Jubenhimer
Member
Nintendo's ARMS is a very interesting game. It released very early in the Nintendo Switch's life and had quite a few eyes on it. It was Nintendo's next big multiplayer IP coming right off the heels of Splatoon on Wii U, and it was easy to draw comparisons between the two. A motion controlled take on a popular gaming genre with an innovative twist, made by the team behind the Mario Kart series. And with the Switch already selling better than the Wii U, many expected ARMS to be as, or even more successful than Splatoon.
To date, ARMS has sold 2.71 million copies. Not a bad number for a New IP in a somewhat niche genre on a such a young console at the time. But we haven't heard from ARMS since 2020, when one of the characters Min Min, was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as DLC. There was a comic in the works, but that was supposedly scrapped for unknown reasons. Some people think ARMS was a failure and that Nintendo won't make a sequel to it, instead doubling down on Splatoon.
Thing is though, Splatoon was a special case. A surprise sleeper hit on a failed console that greatly surpassed the expectations of even Nintendo themselves. So getting a sequel to that on the Switch ASAP was always important to them. And once that turned out to be even more successful, then a third game on the same console was a top priority. Splatoon simply had much more to grow off of than ARMS at the time.
I don't think ARMS is dead, I do feel Nintendo saw it as a modest success. However, I think it's on the same level as Star Fox, or Rhythm Heaven, or Pikmin, where it's more on the niche side, and thus a lower priority in their development slate. The team behind ARMS has since made Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass, and given that MK8 DX's sales make up almost half of the Switch's user-base (60 million copies worldwide), that's obviously going to be a top priority for them. Plus, Nintendo's never really been a company that's focused on instant massive success, especially not for a new IP. Their franchises were gradually nurtured and grown over several years, decades for their oldest ones. Animal Crossing sold a measly 2 million copies on the Nintendo GameCube, but it slowly grew into one of Nintendo's MVP franchises with each entry.
I think we'll see ARMS again. I think it's a really fun game, and Nintendo's revived, remade, and made sequels to IPs FAR more niche than it (Famicom Detective Club anybody?). But if there is a new game in development, it's likely being worked on by a small crew while they either wait for more in-house resources to be available, or find an external studio to co-develop and finish up the game.
To date, ARMS has sold 2.71 million copies. Not a bad number for a New IP in a somewhat niche genre on a such a young console at the time. But we haven't heard from ARMS since 2020, when one of the characters Min Min, was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as DLC. There was a comic in the works, but that was supposedly scrapped for unknown reasons. Some people think ARMS was a failure and that Nintendo won't make a sequel to it, instead doubling down on Splatoon.
Thing is though, Splatoon was a special case. A surprise sleeper hit on a failed console that greatly surpassed the expectations of even Nintendo themselves. So getting a sequel to that on the Switch ASAP was always important to them. And once that turned out to be even more successful, then a third game on the same console was a top priority. Splatoon simply had much more to grow off of than ARMS at the time.
I don't think ARMS is dead, I do feel Nintendo saw it as a modest success. However, I think it's on the same level as Star Fox, or Rhythm Heaven, or Pikmin, where it's more on the niche side, and thus a lower priority in their development slate. The team behind ARMS has since made Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's Booster Course Pass, and given that MK8 DX's sales make up almost half of the Switch's user-base (60 million copies worldwide), that's obviously going to be a top priority for them. Plus, Nintendo's never really been a company that's focused on instant massive success, especially not for a new IP. Their franchises were gradually nurtured and grown over several years, decades for their oldest ones. Animal Crossing sold a measly 2 million copies on the Nintendo GameCube, but it slowly grew into one of Nintendo's MVP franchises with each entry.
I think we'll see ARMS again. I think it's a really fun game, and Nintendo's revived, remade, and made sequels to IPs FAR more niche than it (Famicom Detective Club anybody?). But if there is a new game in development, it's likely being worked on by a small crew while they either wait for more in-house resources to be available, or find an external studio to co-develop and finish up the game.
Last edited:
