I do think there’s a fundamental difference in how Nintendo approaches its franchises compared to much of the industry. While other developers often lean heavily on technological improvements to make their next games feel like substantial leaps forward, Nintendo has always been far more interested in finding new ways to make gaming fun, even if it’s by putting a slight spin on an all-too-familiar idea. The result is that its older games rarely feel like they’ve been replaced by something better simply because a new console came along.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
Take Mario Kart, for example. Mario Kart 8 originally launched on the Wii U in 2014, and Nintendo brought it to the original Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017. Yet, according to Nintendo’s latest sales figures, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold a staggering 72 million copies worldwide as of September 30, 2026. We’re talking about a game built on a foundation that’s more than a decade old, and it has remained one of Nintendo’s most successful releases throughout that time. There have been plenty of racing games with more realistic graphics or more sophisticated driving mechanics since 2014, but none of that has made Mario Kart 8 any less enjoyable. People still want to play it because it’s fun, and apparently that’s more than enough to keep it relevant.
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Image via Nintendo -
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Image via Nintendo
Image via Nintendo
Image via NintendoAnd the same could be said for Super Mario Bros., which has been around since 1985 and somehow continues to produce games that feel worth playing. Nintendo has spent decades experimenting with Mario without losing sight of why people enjoyed those early games in the first place. Super Mario Odyssey is almost unrecognizable compared to the original Super Mario Bros. from a technological standpoint, but the simple satisfaction of controlling Mario and discovering what he can do is still at the heart of it. Then there’s The Legend of Zelda, which has arguably changed even more dramatically over the years, especially with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. I don’t think Nintendo would have managed to keep these franchises so successful if it had spent the last four decades simply trying to make each installment look more impressive than the last.
Its games and franchises don’t just stand the test of time, but they somehow manage to become just as valuable decades later as they were when they first captured everyone’s attention.
That’s why Ocarina of Time‘s success this month is so significant, because it’s the latest example of something Nintendo has been doing for years. The remake currently has a 96 Metascore, making it the highest-rated game of 2026 so far, and Nintendo recently announced that it sold more than 5.2 million copies in just four days. Meanwhile, the $519.99 Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition Switch 2 helped the console achieve its highest weekly US hardware revenue of the year, according to Circana (via GamesRadar), despite not including the Ocarina of Time remake itself. We don’t have an exact unit-sales figure for that special edition, but I think the result is remarkable regardless. Nintendo managed to sell millions of copies of a nearly 30-year-old game while a nearly 40-year-old franchise helped sell its newest console.
Nintendo’s Greatest Advantage Is Something Its Competitors Can’t Easily Replicate
What’s interesting is that Nintendo seems to understand exactly how valuable those long-standing relationships with its franchises have become. During its November 6 financial briefing, the company emphasized its commitment to building lasting relationships with consumers across generations, which I think says quite a bit about how differently it views its success. Nintendo isn’t simply trying to convince people to buy its next game. It’s trying to make games people will still care about long after they’ve finished playing them, to the point that they might eventually introduce those same games to their own children. And considering how many of us grew up playing Nintendo games that we’re still playing today, I’d say that approach has worked out rather well. The company’s franchises have become a part of people’s lives in a way that very few others have managed to accomplish.
Of course, none of this means Nintendo’s competitors should abandon their own identities and start making games exactly like it does. There are things PlayStation and Xbox offer that Nintendo doesn’t, and I don’t think every developer needs to share Nintendo’s philosophy to be successful. But I do think there’s something worth learning from a company that can take a game from 1998 and watch it become one of the biggest releases of 2026 without changing much of what made it so good in the first place. Technology will continue improving, and there will always be another console capable of doing more than the one before it. Nintendo, meanwhile, has spent decades proving that a great game doesn’t necessarily become less valuable just because something more powerful comes along. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s an advantage I don’t see PlayStation or Xbox matching anytime soon.
- Released
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November 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
