We’re on the eve of the Nintendo Switch 2 being announced, so we thought it would be a fitting time to revisit the original Nintendo Switch, its impact on pop culture and why it was a game-changing console for the industry and players around the world. By looking back, we can hopefully look forward to a new generation of the Switch that aims to improve upon some of the original’s shortcomings while retaining its excellent qualities.
Firstly, a history lesson. Back in the mid-2010s, Nintendo was in crisis mode with their home consoles. Sure, the Wii was a mega-hit by all metrics but the arrival of its short-lived successor, the Wii U, landed with a whimper. In fact, Nintendo’s handheld systems at the time, the all-too-popular DS and 3DS, were truly doing a lot of the heavy-lifting for the company. With the PS4 and Xbox One hot on the market, Nintendo had an imposing challenge: to make a new home console and a new handheld simultaneously.
The solution was a risky play: a hybrid console, capable of being docked and used as a home console but also removed from its docking station and taken on-the-go as a portable device. This raised some questions, namely how the console would perform spec-wise when most handhelds at the time simply weren’t capable of being on the same level as console hardware.
However, Nintendo wasn’t just looking for a successor to the 3DS or Wii U. The company wanted to create a new experience; one that could reach a much wider audience. The focus this time was to nurture and grow its intellectual properties, of which Nintendo had many in waiting. It wasn’t necessarily about the hardware power or displaying the greatest visual fidelity. Rather, Nintendo wanted developers to leverage its weird hybrid concept and create new types of games.
The next Nintendo console was a “make or break” product, in the words of then-Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé, especially since the Wii U was notably underperforming when compared to the far stronger Wii sales. The company had to make a swift decision and, well, switch things up.
In March 2017, players around the world finally got their hands on the Nintendo Switch and nobody expected it to become the breakout hit of the last decade. With The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, widely acclaimed as one of the greatest video games of all time, launching alongside the hybrid console, it was almost too enticing to pass up like the Wii U. Consumers were locked in and wanted more.
The success behind the Switch’s design was simple yet very effective. It was capable of targeting the home console market as well as the handheld market. Users could plug it in at home and enjoy gaming on their TVs but if they desired, could also simply take it out of its dock and use it as a handheld console. The name “Switch” originated from this function. The Joy-Cons could also slide off the console and create two individual controllers for multiplayer or party games.
Nintendo also embraced some ideas from its peers, namely a new online storefront where players could digitally purchase and download games, hopefully with the intention of preserving those titles and libraries through backward compatibility for generations to come. Admittedly, it must’ve been quite humbling for Nintendo, who championed physical media for so long, to make the necessary lean into a digital future.
When most console designers were playing it rather safe, Nintendo, once again, swung for the fences with a crazy concept and struck gold. Innovative, easy to use and appealing on many levels, the Nintendo Switch became the company’s greatest achievement (well, right behind the Nintendo DS if we’re basing it on raw sales).
So what about the Switch made it so personally appealing? Well, for many, it wasn’t just the hybrid functionality of the console but the games. Looking back at its almost eight-year run, it’s insane how many outstanding exclusives were released like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Bayonetta 3, Pikmin 4, Animal Crossing: New Horizons and so much more. Nintendo’s decision to shift the focus back to growing its franchises was the smartest move it could’ve made at the time.
Most of all, it was a wake-up call for the industry. This wasn’t just a case of “if you build it, they will come” anymore. You had to build something good. Something that spoke to as much people as possible, not just a target demographic on a spreadsheet. That has always been Nintendo’s modus operandi and it simply stuck to its guns.
With the Switch 2, we hope that Nintendo continues to follow this path forward. If they simply tweak some of the console’s shortcomings – the drift issues, a sturdier form factor, more powerful hardware for third-party companies to work with, and an appreciation for the company’s legacy through game preservation – then Nintendo might have another behemoth on its hands.