Nobody plays theNintendo Switchfor the graphics. And if you do, let me introduce you to a friend of mine called ‘every other console on the market’. The Switch consistently delivers enjoyable and, with the exception of the most recentPokemontitles, relatively polished games - but they don’t look as good, on a purely photorealistic level, asXboxorPlayStation’sbest offerings. So what does that mean for the Switch 2?
Note: The name (and even its existence) is officially unconfirmed, but I’ll be calling it Switch 2 for quite a while yet even when the name is locked in.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomshowed last year that the old dog of the Switch can still be taught new tricks, but it’s unreasonable to expect every development team to bring the A-game of Zelda. With the Switch in its seventh year, and having already been behind whatXbox OneandPlayStation 4started with, only to watch them both upgrade while Steam joined the handheld/docked market, it feels like the Switch has offered good value and it’s time to move on. Itfeelsthat way, but it can be a little hard to justify.
I wrote recently aboutNintendo’s reliance on legacy mascots, with none of the top ten Switch sellers being new characters for the Switch, while 14 of the top 22 areMarioor Pokemon. Neither of these series are particularly ambitious from a graphical or technical sense. Mario has always pushed the envelope creatively, but in recent years it has been a very good example of where its genre currently is, as opposed to Zelda which has looked ahead to what its genre could be.
This begs the question, what is the upgraded Switch for? The next Zelda game in three or four years might take advantage of it, but it will be a different sort of game to the recent double header of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, so perhaps not. In fact, Zelda traditionally represents a design philosophy with less emphasis on console power - that’s why so many of its art styles have aged well, because they weren’t pushing the limits of capability and therefore aren’t embarrassed when those limits move.
It’s difficult to write the Switch 2 off as a meaningless cash grab of an update - the Switch has been consistently well supported, has had a great run, and it’s far enough out of step with competitors that this doesn’t feel like chasing a trend, but a decision out of necessity. While most hardcore gamers will have another console alongside the Switch, its slew of high quality exclusives have allowed it to hang with the in-crowd, and it may well need a boost to keep up these days.
It’s just interesting to think what we might get. Xboxes and PlayStations have always been sold off the back of their power. It has been a calling card of PS5 exclusives’ promotion - it’s all possible thanks to the power of the PS5. The Switch has never pushed this angle because it’s always been behind the rest of the class. And like I said earlier, people have never come to Nintendo platforms for the graphics. It’s all about the games.
With the Switch 2 rumoured to bring the power levels of a PS4, it’ll still be trailing in last place, but will be a major step up from the Switch itself. How do you promote ‘we are much better than we used to be at something our audience doesn’t care about and we’re still worse than everyone else at it’?
I don’t think the Switch’s power level is that important for the games it relies on, but it’s hard to see another reason for an upgrade. Xbox and PlayStation can point to load times and graphical capabilities and say ‘we couldn’t do this before’, but that’s a harder sell for Switch. And given the massive popularity of the Switch, it will be a direct successor (hence being known as Switch 2) rather than a reinvention, so it leaves power alone as the reason to upgrade - and few Switch games push the boundaries of what the current Switch offers graphically or in terms of the CPU’s complexity.
Is that worth the price of a new console? Pokemon loads faster, Mario’s moustache is more defined, and the Zelda team won’t need to work quite so many miracles next time. The Switch is due an upgrade, we all just know it because that’s how time works, but when you break it down, it can be hard to see why.
There is also battery life to consider, but the Switch is a docked home console as much (possibly far more) than it is a handheld, so that feels minor.
Of course, the upside of this is the element of surprise. Nintendo may rely on old mascots, but it has enjoyed a highly inventive period for its roster - even some of Pokemon’s stumbles have come from rare bouts of experimentation. It may not seem like the Switch is in need of a power boost, but if it is to get one, it’s fascinating to think of what that might mean for it. The Switch will be remembered as one of the best consoles in history - and hopefully, the foundation for an even better one.
