Why Tetris 99 is one of Nintendo's most important new games

There were a few big game reveals during the Nintendo Direct last week.
Super Mario Maker 2 is arguably the one with the most commercial potential. Its predecessor sold four million units globally, which means almost a third of Wii U owners purchased a copy. A full sequel on the significantly more popular Nintendo Switch has the potential to be a sizeable hit, and surely the biggest game on the platform during the first half of 2018.
To fans, the reveal of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was probably the biggest surprise, and the most exciting. The Game Boy original is a classic, and a new Zelda game -- even a simple remake -- is always going to delight the faithful. It won't have the same financial impact as a full Breath of the Wild sequel, but it's clearly not expected to.

"Tetris 99 is really the first standalone reason to subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online"

Those two games opened and closed the Direct, with an extended Fire Emblem reveal in the middle. The rest of the video was made up of announcement montages featuring various third- and first-party products, and it was amongst these that the real star emerged.
Tetris 99 received a total of 49 seconds of airtime. Yet since then it has racked up more column inches than any of the other games revealed during the entire 35-minute presentation.
In many ways, it's the perfect Switch game. Just like the console it's been made for, Tetris 99 is simultaneously nostalgic and thoroughly modern. A combination of the classic 1980s puzzler and the current obsession with battle royale games. It's a potent combination that has already won the hearts (and time) of those that have played it.
What makes the game significant, outside of its quality, is that it's really the first standalone reason to subscribe to Nintendo's Switch Online service. The game is free to all who sign up.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...tant-new-games