The Nintendo Switch is seven years old now. Holy crap, time really does fly. I really do love my Nintendo Switch, but I will admit that it’s getting a little long in the tooth. I’m so ready for a new console from Nintendo, but I’m also cautiously optimistic.
A Troubled History
Nintendo has historically struggled with follow up consoles, and apart from the 3DS, we haven’t really seen a successful second try at the same concept. Nintendo seems to do its own thing most of the time, and some of the decisions made by the big N are downright baffling.
Starting way back in the 90’s with the Nintendo 64, they opted for cartridges (which held much less) when other gaming companies were offering discs. After the Nintendo 64 failed where the PlayStation succeeded, Nintendo followed the Nintendo 64 up with the GameCube, which used discs. Yay, except not really, because the GameCube used mini discs that couldn’t hold nearly as much information as the discs provided for Xbox and PlayStation 2. The successor to the hugely popular Wii somehow fumbled one of the easiest things to not mess up. The advertising for the Wii U was extremely confusing to most consumers, with most folks assuming it was a controller for the Wii. To add insult to injury, the specs in the Wii U were super disappointing.
So looking back on Nintendo’s troubled history makes me feel a great sense of trepidation about the Switch 2, or the Super Switch, or whatever it’ll be called. I’m still excited, don’t get me wrong, but I’m also so worried that the Switch follow up will suck. That brings us to the meat of the post; my hopes (and fears) for the Switch successor!
Compatibility with all existing Nintendo Switch accessories!
This one is a no brainer. Switch controllers and accessories are expensive. Being able to just continue using your already existing Switch Pro Controller sounds great. Plus, users that are upgrading from the original Switch will have two full sets of Joy-Con for multiplayer games. Compatibility with all existing Nintendo Switch accessories also means that backwards compatibility will be easier to pull off for more gimmicky Switch titles.
A Built-In Microphone on new sets of Joy-Con and Pro Controllers for silly shenanigans!
Okay, this one is a little weird, but it makes more sense after I explain it. Back in the day, the Nintendo DS and 3DS consoles had a built in microphone that allowed users to use their voice to play certain games. There are a few reasons why I want this to return for the Switch.
Firstly, it would allow DS and 3DS games to take advantage of the microphone for Nintendo Switch Online. I think that there is a good argument to be made for this.
Secondly, Switch games would be able to use this, and it would make voice-chat a lot more accessible. Maybe this would incentivize Nintendo to add built in voice chat features on the console? A man can dream.
Thirdly (yes, I just used that word), there’s this feature on the Switch already where you can record clips of games that you can post on social media or transfer to your phone. I can imagine all sorts of goofy stuff online if you could record your voice off of the built in microphone for when you create these 30 second clips. Bonus points if the microphone is crunchy. For comedic effect, of course.
Fun and goofy features like the eShop Music, Flipnote Studio, Miiverse, etc…
Speaking of goofy stuff, I want fun features. The Switch has a pretty bland home screen, and there aren’t a whole lot of features. You can browse a laggy eShop page, you can look at your screenshots and clips, you can check your friends list, there’s a news page for game announcements, and you can change the settings. That’s it.
I miss fun features that came with other Nintendo consoles. The DSi had all the weird camera filters and Flipnote Studio, which was a very simple animation software. The Wii U had a lot of problems, but at least it was charming. Miiverse was like Nintendo Twitter, and it was so unserious. I remember all of the silly stuff people would post on the platform, and it was a big part of the Wii U’s identity.
I think that the Switch 2 needs a fun feature built into the console that is inarguably Nintendo. Hell, add music to the eShop and a Mii channel that isn’t hidden in the settings and I’d be pleased.
Enough performance to run modern games, even if they don’t look great.
Okay, this is the one thing I’m most nervous about. The Switch wasn’t very powerful when it came out, and seven years later, there are Chromebooks being sold that are more powerful than it. The majority of modern iPhones are more powerful than the Switch. Developers have squeezed every drop they could out of Nintendo’s hybrid machine, and the amount of third-party games that came to the Switch were shocking, with all things considered.
I just want that to continue. If the Switch 2 got a big enough spec bump to receive game ports of some newer titles, I think that most folks would be very satisfied. It’s gotta be more powerful than last-gen consoles. I’m crossing my fingers for a big spec bump with super fast storage. This would allow the Switch 2 to get all of these instant loading times that other platforms are getting. Hopefully some of the games that didn’t make it to PS4 and Xbox One would make it to the Switch 2, thanks to the faster storage.
(Also, Larian Studios, please for the love of BioWare, put Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Switch 2… Kk thanks love you <3)
Backwards compatibility that doesn’t suck.
