Most of what you need to know about the Nintendo Switch 2 is right there in the name: this is the direct sequel to the Switch. It’s bigger, more powerful, more refined, and builds on a strong foundation. If you liked the first Switch, you’re almost certainly going to like the Switch 2. But whether it’s worth upgrading immediately is going to depend a lot on your current gaming library and how much you’re willing to spend for a small library of first party titles.  The Hardware From an ergonomic perspective, the Switch 2 is a definite upgrade over the original with a nicer looking, rounded off cradle, a bigger screen, and new magnetically attached Joy-cons that are a breeze to connect and remove. Also a really underrated new feature is the more flexible kickstand, which lets you play the Switch 2 from multiple angles if you’re into that sort of thing. While it didn’t really get much coverage in previews, I was also pleasantly surprised by a sturdier cover for game cards that will better lock them into place. That’s not hugely important, but it does show how much thought Nintendo put into the system to address almost every criticism of the original Switch, which was a pretty great portable to begin with. Furthermore, the sound quality of the Switch 2 in portable mode is surprisingly better than the old model. Oddly enough though, as good as the sound is, the HDR implementation is surprisingly underwhelming in this initial batch of games. That’s really not a huge deal, but it’s odd that Nintendo even pushed it at all given how barely noticeable it is right now. Maybe future games (or a future Switch 2 refresh) will improve on it. My only real gripe about the Switch 2 is that it’s maybe too big. I’m a six-foot and two inches, 270 pound professional wrestler in my spare time, and this thing is almost too big for my hands. It starts to feel a little heavy after an hour of playtime. At least the battery life is rock solid, however, which has always been a strong point of Nintendo portables, though the console does run noticeably warmer than its predecessor.  Set Up and the Switch 2 Experience Getting started with the Switch 2 is simple, although not without a bit of the typical Nintendo weirdness. By logging into my Wi-Fi and My Nintendo account, I transferred everything from my original Switch to the Switch 2 in a little over 10 minutes. All I had to do was plug in both consoles and move them within a few feet of each other. The one downside of this is that the Switch 2 then immediately decided to start downloading a few dozen of the most recent games I’ve played. That’s good in theory, but since the Switch 2 only comes with 256GB of internal storage, I didn’t want all those old games on my new console. If there’s an easier way than going through the game library and canceling all of those individual downloads, I couldn’t find it. Still, this made clear just how much space is going to be an issue with the new console. After downloading updates and just a handful of my older titles, I was down to only 175GB of space. When some launch titles are already clocking in at 60 gigs, it’s clear that a MicroSD Express card is going to be a necessity for a lot of gamers. Given the price of those, I do wish the Switch 2 had a port for older SD cards that could play original Switch games, or allowed for a hard drive in docked mode. Maybe that’s something we’ll see in an update down the line. Anyway, once I had downloaded what I wanted and canceled everything else, it was time to dive into the Switch 2 dashboard… which actually looks a lot like the original Switch’s. All of the icons are rounder, just like the cradle and system itself. The eShop doesn’t slow down anymore, and everything else is pretty much where it was on the first Switch. If you ever upgraded from an Xbox One to an Xbox Series X, it’s a similar type of negligible change.   What’s New with the Switch 2 Unlike some past Nintendo consoles like the Wii, the Switch 2 doesn’t have any major new gimmicks, but there are a couple of interesting new features. The upgraded Joy-Cons can now be used like computer mice. There’s also GameChat, a new way to communicate with other players during gameplay through video and audio. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Honestly, I didn’t spend a lot of time with either of these features. They work as advertised, they’re just not exactly revolutionary, especially given that Microsoft and Sony have allowed this type of communication while gaming for years. There’s definitely promise to these ideas down the line, but they’re not exactly day one system sellers. It’s probably 50-50 whether we see games that take advantage of these features, or if developers just ignore them entirely. Switch 2 Games, Old and New The Switch 2 is launching with an impressive collection of more than two dozen games. Many like Street Fighter 6, Hogwarts Legacy, and Hitman are ports of games that have been available elsewhere for awhile now. I picked up Mario Kart World, Bravely Default HD, and Cyberpunk 2077. I’ll have fuller thoughts on Mario Kart World in a few days, but for now I’ll say it’s a very fun game that doesn’t necessarily do a whole lot to show off its console’s power. The other two games are excellent ports of older titles, with Cyberpunk 2077 in particular offering some enjoyable new control options thanks to the upgraded Joy-Cons. What’s especially impressive at launch are the upgrades to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Available for $10 each, or as part of an annual Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. These almost look like brand new games with higher resolution and frame rates that now put them on par with a lot of the best looking games on Xbox or PlayStation.  Even in handheld mode, the Zelda titles look noticeably better than on the original Switch. The free upgrades I checked out in New Super Mario Bros. U, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury don’t go quite that far in terms of improvements, but the games definitely do perform better. It was actually kind of rough going back to Switch games like Splatoon 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles X that don’t have enhancements of any kind, and still having to deal with their little graphical hiccups on the Switch 2. But I didn’t notice any issues with backwards compatibility. Original Switch games seem to play flawlessly on the new console. Another reason to check out the Switch 2 is GameCube games for Expansion Pack members. I played a few minutes each of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and SoulCalibur II and I’m pleased to report that they all performed admirably. Whatever emulator Nintendo is using doesn’t make these games look like full-on remasters, but they do look very sharp on a 4K TV, and I’m excited to see what other classic titles get added in the future. Is the Switch 2 Worth Buying? Whether you should pick up a Switch 2 right now (if you can even find one) really depends. If you always wanted a Switch but for some reason never got one, a Switch 2 is an absolute no brainer. It’s going to be the best way to experience some Switch classics like Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey. If you haven’t had any other way to play great games like Cyberpunk 2077, Yakuza 0, or Hogwarts Legacy, then yes, the Switch 2 is an excellent purchase, and it’s cheaper than either a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.But if you’ve played your original Switch to death and have any other current gen console, a solid gaming PC, or a Steam Deck, the Switch 2 is a dicier proposition. Some great looking games like Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment are on the horizon, and I have no doubt the Switch 2 will be worth the purchase over time, but $450 and up is a lot to ask for what the console offers at the moment.

As the Nintendo Switch 2 launches, these are our hopes and dreams for the console Image credit: Nintendo Feature by GamesIndustry.biz Staff Contributor Published on June 5, 2025 With the Nintendo Switch 2 launching today, it closes out a rocky pre-launch period of tariffs, fiery price discussions around software and hardware, and some retailers cancelling pre-orders. Much of that will feel like a distant memory once the hotly-anticipated console is in players' hands, and they're trying out the first new Mario Kart game in more than 11 years. There's always something special about Nintendo hardware. Even with the Wii U, the console manufacturer's biggest dud in recent memory, that was still the case. While the Switch 2 is firmly an evolution of 2017's Switch and not anything bolder in terms of input or form factor, Nintendo's unbelievable run of great software over the past eight years looks set to continue. The downside for consumers, of course, is that they will be paying much more for some of those titles than they did on the last console. Below, to celebrate its launch day, the GamesIndustry.biz team shares its realistic hopes and dreams for the years to come on Switch 2. A fresh take on exclusive IP Nintendo has already demonstrated that it's willing to switch it up in terms of new takes on its iconic franchises, with the destructible levels of Donkey Kong Bananza and the open roads of Mario Kart World. But I have an appetite to see the same approach taken with continuations of beloved franchises like The Legend of Zelda, 3D Mario, and Pokémon. While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are getting enhanced versions and the newest Pokémon Legends title launches this fall, Nintendo has the opportunity to revitalise some of its beloved IP with boosted hardware and fan interest. Not only that, but it could flip the script entirely and debut a brand new franchise unrelated to anything that’s come before it – something that would become intertwined with the Switch 2 and inspire a new generation of players and developers. – Sophie McEvoy The end of bad Switch ports While games like Doom and The Witcher 3 demonstrated that miracles were possible with the Nintendo Switch's limited hardware capabilities, numerous ports from more powerful platforms fell short. From the notoriously rough visual downgrade of Batman: Arkham Knight to the choppy port of WWE 2K 2018, sometimes visually intensive games have made their way to the console with a whiff of 'buyer beware' about them. In some cases, like the Kingdom Hearts games, 'cloud' versions bypassed trying to run natively on the hardware altogether, which was a compromise too far for many players. That's a trend the Switch 2, with its out-of-the-gates impressive ports of Cyberpunk 2077 and Civ 7, could really do without. Inevitably, we will reach a point with the next Xbox and PlayStation consoles where the disparity with the Switch 2 becomes too great, and we could potentially see a similar downslide in ports. But hopefully the quality level reached with this first wave of releases sets a high standard for what's to come. Users' tolerance for lower quality multiplatform releases has been tested too much during the