The Nintendo Switch 2 is being marketed as an upgrade to the Nintendo Switch. It sports a premium feel and strong technical performance. The feature they emphasize in their Paul Rudd commercial is the GameChat feature, where players can play games “all together, anytime, anywhere.” There’s barely mention of the magnetism in the Joy-Cons 2s, the mouse controls, or sharing your games with GameShare. The less apparent features are focused only on Nintendo’s smaller advertisements. ”Keep focusing on the substitute Discord feature—please!” is probably their thinking.
However, they have something right: exclusive features have marked Nintendo’s greatest successes. A notable example is the Game Boy, which first introduced mobile gaming to the world. It sold over 100 million copies globally and catapulted Nintendo to become a gaming industry giant. A more successful generation was sparked years later with the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii, marking the absolute best Nintendo has ever done financially.
The Success of the Nintendo Switch
Features saved Nintendo after the failure of the Wii U, when they released the Nintendo Switch. It featured mobile gameplay, but with the capabilities of a home console, becoming a hybrid of home and handheld gaming.
The innovation wasn’t just an iteration of an earlier concept. You could constantly “switch” up gameplay between handheld and docked. This included a tabletop mode and used the dual Joy-Cons to provide unlimited fun. You never just played one way: it provided players with the ability to play in a way never done before. What are the irreplaceable features of the Switch 2 that will grab everyone’s attention?
The Switch 2 Feature Nintendo is Pushing
There is no standout feature for Switch 2 that will stay in the minds of the general customer, as it stands now. A breakout feature has to be innovative enough to warrant a purchase, but it must also be extremely practical: effortless. It must be as simple as motion or touch, where you can do the action once you start the console. The Switch 2 has nothing like that, past the things reserved for those who look beneath the surface.
As part of the hardcore audience, I understand that the casual player will rarely look beneath the surface. GameChat, the new commercial feature, not only requires the player to subscribe to their online service in the long term. It also requires a different setup before finally creating a chat group, to then chat freely.
Frankly, not everyone will go through all these steps to get there, much less remember that it’s there. It’s hard to believe that casual players will fork $450 (USD) to do simple voice chat. There isn’t much encouragement to use GameChat features on the console anyway, besides the introduction and a few initial reminders, except for the tech demo game Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Yet, that is also locked behind a step far more demanding: $10 (USD). The one impression I feel each time I start up my Nintendo Switch 2 isn’t to use its features—it’s to jump back into the game. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing though: the issue is the messaging, that the marketing, and the console itself have.
The Underrated Features of the Switch 2
The understated things about the system make it truly stand out against the competition (aside from its hybrid form factor). Mouse controls are utterly unique to the Switch 2 and cannot be replicated in other current-generation consoles. This, on top of responsive gyro controls, and being able to map your buttons on each game. That last one may not be used much, but the fact that the Switch 2 can quite literally control differently, creates an irreplaceable gameplay experience.
Not only can Nintendo continue to use motion for games like Ring Fit Adventure or Nintendo Switch Sports, but they will also be able to experiment with games like Mario Party Jamboree + Jamboree TV or Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, that utilize mouse controls. While Nintendo has been marketing these games, they aren’t what Nintendo had been pushing for at the system’s launch. They instead push for games like Mario Kart World or the Switch 2 editions of games that hardly use mouse controls. Their next big game isn’t focused on mouse controls either, being Donkey Kong Banaza, a 3D platform game. This might prove to be their mistake, as the Switch 2 has to compare not only to other handhelds, but the original Switch as well.
Selling the Switch 2
This system only makes a difference if you appreciate the technical specifications and the additional minor features. What is it going to take for the average person, who doesn’t care all about that, to buy the new system? The Nintendo Switch 2 is simply not as redefining as the Wii or the DS. If they knew about mouse controls, Gameshare, and button remapping, would they even use them? That is something Nintendo needs to consider, if they haven’t already.
The interesting factor so far in the course of the Nintendo Switch 2 is how it is riding the success of the original Switch, continuing the intrigue of its hybrid form factor. As of this writing, the new console has already sold over three million units worldwide. It has officially become the fastest-selling console of any launch, ever. But the circumstances are unique. There is a surplus supply, more hardcore customers, and Nintendo is bigger than ever. This will not last forever. Like any other console, the launch of a system doesn’t determine its long-term success.
If Nintendo shows signs of anything, their long-term strategy is too similar to the console generations that failed. Graphics and more power were the focus of the GameCube and Wii U generations, but they didn’t succeed. Despite either good launches or strong hardware, they did not do well financially. Just like in those generations, there is no standout feature for the Switch 2. Why isn’t Nintendo addressing that?
Marketing of the Switch 2
As far as can be seen, the Nintendo Switch 2 will go on to be successful—that much is believable. Yet it’s being held back by its messaging, as one of the more unimpressive console releases. I believe that the Switch 2 does have a lot of interesting features: the smaller details of the hardware. However, these aren’t messaged very well and are generally underused by the hardware itself. Right now, the Switch 2 doesn’t have many games that use mouse controls, GameShare or the Joy-Con 2’s magnetism. It may be that Nintendo has yet to establish these features, but the fact that not many games use these at launch is still an issue. It may take years to make these features practical, much less a standout detail that gets new customers to buy it.
Another issue presented here is that there just might not be enough with the Switch 2 that will ever grab customers. Maybe it would help if prospective buyers knew that backwards compatibility improved gameplay, or that GameChat and GameShare allowed you to keep your own game running in the background. But unless Nintendo changes its marketing strategy and begins a bigger rollout of features, it won’t be obvious to everyone.
The Switch 2’s long-term success does hinge on the fate of its features, especially with the increases to software and accessories prices. After all, the promise of Nintendo hardware is innovation and quality; if their new systems don’t have both, then what does it mean for its future? Let’s just hope Nintendo hasn’t learned the wrong lesson with the launch and changes their approach.
