As far back as I can remember, I’ve had Nintendo consoles in the house. I remember getting theNintendo Entertainment Systemas a combination birthday/Christmas gift in 1987. It was the beginning of what would become a lifelong fandom that would see me excited to get (almost) every console the company released. Like many of you, I skipped theWii U. I regret nothing.
Now, Nintendo is back with theSwitch 2, and it is giving me Wii U vibes – regardless ofMario Kart World. The rest of the launch titles aren’t exciting; it looks and plays like an updated Switch that doesn’t feature the OLED screen in the latest iteration of its predecessor. And yet, when Walmart restocked them this week, I bought one, and I’m not exactly sure why.
Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited to sit down with my Switch 2 when it arrives at my door later today. I’m sure the first thing I’ll do is installThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Paston yetanotherdevice and begin playing it. From there, I will play a scary number of hours on it like I have on every other Nintendo console – once again, except the Wii U, I’m only human – and love it. Was it a wise idea, though?
A Launch, Misfired
A quick look at the games available at launch shows why some have branded the Switch 2 as a $500 Mario Kart machine. And while I have no doubts that Mario Kart World is an excellent game and will command a surprising amount of my waking hours eventually, the puzzling choice to have a Mario Kart title be your primary launch game, rather than a Mario Bros. or Zelda adventure, is disappointing. At least, from my standpoint it is. From a sales perspective, Mario Kart games routinely outsell Super Mario Bros. titles. On the Switch alone, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – which was basically an upgrade of the same title on the Wii U – sold nearly 70 million copies, compared to Super Mario Odyssey’s less than 30 million, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild tallied over 32 million copies.
While there are several ports of games from other consoles, which is cool if you only play games on the Switch, this is the most disappointing Nintendo launch title selection since the Nintendo 64 – once again, I’m pretending the Wii U doesn’t exist. But the N64 had the generation-defining Super Mario 64, and nothing on the Switch 2 hasquitethat much momentum. Looking at the next few months, the only title I can see myself getting lost in is Donkey Kong Bananza. Unless, of course, I need to installWWE 2K25on athirdplatform, which is entirely possible. Who knows what kind ofnightmare The Island ison a Switch 2?
Note:The N64 had two launch titles: Super Mario 64 and PilotWings 64. Both are amazing.
A Very Expensive Emulator
So what is there to do? I’m going to be using the Switch Online Library – which has been rebranded Nintendo Classics – quite a bit on the Switch 2. I’m an elder gamer and I absolutely love to go back in time and revisit the very old, very dated games of my childhood. I’ll play my fair share of Mario Kart, I’m guessing, and download Fortnite for when I’m traveling and simply need to frag. The problem is, I could do all of that – and play the majority of the games out now on the Switch 2 – without actually buying one.
As someone working in games media, I can make a case for buying one. I will play games on it for review, and hopefully, tinkering with it will inspire an endless list of ideas for me to share with the world. But, the Wii U notwithstanding, Nintendo launches are usually more exciting than this. It makes sense that there isn’t a new Zelda title, given how recently Tears of the Kingdom was released. But why isn’t there a Super Mario Bros. game? At the very least we know why the Odyssey team wasn’t working on one; they weredeveloping Donkey Kong Bananza.
NewNew Super Mario Bros. When?
Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a side-scrolling platformer, was released in 2023. However, Super Mario Odyssey was a Switch launch title back in 2017. Isn’t it time for a follow-up?
Surely, there will be a new mainline Mario title introduced on the Switch 2 at some point. For now, though, it’s hard for me to hold the Switch 2 in high regard. While it’s sold incredibly well since release – the one metric Nintendo likely cares about – this time out doesn’t have that special Nintendo feel of the past. Instead of feeling like a technological jump forward, we paid new console prices for an upgraded old console.
And yes, I regret purchasing the Switch 2 and considered canceling the order after I placed it because, well, this Switchuationship I’m in is driving me crazy. Myactualrelationship with my partner isn’t anywhere near as dramatic as the situation I find myself in with the Switch 2. But this is where Nintendo has left me, anxious about buying their latest release. And yet, if given the option, I’d do it again right now and still regret it. Video games are complicated.