latter years of the Switch's lifecycle. – Samuel Roberts Switch 2 is at the heart of indie games Image credit: ConcernedApe The early years of the Switch were a honeymoon period for indie games, causing a gold rush of publishers and developers getting their back catalogues on the platform. As the eShop became swamped with shovelware, while Nintendo did little to improve discoverability (until very recently), Steam quickly became the de facto home for indie games again. There's still nothing like playing an indie game on Switch. The portability remains a cut above other devices with a similar form factor, like the Steam Deck. While Nintendo shows it values smaller games with its Indie World showcases, there's still a disconnect between the intent of those presentations and how easily indie games are actually discovered on Switch. Using the eShop to celebrate good taste in games should be a goal of Nintendo's during this generation. A golden age of indies comparable to the original Switch launch seems unlikely – the moment has probably passed on that. But more consistent curation would have a massive amount of value. – Samuel Roberts Nintendo shows that the mouse has the magic The unveiling of the Switch showed that Nintendo learned a lot of lessons from the Wii U, itself a failed follow-up to the Wii: the company didn't rock the boat. It's the same form factor you know from the original Switch, with a clear '2' in the name. All its more novel secondary features – like the Joy-Con's mouse controls – are not at the centre of the marketing messaging like the Wii Remote or DS touchscreen were for those consoles. This was wise in a few practical ways. It means there are no interface-based headaches in porting a game onto the console, paving the way for (theoretically) good third-party support. Consumers, developers, and publishers know what they're getting. Still, it means the console is going to feel largely familiar as an experience. The hope, then, is that deeper into the generation, Nintendo and other developers find new and interesting things to do with the mouse. Competitive wheelchair basketball game Drag x Drive is Nintendo's first attempt at this, but the drab art style doesn't inspire much confidence. Previous breakthrough exclusives like Arms and Splatoon felt like a much bigger deal. – Samuel Roberts More than just a console As a handheld device, the Switch ended up being more than just a games console. Subscription-based services like Crunchyroll and InkyPen provide access to anime, comics, and manga, while the YouTube app lets players watch a (albeit limited) selection of movies and shows. With the improvements in screen resolution, the Switch 2 would benefit from integrating more streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. Sure, you can use these apps on phones and laptops, but it would be convenient to have everything on one device – particularly a handheld console that's a popular traveling companion. And with social connectivity being a major selling point of the new console with GameChat, there's an opportunity to host streaming parties of shows and films on top of playing games. – Sophie McEvoy The GameCube library isn't left to fester on Nintendo Switch Online On day one, Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack brings GameCube games to Switch 2 players: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and Soulcalibur 2. More will be coming, but if Nintendo's previous form with its classic console libraries are anything to go by, it will be a glacial wait. I hope I'm proven wrong. Possibly complicating matters is that some key GameCube titles have already been ported to Switch, like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Pikmin 1 and 2, and Metroid Prime. The console's best game, Resident Evil 4, has been widely available for years on other platforms. The best case scenario here, then, is that Nintendo brings some more unusual or unexpected games to the service – the coming inclusion of Chibi-Robo, a cult GameCube game that's been hard to get hold for many years, is a strong indicator that the company is thinking outside the more obvious Mario and Zelda games. Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes would be on my personal wishlist. And maybe Starfox Adventures, too, just to hear everyone complain about it again. – Samuel Roberts A new take on Zelda in time for the movie This one is pretty much guaranteed. After reinventing the Zelda series with the open world games Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, both of which celebrated player freedom and ingenuity, it will be fascinating to see what tack the team behind these games take next. "I think [TOTK] is – to use a bit of a term – an apotheosis, or the final form of that version of The Legend of Zelda," said producer Eiji Aonuma in a 2023 interview with Game Informer. "In that regard, I don't think that we'll be making a direct sequel to a world such as that that we've created." My prediction: in the same way Super Mario Wonder gave players a fresh spin on a classic Mario 2D platformer experience following 2023's (terrible, if you ask me) Super Mario Bros. movie, I could see a similar tack taken with 2027's live-action Zelda movie. A game that seems superficially familiar, but is bursting with new ideas, would bridge the gap between veteran Nintendo players and newbies. – Samuel Roberts

If you're eager to die, then that's fine by me!With Nintendo Switch 2 bringing a selection of GameCube classics to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers very soon, we looked into our back catalogue of retro reviews and found we didn't have one for one of the best fighting games ever created...until now. Enjoy!Soulcalibur II, of all the games in this mighty series, was the one that really cemented it in our minds as a franchise to have sat alongside the likes of Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Tekken and the very best fighters of its era. And any other era, let's face it.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Don't Feel Like Fighting? Check Out These Other Terrific PC Games Brawlhalla Brawlhalla (for PC) 3.5 Good The Blue Mammoth Games-developed Brawlhalla is a free-to-play fighting game—available on PC, console, and mobile—that builds upon Smash's wild, character-focused gameplay by introducing unlimited wall-jumps and various other movement options that facilitate fun combat.The expanding character roster also features the likes of G.I. Joe's Snake Eyes, WWE's Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Tomb Raider's Lara Croft, and Street Fighter’s Chun-Li. Many of these licensed fighters require spending cash, but that's fine; it's worth spending $20 for all current and future characters, because this platform-fighter is just that exciting. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Capcom continues resurrecting its classic titles for modern audiences with Capcom Fighting Collection 2. This compilation features cool deep cuts not found in previous entries, including Power Stone and Project Justice. Along with the nostalgia, you'll enjoy new upgrades like online multiplayer (but no crossplay) and revamped display options. If you've had your fill of Street Fighter, this is a great way to broaden your fighting game horizons. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 (for PC) review Dead or Alive 6 Dead or Alive 6 (for PC) 3.5 Good Dead or Alive 6, much like its immediate predecessor, is one part fighting game, one part fashion show, and one part schlocky action movie. Individually, each of the game's widely differing elements might not stand up to scrutiny. After all, DOA 6 isn't the best fighter, doesn't offer the deepest character customization, and doesn't quite reach the Tekken series' level of story insanity.Still, Dead or Alive 6 is a fun and surprisingly strategic PC game that offers enough freshness to warrant playing with its new Break Blow and Break Hold tools. Plus, the game's familiar Triangle System and Danger Zones are highly entertaining, too. Divekick Divekick (for PC) 3.5 Good Iron Galaxy Studios' Divekick is the most hipster fighting game ever created. It's the product of the indie scene that mercilessly parodies fighting games and their die-hard community, yet demands that you be part of the underground circle to fully get all of the references and in-jokes.It's an odd game, but an interesting one if you open your mind to the insane concept of a two-button fighter based entirely on the idea of jumping and kicking. And 20-second rounds. And one-hit kills. And a line of scrimmage. Yes, Divekick is a fighting game freak show, but one worth checking out. Dragon Ball FighterZ Dragon Ball FighterZ (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Beside Fist of the Northstar and Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure, there are few anime properties that are as intrinsically suited to the fighting-game treatment as the Dragon Ball series. Spanning multiple series, movies, and generations of characters, Akira Toriyama's manga-turned-anime-turned-game series is all about buff monkey men, humans, aliens, and androids trading blows in actual earth-shattering battles.The series' latest video game adaptation, Dragon Ball FighterZ, ditches the Xenoverse games' arena-brawling model in favor of 3-vs.-3, tag-team fighting on a 2D plane. The gameplay shift is just one of the many reasons Dragon Ball FighterZ is being held aloft as one of 2018's notable titles. Its beautiful design, intense combat, and accessible control scheme add up to a game that anyone can jump into for Super Saiyan thrills.Plus, you can kick Cell through a mountain. Dragon Ball FighterZ (for PC) review Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (for PC) 4.0 Excellent The King of Fighters series is great, but Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves resurrects the SNK fighter that started it all. Familiar faces like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui battle real-life guest characters like DJ Salavatore Gannaci and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo gather for this excellent take on fundamental, 2D fisticuffs. Rich mechanics add depth to both offensive and defensive play, while comic book-inspired graphics give brawls a distinct visual identity. Crossplay multiplayer shines with rollback netcode. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves (for PC) review Garou: Mark of the Wolves Garou: Mark of the Wolves (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Upon its 1999 release, Garou: Mark of the Wolves—a surprisingly deep and visually stunning entry in the long-running Fatal Fury series—was hailed as SNK's wondrous response to Capcom's Street Fighter III. Nearly 20 years later, SNK has finally given the fighting game the proper PC treatment by releasing it with numerous additional graphics options, leaderboards, and rollback, online versus play.Despite removing and downplaying some series-specific elements, Garou doesn't feel any less of a Fatal Fury game, however. It's set in the Southtown, and it features multiple fighters with classic Fatal Fury lineages, whether it's blood relationships to, or martial-arts tutelage from, older characters. Kim Kaphwan isn't in the game, for example, but his sons continue his legacy of swift, combo-heavy tae kwon do kicks.The result is an excellent game that boasts beautiful animation, Just Defend parries, and the strategic T.O.P. system that delivers increased attack damage, limited health regeneration, faster super-meter build up, and an exclusive special attack when your activate the mode. Guilty Gear Strive Guilty Gear Strive (for PC) 4.0 Excellent The Guilty Gear series reigns as the king of anime-style fighting games due to its gorgeous art style, and a rich, demanding, and lighting-quick combat system. Unfortunately, its oceanic depth and mountainous skill ceiling proved inaccessible to the causal player—until now. With Strive, developer Arc System Works streamlines the series’ unique combat mechanics to make them more newcomer-friendly, while retaining the older games' creative richness. Strive comes with fewer extra modes than its predecessors, but there is a lot to love in this PC game, including astounding visuals, impressive character play styles, and snappy, lag-free online play courtesy of top-tier, rollback netcode. Strive is an approachable series entry that shakes up the Guilty Gear formula in the best ways possible. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- (for PC) 3.5 Good Guilty Gear is a niche series within a niche genre, one that's enjoyed a cult following since its first appearance in 1998. With Xrd -SIGN-, developer Arc System Works ditches the series' 2D sprites in favor of 3D cel-shaded graphics in an attempt to expand its audience. Likewise, series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari sought a more approachable play style that maintains the depth and high skill ceiling that long-time Guilty Gear fans love.Still, Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- keeps the series familiar fighting action (Roman Cancels, Bursts, and Dusts) that enables creative offensive and defensive play. Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- (for PC) review Killer Instinct Killer Instinct (for PC) 4.0 Excellent When Killer Instinct debuted for Windows 10 in March 2016, it represented the latest chapter in the continued PC fighting game renaissance. With its arrival, Microsoft's one-on-one game of fisticuffs joined the likes of Guilty Gear, The King of Fighters, Street Fighter, and other high-profile series that now grace the personal computer.Killer Instinct has a combo-heavy engine that caters to both novices and pros, incredibly detailed graphics that boast ridiculous particle effects (everything explodes!), and an over-the-top, NBA Jam-like announcer who screams your accomplishments ("C-c-c-combo Breaker!") at the top of his lungs.Killer Instinct is part of Microsoft's Play Anywhere initiative. So, if you buy Killer Instinct from the Microsoft Store, you'll also be able to play it on Xbox One at no additional cost. It has cross-platform play with Xbox One, too, thus expanding the online player base. There's a Steam version, too. Even better, the game's ridiculously good netcode ensures smooth play across the globe. Killer Instinct (for PC) review The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Final Edition The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Final Edition (for PC) 5.0 Outstanding The King of Fighters '98—with its hops, rolls, blowback attacks, and meter-filling Advance and Extra modes—is one of the best fighting games ever made, so it's no surprise that developer SNK has returned to the title many times since the game's original release.In 2008, SNK celebrated the game's tenth anniversary by porting the team-based fighter to the PlayStation 2 as The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match, a game loaded with extra characters (including the almighty '96 Boss Team!), stages, moves, and gameplay modes. Now, a tweaked Ultimate Match is available for purchase under the title The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Final Edition.This version adds numerous graphics options and good, but not great, online connectivity that lets you battle other KOF fans around the globe in 3-vs.-3 action. The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Final Edition (for PC) review The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Like The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Final Edition, The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match is a dream match that eschews a storyline so that developer SNK could include as many characters as possible—even some that are canonically dead, like crime boss Geese Howard. As a result, Unlimited Match boasts one of the largest fighting game rosters of all time, with a 66-character strong lineup.King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match continues the series tradition of excellent combat. Although it lacks KOF '98 UMFE's three radically different fight mechanics (Advanced, Extra, and Ultimate), Unlimited Match has a lone system that resembles Advanced Mode. This fighting style gives you plenty of offensive (Dash, Run, Hops, Super Jumps) and defensive (Guard Cancel Strike, Guard Cancel Roll Throw) options for setting up or evading traps. Excellent rollback netcode lets you play people around the world without hiccup. The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition (for PC) 4.0 Excellent The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition brings SNK's incredibly dense, 3-vs.-3, team-based fighter to the PC via Valve's video game marketplace. It's an all-around excellent fighting game, and one of the best in SNK's rich catalog.If you've rumbled with friends and foes in the version that appeared on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, you'll feel right at home here: The intricate combat mechanics, meter management, and the best sprite-based graphics ever seen in a fighting game are brought over successfully in this Steam port.Even better, The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition contains all the console DLC and the King of Fighters XIII: Climax arcade features. Similar to The King of Fighters '98: Ultimate Match Final Edition, The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition has decent online play, but you can expect some hiccups. The King of Fighters XIII: Steam Edition (for PC) review The Last Blade The Last Blade (for PC) 4.0 Excellent SNK put weapons-based, 2D fighting on the map with 1993's delightful Samurai Shodown, but the developer went on to refine the idea of sword-based combat four years later in a somewhat lesser-known Neo Geo title: The Last Blade.Released to the Steam platform with several contemporary bells and whistles, The Last Blade boasts excellent swordplay, a dozen exquisitely designed characters, and a gorgeous anime- and manga-style presentation that make its 19th-century Japanese setting one of the most beautiful in fighting-game history. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite (for PC) 3.5 Good Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has taken its fair share of flack since its reveal, and the venom is not at all unwarranted. The initial trailer for the tag-team fighting game featured dull, washed-out graphics, and Capcom highlighted the new novice-friendly, auto-combo options that are designed to help casuals bust out cool-looking moves in an otherwise hardcore genre. As a result, fight fans were highly skeptical of the game, as was I.Fortunately, my Infinite sentiments changed upon logging several hours with the game. The Infinity Stone hook and the move to 2-vs.-2, tag team action make Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite an incredibly fun PC game to play in both casual and hardcore sessions.Still, Infinite has presentation and MCU-focused roster issues that prevent it from rising to the very top of the fighting game elite. Mortal Kombat XL Mortal Kombat XL (for PC) 4.0 Excellent When NetherRealm Studios released the blood-drenched Mortal Kombat X to consoles in 2015, the one-on-one fighting game continued to evolve via free and paid updates that added characters, balanced the roster, and improved online play. However, the High Voltage Studios-ported PC version of the game received zero post-launch support, much to the dismay of hardcore Mortal Kombat fans.Thankfully, that changed with the Mortal Kombat XL update, a version of MKX that finally gives PC gamers all the extras that console-based fight fans have enjoyed for some time now. I dislike the idea of paying more money for PC content released long after the console version, but it's hard not to love the additions, which include even more fighters, stages, costumes, and gore.Paid DLC added plenty of guest fighters, which has becoming commonplace in the fighting game circle. They include the Predator and Friday the 13th's Jason Vorhees. The King of Fighters XV The King of Fighters XV (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Developer SNK took KOF XIV's core, revamped the MAX meter, added the Shatterstrike counter system, and gave the character models an eye-catching redesign to create one of the best fighting games in recent history. KOF XV features an updated fighting engine that facilitates fast-paced, creative combat, and near-flawless rollback netcode that will keep you knuckling up with online rivals for hours on end.The game's dense with options. You can play the narrative-driven Story mode, use DJ Station to listen to more that 300 music tracks culled from SNK's rich, decades-long game library (many compositions unlock as you play Arcade mode), engage in casual and ranked online battles, view leaderboards, and check out match replays. In a community-fostering move, SNK included an esports-friendly tournament mode tailor-made for locals and majors like Evo. You can save 15 custom teams, set up brackets and rulesets, and register up to 32 entrants. It's a great touch. In addition, KOF XV lets you join online lobbies to play against others or simply spectate. Mortal Kombat 11 Mortal Kombat 11 (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Mortal Kombat 11 is far more than the guts and gore titles on which the series built its fame. The narrative sequel to Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat 11 uses time travel to pit characters against their rivals in the past in order to alter the present. Whatever.Mortal Kombat 11 continues the series tradition of chop-socky action and otherworldly mysticism to lay the foundation for military operatives, ninjas, gods, and monsters to punch each other squarely in the face. With its character customization, HDR10 support, smooth animations, and new offensive and defensive meters, MK11 is the best Mortal Kombat game to date. Mortal Kombat 11 (for PC) review Samurai Shodown Samurai Shodown (for PC) 3.5 Good Clashing swords, blood spurts, and tense, measured play define Samurai Shodown, SNK's beloved weapons-based fighting game series. This series refresh, the simply named Samurai Shodown, carries those elements to PC after the game first appeared on console. If you've waited this long in hopes that Samurai Shodown would add many PC-exclusive extras, you may be disappointed; this is largely the same game that appeared elsewhere. Still, Samurai Shodown's unique, defense-orientated gameplay makes it a fighting game to check out for sword-swinging, blood-letting action. Prep for lengthy load times, though. Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection, SNK and Digital Eclipse's follow up to the delightful SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, contains all the SamSho games that appeared on the original Neo Geo, plus production art, SNK staff interviews, and a true surprise—an unreleased title that only briefly saw a location test. Overall, Samurai Shodown Neo Geo Collection is a wonderful piece of playable history, with the only blight against the PC game being its mediocre online components. Skullgirls 2nd Encore Skullgirls 2nd Encore (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Skullgirls 2nd Encore, the update to Reverge Labs's critically acclaimed original game, takes cues from many highly regarded fighting titles and blends it with the series' unique, cartoony, art deco-influenced visual style.However, Skullgirls 2nd Encore's graphics aren't all that separate it from the competition. The indie fighter boasts a Capcom vs. SNK-style ratio system that lets you select up to three characters to battle up to three rival characters, as well as a Marvel vs. Capcom-style assist system. The fighter also has a built-in system that automatically stops infinites, those annoying and abusive combos that never end. SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium (for PC) 4.5 Excellent With Match of the Millennium's rerelease, the secret best fighting game in the SNK vs. Capcom crossover series finds a new audience. Featuring an 18-character default roster (Athena, Chun-Li, Dan, Felicia, Guile, Haohmaru, Iori, Ken, Kyo, Leona, Mai, Morrigan, Nakoruru, Ryo, Ryu, Sakura, Terry, and Zangief), and three deep groove systems that replicate beloved the companies' beloved fighting game engines, SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium sees two fighting game universes collide in marvelous fashion.That would be more than enough variety, but Match of the Millennium offers additional goodies. It features standard Sparring, Survival, and Time Attack fighting modes. Olympics, however, is the most intriguing mode, as it lets you indulge in several non-fighting game minigames. For example, you can blast Metal Slug's Mars People in a first-person shooting mode or guide Ghost 'N Goblins' Arthur across pits to snatch up treasure. The Versus points that you earn here unlock extra super moves for the default and secret characters. These contests have the depth of early mobile phone games, but they're a nice diversion from the standard fighting game action.Match of the Millennium is a genuinely entertaining and rich fighting game that combines challenge and strategy with a hefty helping of lighthearted humor. SoulCalibur VI SoulCalibur VI (for PC) 4.0 Excellent The weapons-based combat series has seen its ups and downs over the years, but with SoulCalibur VI, developer Bandai Namco has taken what's worked in the past—swift, strategic combat and robust character customization—and paired it with the new Reversal Edge and Soul Charge battle mechanics to create an engaging PC fighting game that'll shine in all sorts of battles, whether they're between buddies or on big esports stages like Evo.Combat is crisp and rewarding, with a universal control scheme that makes it a breeze to pick up a new character. Each fighter has a horizontal attack, vertical attack, kick, block, parry, sidestep, guard-crushing Break Attack, and Critical Edge super attack. This control scheme will feel familiar to anyone who's played recent SoulCalibur titles, and it leads to some tense combat moments as you attack and defend. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (for PC) 4.0 Excellent Film aficionados rely on The Criterion Collection to take vital classic and contemporary movies and present them in thoughtful, information-filled packages for modern audiences. Until very recently, the 40-year old video game industry lacked its own Criterion Collection, letting important pop culture contributions slip into oblivion due to incompatible hardware and software formats, expired licenses, and plain neglect. Thankfully, the games preservation experts at Digital Eclipse have taken up the task, blessing gamers with titles that celebrate classic titles via accurate emulation and a bounty of production-related extras and modern touches. The company's first foray into the fighting game genre is Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.This collection doesn't include Street Fighter: The Movie, the Street Fighter EX titles, or X-Men vs. Street Fighter, but you will find all the core arcade releases. The lineup includes Street Fighter (1987), Street Fighter II (1991), Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992), Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (1992), Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993) Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994), Street Fighter Alpha (1995), Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996), Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997), Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact Giant Attack (1997), Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998), and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Fight For The Future (1999).Even better, you don't just get the games. This collection includes a sprite/animation view, design documents, a historical timeline, and a jukebox. In short, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is a love letter to one of the most important video game franchises of all time. Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (for PC) 3.5 Good In February 2016, Street Fighter V arrived on PC with many flaws that detracted from the stellar gameplay, including awful server instability, no true single-player mode, and a surprisingly limited multiplayer Battle Lounge. However, over the course of the last few years, developer Capcom released several updates that addressed (most of) those issues while also adding new stages and playable characters.Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, with its fresh and returning characters, new fight systems (like the cool V-Skills and V-Triggers mechanics), interactive stages, Cinematic Story Mode, and cross-platform play with PlayStation 4 owners, finally makes the one-on-one fighting game a title to pick up even for gamers who don't have Evo dreams. Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (for PC) review Street Fighter 6 Street Fighter 6 (for PC) 5.0 Outstanding Following Street Fighter V's lukewarm reception, Capcom had much to prove with Street Fighter 6. Thankfully, the developer not only righted the previous title's wrongs, but exceeded expectations by including nearly everything that fans would want in a contemporary fighting game.The title's powered by the new Drive Gauge, a meter that's full and ready for action at the beginning of each round. With the Drive Gauge, you can unleash the Drive Impact, Drive Parry, Drive Reversal, Drive Rush, and Overdrive moves (read our review for a breakdown of each one). It, along with the Dynamic and Modern control schemes, gives you more combat flexibility than any previous Street Fighter game. The result is one of the best fighters ever crafted, one that enables hype-fueled moments in casual and competitive play. Street Fighter 6 (for PC) review Tekken 7 Tekken 7 (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Tekken 7, like the main-line Tekken games that came before it, is a tale of fathers and sons attempting to murder each other to purge the Mishima clan of the Devil Gene, a magical bit of DNA that transforms certain people into hell spawn.The excellent combat accentuates the narrative ridiculousness. Like its predecessors, Tekken 7 is a fighting game that features simple, limb-mapped controls, massive character move sets, and numerous juggles that let you keep a combo flowing, if you're skilled enough to input the correct move at the right moment. With Tekken 7, the series receives super moves (Rage Arts) and enhanced, special attacks that can blow through an opponent's attack (Power Crush).Tekken 7 is an incredibly tense game of jabs, feints, and sidesteps, because any hit may lead to a long combo sting. Factor in characters with move sets that emulate real martial arts, interactive stages that let you knock people through floors and walls, and terrific slowdown effects that happen when both fighters' health bars are in the red and they perform close-quarter melee attacks, and you have a fighting game that's essentially an interactive martial arts flick. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (for PC) 3.5 Good Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 pits Marvel's superheroes against Capcom's video game characters in a frantic 3-vs.-3, tag team brawl. The 48-character headcount is impressive, but it's the individual characters and visual aesthetic that truly make the game shine (unlike its Infinite sequel).Marvel's side has several popular and obscure characters, including Captain America, Iron Man, Iron Fist, and She-Hulk, and Spider-Man. Capcom's side mainly comprises characters from the company's fighting and action games, including Final Fight's Mike Haggar and Street Fighter's Ryu. The comic book-style graphics, with their bright colors and heavy black lines, gives Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 an eye-popping look.In terms of gameplay, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 builds upon its Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds predecessor by including a three-button control scheme, the momentum-changing X-Factor mechanic, and retooled aerial combat. Ultra Street Fighter IV Ultra Street Fighter IV (for PC) 4.5 Excellent Ultra Street Fighter IV marks Capcom's fourth version of Street Fighter IV and the third version available on the Steam platform. Like vanilla Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV, Ultra's combat is centered on Focus Attacks, a move that lets your character tank a blow and unleash a counterattack.This final iteration adds five new characters (Decapre, Elena, Hugo, Poison, and Rolento), six new stages, a YouTube upload option, Edition Select (which lets you pick different versions of characters, based on their past Street Fighter IV iterations), and Double Ultra (which makes a character's Ultra Combos available simultaneously, in exchange for reduced damage).It's Street Fighter IV's best and meatiest update, though some balance issues prove a bit irritating in play. Still, Ultra Street Fighter IV is an excellent, competitive one-on-one fighting game.