There’s not much that Nintendo needs to get right here. The Switch 2 should play Switch games, both digitally and physically. I don’t expect much else. That being said, it would be nice to have improved performance in Switch 1 games, or better battery life, since older games won’t be as demanding as some of the newer titles.
Improved Online
The year is 2024. Nintendo’s modern online subscription service doesn’t include messaging, voice-chat, or even invites (for most games). That’s terrible. Normally, I use Discord or the Xbox app when I play games with friends online, but there are problems with that. For starters, If you’re playing an online game that requires audio, it’s kind of a bad idea to play it on the Switch. Since there’s no built in voice chat system, players have to resort to their phones, which normally means that they have earbuds in and can’t hear their game.
Another issue with the Nintendo Switch Online service is that performance isn’t always great. Disconnect screens have become a sort of meme in the Splatoon community, and other games like Smash Bros Ultimate and Fortnite have lag and delayed inputs. If I’m paying for a service, it should work. I’ve played the Switch with a wired internet connection, on wi-fi, and off of a hotspot, and all three connections had similar issues to what I just described.
Hopefully, the release of a Switch 2 console would incentivize Nintendo to upgrade the online service. This is a stretch, but if Switch Online stays as it is now, the Switch 2 should include support for Discord on the console. Imagine being able to just join discord calls or servers from your Switch. It would make cross-play better too. A win-win scenario!
More Applications!
Speaking of Discord, maybe the solution for Nintendo would be to have all sorts of different apps on the Switch 2. Streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, and Apple TV would make a great fit. Having a “hybrid” console that can play Netflix sounds heavenly. Music streaming services would be cool too, imagine being able to play a Spotify playlist directly from your console while you play Minecraft. PlayStation and Xbox both support this, and the Switch 2 would benefit greatly, in my opinion.
More Colors!
The DS and 3DS consoles have a special place in my heart, and one of the many things I loved about those consoles were the fun color options. Meanwhile, the Switch got like- two or three color options for the console itself. There was a black one, a red one, and a white one. Sure, there were limited edition consoles with customized backs, and the Switch lite did get some really cool colors, but the regular, always available consoles were kind of boring to look at.
Joy-Cons are fun. If the console and dock had a bunch of color options you could coordinate some fun combinations. Want a white Switch combo with black Joy-Con? Sure. What about a pastel yellow Switch console with pastel pink Joy-Con? There are so many opportunities to have the Switch become a very personalized device, and I think that this would be a good start.
My Fears…
I’ve gone over plenty of hopes I have for whatever the Switch 2 could have, but I’ve also got a lot of fears. Like I said earlier, Nintendo has a troubled history. I mean, as much as I love the Wii U, it was still the Wii U. Any company that releases a product that manages to be that incredibly tone-deaf should probably keep themselves in check. So, here are my fears.
No backwards compatibility
I really hope this isn’t the case. I have a ton of games that I play on my original Switch and I would be very annoyed if I had to buy my games again. This is actually such a big thing for me that I probably won’t upgrade to the Switch 2 right away if it doesn’t have backwards compatibility.
The other thing that Nintendo could totally mess up is physical backwards compatibility. Imagine if we couldn’t play cartridge based Nintendo Switch games. That would suck, especially for people who prefer physical games.
Clunky/Large Design
This isn’t something that I’m too worried about, but I’m crossing my fingers that the Switch follow-up retains a more light-weight design. Other handhelds like the Steam Deck are really chunky compared to the Switch and I’m afraid that the spec bump will inadvertently make the console way bigger.
That being said, there are certain advantages to having a larger console. Cooling the system would be easier and they could definitely fit more stuff into the console. My personal preference is a smaller, lighter console, but everybody has a different tolerance for heavier handhelds.
Very Low End Specs
Nintendo is notorious for this, and this is the most likely problem that we’ll see with the Switch successor. I don’t expect it to be super powerful, but it’s gotta be more powerful than last gen. I seriously don’t want a bunch of last gen ports without newer triple-A games launching on the new platform, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one. The Nintendo Switch was smack dab in the middle of the PS4 and the PS3 spec-wise, and hopefully the Switch 2 will be smack dab in the middle of the PS4 and PS5.
In Conclusion…
I’m super excited to see what Nintendo has in store for us in 2025. Knowing them, the Switch successor is going to do something weird that’ll throw everyone off and be absolutely delightful. Nintendo is a super innovative company in certain ways, and is utterly stuck in the past in other ways. They’re unpredictable. The next Nintendo console will be whatever it is, but at least we know it’ll have Mario on it. Probably.
Thanks for reading the blog, and I will see you later, gators!
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