Topic: Do you prefer 3rd party over 1st party Nintendo games?

For the most part on the Switch, yes. Really great to see DOOM (2016), Atelier series, and many others present on the Switch alongside other platforms.

Not to throw any sort of shade at first-party Switch games as a few of them (Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pikmin 4, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Kirby Star Allies) did wow me quite a lot...but as far as others go, I felt that Nintendo (and their developers) wasn't at their best compared to their inputs on most of the previous systems.

To be fair, Switch is cheaper than the other options. Also the 'more options to play' is not actually true except for PC — Switch has well over 10,000 games which I believe is more than both PlayStation and Xbox (but of course far less than Steam).

This thread has touched on this topic before, but I'd be very curious to know what percentage of Switch owners never play Nintendo games... we know the number can't be very high because half of Switch owners own Mario Kart. 😝 On the other hand, I think there are plenty of people who play at least 50% third party on Switch — even as an ultra Nintendo fan I still play mostly third party.

@FishyS
Yeah.
3rd party games quantity are way more than 1st party Nintendo games and that give me a lot of choices.
I still give credits for 1st party Nintendo games that I have interest about like Animal Crossing, Mario games, Mii games, Star Fox on GameCube, Donkey Kong Wii, Style Savvy 3DS, etc.

Yeah, I think it would be a very strange choice to get a switch for the third party games.
As you say, you might have a switch and play mostly third party: but that doesn't negate the reason for getting a switch for the exclusives.

If it wasn't for Zelda and Mario Kart (and over the years Animal Crossing and Pokémon), I wouldn't see the reason for getting one.

The small form factor and lack of jet engines has worked in it's favour as well.

Edit: ooh, obviously showing off my scintillating personality when I wrote that!

Howdy, guys.
Long time didn't post any comment here.
I still get hyped by 3rd party games as they are always give me variety and new gaming experiences.
One thing I don't like from certain 1st party Nintendo games is the antics of the games which is limited the gaming experiences by unusual restriction that might be a charm for one people but it will be a nightmare for me and other people.

Let's say older Animal Crossing games especially on GameCube which you have been forced to play the game everyday or you will get consequence by your villagers will moving out without telling you.
For some Nintendo fans it might the charm that make Animal Crossing different than life sim games, but for me with gaming experience from The Sims, I hate to see my villagers moving out by themselves like the game took away my precious stuffs if I don't play the game by one day. I don't have a time to play one game everyday, give me some break and when I return, I will not miss a thing.
This the Nintendo fans antics that I don't like at all.
They considered the losing of villagers as a good thing, but for me it's really insulting my effort. I want to keep them forever, just let me keep them all if I don't play the game. And this I will not consider older Animal Crossing games with their primitive features.

I would rather playing similar 3rd party games like Animal Crossing which give me freedom to keep my stuffs all and I will not get penalty for not playing by one day rather than following the Nintendo games antics which I don't like the conservative features.

@Anti-Matter Even though I like Animal Crossing, the pressure to play every single day does make me go somewhat crazy. Villagers may not leave in newer games, but they still kind of guilt trip you which feels bad. 😆 Lately I've been enjoying more laid back life sims like Fae Farm.

@FishyS
I'm glad today's gaming didn't really force you to play everyday.
That antics was already outdated and not fun anymore.

On one hand, obviously I bought the Nintendo system for Nintendo games, because unlike the competition, the company responsible for the console actually wants to make video games. And so many of my favorite games are first party Nintendo games, and I feel deservedly so. It's best summed up by the Game Awards (admittedly far from a perfect representation of quality gaming if you have remotely interesting tastes, but work with me here), who have nominated Nintendo for Game of the Year I believe 6 out of 7 times during this generation. And while Sony has comparable numbers for that, again they are not putting out remotely the output of Nintendo. Honestly the only big game company I could confidently say does is Square Enix, and they've had...a lot more issues in terms of quality control (and marketing), let's say. My top 3 favorite game series are Nintendo, so many of their games are genuinely fantastic and of interest to me specifically (even if usually that's based on fondness for similar past games).