Start SlideshowStart SlideshowImage: Mineralblu / KotakuIl Volta is an event that takes place in Italy, dedicated to the photography of cosplay. It’s not a convention, there’s no show floor—instead it’s about capturing the best cosplay outfits in beautiful locations.So who better than the team at Mineralblu to send? The results are some stunning photos of an array of gaming fits, with a lot of focus on Soulslikes in opulent settings, and Final Fantasy characters out in the wild. Alongside them are some less often seen nods, including Darkstalkers, Fire Emblem and Black★Rock Shooter.Take a look at the video of the occasion below, and then click on to see the best of the best photographs from the event.THIS IS IL VOLTA ITALIA 2025 EUROPE BEST COSPLAY MUSIC VIDEO ITALY ANIME EXPO 2025 COMIC CON COSTUMEPrevious SlideNext Slide2 / 20List slidesShadowheart, Baldur’s Gate 3List slidesShadowheart, Baldur’s Gate 3Photo: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide3 / 20List slidesSophitia Alexandra, SoulcaliburList slidesSophitia Alexandra, SoulcaliburPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide4 / 20List slidesMorrigan / Lilith, DarkstalkersList slidesMorrigan / Lilith, DarkstalkersPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide5 / 20List slidesScarlet / Red Hood, NIKKEList slidesScarlet / Red Hood, NIKKEPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide6 / 20List slidesBlack★Rock ShooterList slidesBlack★Rock ShooterPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide7 / 20List slidesTerra Branford, Final Fantasy VIList slidesTerra Branford, Final Fantasy VIPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide8 / 20List slidesKatarina, League of LegendsList slidesKatarina, League of LegendsPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide9 / 20List slidesMalenia, Elden RingList slidesMalenia, Elden RingPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide10 / 20List slidesClair, Fire EmblemList slidesClair, Fire EmblemPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide11 / 20List slidesKitana, Mortal KombatList slidesKitana, Mortal KombatPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide12 / 20List slidesBlack Swan / Acheron, Honkai Star RailList slidesBlack Swan / Acheron, Honkai Star RailPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide13 / 20List slidesVi, ArcaneList slidesVi, ArcanePhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide14 / 20List slidesThe Doll, BloodborneList slidesThe Doll, BloodbornePhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide15 / 20List slidesLady Maria, BloodborneList slidesLady Maria, BloodbornePhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide16 / 20List slidesD.Va, OverwatchList slidesD.Va, OverwatchPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide17 / 20List slidesXehanort, Kingdom HeartsList slidesXehanort, Kingdom HeartsPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide18 / 20List slidesAerith, Final Fantasy VIIList slidesAerith, Final Fantasy VIIPhoto: MineralbuPrevious SlideNext Slide19 / 20List slidesKefka, Final Fantasy VIList slidesKefka, Final Fantasy VIPhoto: Mineralbu.

The wireless GameCube controller that’s for use exclusively with the Nintendo Switch 2 can now be pre-ordered by those who have a Switch Online account. The controller costs $64.99, and is currently limited to one per account. For those who’ve bought one, you’ll get it on Switch 2’s launch date, which is June 5th. There’s no waiting room this time, unlike Nintendo’s previous rollout of preorders on May 13. While GameCube controller support on the original Switch is nothing new (made possible thanks to the GameCube controller plug-to-USB adapter, or with newer third-party USB versions based on the original controller’s design), game support for the new wireless version is quite a bit more limited. It won’t be compatible with Switch backwards compatible titles that work on the Switch 2, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, or at least support hasn’t been confirmed yet. Instead, its use is limited to the GameCube games that are coming to Switch Online’s Expansion Pack tier, which at launch will include The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soulcalibur 2, and more. This GameCube controller has USB-C charging, and comes with the C button that’s used to summon GameChat features. Just a reminder: GameChat will be free to use for all Nintendo Switch 2 owners through March 31st, 2026. Update, May 22nd: Preorders have opened again for the wireless GameCube controller, so we’ve updated this post with relevant information.

Nintendo closes out the end of an era in 2025 with the introduction of the Nintendo Switch 2 and gradual sunsetting of the original Nintendo Switch. This shift in focus to the new console won’t be overnight, of course, and rarely is whenever console publishers transition to a fresh generation. The first Switch generation was an especially prosperous one for Nintendo, with over 150 million units shipped worldwide and counting, making it Nintendo’s best-selling home console of all-time and second only to the PlayStation 2 as the best-selling home console overall. With a player base that large, Nintendo has to be tactful how it eventually phases out its support for the Switch and maintains continued interest in its overarching brand. That makes us nostalgic too for how previous major home consoles eventually made their respective final bows, wrapping up fondly remembered eras. Here’s a look back on how each major console from the past several decades ended their fan-favorite runs. Nintendo Entertainment System The NES not only revived the video game industry in North America after its cataclysmic crash in 1983, but completely dominated it into the early ‘90s. By 1990 the NES—along with its Japanese counterpart, the Famicom—was the best-selling console ever at that time with more American households having the console than PCs. As such, Nintendo’s support for the NES continued long after the launch of the Super Nintendo, with Japan going as far as to continue manufacturing Famicoms for its domestic market until September 2003. Many of the last games released in the twilight years for the NES were ports of Super Nintendo titles with a significantly less intensive technical presentation. These include NES ports of Mario’s Time Machine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, and Wario’s Woods, all released in 1994 and the last of which being the final game released for the console in North America. Over 30 years later, the NES’ tenure remains one of the longest-running and most triumphant generations for any console. Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Also known as the Mega Drive outside of the U.S., the Sega Genesis was the console that gave Sega a prominent foothold in the North American market. In trying to gain a technical edge against its competitors, Sega began producing console peripherals for the Genesis, most notably the Sega CD in 1991 and Sega 32X in 1994, each with their own game libraries. Though Sega continued to produce games for the base Genesis, it saw the 32X as a stopgap effort until the Sega Saturn could be launched in 1994 in Japan and ‘95 in the U.S. Unfortunately for Sega, savvy gamers already knew that the Saturn was coming. So when combined with the high price point for the 32X peripheral, they discreetly avoided it. This meant the library of 32X games released in the Genesis’ final months, which included early 3D Sega games like Virtua Fighter and Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, went largely ignored. The final 32X game was 1996’s The Amazing Spider-Man: Web of Fire while 1997’s NHL 98 closed out the Genesis on a whimper. Super Nintendo The Super Nintendo Entertainment System reaffirmed Nintendo’s place atop the worldwide video game industry, even as it faced stiff competition from Sega and Sony. Even as the Nintendo 64’s 1996 launch loomed, Nintendo continued to support the SNES in its final years. Indeed, some of the most beloved SNES games were originally released in 1996 and 1997, giving the console the fond farewell that cemented its vaunted place in gaming history. Among the memorable games released in the final stretch for the SNES were Super Mario RPG, Donkey Country 3, Harvest Moon, and The Lost Vikings 2. The last licensed game ever released for the SNES was a 1998 port of Frogger, almost as an afterthought for the console. As far as endings go, the Super Nintendo, like the SNES before it, had a great conclusion to its best-selling run. Sega Saturn Between the original success of the Genesis and loving reappraisal of the Dreamcast, the Sega Saturn remains something of the overlooked middle child. This is in no small part because of how badly Sega handled the console’s rollout for the North American market, from a surprise announcement that caught developers outside of Japan off-guard, an uncompetitive price point in comparison to the original PlayStation, and Sega of America deciding not to localize hundreds of games created by Japanese developers. With that in mind, the Saturn generation lasted four years, as Sega rushed to replace it with its successor, the Dreamcast. This fast-tracked decision effectively hobbled the Saturn in its final year when news about the Dreamcast’s development leaked while Sega was still nominally supporting the Saturn in public. Console and game sales in North America cratered with only seven Saturn games released in the territory for the entirety of 1998, the last being a localization of Magic Knight Rayearth. Given the Saturn’s greater success in Japan than overseas markets, Sega continued to support the Saturn after the Dreamcast’s November 1998 launch, primarily through third-party titles and boxed sets, with the last game released for the console in Japan being 2000’s Final Fight Revenge by Capcom. PlayStation The PlayStation, later rebranded as the PSX and then PS1, marked Sony’s triumphant entry into the home console industry in 1994. Buoyed by its games published on compact discs, as opposed to expensive cartridges, and strong third-party developer support, PS1 became the bestselling console of its generation and the bestselling overall for its time. The PS1 continued to sell well into the subsequent generation, even well into the lifespan of its 2001 successor, the PlayStation 2. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! Given the sheer number of its player base and continued flourishing third-party support, the PS1 saw multiplatform sports and licensed titles published for it through 2006, though the last North American title was published for it in 2004. The last major title for the console was arguably 2002’s Final Fantasy Origins, which was just a compiled remaster of the first two mainline games in the series. Sony officially ended support for the PS1 in 2006, the same year it launched the PlayStation 3. Nintendo 64 Though the Nintendo 64 launched strongly and revolutionized the gaming industry in shifting to 3D games, it also saw Nintendo lose its global top spot in the console wars. Surpassed commercially by PlayStation, Nintendo spent the final years of the N64 focusing on development of the GameCube while extending the life and power of the N64 through its crimson Expansion Pak peripheral. This upgrade in technical performance led to some of the most impressive N64 or console games in its final years on the market. