Look, before we jump into this, my bias towardsNintendois well-documented. I’ve been an obsessive fan of the company ever since I was a child and, probably more relevant for disclosure purposes, I used to work for them. So when I say that theSwitch 2launch doesn’t feel special, I’m not taking any pleasure from that. Nor, obviously, am I the only one bringing it up. It’s weird.
Usually when a console launches - and especially whena Nintendo console launches- we all lose our minds and focus on the amazing gimmicks of the Next Big Thing that will change our lives forever, or at least give us something slightly nicer to look at on screen. But with the Switch 2, I dunno man, it just doesn’t feel like we’re all waiting on pins and needles. I’m excited!I’ve got it pre-ordered! I just don’t feel the magic in my bones, the place one feels magic the most.
Maybe I’m Just Old And Used To Nintendo Winning
To be fair, I know I’m theoretically an adult-shaped person now. I respect that the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 when I’m in my 40s hits different than theNintendo 64launching when I was 12. My life has been full of bitterness and disappointment since then, so perhaps it’s harder to get excited when I know there will be another system in six or seven years. Or that I’m old enough to be dead by that point without it being surprising or a tragedy.
Or maybe it’s less fun when I’m the one paying for everything myself rather than finding it under a Christmas tree. On the other hand, I’ve also been paying for most of this crap for most of my life and my sense of wonder is delightful, so the “lost childhood innocence” angle feels a little less sticky than it might seem at first. It could apply to others more, though.
It could also be that the Switch 2 suffers from the success of the Switch itself. We all knowthe Nintendo Switch changed things forever, right? The Switch came in so hot that it’s almost hard to fathom now. We were feral for it. And why wouldn’t we be? It was a regular console that could also go portable with no actual interruption of the game itself. And the controllers came off! Like, I know that doesn’t sound like much, but I’m still to this day impressed whenever I shove a Joy-Con back onto a Switch.
It was such a surprising, delightful console that also launched with one of the greatest games ever made:Breath of the Wild. And, not only that, Breath of the Wild was hyped to be the greatest game ever made. We knew it was gonna be good! It looked crazy that a portable would be able to carry that experience. Even now it’s pretty amazing.
The Switch 2 Can’t Compete With The Switch
And the Switch 2 can do all of this! But it’s no longer surprising because… well, the Switch. The last eight years have been pretty wild. A portable system that can play complete console-level games at a lower visual quality is now the basis of half of the gaming equipment available for sale. TheSteam Deckalone has itself changed how I play video games. The controllers don’t come off the side, but the ability to take my PC library anywhere and pop them onto my TV if I want is right there built in.
As a sicko, I could pack a Steam Deck and a Nintendo Switch in my bag and basically have an infinite amount of gaming at any location. Yes, I know the PSP could also hook into a TV. Yes, I know there was the Super Game Boy and whatnot. That’s not what I’m talking about. Stop it.
With the Switch 2, Nintendo has to work with the fact that people are already used to the coolest part of the system. There is less novelty this time around, even if the system does the same things better. Taking a Nintendo Switch on a trip the first time felt incredible. Open world Zelda on the go, looking beautiful the whole way. Now taking a Nintendo Switch on a trip feels like a choice between different gaming devices that fill the same exact gap and are all roughly the exact same size.
Nintendo knocked the ball out of the park so hard last time that the ‘wow’ factor just isn’t here now. It’s hard to ‘wow’ more than they did with the Switch. They essentially created the horseshoe crab of consoles: so evolutionarily perfect that it’s difficult to move away from the design or do something so different it would transform its basic concept. It’s exciting that it’s better, but this isn’t the Nintendo 64 transforming graphics or theWii transforming motion controls.
The Switch 2 Pre-Order Chaos Isn’t Helping
Although, looking back, it is a little funny that it was so hard to get an Xbox Series X and now the question is, “Will there ever be another Xbox or are we sort of calling it here?”. But the Switch 2 pre-order being delayed for weeks and then having that pre-order process suck to hell doesn’t help.Especially when it seems like some pre-orders are now being canceled by retailers. It adds uncertainty. It’s hard to feel super excited if you don’t know if you’re actually going to receive the thing itself.
Then there’s the price. I both understand the material realities of mass producing a piece of technology and understand that not everyone is going to want to pay $450 for it, $500 for the bundle with the one launch game that people are excited about. Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of great games coming to the Switch 2.
But as far as I can tell, the only new game people are excited about is Mario Kart World, and that excitement seems to 90 percent be linked to it having a playable cow character. I’m certainMario Kart Worldwill be great. I’m certain I’ll be playing it at launch if my pre-order isn’t canceled by God. But it just doesn’t have the same heartstopping amazement that seeing Breath of the Wild run on a portable did in 2017. Andat that price, it kind of needs to be more heartstopping.Hearts should be stopped.
The Switch 2 Feels Like A Switch Pro
If anything, the Switch 2 feels more like a smartphone refresh than it does a full new console. And that makes sense.So did the PS5 Pro. Which itself tracks because we got all hyped for the PlayStation 5 and then spent the first two or three years of its existence flooded with upgraded ports of PS4 games we’d already beat. New consoles adding to the experience of the last and being backwards compatible is great. Nobody’s saying it’s not. But if almost all a new console can offer is an upgraded version of older games, it’s harder to need it on day one. It might be an eventuality-type purchase where you’ll get around to it.
But I don’t know if I would be really missing out if my order got canceled at the last second. True, Switch had its fair share of ports around its launch, but those felt amazing because the Switch was so new and amazing. The magic trick doesn’t quite work twice. And if you told me there would be a PlayStation 6 coming up in a year, I’d probably feel the same way. Do I need it immediately? Not unlessGrand Theft Auto 6tells me to, which it might, because I am nothing if not a sucker.
I know we’re getting older. I know new toys aren’t as fun as they used to be. I know that a lot of us are living in an economy and working for businesses in which the cost of importing goods is basically now random. But it’s really the smartphone thing that I come back to the most. I love getting a new phone. I love lifting the box and seeing the new shiny device. But after having smart phones for nearly 20 years, it’s not a dazzling revelation. It’s more just cool to have something a little better and a little more powerful.
It’s nice to have something that will run more recent games better. That’s not bad, per se. It’s just different. It’s a little less special. More of a necessary hardware upgrade most of the time and a genuinely wonderful surprise some of the time. But I still use that phone every day, play games on it every day, and I’m hoping the Switch 2 is the same. Also, they build mouse integration intoGame Maker Garage, so I gotta hit that up.
