During my 8 to 5 job I cover a lot of handhelds, from Steam Deck to ROG Ally X and wider. That’s why I felt like I was watching the rush hour when Nintendo finally unwrapped the Switch 2. I thought I was looking at Lenovo Legion Go 2 with accented colors around the sticks instead of RGB. i love mine Steam Deck. I love my Switch. I’m afraid Nintendo is doing too much to make their handheld interchangeable with others.
Don’t get me wrong, I wanted a more powerful Switch that could play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Realm without a sudden drop in the number of frames per second. Still, a dark aesthetic Switch 2 it’s not in keeping with Nintendo’s usual design ethos. The sequel to the handheld is, in every way, the same basic design as the first Switch, just with a bigger screen and more ports. Nintendo had an innovative design with the Switch 1. Every OEM handheld PC was copied by Nintendo. Then Nintendo turned around and copied Nintendo.
I didn’t need them to completely redesign the console. I just wanted to show something really new that would reward fans who loved Nintendo’s willingness to try – even if those things didn’t work out. Nintendo is likely saving its wackier JoyCon color options for the device’s full release—probably set for a date after the next Nintendo Direct on April 2nd. I also hope the company shows us something—anything—that makes the next device special. Nintendo only has to look back 15 years when it shared its first pictures of the 3DS back in 2010; they remembered to include some nice aquamarine colors.
We haven’t seen everything the console has to offer. Nintendo only gave eager buyers a rough preview of what to expect with new magnetically attached JoyCons, better speakers and an additional USB-C port. I would love to see some additional JoyCon features, eg Lenovo Legion Go mouse-like FPS mode. In the company’s video reveal, the JoyCons ran around the table like mice. Perhaps each controller includes some sort of infrared sensor to track movement. There could be some interesting use cases for this. I’d love to know more, but Nintendo isn’t talking.
Initial images of the Switch 2 lack the Nintendo “je ne sais quoi” of past products. Nintendo is associated with both fun and oddity. As a reminder, this company brought us the Gamecube, a purple console with a handle. It also came out with the WiiU, a strange console with a controller that confused more than delighted.
Nintendo is a company that can take risks. The Switch 2 is safe, even if it’s simply more of what gamers have already enjoyed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the look helps tell customers who the device is intended for. The original Switch looked like a toy. The default bright red and bright blue JoyCon colors marked it as an easy-to-use device for kids and adults alike.
It doesn’t help that we may have to wait another four months for more direct information on its full specs or launch titles. Until then, more and more speculation, rumors and leaks will inevitably spoil the surprise of the full release. We still haven’t seen if it is The Switch 2 will achieve 4K in some games. We’d love to see it push the original Switch games to a higher resolution, but that might be asking too much.
The waiting is always the worst part. April is far away. In the meantime, I’ll flood my desk with bright lights and action figures. I don’t need another black device to get me in the gaming mood.