I can't wait to buy this game and then not actually play it...again. :P

*Sees Xenoblade 2 and Xenoblade 3 cracking their anime knuckles in the corner*

Port the remaining 2 Zelda and 1 Yoshi games now, you cowards. Apparently, Wii U s are dying off these days due to defective chips, so it'd be nice to get the last of the worthwhile Wii U exclusives off that thing.

I can't believe this is actually happening!

This is awesome news.  Xenoblade X is an incredible game that's still my favorite game in the Xenoblade series.  I put over 270 hours into the game to 100% it.  It's actually the most hours I've ever put into a game, I was that hooked.  Just being a port would have been enough for me to get it, but since they're adding new content that'll deal with the giant cliffhanger at the end, it really tempting me to have to buy it Day 1, even though that would kill my backlog for next year since the original game took me over 4 months, and I was hoping to spend most of next year cleaning out my Switch backlog since most new Nintendo games will probably be Switch 2 exclusive.

It's kind of funny they made this announcement now, when it was literally 8 years ago around this time that I started playing this game on the Wii U.  Feels like it wasn't that long ago since I can still remember so much of this game, while there's games I've played more recently I can hardly remember much about.  Goes to show just how much of an impression this game made on me, and how sucked into its world I was.

I really hope getting this version of the game that'll deal with the cliffhanger at the end will mean a sequel for the Switch Successor is in the works.  It's insanely impressive what Monolith Soft managed to pull off with this game on the Wii U's hardware, so I'd love to see them make a sequel to this on the Switch Successor which is rumored to at least be PS4 Pro level.  Damn that would be pretty mind blowing.

With Echoes of Wisdom just coming out, and Tears of the Kingdom the year earlier, 2025 looks to not have any new Zelda game so I imagine they'll release Wind Waker HD, and then release Twilight Princess HD in 2026.  With Donkey Kong County Returns coming out with the 3DS content, it's only a matter of time before Wolly World with its exclusive 3DS content comes out as well.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Paper Mario: Color Splash comes out as well since both Paper Mario games on the Switch were miller sellers.  I also wouldn't be surprised if they even port Star Fox Zero since Platinum isn't doing much these days, so I could see Nintendo throwing them a bone to rework that game for cheap just to see what a Star Fox game on a system with a massive user base might sell.  There were also reports that Nintendo updated the trademark on Kirby: Rainbow Curse so I wouldn't be surprised if they reworked that game to work on the Switch with normal controls, with the option to still use the touchscreen in handheld mode.

Pretty much at this point I'd imagine every single player Wii U game is getting ported to the Switch.  With the Switch Successor coming next year, it'll be the cheapest way to still support the massive user base on the Switch while all their teams make new games for the new system. 

I was hoping this would be a switch 2 launch window remake. Actually kinda disappointed by this.

There is a part of me that feels a little sad for the Wii U.  From a retro gaming perspective the Wii U is effectively useless.  There really is no point in owning one anymore.  But then since it has now been revealed that Wii Us are not so durable for future use, maybe that's not a bad thing.  In a way Wii U ownership was like belonging to an exclusive club that had early access to Switch games.

I have Xenoblade 2 and 3 sitting in the backlog so I don't really have room for this.  I never finished the game but my Wii U still works for now so I'll likely stick with that version if I decide to return to it.  I recently tried to resume my very old playthrough of Xeno 1 on the Wii so I have the proper context for the sequels.  I was hopelessly lost of course but also found that I struggled to read the text and the SD visuals looked like a blurry mess.  So I'm thinking I might need to upgrade to the Switch HD version.  First time I can think of having to do something like that because of the effects of aging.

Now every Xenoblade game is on one console which is great for any fans that first got into the series on the Switch, which is probably a lot because of how obscure the older releases were.  The Switch is an amazing system for RPGs and it's a good mix of new and old titles.  By itself it can provide a great history lesson for the genre so I kind of like it when a re-release like this occurs that helps fill in the gaps.

I tried to play XCX but gave up after just a few minutes from the text being too annoyingly small on my CRT or WiiU tablet. Backlogged it until the day I have a massive 100"+ TV to actually make out the text. Hopefully the switch version makes it more playable for people without scanning electron microscope eyes.

Rumor has it there will be a lot of these 1st/2nd/3rd party remasters and ports filling the gap between now and when Nintendo can start releasing its heavy hitting games for the switch 2 which might be a while beyond launch. I don't expect any of them to be switch 2 exclusive unless they're a port that had no chance of running on the switch but many of them should be switch 2 enhanced.