The Nintendo Switch helped the Japanese company to rebound spectacularly after the WiiU’s underwhelming tenure. The hybrid console has sold millions in hardware and software and is responsible for some of the highest-reviewed titles of all time. But I think it’s high time the Nintendo Switch 2 scoots its way into 2025.
I’ve always been a “PlayStation” guy, ever since I was a kid. I’ve had the odd Game Boy and DS, but they were fleeting and flirtatious moments—outside of excessive Pokémon binges. I missed out on Metroid, the best Mario games, Zelda, etc, you name it. This all changed the day I decided to invest in a Nintendo Switch.
As a proud Switch owner, I’ve spent the last few years catching up, and I think the Nintendo Switch is a monstrous marvel. However, it feels like it’s outstayed its welcome—despite the addition of the OLED line—and I want something new to play with.
The Nintendo Switch Has Has a Good Run
Let’s get the obvious downer out of the way—the Nintendo Switch isn’t very powerful and never has been. This hasn’t been much of a problem for its colorful and cartoony, first-party titles though. Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have sold a couple of hundred million copies between them, and they aren’t games designed to stretch a console to its limit—maybe for the Switch.
The optimized performance and sheer smoothness of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom feel like a minor miracle. But most games can’t hit 60 FPS, and performance varies from title to title—even if the unit is docked. The Switch has reportedly sold over 146 million units—apparently making it the third-best-selling console behind the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS—but consumers deserve the best.
I may come across as entitled, but after years of enjoying crispy 4K HDR, 60 FPS gameplay on my PlayStation 5, I want the same for the Switch. I didn’t want to do this, but Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was the final straw. What should’ve been Game Freak’s magnum opus, turned into a performance PR nightmare. I bought Pokémon Scarlet on day one, and it doesn’t matter how many times Sprigatito bats its precious eyelids at me, I can’t ignore the ugliness of Scarlet and Violet’s choppy frame rate, endless bugs, and lackluster performance across the board.
Nintendo’s array of exclusives is second to none. This is highlighted by the returning Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in 2025, and a new 3D Mario would benefit massively from a Switch 2. First-party content isn’t an issue for Nintendo and never has been. However, one of Nintendo’s biggest problems could be solved by a Nintendo Switch 2 in 2025.
Nintendo’s Third Party Isn’t Bouncing Enough
When you have exclusives selling like hotcakes, I get third-party isn’t much of a concern. I do find it puzzling Nintendo is happy to overlook this segment of the market though. Many third-party titles never see the light of day on Switch, and this is presumably due to technical limitations.
Those that do release have to make serious reductions. Take Mortal Kombat 1 on Switch and the image of Johnny Cage above. 2023’s fighter is an unbelievable beat ’em up on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with some of the most lifelike graphics and rapid response times. Its Switch port is a shell of its next-gen contemporaries with laughably long load times, blurry graphics, and a huge reduction in textures and performance.
On the other hand, bigger open-world titles don’t perform too badly on Switch. Hogwarts Legacy is still quite rough around the edges but manages to hold up, and The Witcher 3 miraculously plays well—again, at the expense of huge graphical and performance-related downgrades. It’s less a case of “if it can,” and more “should it?” It earns Nintendo more money, but these are titles deserving to be experienced as they were intended.
If the Nintendo Switch 2 can improve its performance, even more consumers might favor the portability and dual accessibility of the Switch 2 over a PlayStation or Xbox. More sales mean revenue and happier shareholders. The next console is rumored to be announced before April 2025—possibly to release in March 2025.
Providing Nintendo nails it, the long-awaited follow-up could eclipse its younger sibling, and eventually become the top-selling Nintendo hardware in history.
The Nintendo Switch’s run is one of the most successful and prolific in gaming history. But are you ready to see what Nintendo has in store with the Switch 2? Which potential titles and franchises would benefit the most?
We need a direct! We need to see what games will be launching on it. A bunch of companies are waiting on this console that and the GTA 6 release date.
They haven’t had a big first party title in a while we need a big game or a few. They need a big direct.
We need a big Nintendo Direct announced for January where they finally reveal it especially if it’s coming in March. I want to know what the hold up was. Same with a bunch of games like why the constant delays on Kingdom Hearts Missing Link why no update on Kingdom Hearts 4 since 2022 when it was revealed meanwhile Final Fantasy 7 Part 3 is already being talked about. Why the long wait for Mortal Kombat 1 and why no Injustice where is Injustice?
When is the next Nintendo Direct they ended 2024 weak. Same with Square Enix they have nothing big for 2025. These companies will have upset shareholders.