On Jan. 16, Nintendo officially announced the long-awaited Switch 2 console. Since then, the Kyoto-based gaming giant has said little else.
In many ways, it’s par for the course for the tight-lipped company. Following the announcement of its first console since 2017, Nintendo pegged 10 p.m. on April 2 as the date and time for its next Nintendo Direct, a type of video communique the conglomerate has employed since 2011 to deliver news and updates straight to its audience. Forget trade events like Tokyo Game Show where brands and fans meet face to face; forget backchannel conversations with trusted members of the press — Nintendo has long-since shunned such methods in favor of a vicegrip-like hold over the mode and manner any news reaches the general public.
At times, this can come back to bite Nintendo, and a buildup of leaks prior to the Jan. 16 announcement may have forced the company’s hand into revealing the new console before all its ducks were in a row (almost three months between a first look and an official rundown of technical specifications is an eternity in any industry).
But what little we do know about the Switch 2 raises some pressing questions about how the console will fit into a gaming world massively different from that its predecessor launched into — and until April rolls around, there’s all the time in the world to consider what the answers to those questions might mean.
What niche might the Switch 2 fill?
When the original Switch launched in 2017, industry rivals Microsoft and Sony were already well into the life cycles of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively. These consoles pursued higher processing power and increased graphical fidelity as means to an end of greater capabilities.
In contrast, the original Switch’s defining characteristic was the ability to play games on a television in a docked state as well as on the go as a handheld — an attribute that has since helped the Switch and its variants sell more than 146 million units, good for the third bestselling gaming device in history.
Time waits for no console, though, and in 2025, the gaming world is in danger of becoming awash in devices that boast the kind of hybrid functionality that once set the Switch apart: The Steam Deck, ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and others offer flexible utility as handhelds.
The price points of these devices almost uniformly dwarf that of a traditional console, so they are aimed at a more demanding breed of gamer, but let’s not forget that most people today carry around smartphones more than capable of playing casual titles should a gaming itch arise.
Everything could change if Nintendo is hiding some surprising technical details inside a package that outwardly looks very similar to the original Switch. But that all leads to the first burning question about the Switch 2: What exactly is the target demographic for the Switch 2 now that the rest of the gaming world has caught up to what made the original Switch a success?
Where is the wackiness?
Part of the concerns over what niche the Switch 2 might fill can be chalked up to Nintendo’s reticence to announce any details before its planned April presentation. But a significant part can be attributed to a far bigger factor: a lack of Nintendo’s trademark creativity.
In 2001, Nintendo released the visually distinctive yet traditionally designed GameCube, which would be dwarfed in sales by the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Rather than announce a super-powered GameCube 2, Nintendo instead ditched the whole idea of a traditional controller, opting instead for motion-based controls intuitive enough for nongamers to pick up and play. Released in 2006, the Wii would go on to revitalize the company and become so influential across the industry that Sony and Microsoft ended up throwing big bucks at their own abortive attempts at motion control-based devices.
Such an approach has since been dubbed the “blue ocean strategy,” whereby companies create new market opportunities and draw in previously unengaged customers instead of battling rivals for existing audiences. However, it’s an approach that Nintendo seems capable of forgetting: After the company released the Wii U in 2012, flagging sales would once again compel it to reinvent the wheel and release the innovative Switch in 2017.
It’s unlikely that the Switch 2 is hiding some major creative leaps inside its Switch chassis — rumors point to the controllers also having the point-and-click functionality of a computer mouse, but such a feature would only replicate what other devices on the market are already capable of. This raises a serious concern for the longevity of the console: In following up the incredible success of the Switch, has Nintendo played it too safe and repeated a familiar mistake?
Why buy a Switch 2?
By now, it’s all starting to look a bit dire for the Switch 2. But surely, Nintendo wouldn’t stumble blindly forward with its new console unless there was at least one indelible selling point it could rely on?
Of course there is: Nintendo’s extensive library of beloved franchises that gamers can’t play anywhere else.
With some exceptions, the industry has largely moved away from the days when first-party titles (games developed by a studio that is owned by a console manufacturer) would appear only on that console. Microsoft has abandoned the concept entirely, and its first-person shooter Halo franchise, once the crown jewel of its gaming operations, may even be playable on PlayStation consoles later this year.
Nintendo has signaled no such detente. Indeed, the very idea of a Mario, Link or Pikachu appearing under the Microsoft or Sony umbrella is still well outside gaming’s Overton window. And it’s not just legitimate competitors that Nintendo is hell-bent on keeping away from its most popular games: The company aggressively pursues litigation against online emulators (software that can play games independent of the original platform) that it accuses of piracy, and it has even filed suit against Tokyo-based studio Pocketpair for alleged copyright infringement of the Pokemon franchise.
Such an appetite for litigation has long puzzled gamers. Nintendo has spent concerted effort crafting a family-friendly brand image yet shows no qualms about seeking harsh financial penalties and, in one case, jail time for those it deems offenders.
Why? The answer to that is the same as the answer to this: If there are other devices on the market that do handheld gaming better, and if Nintendo’s newest console doesn’t offer a new type of gaming experience, why should you buy a Switch 2?
Because despite its beloved characters appearing in new theme parks and movies, the only way Nintendo wants you playing new Nintendo games is on the company’s own console.
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