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Perfect Dark, and Banjo-Tooie were all released in 2000, each taking advantage of the Expansion Pak boost in their own way. By 2001 Nintendo completely reprioritized its strategy to support the launch of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube, but still put out bonafide bangers like Mario Party 3 and Conker’s Bad Fur Day. By 2002 Nintendo officially pulled the plug on the N64, releasing a handful of sports titles to close out the generation. Dreamcast Sega’s final home console came out the gate swinging with a launch window that included Power Stone, Sonic Adventure, Soulcalibur, The House of the Dead 2, and NFL Blitz 2000. However, the Dreamcast faced continued stiff competition from the original PlayStation along with news about development on the upcoming PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and something Microsoft was calling Xbox. With the incoming generation of home consoles reputedly more powerful than the Dreamcast, support for Sega continued to waver, with a remodeled, cheaper PS1 outselling the Dreamcast during the 2000 holiday season as a final nail in Sega’s console coffin. Sega ceased releasing new Dreamcast games in North America by February 2002, closing out its support for the market with NHL 2K2 almost as an afterthought. Like the Saturn, the Dreamcast saw longer support in its native Japan, with March 2004’s puzzle party game Puyo Puyo Fever closing out the generation for good. By December 2001, Sega began developing games for its former competitors, signaling a significant shift to focus on software development rather than hardware, releasing both Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle for the GameCube that month. Xbox Though Microsoft’s first foray into the home console industry was off to a shaky start with a hilariously oversized controller and weak launch library, it eventually outsold the GameCube. That said, the console also stands as the shortest generation to date from Microsoft, with the company rushing out its successor, the Xbox 360, almost exactly four years after the original Xbox’s November 2001 launch. That means games initially intended for the Xbox were reconfigured as 360 titles, sometimes late in development, to bolster the next console’s launch library. 2004 saw the strongest first-party games released for the original Xbox, including Halo 2, Fable, and Ninja Gaiden Black before Microsoft shifted its priorities. The majority of games released for the original Xbox after 2005 were multiplatform sports titles, with only three games released for the console in the entirety of 2007 and only Madden NFL 09 released for it in 2008. The original Xbox was, comparatively, a flash in the pan, with Microsoft quickly looking ahead to the future. GameCube The GameCube era was a dark one for Nintendo as the company slid behind Sony and Microsoft in the home console industry in terms of units shipped. This decline, coupled with difficulties in developing games for hardware, meant the console saw dwindling third-party support. As Nintendo readied to launch the motion sensor-oriented Wii in the 2006 holiday season, it repurposed games originally planned for the GameCube for its successor instead. One highlight in the GameCube’s closing window was Resident Evil 4, released at the beginning of 2005 as a GameCube-exclusive before Capcom decided to port it to the PlayStation 2 by the year’s end. A handful of movie tie-in games, like Ratatouille and TMNT, along with the usual multiplatform sports games, filled the gap. As the Wii quickly gained momentum following its breathtakingly successful launch, Nintendo quietly pulled the plug on the GameCube by 2007. However, one major highlight was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a fan favorite developed as GameCube’s swan song in 2006… before being delayed so it could simultaneously release as a launch title on the Wii. PlayStation 2 Still the best-selling home console of all time, the PlayStation 2 significantly outsold its immediate competition and helped push Sega out of the hardware console industry for good. This success was also in small part due to the console featuring a built-in DVD drive and being priced competitively compared to other DVD players on the market at the time. Like its predecessor, the PS2 had an especially long lifespan, one that endured through the eventual launch of the PlayStation 4. Leading up to the PS3 launch in late 2006, the PS2 saw the release of some of its most acclaimed games, including its port of Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus, Gran Turismo 4, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Guitar Hero, Ōkami, Devil May Cry 3, and Final Fantasy XII. The last game ever released for the PS2 was Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, released in 2013. Sony ended post-release support for the PS2 in Japan in 2018, closing out its most successful era to date. Wii After losing industry dominance in its previous two generations, Nintendo catapulted itself back on top with the Wii, which replaced the GameCube as its main home console in late 2006. With its intuitive motion controls and a robust library of games, many of the most acclaimed being console exclusives, the Wii became Nintendo’s bestselling console at the time. By 2013, one year after the launch of the Wii U, Nintendo began ceasing production on new Wii consoles and cutting back online services, with the last major services discontinued in 2019. The Wii’s last real banner year was 2011, which saw the release of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the latter of which being the last major console exclusive. That said, Nintendo was really focused on launching its last handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, that year and preparing for the Wii U. Amusingly, the Wii kept receiving third-party support and new installments of Just Dance from Ubisoft until 2019. Xbox 360 The most successful Xbox console to date is Microsoft’s sophomore effort, the Xbox 360, which launched a full year ahead of its generational counterparts in 2005. Though outsold by the Wii, the 360 closed the gap between Microsoft and Sony—even as it was also ultimately outsold by the PS3. What the 360 revolutionized was a digital marketplace for games, allowing players to purchase and download titles straight to their consoles, a feature that became an industry standard. In the years and months leading up to the launch of the Xbox One, the 360 saw its firmware updated to match Microsoft’s other user interfaces while the console began incorporating its own motion sensor gameplay. Branded the Kinect, the peripheral was launched in 2010 to lukewarm response for many of its titles. Though Microsoft continued to support the 360’s online capabilities until 2024, the last two major games for the console were 2012’s Halo 4 and 2013’s Gears of War: Judgment. PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 stumbled at its 2006 launch with its significantly higher price point than the competition and complex hardware architecture, making development for the console particularly difficult. Though price cuts and cheaper models of the PS3 improved its standing, it never got close to catching up with Nintendo’s highly successful Wii. As a result, Sony ended its support for the PS3 faster than it had the PS2 or PS1, shifting its focus to the PlayStation 4. Despite Sony quickly reprioritizing itself for the PS4’s 2013 launch, the PS3 saw some of its most iconic titles released in its final years. The Last of Us, Journey, and multiplatform titles like Mass Effect 3 and Grand Theft Auto V closed out the PS3 era. By 2017 Sony ceased hardware production on the PS3 and, while planning to close the PlayStation Store for the platform in 2021, fan outcry led Sony to reverse this decision, leaving online support running. Wii U After completely revitalizing itself and reclaiming its spot at the top of the console industry, Nintendo endured a follow-up slump with the Wii U. From its confusing launch, insistence on gameplay using the console’s GamePad controller, and limited third-party support, the Wii U squandered the lead Nintendo built during the Wii era. With its muted commercial performance, Nintendo quickly got to work with the console’s successor, the Nintendo Switch, which was released in 2017, five years after the Wii U’s ignominious debut. By 2015 just three years after its launch, Nintendo quietly began to reduce production of Wii U hardware, to cut costs and better prepare for the eventual Switch launch. An HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which was originally released to jointly close the GameCube era and launch the Wii, was the last major Wii U-exclusive release. Mirroring its initial Twilight Princess strategy, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released concurrently for the Wii U and Switch, with Nintendo ending production on Wii U consoles in early 2017 and terminating online support for it in 2023. Xbox One As alluded to in its name, the Xbox One was intended to be an all-in-one entertainment center for owners, through its broadcast television and streaming-friendly interface. It also marked the point where Microsoft lost the console market gains it enjoyed during the Xbox 360 era, outsold by both the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. In its final years, Microsoft offered alternate models of the Xbox One, culminating in the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition in 2019, at a significantly reduced price point to entice one last wave of hardware purchases. There wasn’t a lot by way of console exclusives for the Xbox One in its sunset stages prior to the launch of the Xbox Series X|S at the end of 2020. The console saw a number of multiplatform titles, including games developed by Microsoft’s subsidiaries, with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 being a major exception. Instead Microsoft was already focused on developing titles for PC and the Series X|S while further bolstering the library of its premium subscription service Game Pass. PlayStation 4 Sony reclaimed its market dominance beginning in 2013 with the PlayStation 4, outperforming both the Wii U and the Xbox One by significant margins as the PS4 became Sony’s second best-selling home console of all time. To put things into perspective, the PS4 sold more units than the Wii U and Xbox One combined and was second only to the Nintendo Switch in its generation. And with Sony still manufacturing PS4 hardware while major developers continue to publish games for it, one could argue the PS4 era is still thriving. In terms of the last console exclusives released for the PS4 before the launch of the PlayStation 5 at the end of 2020, the PS4 had a particularly stacked final year. The Last of Us Part II, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Ghost of Tsushima all came out in 2020, following Death Stranding the previous year. The PS4’s online support services are still very much active and the console continues to receive new games regularly, five years into the PS5 era. Nintendo Switch That just leaves the Nintendo Switch, which launched in 2017 before growing to become the second best-selling console of all time, second only to the PS2. With the Nintendo Switch 2 coming out in June 2025, that will make the original Switch Nintendo’s dominant console for over eight years, its longest console generation to date. And Nintendo has already phased out significant first-party development for Switch titles, with much of the 2020s Switch games being remasters of previous titles, like Donkey Country Returns and Xenoblade Chronicles X, or compilations like Harvest Moon. It was 2024 that saw the last major push of console exclusives for the original Switch, predominantly from its marquee franchises. Super Mario Party Jamboree and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom were the last first-party titles of note for the Switch era, both released in the back half of the year. Nintendo has been building to the Switch 2’s launch for some time, and it’s looking to hit the ground running with one of its strongest launch libraries yet. The Nintendo Switch 2 will be released on June 5.