However, even with all that, its really silly to try to compare one game company to the entire rest of gaming. If you really look for games, 3rd parties trump 1st party by default, especially with Switch actually being good for 3rd party games, just through sheer quantity. Nowadays, it is so easy to find a relatively new game for exactly your tastes, no matter what it is. As a 2d platformer guy, I could just play indies forever if I wanted to for that genre alone, and not be disappointed. Even in terms of non-indie games I've not played that interest me, I could probably find a ton just on this one console. Perfect example, I've never played Danganronpa, so that'd be 3 new games right there, let alone the new game from the same creator or that...less well received game made with the Zero Escape creator (whose AI series I've also not played, another two games). And there are times where 3rd party games do what Nintendo does but better (Rayman Legends, Little King's Story, arguably Okami, insert Metroidvania made before Metroid Dredd here), let alone doing what Nintendon't (like every fighting game with decent online). And by focusing on Nintendo games that I want to play and doing things other than video games at all, I am losing out on playing so many quality games other than Nintendo. I'm not gonna say I regret it necessarily (except for trying to play as much percentage of Xenoblade 2's content as I did 1), but the limited time is always a shame.

That's my answer, I don't have a further thing to add to it.

I gotta be honest, I don't know any good third-party games that are right for me. Most of what I find or are popular tend to be super-hard for casual players like me.

Hmmm... my feelings on this have likely evolved over time. But as of today, if I were to answer this question, I'd say it's 50/50

Many of Nintendo's games don't land with me. Their more casual stuff like Mario Party and Princess Peach Showtime, Tomocachi Life, etc. Not my thing. But their stuff that does land with me, really lands with me. DKC Tropical Freeze, Metroid Prime, Metroid Dread, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Fire Emblem Engage, Xenoblade Chronicles Trilogy, Splatoon 2 and 3, Zelda series, Luigi's Mansion 2 and 3, Mario Rabbids games (these might count as 3rd party, Idk), Pikmin quadrilogy, Pokemon Legends Arceus, etc etc.

Third party, the majority doesn't land with me. Online focused games, games as a service, big budget AAA Hollywood style cinematic games... some of them are "aiiight" but nothing that really gets me excited. Most PS exclusives fit that bill. They're "aiiight". Horizon, God of War, Uncharted... I make exception for the original Last of Us- that game was and still is superb, as I make exception for Infamous Second Son, another game that lands in my top 50 of all time. And there's a few others too, so I guess I shouldn't use PS as an example- Xbox fits the bill more so than PS. With Xbox I love Halo MCC and Infinite campaigns, and I love Gears of War (especially Gears 5, just excellent). And Gears Tactics. Maybe Forza Horizon series. But aside from that, their games don't land for me.

But then there are those 3rd party games I adore. Portal and Portal 2, Prince of Persia Lost Crown, Ys series and Legend of Heroes series, Unicorn Overlord and 13 Sentinels, Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin 2, Bayonetta Trilogy, Astral Chain, Bioshock Trilogy, Final Fantasy X, XII, Crisis Core and 7 Remake, speaking of "Crisis", Crysis Trilogy, Darksiders series, Diablo 3, DOOM and DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein New Order and Wolfenstein II, Dragon Quest XI S, Dragon Quest Builders 1/2, Dragon Quest Monsters series, Expeditions "A Mudrunner Game" (surprised me to say the least- this game rocks!), Hogwarts Legacy, Ghostrunner 1 and 2, Mass Effect series, Hot Wheels Unleashed 1/2, Monster Hunter Rise + Sunbreak, Monster Hunter World + Iceborn, Monster Hunter Stories 1/2, Ni No Kuni 1/2, Octopath Traveler 2, Triangle Strategy, Trials Rising, Ori Blind Forest and Will of Wisps, Persona 4/5, Persona 4 Dancing and Persona 5 Tactics, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil Revelations 1/2, Shin Megami Tensei series, Sniper Elite 3/4/5, Zombie Army 4, South Park Stick of Truth and Fractured But Whole, Tales series, The Witcher 2 and 3, Valkyria Chronicles 1 and 4...

And there's plenty more I'm not thinking of right now cause I don't have my Steamdeck OLED on me to remember all the games I own.

But it seems maybe it's not 50/50. It's weighted way heavier on the side of 3rd party.

That being said, the 1st party games I love, I really love. So much so, I'd almost trade that entire swath of 3rd party gems in exchange for my beloved Nintendo titles... almost 😉