I keep seeing arguments online about the Switch and its library, and I’m confused about why it’s become such a heated topic of debate. It’s a very successful console, and it’s had a really stellar first year, but there’s a certain segment of the internet that seems wholly unimpressed by it, and not for reasons that (at least to me) make a whole lot of sense.

The other day I was on Twitter and I saw this post.

I agreed that it was a pretty impressive sight. It was followed by these

That’s bananas. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen this much genuinely excellent content hit a system in year 1. I did a whole thing on how happy I’ve been, but folks seem to have a real problem with the fact that many of these great games have appeared on other platforms before. What I don’t understand about that is, why is that such a problem, and why should Nintendo and Switch owners be chastised for it? This was one of the responses this guy got to his tweet.

To this person, this is a problem. These titles, since they appeared elsewhere first, simplydon't count. To my mind, the majority of the ports coming to Switch are smart ones. Sales charts seem to agree with me there too. Look at the games that Twitter user seems to be discounting here. Zelda launched on Wii U the same day as the Switch version, and the Switch version outsold the Wii U version by a rather significant margin. By all reasonable standards, Zelda on Switch isn’t a port, it’s a multiplatform release. It wasn’t created on Wii U and then brought over to Switch. It started development as a Wii U game and then became multiplatform before the game was completed. But I’ve seen this argument before. I’ve seen people claim that Zelda isn’t even a Switch exclusive so it doesn’t count as a reason to buy a Switch. The argument seems to be that all those people who want to play Zelda should just play it on their Wii Us, except I think the whole point of bringing the game to Switch in the first place was that nobody has a Wii U, and many of the people that do aren’t all that interested in playing it anymore.

 $60 for both Bayonetta games? That's a pretty good deal.

But let’s look at two of the more high-profile legitimate ports that are coming to the system this year; Bayonetta 2 and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. The first Bayonetta sold over a million copies worldwide on the PlayStation 3 alone, and was generally well-received by critics. Bayonetta 2 on the other hand sold well under a million units while receiving absolutely stellar reviews across the board. I’ve heard it called one of the best action games ever made, and even with Bayonetta herself joining the Smash Bros. roster, the game still failed to reach even as wide an audience as the first game. Why then, is it a bad thing that Bayonetta 1 & 2 are coming to Switch? Platinum Games already announced that Bayonetta 3 (a Switch exclusive, by the way) is in development, so why does it make sense to call a spectacular action game, that’s the precursor to a new exclusive title, that almost nobody played, a bad idea?

Donkey Kong Country Returns sold over 6.5 million copies on Wii, with another 2 million on 3DS. The game’s direct sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze sold a mere 1.71 million by comparison. I’m not saying a game selling over a million copies is a bad thing, but when you compare it to the sales of the previous entry, you can understand how Nintendo might feel the game under-performed. It’s also worth pointing out that Tropical Freeze is a very well-reviewed game by both critics and players alike. To echo Bayonetta, I’ve heard it called one of the best 2D platformers ever made. So why wouldn’t Nintendo want to put the game somewhere where it might live up to its sales potential and reach the broader audience it deserves? Why does marketing a game that clearly took a ton of effort and money to create to a whole new audience count as a point against the console?

Funky mode sounds fun and all, but for a fresh $60?

Then we have the complete insanity that is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Mario Kart 8 is easily one of, if not the best selling game on the Wii U. It sold over 7.8 million copies, and for a system with that low of an install base, that number is insane. But what’s crazier is that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold over 5 million more on Switch. 5 million copies of a port of a game that 7.8 million people already have. With numbers like that, if Nintendo didn’t decide to bring their underperforming games from Wii U over to Switch, I would call them crazy.

Then you have a game like Doom. If you listen to the podcast, you know that I adore this game. It was absolutely fantastic, barring a few glitches that should be patched. It runs beautifully on Switch, and not once during the 20+ hours I spent with the game did I think anything negative about the visuals. I couldn’t point out an instance where there was a texture pop-in or frame drop that bothered me. I know they were there, but they were so miniscule they did nothing to take me out of the game. More importantly than anything though is that the game is just plain fun, and I would never have played it had it not landed on Switch. I can’t be the only one in that situation. I don’t know how Doom’s sales have been on Switch, but I have seen it in the top sellers section on the eShop several times, so I’m assuming it didn’t perform poorly. Those sales can’t all be people who already played it elsewhere, right? But looking back at Twitter, during a conversation where I said that I didn’t have another system to play the game on, I still got this tweet.

He actually uses the words “vastly inferior.” Doom on Switch is "vastly inferior." Look at this.

The game has all the content the other versions have, runs and plays great, and even looks remarkably impressive, but because it’s not 1080p and 60fps, the game is “vastly inferior?” I’m not trying to degrade this person’s opinion because maybe to him having the highest possible resolution and framerate is more important than the game being fun, but that’s just not a factor to me, especially when there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the way the game looks to begin with. Believe me, I totally get why I’m one of the only people in the world who loves the ugly-yet-charming Stunt Race FX on SNES, but to label a great-looking game as “vastly inferior” because there’s a prettier version out there seems nonsensical to me. And this guy is just one example. I’ve seen this argument in many other places, and it baffles me there too.