Capcom Vs. SNK 2 – a good old fashioned brawl (Capcom) The latest in Capcom’s series of retro fighting game compilations focuses on Capcom Vs. SNK and GameCentral favourite Power Stone. Every time we talk to anyone from Capcom, no matter what the subject is, we always ask about a new sequel to Power Stone. We’ve been doing it for over a decade now, mostly just to annoy them, but now, finally, the series has returned. We don’t know how many other people are excited about that fact – probably not many, given the length of the franchise’s absence – but we couldn’t be happier. At the same time, it can be a depressing jolt of reality when you return to a game after many years, with memories of its greatness, and realise that time has not been kind to it. Power Stone, and some of the other games in this collection, are over a quarter of a century old but, to our relief, they’re still highly enjoyable today, with that classic Capcom combination of swagger and cheesy exuberance. In fact, it’s remarkable just how well Capcom fighting games tend to endure, as evidenced by the previously released Capcom Fighting Collection and Marvel Vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. A cynical mind might accuse this third title of starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel but that’s not fair, as while these games might not be as well known they’re every bit as interesting as Capcom’s more famous headliners. Although it contained a number of unrelated titles, the main focus of the first Capcom Fighting Collection was the Darkstalkers series, with all five original arcade games included. There’s a less clear-cut theme for this one, but the most high-profile inclusions (if you’re a Power Stone philistine) are probably the two Capcom Vs. SNK games. There is something that connects all but one of the games though and that’s that all of them were also ported to the Dreamcast, as everything but Capcom Fighting Evolution was released in a narrow window between 1998 and 2001. That matches up exactly with the life and death of Sega’s last console, of which Capcom was one of the most prolific supporters. That creates a slight problem though, in that all these versions of the games are based on the original coin-ops – which the majority of people will never have played – and not the more familiar Dreamcast editions. That’s a real shame, because a lot of ancillary options have been lost in the process, particularly for something like Power Stone 2, which had an additional Adventure mode involving unlocking extra weapons and items. That’s not to suggest this is a lazy compilation though; like the previous ones it’s anything but. It’s just unfortunately the emphasis is solely on the arcade versions. As such, you get both the English and Japanese versions of each game, plus museum content, in-game achievements, and brand new online options including casual, ranked, and custom matches. Each game also has a new training mode, where the button presses are indicated on-screen; you can pause and restart the single-player modes at any time; and there’s a ton of controller and difficultly level options, including the chance for one button specials. There’s alternative sound mixes too, plenty of screen filter options, and they even bothered to scan in the original arcade marquee cards, that explained how the games work. We’ll go through the games in chronological order, which starts with 3D fighter Plasma Sword: Nightmare Of Bilstein. Probably the most obscure title in the collection, it’s known as Star Gladiator 2 in Japan and is essentially a sci-fi take on Soulcalibur, completely with faux lightsabers. It also shares a lot of DNA with Street Fighter EX but even in 1998 it was considered a generic outing, with sub-par graphics. Although it’s still miles better than contemporary Star Wars: Masters Of Teräs Käs. Power Stone doesn’t necessarily look that great in screenshots (Capcom) The first Power Stone was released in 1999 and we strongly feel it’s one of the most underappreciated fighting games of all time, especially when it comes to the use of 3D space. Instead of just sidling round your opponent you have full freedom of movement in a small 3D arena, using objects, walls, and architecture to increase your attack options, as well as picking up weapons and the titular power stones. Collect all of the latter and you briefly transform into a powered-up form, similar to the Infinity Gem gimmick from Marvel Super Heroes. The downside to this is that there are no real combos, except doing the same attack multiple times, and a very limited number of special moves, but that’s not really the point. What the game loses in technical complexity it gains in terms of tactical intrigue, as you use the stage, and your opponents’ desire to get to a weapon or power stone before you, to your advantage. Admittedly, it’s still not exactly a deep game but the foundation was there to build it into something more complex. As it was though, Capcom went in the opposite direction for Power Stone 2 and while there were a few clones at the time, such as Shrek SuperSlam, the concept sadly just faded away. Which is a real shame because we’ve always felt it would make the perfect template for a new Super Smash Bros., especially after Ultimate left the series with nowhere else to go. 2000’s Power Stone 2 takes the same concept and rather than trying to deepen the combat it turns the crazy up to 11. The four-player brawls occur over larger stages, which often transform during battle, and there’s a much larger range of weapons, as well turrets and even moving vehicles to take control of. With four people who know what they’re doing (which the AI often does not) it’s glorious chaos but unfortunately that’s as far as the concept ever went. If you want a more technical fighter then you need look no further than Capcom Vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, the first of several crossovers created with publishing rival SNK. SNK made a bunch of Card Fighters Clash games, plus a fighter for the Neo Geo Pocket, and the disappointing SNK Vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, but it’s Capcom’s two games which are considered the best thing to come out of the team-up. Despite the name, the only non-Street Fighter character from Capcom is Morrigan, while SNK’s line-up is based on The King Of Fighters (which itself is a crossover of various SNK franchises, such as Fatal Fury). You can choose attack meters derived from either Street Fighter Alpha or The King of Fighters ’98, although there were other modes and features in the Dreamcast version. Project Justice, aka Rival Schools 2, is another relative obscurity, at least in the West, but is arguably Capcom’s best 3D fighter (in the non-Power Stone sense of the concept). It’s a 3v3 team fighter but while there’s a lot more depth and complexity to the combat than Plasma Sword it still comes across as a little late to the party, compared to something like Tekken – which had been around for six years at this point. The lone Street Fighter game in the collection is Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, which is a bit of a random pick but a very well regarded entry and the last in the Alpha sub-series of prequel titles. The pixel graphics are great and the introduction of the different ‘-ism’ fighting styles went on to have quite an impact on Capcom fighting games in general. Power Stone aside, Capcom Vs. SNK 2: Mark Of The Millennium 2001 is the star of the collection, with a much larger selection of characters than the original, although the number of non-Street Fighter characters is still frustratingly small. More Trending The system for selecting your team is one of the biggest gameplay changes, with a ratio system that limits the selection according to the character’s power and not just how many fighters there are – which, again, went on to influence many future games. 2004’s Capcom Fighting Evolution (aka Capcom Fighting Jam) is the most recent entry in the collection but easily the least interesting. It’s a very half-hearted crossover fighter, featuring characters from Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and Red Earth. It barely even scratches the surface of the Capcom Vs. Capcom game that fans have long yearned for, with sprites stolen from Capcom Vs. SNK 2 – except with simplified animation and a lot of missing moves. Despite the odd dud game, all of these fighting collections have been great and while it does depend to a degree on how much nostalgia you have for the titles, most of them are significant in some way – and we’d dearly like to see new entries in the Power Stone and Capcom Vs. SNK series. The missing Dreamcast versions are a real shame but even without that Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is a fascinating and sensibly priced compilation, that has clearly been produced with a lot of love and effort. Capcom Fighting Collection 2 review summary In Short: Another excellent compilation of forgotten Capcom fighters, with the revival of Power Stone and Capcom Vs. SNK being especially welcome – even if it’s a shame these aren’t the Dreamcast versions. Pros: Almost all the games are interesting and enjoyable, while the range of new options, including fully featured online, training modes, and difficulty and display options are top notch. Cons: It’s a real shame that the Dreamcast versions aren’t included, as they had a lot of extra content and modes. Capcom Fighting Evolution is rubbish. Score: 8/10 Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PCPrice: £34.99Publisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomRelease Date: 16th May 2025Age Rating: 16 Project Justice is an interesting curio (Capcom) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. GameCentral Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Table of Contents Table of Contents The best selling Atari 2600 game: Pac-Man – 8 million The best selling NES game: Super Mario Bros. – 40 million* The best selling Sega Genesis game: Sonic the Hedgehog – 15 million* The best selling Game Boy game: Pokémon Red & Blue – 31 million The best selling SNES game: Super Mario World – 20.6 million* The best selling PS1 game: Gran Turismo – 10.85 million The best selling N64 game: Super Mario 64 – 11.91 million* The best selling Dreamcast game: Sonic Adventure – 2.5 million The best selling GBA game: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire – 16.22 million The best selling PS2 game: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 17.33 The best selling Xbox game: Halo 2 – 8.46 million The best selling GameCube game: Super Smash Bros. Melee – 7.41 million The best selling DS game: New Super Mario Bros. – 30.80 million The best selling Xbox 360 game: Kinect Adventures! – 24 million The best selling PS3 game: GTA 5 – 29.52 million The best selling Wii game: Wii Sports – 82.90 million* The best selling Wii U game: Mario Kart 8 – 8.46 million* The best selling PS4 game: Marvel’s Spider-Man – 22.68 million The best selling Xbox One game: PUBG: Battlegrounds – 9 million The best selling Switch game: Mario Kart 8: Deluxe – 68.29 million The best selling Xbox Series X/S game: ???? The best