Nintendo Switch 2 needs an impressive first 12 months

The next 12 months are incredibly important for the Nintendo Switch 2 because, despite an impressive launch with no shortages, the console has a lot to prove. I don’t say that because I’ve been disappointed in the hardware, if anything it’s the opposite. I’ve had the Nintendo Switch 2 in my hands for a while now, and pretty much everything has impressed me. Admittedly, all I really wanted was a more powerful Switch, and that’s what we got.

However, the lack of a major first-party title aside from Mario Kart World, along with the traditional Nintendo quirks, made for a rather muted launch. Sure, it sold well, and Nintendo ensured that there were plenty of consoles available, and a lot of the talk on social media and message boards has been positive, but this follow-up hasn’t made waves like past consoles from the company.

Look at the reception to the Wii, the Nintendo DS and its successor, the 3DS, and the original Switch. They all had a killer feature that pulled people in and kept them talking. As divisive as motion controls were, there were some standout titles that became must-play experiences; the handheld market was blown out of the water with the dual screen approach; and the hybrid of home and handheld for the Switch made it one of the most popular consoles of all time.

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With the Nintendo Switch 2, while it’s an utterly brilliant console, it has no word of mouth beyond being a great piece of hardware. There’s no hook, unless you look to the mouse control option now built into the Joy Cons. Game Chat is a nice feature, but it’s not really doing anything revolutionary. Maybe that’s because there’s not much more ground to break in the industry, and perhaps better hardware is, well, better. Already, I’ve had conversations with people who consider themselves more casual players, and they’ve all owned Nintendo hardware in the past. Each of them said they couldn’t see why the Switch 2 was so good, beyond the visual upgrades, and this was cemented when they looked at the prices of the software.

Everyone and their mother had a Nintendo Wii to roll out at parties or gatherings, the 3DS and the DS family, were perfect to slip into your pocket to play on the bus, or in a doctor’s waiting room, and the games felt more affordable, especially on the secondhand market at the time.

Because of this lack of anything dynamic to hook in those outside of the gaming sphere, as well as the eye-watering prices for games, the next year is incredibly important for Nintendo, and it has to create and maintain excitement beyond being a shiny new piece of hardware.

There are three things I’d like to see from Nintendo in the first 12 months of the Switch 2 lifecycle.

A first-party Nintendo Direct

We all know that Nintendo will drop a big Direct presentation at some point soon. It’s worth it to pat themselves on the back after a successful launch, but they need to instil confidence in players that the next Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon games are on the way. We know they are, they always are, but seeing something, even a teaser will justify the purchasing of the console. Launching with only one Nintendo title was a bit of a disappointment, no matter how brilliant Mario Kart World is. Of course, Donkey Kong is around the corner, but every owner of a Switch 2 wants to see the next 3D Mario, or what’s in store for Zelda and Link.

Cyberpunk 2077

As great as it is to have games like Cyberpunk 2077, Yakuza 0, and Street Fighter 6, none of these games champion the Nintendo platform or showcase why everyone should own a Switch 2, because that’s always achieved through exclusives, and first-party games.

Retro exploration

One of the best features of the Nintendo Switch 2 is the Gamecube catalogue via Nintendo Switch Online. While some may argue that holding these games behind a subscription feels a bit cheeky, the money we put down ensures that Nintendo makes a return on the time and costs invested in bringing old games to the platform. However, I want to see them lean into their history a lot more and give us access to titles that are harder to play legally.

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Give us more, make that subscription price worthwhile. Dip into that back catalogue and offer up some of the brilliant Gamecube games that defined the company, but don’t start sleeping on the other platforms that have since been supported, like the N64. If there’s one thing Nintendo fans want, it’s better access to the games they played as kids and teenagers. And this isn’t just a personal plea to get Eternal Darkness playable on the Switch 2, I promise.

Cater to the audience

We’re all aware of how expensive gaming is becoming, and this point isn’t just aimed at Nintendo, but I do feel like they have a unique opportunity here. Coming out of the gate with games priced around $80/£80 stings, but they know a lot of fans will pay to play the best Nintendo games on the market. I don’t think these price points are going away anytime soon, and if we’re being fair, they shouldn’t, because game developers deserve to be rewarded for their work (if the greedy CEOs stop gobbling up the profits in multi-million dollar bonuses).

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But there has to be some give here. Perhaps Nintendo eyes this higher price point for their ‘premium’ games - the next 3D Mario, or open-world Zelda - because, let’s be honest, that’s likely the way this is seen internally, and they utilise lower prices for the spin-off games, or the more experimental titles. I don’t think many players would balk at premium games costing premium prices, if it’s a couple of times a year, but if we’re paying £80 for every Nintendo game from now on, the Switch 2 will start to suffer as fans hold off. We have to have varied price brackets beyond ‘indie’ and ‘AAA’, as there’s no point in having a brilliant console if nobody can afford to play games on it.