So, now let’s scale it back a bit and talk about indie games. This seems to be another point of contention for folks who take joy in telling Switch owners they’re wrong for liking their system. A VERY sizeable chunk of the Switch’s library is indie games, and a pretty hefty stack of those games are ports of existing titles. Again, we run into the port vs. multiplatform issue. Celeste came out on Switch the same day as other platforms. It also ranks among the best games I’ve played in recent years. But I’ve still seen folks saying that it’s “just a port of an indie game,” I guess implying that it somehow doesn’t count as a new game Switch owners can enjoy because they can just play it on the other consoles they may not even have. But even if it did hit Switch later than other platforms, why would that matter so much? When they announced VVVVVV was coming to Switch I couldn’t wait to buy it and play it again. And I did! And it was great! I just bought Xeodrifter yesterday, and I played that game through to completion on Wii U. But I’d love to play it again, and I don’t want to do it on Wii U where I can’t take it with me if I want to. Why then, is a port of that game frowned upon? Why do so many people value a game’s library based solely on AAA 3rd party games and exclusives and not factor in a fantastic indie scene? I’ve gotten so much joy out of indie games on Switch I can barely quantify it in words. Some of my most anticipated games of this year on any platform are indie games. I’m legitimately more excited for Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom than I am for the new Yoshi game. If I had to choose between Runner 3 and the new God of War, I’d pick Runner 3. (I wouldn’t be super happy about it, but I’d do it.) 2D gaming is my life blood. It’s my favorite kind of game to play. The fact that games like Dandara and Blaster Master Zero keep coming out, filling my life with what essentially boils down to new Super Nintendo games with modern flair, I’m as happy as a clam.

Celeste is amazing no matter what platform you play it on.

But then we have the complete opposite side of the spectrum: Port begging. While one half of the internet relentlessly rags on the Switch for its library of ports (and ceaselessly barfs out the ridiculous and frankly idiotic claim that “most people only bought the Switch for Mario and Zelda and now it’s collecting dust”) the other half seems to be under the impression that every game every company makes should come to Switch, new or old. Now, I am guilty of this in several instances, but I’d like to think my requests are reasonable. I’m not shocked that Rockstar hasn’t announced GTA V for Switch, but I am surprised Capcom isn’t putting Okami HD on it. I’m not angry at Ubisoft for not trying to get the latest Assassin’s Creed on the system, but I am mystified that Square didn’t make an effort to get the Secret of Mana remake ported over, even if it was to come later than the initial release. There are people, myself included, who are really excited when older games they love, or even wanted to play but didn’t get around to, get announced for Switch. For me, I think it’s because of how much I love playing games on the platform. I’ve said before that the system has really opened up my ability to spend time playing without sacrificing the time I need to use on other things, and as such, a port of the Batman Arkham would mean I might finally get around to playing through them. I want them to put all 865,000 Kingdom Hearts games on Switch because I think there’s an audience there that would love them. I would have bought the Devil May Cry Collection and the Disney Afternoon Collection on Switch. I would literally leap out of my chair with joy if someone would port Portal 1 and 2 to Switch. I’m going to buy Wolfenstein when it comes to Switch. And I’ll do so with a big, dumb smile on my face.

I do have to concede one of the major points port detractors have brought up, and that’s the matter of price. Some (not all) of these ports have some absurd price tags, and that’s a real problem. I’m buying Bayonetta on Switch. It’s $60, but it’s Bayonetta 1 and 2. I think those 2 games together for $60 is a fair price, and I’m happy to pay it. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, on the other hand, is also $60. The Wii U version, readily available in stores, is $20. That’s not a sale, that’s the official MSRP. The Switch version has the new Funky Kong mode, and believe me when I say there’s easily $60 worth of game there, but the same game is a third of the price on another Nintendo platform. As much as I love that game, I’m having a hard time convincing myself that dropping another $60 on it is a good idea. Skyrim...freaking SKYRIM is $60 on Switch. Even the fancy PS4 special remastered edition is only $40. Dark Souls Remastered on Switch is only going to be $40. $60 for Skyrim in this day and age is absurd. Not that there isn’t $60 worth of game there, but you really do have to take the rest of the market into consideration when pricing things, especially when Dark Souls will soon be sitting on the shelf right next to it at $20 less. The biggest head-scratcher for me though is Cave Story. Cave Story was a free game. Then it launched on Wii with enhanced graphics and sound for $12. I distinctly remember people complaining that they were charging $12 for an enhanced version of a free game, but fast forward to today and the Switch version of that very same game is $30. It’s essentially the same version that was released on WiiWare for $12, and they’re now asking $30. There was a full remake of Cave Story on 3DS with new polygonal graphics, newly recorded music, the whole nine yards. If this was a port of that version that also included the older versions as an option (Like the incredible Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap did, at a $20 price point, no less), I could see $30. But it’s not. It’s an enhanced version of a free game, and they’re charging $30 for it. And not just the cartridge version, but the digital version as well. I would LOVE to play Cave Story again on my Switch, but not at that price.

Sure. Charge $30 for this. But the eShop version? Nah.

So what does this all mean? I think it means that, in my opinion, ports are a good thing. No, they’re a great thing. But only if they’re done right, which fortunately for us, has largely been the case on Switch thus far. If you think the Switch is garbage because it’s full of indie games and ports, that’s cool. You’re welcome to that opinion. But that opinion isn’t fact. There are lots of Switch owners who are experiencing these great games for the very first time, and you have nothing to gain by trying to make them feel inferior for enjoying what they enjoy. And that cuts both ways, folks. I need only look back a few months to see the crazy debates about Zelda vs. Horizon. Let people enjoy things, even if they’re on hardware you don’t have, even if you think the graphics suck, and even if they’re *gasp* ports. Having more quality titles on your platform, new or old, is never a bad thing.

Speaking of old, how’s that Virtual Console coming, Nintendo…?