selling PS5 game: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: 11 million Looking back at the entire video game console timeline lets us get a clear picture of how the industry has evolved. It is fun to rank the best consoles of all time and look at things like the best Nintendo launch games to remember what we were playing when we first got our hands on those new systems. Those kinds of subjective lists are fun, but there are some equally interesting objective things to explore as well. Game sales don’t necessarily represent the best games of all time, but do show what was most popular at the time for one reason or another. There’s typically a disconnect between what sells the best and what is the highest rated, which is fun to see. This isn’t the kind of thing most people know off the top of their head, so we dug through all the financial reports for as far back as we could to find the best selling games on every video game console. Note: We are only covering the major home and handheld consoles and leaving out the more niche systems that few people owned or remember. We are also only able to account for officially released sales data. It is possible some of these numbers have changed or are in the wrong order, but as of 2025, it is as up-to-date as possible based on the latest official data. Recommended Videos Giovanni Colantonio / Digital Trends The early consoles were mainly a way to play the best arcade games at home, so it makes sense that Pac-Man would be the top seller for the Atari 2600. What is a little surprising, though, is just how many copies this game sold in the end. Despite how niche video games were in the early 80s, Pac-Man on the Atari 2600 sold over 8 million copies. Space Invaders comes in at a distant second place with just over 6 million with Donkey Kong rounding out the top three with a little over 4 million. Related Nintendo We have to put a small asterisk on this entry because, despite being one of the best Mario games and certainly would’ve sold millions on its own, Super Mario Bros. was a pack-in game with the NES. That game was probably why most people bought the console, but we will never know for sure how many copies the game would have sold if it hadn’t been included with the system. However, bundle or not, the sales figure of over 40 million copies is nothing to sneeze at. Even Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. 3, which were also included in bundles, only sold 28 million and 18 million copies, respectively. If you don’t count bundles, the top selling NES game would then fall to Tetris with 8 million copies sold. Sega Just like Nintendo’s main mascot topped the charts for the NES, Sega’s own Sonic was easily the best selling Genesis game with 15 million sales. However, we have to put the same asterisk on Sonic as we did with Mario because it, too, was bundled with the console. If we look at second place, it is none other than Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with around 7.5 million copies. These are great numbers, but really goes to show just how dominant Nintendo was at the time over Sega. Adobe Stock / Digital Trends What else could be the best selling Game Boy game than the franchise that took over the world and hasn’t let go? The monster-catching games rocketed the franchise into the stratosphere and gave the handheld a second life almost 10 years after it first game out. Some might think it is a little unfair to bundle the sale of both games together, but that’s how Nintendo has always done it. Besides, the second best selling game is Tetris, but that was a pack-in game, and third place is Pokémon Gold and Silver with 23.7 million, so you have to go pretty far down the list to not have any kind of asterisk. Nintendo Act surprised, but another Mario game is at the top of the list. Again, we have to put a disclaimer on this game’s huge sales milestone for being part of a bundle with the console. Just like with the NES, though, Super Mario World is one of the best SNES games made and would likely have sold about as well regardless. If you want to find the next best selling game that isn’t a bundle, we have to go all the way to ninth place, where we get Street Fighter II Turbo at 4.1 million copies sold. Sony This was a very close race between first, second, and third place, but the first entry in Sony’s own racing game franchise squeaks out the win at 10.85 million copies. Besides just being a great game, Gran Turismo was, and still is, always a graphical showpiece for Sony consoles that draws a huge crowd just to show off what the system can do. Nipping at its heels in second place is Final Fantasy 7 at 10.02 million, followed by Gran Turismo 2 at 9.37 million. Taylor Frint/Digital Trends Graphic / Nintendo Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but a Mario game was the best selling game on a Nintendo system. Shocking, we know, but this is yet again a pack-in situation. In fact, first through fourth place all have that asterisk attached, including Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Fifth place, however, is Super Smash Bros. with no asterisk at a respectable 5.55 million. While there were tons of great N64 games, this console didn’t sell as well as Nintendo’s others so these are still great numbers considering the install base. Sega It almost isn’t worth it to include the Dreamcast on this list, but we wanted to acknowledge its loyal fans and that it did have some great games. Sadly, not even Sonic could save this system and its premier 3D adventure only managed to sell 2.5 million copies. Soulcalibur was second best with >1.3 million, and Shenmue took third with 1.2 million. Just like Mario will keep showing up at the top of home console sales, Pokémon remains the king of the handheld market. Ruby and Sapphire make perfect sense, but second place belongs to Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, remakes of the first generation games with 12 million copies sold. It’s a little surprising how few copies the best PS2 games sold considering it itself is the best selling console. Don’t get us wrong, Grand Theft Auto: San AndreasGran Turismo 3: A-Spec gets the silver medal with 14.89 million, and GTA: Vice City holds bronze with 14.2 million. Micorosft Microsoft’s first console attempt went way better than expected, and that was largely due to launching with a Halo game. The sequel, Halo 2, was one of the most heavily marketed games at the time and revolutionized online play, allowing it to put the original Halo in second place at 6 million. The drop off to third place is huge, with Fable selling a still impressive 3 million copies. Nintendo Sadly, Nintendo’s grip on the console market continued to slip with the GameCube, but Super Smash Bros. Melee played a big part in keeping the system relevant at parties and in competitive scenes. It is also the first system where Mario was shoved to third place, though only technically, since Mario Kart: Double Dash is second with 6.88 million, and then Mario Sunshine comes in with 5.91 million. Photo by Dids from Pexels / Nintendo Meanwhile, the handheld side of things continues to print money and, in a rare twist, sees Mario on top and Pokémon way down at number five. 30.80 million are numbers Nintendo hand’t seen since the original Game Boy, followed by Nintendogs next with 23.96 million and Mario Kart DS only just losing out with 23.60 million. Xbox Be honest, did you see this one coming? You probably would have guessed Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Skyrim, or one of the other common best Xbox 360 games would be the best seller, but no, 24 million people purchased Kinect Adventures! That sounds even crazier when you see that it sold more than GTA VMinecraft at 22 million. Photo by Nikita Kostrykin on Unsplash This probably looks more like what you were expecting. GTA 5 absolutely crushes all other PS3 games in terms of sales by a huge margin, as one would think. Even Gran Turismo 5 in second place only sold 11.95 million copies, and Uncharted 3 in third at ~9 million. Despite its rough launch, the PS3 did end the generation with a lot of big sellers, but nothing compared to GTA. Nintendo loves to bundle games with its hardware, and no example is more famous than the Wii and Wii Sports. This pack-in game was the only game a huge number of people ever got for the system, which explains its astronomical sales. Mario Kart Wii, which was also a bundle, is second at 37/38 million, and Wii Sports Resort at third with 33.14 million. The first non-bundled game is fifth place’s Wii Play at 28.02 million, which still blows away most other consoles’ best sellers. Nintendo This would be a tough one to talk about if Nintendo didn’t manage one of the greatest turnarounds in video game history right after. 8.46 million copies for a Mario Kart game is abysmal, and this was also a bundle game. In fact, the top nine Wii U games were all part of a bundle at one time or another. The first game you can say sold the most without an asterisk is Mario Party 10 at just 2.27 million copies. Of course, many of these games would end up selling way better when ported to a future system. Sony This is the generation PlayStation really blasted ahead of the competition. Marvel’s Spider-Man was the perfect storm of a massive IP and a perfect development team to hit 22.68 million sales, but it wasn’t a complete blowout. God of War was almost the winner with 21.02 million sales, and GTA 5 somehow managed to sell almost as many copies on the PS4 as PS3 with 20 million. We don’t need to remind anyone how dismal the Xbox One generation was, but seeing PUBG: Battlegrounds as the top seller says it all. No offense to that game, but it selling more than Black Ops III at 7.37 million copies and COD: WWII at 6.23 million shows how small the audience was on this system. Nintendo If you didn’t think the platform could make a big difference, here’s your proof. Despite being an upgraded port of the Wii U game, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe sold more copies on the Switch than the total number of Wii U consoles. And these numbers don’t get any less crazy when you look at Animal Crossing: New Horizons selling 47.82 million, or Super Smash Bros. Ultimate selling 36.81 million. In fact, you have to go to the 22 best selling game on the Switch before sales drop below 10 million. Xbox Microsoft Sadly, there is no official data available for what the best selling Xbox Series X/S game is. Microsoft has stopped reporting a lot of its sales data for hardware and software units in favor of players and engagement, making it impossible to know for sure how many copies of games have actually sold. Sony We’re still in the midst of the PS5 generation, so these numbers are likely to shift, but there’s no doubt that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is the clear game to beat with 11 million copies. Second place is a surprise hit: Black Myth: Wukong selling 5 million copies, and then an old familiar franchise taking third place in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, selling 3.97 million copies to date. We’ll keep an eye on this list as things evolve and more sales data comes out.