Nintendo has amassed what is inarguably the most storied collection of video game franchises. Staple series like Mario and Zelda have kept fans invested in the Nintendo ecosystem for decades, while the company's hardware innovations and more recent series like Splatoon continue to attract new fans. Its catalogue is vast and its characters beloved, which comes with an inevitable downside: certain franchises get left behind, leaving passionate fan bases waiting (often begging) for new releases.
To gain a better understanding of Nintendo's first-party output, we've created the list below, which shows how long it's been since Nintendo has released an original, mainline entry in 34 of its biggest franchises.
(This list measures the time between original, mainline releases only — if a spinoff or remake was released more recently, it's noted with an asterisk (*). Time elapsed figures are based on U.S. release dates, except where noted, and are recorded as of August 2020. The list begins with Nintendo's most recent releases and is broken up into three generation-based groups.)
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0-3 Years (Switch/3DS)
Paper Mario – 1 month
Latest release:
Paper Mario: The Origami King (July 2020)
Animal Crossing – 4 months
Latest release:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (March 2020)
Brain Age – 7 months
Latest release: Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch (December 2019 (JP))
The latest from Nintendo's Brain Age series is not available in North America, despite being released in Japan, Europe, and Australia. The series' latest North American release, Brain Age: Concentration Training, came in 2013.
Pokemon – 9 months*
Latest release:
Pokemon Sword and Shield (November 2019)
*A free-to-start spinoff, Pokemon Café Mix, is the franchise's most recent release (June 2020). Two additional spinoffs, Pokemon Unite and
New Pokemon Snap, have been announced, though Nintendo has yet reveal a release date for either.
Nintendo is taking a new direction with its latest mainline releases by supporting Sword and Shield through two expansions. The first,
Isle of Armor, was released in June; the second, Crown Tundra, is scheduled for later this year. Future mainline entries are all but a certainty considering the importance of the franchise to Nintendo and the overwhelming success of Sword and Shield, which have combined to sell over
17 million copies.
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Mario Sports – 9 months
Latest release:
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (November 2019)
The Mario Sports umbrella encompasses the Mario & Sonic franchise, Mario Tennis (latest release: Aces in 2018), Mario Golf (World Tour in 2014), Mario Baseball (Sluggers in 2008), and Mario Strikers (Charged in 2007).
Luigi's Mansion – 10 months
Latest release:
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (October 2019)
Ring / Wii Fit – 10 months
Latest release:
Ring Fit Adventure (October 2019)
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Fire Emblem – 1 year, 1 month
Latest release:
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (July 2019)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses received a new side story, Cindered Shadows, as part of its
expansion pass in February.
Nintendo Labo – 1 year, 4 months
Latest release:
Nintendo Labo VR Kit (April 2019)
Yoshi – 1 year, 5 months
Latest release:
Yoshi's Crafted World (March 2019)
Super Smash Bros. – 1 year, 8 months
Latest release:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (December 2018)
Coming up on the two-year anniversary of Smash Ultimate, Nintendo continues to support its prize fighter through Challenger Packs, DLC that adds a new fighter, stage, and music. The latest pack introduced
Min Min from Arms in late June. Nintendo's support of Smash Ultimate will continue for the foreseeable future with five additional fighters coming by the end of 2021.
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Mario Party – 1 year, 10 months
Latest release:
Super Mario Party (October 2018)
Xenoblade – 1 year, 11 months*
Latest release: Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country (September 2018)
*
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, a remastered version of the original Xenoblade, was released for Switch in late May.
Wario – 2 years, 1 month
Latest release:
WarioWare Gold (July 2018)
Kirby – 2 years, 5 months*
Latest Release:
Kirby: Star Allies (March 2018)
*A free-to-start mobile spinoff, Super Kirby Clash, was released more recently in September 2019.
Super Mario – 2 years, 10 months*
Latest release:
Super Mario Odyssey
*Super Mario Maker 2, the creation-based spinoff, was released just over a year ago. Nintendo is also reportedly planning to release multiple
Super Mario remasters this year to commemorate the series' 35th anniversary.
Splatoon – 3 years, 1 month
Latest release:
Splatoon 2
The
Octo Expansion for Splatoon 2 added 80 single-player challenges to Nintendo's colorful shooter in June 2018. Three years after its release, Splatoon 2 is still supported with semi-regular multiplayer updates —
Nintendo most recently released two updates in June to address bugs.
The Legend of Zelda – 3 years, 5 months*
Latest release:
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
*A remake of
Link's Awakening for Switch was released 10 months ago. A
Breath of the Wild sequel is currently in development at Nintendo, though there's no word on when it will be released.
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4-9 Years (Wii U/3DS)
Star Fox – 4 years, 4 months*
Latest release:
Star Fox Zero (April 2016)
*
Star Fox 2, the once-cancelled sequel developed in the '90s, was released more recently than Star Fox Zero as part of 2017's SNES Classic Edition. Fox McCloud was also prominently featured in Ubisoft's 2018 toys-to-life game, Starlink: Battle for Atlas.
It's not uncommon for Nintendo to take four or five years between Star Fox releases.
