If you're somewhat of a regular here, you don't need us to tell you that the Nintendo Switch is a pretty darn good console. That said, in case you needed some proof, one user on ResetEra has got you covered.
Posted by user St. Eam the 3rd (thanks, Metro), the Switch categorically has more higher rated games according to Metacritic than the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. They worked this out by collating data from both MobyGames and DekuDeals (with some very minor discrepancies between the two), crunching the numbers, and sharing the results.
First, if we look at the platforms with the most number of games in total, the Switch is comfortably beat by the PC, Mac, iPhone, and Android. Now, what's concerning here is that all of these platforms had much longer to build their respective libraries, so when you notice that the Switch only has 230 fewer games than Android despite launching a decade later, it just goes to show how much shovelware has been dumped onto the eShop. Sigh...
So let's take a look at the total number of games across each of the top systems:
| Platform | Number of Games | Years Active |
|---|---|---|
| PC | 66,569 | 1993–2024 |
| Macintosh | 19,512 | 1984–2024 |
| iPhone | 12,254 | 2008–2024 |
| Android | 11,785 | 2007–2024 |
| Switch | 11,555 | 2017–2024 |
| iPad | 11,551 | 2008–2024 |
| PlayStation 4 | 10,870 | 2013–2024 |
Now, onto more positive stuff. The user also looked at the Metacritic scores for the console platforms' game libraries. They discovered that the Nintendo Switch has the most number of games scoring 90 or higher on Metacritic, the most scoring 75 or higher, and the second-most scoring 60 or higher. This is over a shorter time frame than the PS4 and Xbox One too, mind.
It just goes to show that, yes, the Nintendo Switch has the best library of games and is the best console. That's it. No argument. Don't even try.
| Console | 90+ Metacritic | 75+ Metacritic | 60+ Metacritic | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch | 39 | 962 | 1783 | 7 Years |
| PS4 | 33 | 921 | 1861 | 11 Years |
| Xbox One | 26 | 575 | 1078 | 11 Years |
| PS5 | 25 | 382 | 660 | 4 Years |
| Xbox Series X|S | 16 | 242 | 383 | 4 Years |
We are joking, by the way; if you prefer PlayStation or Xbox over the Switch, then more power to you! It's super interesting to see everything laid out like this, though. Huge thanks to St. Eam the 3rd for crunching the numbers.
It'll be interesting to see where the Switch 2 sits when we inevitably revisit these stats in about a decade..!