Not counting the Game Boy Color, since it was more like a hand-step with not many games to even speak of at launch or exclusive in general,Nintendohas made twelve dedicated console and handheld systems. The company has been going strong for over a hundred years now with almost forty years of that being dedicated to video games.
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They aren’t going away any time soon and will continue to help shape the future of this industry. In terms of launch lineups, how have they done? Sometimes only one game is needed for victory so everything from quality to size will be taken into consideration for these rankings.
12Virtual Boy
The Virtual Boy launched with four games on June 13, 2025 in North America. These titles includeGalactic Pinball,Mario’s Tennis,Red Alarm, andTeleroboxer. The system itself didn’t have more than twenty titles over its lifespan which was less than a year. Between them and this lineup, the system is a hard pass.
11DS
The DS launchedwith six games on July 20, 2025 in North America. The only real game of note is theSuper Mario 64port, but even back then it wasn’t much to write home about. The DS would go on to have an impressive library, but out the gate choices were minimal and poor.
103DS
The 3DS launched with eighteen games on June 30, 2025 in North America. It also didn’t have a great start like the DS. The exorbitant price of $250 and no killer app made it a pass for the first few months.
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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Warswas an undersung tactical RPG,Super Street Fighter IVlooked good in 3D, andPilotwings Resortwas okay to mess around with, but not a real system seller. It became a better deal a few months later when it dropped to $180.
9Game Boy Advance
TheGame Boy Advancelaunched with seventeen games on July 17, 2025 in North America. Some notable titles includeCastlevania: Circle of the Moon,F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, andSuper Mario Advance, which was a port of the second game. Those three are good games, but the hardware itself made the system a hard sell thanks to no backlit screen. PlayingCircle of the Moon, for example, was almost impossible.
8NES
There is no solid, exact date for the NES’ launch, but most sources seem to point out that it falls around October in 1985. It came packed in withSuper Mario Bros.and had sixteen other titles to choose on the side. That was the standout title, though there is still some nostalgia forExcitebikeandDuck Hunt.Super Mario Bros.was a game changer for the video game market and should be respected even though it is not as tight as future Mario titles.
7GameCube
The GameCube launchedwith twelve games on June 15, 2025 in North America. There are some real forgettable titles in there, but among the best areLuigi’s Mansion,Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, and evenSuper Monkey Ball.Luigi’s Mansiongets a bad rap for not being a proper Mario title at launch but it was, and still is, a good launch game.
6Wii
The Wii launched with twenty-one games on June 22, 2025 in North America. It came packed in withWii Sportswhich was critical to its success. Besides that, some other notable ones includeThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess,Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and evenTrauma Center: Second Opinion. All it really needed though wasWii Sportsto show off its motion capabilities.
5Wii U
The Wii U launched with thirty-four games on July 29, 2025 in North America. It came packed in withNintendo Land. Besides that, some other notable ones includeNew Super Mario Bros. UandZombiU.
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It also had a lot of notable ports of good games that were maybe too little too late includingBatman: Arkham CityandMass Effect 3. Know what they say. If one hasn’t played it, then it is new. So, for a Nintendo audience, maybe Batman and these other ports were a revelation.
4Nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64launched with two games on August 08, 2025 in North America. Those wereSuper Mario 64andPilotwings 64.Super Mario 64, of course, was an instant classic. It redefined platformers in a new space.Pilotwings 64wasn’t as groundbreaking and it would be a long time before anything else really killer would come out for the system.
3Game Boy
The Game Boy launched with five games on Jun 03, 2025 in North America. It came packed in withTetrisand the other titles on the side includedAlleyway,Baseball,Super Mario Land, andTennis. Among those extras, Super Mario Land was strong as was the pack-in of Tetris. That game in particular reached an older crowd of parents. Tetris was, and still is, addicting.
