Nintendo Switch 2 has hurdles to leap over at launch

Almost 24 hours have passed since Nintendo dropped the Switch 2 trailer with little fanfare and in the time that it has taken to digest everything we saw, my thoughts and feelings on the hardware are fluctuating wildly. It doesn’t help that, with so many leaks beforehand, the final reveal ended up feeling a little underwhelming, especially because the console does very much look like a ‘Nintendo Switch but better.’

Because all we got was a two-minute trailer, most of which showed the physical aspects of the hardware, it passed by without Nintendo’s usual oomph and fanfare. A small moment showed the Joy Cons skating across a surface, edge down, seemingly confirming that we can use them like a computer mouse, but beyond that it lacked a spark.

I’m torn on whether that’s a good thing or not. For most, the lack of a Nintendo gimmick isn’t a dealbreaker. I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it, the Nintendo Switch is practically perfect. It really did just need sprucing up for higher fidelity visuals, more robust hardware, and a modernising of its connectivity. I think the Switch 2 will sell like the proverbial hot cake, the company has learned valuable lessons over the past decade and all of those have gone into what we see here.

Nintendo Switch 2 is here, and the trailer shows off the hardware nicely

I do see some stumbling blocks ahead, however. The handheld landscape is very different to 2017, when the Switch first launched. The price of the Switch 2 is going to be a big factor in how it does. When you can buy a base model Steam Deck for £349, which does a lot more than just play games, Nintendo is finding a rivalry with PCs.

Rumours are also continuing to swirl that Xbox is eyeing the handheld market; Sony has the PS Portal which, after a recent update for cloud support, is beginning to pick up the pace. Then there’s the myriad of emulator handhelds from companies like Anbernic, to beefier handheld PCs such as the ROG Ally from ASUS.

For those who perhaps owned a Switch for indie games and smaller titles suited to handheld play, the options have opened up over the past couple of years, and this could impact Nintendo to some degree. In counterpoint to this, Nintendo can set itself apart with its software, which is unavailable anywhere else. As long as there are Mario and Zelda fans out there, Nintendo will sell consoles.

It would be silly to discount how Nintendo operates, too. As a company, they have, in the past, focused strongly on their home turf of Japan, where console play still outranks PCs by a large margin. A 2023 report from Games Industry Biz states that 72.3% of Japanese gamers prefer playing on console, and mobile gaming is still growing exponentially, making the Switch 2 an attractive prospect.

Nintendo

Perhaps the biggest hurdle Nintendo has to face is one of ‘need.’ We saw a snippet of Mario Kart 9 in the console reveal video, but that doesn’t give us a sense of how much of an upgrade the visuals and framerates will get. Is it enough to warrant a new purchase for the masses? Is Nintendo in for the long-haul? Sure, anyone who has a passion for games is likely eyeing the console without even knowing the price, but Nintendo has fallen foul of its own miscommunication in the past.

Here’s where actually calling the console “Nintendo Switch 2” could ensure they don’t stumble again. After the success of the Nintendo Wii, which was in a ridiculous number of households due to its family friendly accessibility, the company launched the WiiU, which was a bit of a disaster. The promotional material didn’t inform consumers that it was a brand-new console, with many thinking it to be just another model of the Wii.

Nintendo

If they don’t sell it hard that this is a brand-new console - more powerful, easier to use, a ‘must have’ - then they could end up facing a similar issue. That number ‘2’ is carrying a lot of weight.

Lastly, key to the success of Switch 2 will be third-party support. Nintendo has little to worry about when it comes to their own games. It’s rare to see a Nintendo game flop. However, with so many publishers chasing visual fidelity, higher resolutions, and ray tracing, it pulled their games away from the original Switch which struggled to keep up without perfect optimisation. If the Switch 2 can run games like Elden Ring and Red Dead Redemption 2, both of which are rumoured for the launch window, and keep an eye on the future, then it will ease the minds of players. They’ll know that the console can keep up, somewhat, with the others and offer more than just a way to play the Nintendo ‘must haves.’

If you can’t tell my what I’ve written so far, I’m sure the Switch 2 is going to be a huge success, but there are points that Nintendo needs to check off the list. In the past few years, the company has begun to modernise more thoughtfully and the sleek look of the console, with the lack of a gimmick, seems more in-step with the rest of the industry, rather than making it an outlier.

One thing I do know, the Switch 2 is going to be a very exciting launch, and it could activate other companies to push forward with handhelds to create a more competitive market. We’re also on the cusp of a wealth of new Nintendo titles, possibly including a new 3D Mario title. 2025 is going to be strong for Nintendo, no matter what.