Did the Switch 2 paint itself into a corner?
It’s been an odd week for Nintendo. On the one hand, the switch 2 looks like its addressed almost all the complains people had about the aging switch system. On the other hand, there’s the price. Putting aside the whole situation around tariffs, it feels like the switch 2 has fallen victim to itself. The original switch was cheap, interesting and unique but left people wanting a lot more. The sequel is now here and its delivered, but getting there meant breaking away from the old.
I remember pretty clearly watching the release video for the original switch. I was travelling for work and watched the Nintendo direct from a hot desk in an office I was using. Within twenty minutes of the video ending I had a switch on preorder. I’ve owned a lot of Nintendo consoles over the year so it was no surprise I would get one but it felt exciting. The day it came out I went to pick it up at midnight.
I’ve never really been one for ‘console wars’. I had Nintendo consoles growing up as well as Playstations. After the Nintendo 64, Nintendo consoles tended to feel half a generation behind in many ways. On the whole though, none of that mattered. Nintendo IP was exclusive and worth a dedicated console purchase. Games weren’t pushing the limits on graphics and frame rates but they were fun, and ultimately that’s what mattered.
The same was true of the switch. It was never the most powerful console but that didn’t really matter. When games needed it, they found a way to make it work. Breath of the Wild and it’s sequel were great examples of what could be done despite its limits. The occasionally suffered from lower frame rates but on the whole they were excellent games.
Where the switch’s limitations did hurt was in the availability of headline third party IP. Plenty of games skipped the switch because cutting things back to run on the system would have bit a colossal effort. People wanted 4k and high frame rates for their games and the switch couldn’t deliver.
In recent year the switch has started to show its age. It started off half a generation behind and with the launch of consoles like the PS5, it now feels pretty underpowered. Old games are still fun but it’s clear that fans want a more powerful system. With more action in the handheld space post the release of the Steam Deck and ROG Ally people have higher expectations of a portable console than ever.
Then, clearly hearing the fans, Nintendo posts a video for the Switch 2. The console supports higher on device resolution, higher again when plugged in. Frame rates are higher which means more compute to deal with more demanding games. Other hardware changes like the strength of the stand and joycon drift all appear to be addressed too. There are a couple new gimmicks with mouse mode but on the surface it looks like Nintendo has taken all the things that people have asked for and put it into a new console. One backwards compatible with older games, providing an upgrade path for some of them.
Then there’s the price point. More than anything else about the console, negative commentary online has revolved around price. The console itself is more expensive, games are at a higher price point and some things like the odd Switch 2 tech demo are paid extras. There’s no doubt that prices have gone up in the years since the launch of the Switch but Nintendo seems to have fallen victim to its own success.
While the Switch was underpowered it was a console for everyone. There was an even cheaper model available in the Switch Lite in an effort to get more people playing. People wanted more from the system but it had cemented itself as an accessible piece of hardware. The Switch 2 broke out of that expectation.
Even though most people understand that better hardware will come at a higher cost, Nintendo had worked hard to make itself appear economically accessible. When a company does this and then acts a different way, people get mad. Even if the company is responding to what the public is asking for.
We can’t discount the reality that the world is also in a tough economic position. Lots of people are under financial stress right now and launching any new console in this environment is tough. The PS5 Pro wasn’t a smashing success and the latest generation of Xbox systems has its lower tier systems. People don’t have as much disposable income as they once did and as a result its harder to justify getting a brand new console.
Ultimately I think the Switch 2 will do just fine. It’s a better console and Nintendo’s IP continues to be exclusive and enough of a draw card to justify a new console. It probably wont race off the shelves in the early months but in a way that’s a product of far more than just Nintendo. I’ll get around to ordering one, eventually, but I don’t think I’ll be outside the store at midnight on release day.
