Why the Switch 2 could save Nintendo from another total disaster

Sure, there’s been a lot of varied discussions around the Nintendo Switch 2 since its reveal, like the estimated price, game leaks, and even how to take part in the hands-on event, but one of the biggest topics is whether the new console's direction is the right move for Nintendo itself.

With how familiar the Switch 2 looks compared to its predecessor at a first glance, this is undoubtedly the safest move Nintendo has ever made been between console generations.

But that's exactly what the company needs to avoid a certain disaster of the past. Read on for my full take!

After months of speculation, initially being referred to as the Switch's successor, the Nintendo Switch 2 had some of the lustre of its first reveal taken away unintended by leaks, rumours and a mock-up being circulated by a third party at January 2025's Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Later in the month, Nintendo officially revealed the Switch 2, with the reveal trailer reportedly dropping ahead of schedule in order to put an end to all of the speculation.

Outside of the console being shown and some design features being highlighted in the trailer, we won't know anything else in terms of specs or games until a dedicated Nintendo Direct broadcast on Wednesday 2nd April 2025.

With the absence of technical capabilities and information about new games to go off, it's almost too easy notice the similarities between the original Nintendo Switch and the Switch 2.

After all, Nintendo has almost always marked every one of its new console generations with a totally unique design and an exciting gimmick that's different from the last.

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However, it's easy to forget what happened the last time Nintendo implemented its "fix it, even if it ain't broke” approach.

Following the disaster that was the Wii U console, it's clear Nintendo doesn't wish to pass up the chance to capitalise on the Nintendo Switch's massive success and risk it on a vastly different successor that strays away from the predecessor that put the company back on track.

Now for a little walk down memory lane (or the history books, if you’re too young to remember this).

After the unprecedented success of the Nintendo Wii, selling over 100 million units as of 2019, Nintendo wanted to go that extra mile with the Wii U by bringing back core gamers who it felt were lost with its predecessor's casual-gamer appeal.

To do so, the Wii U was designed with features that both aimed to innovate and make up for the Wii's technical shortcomings, like a lack of HD and limited network infrastructure.

With its drastic changes, however, most notably replacing the signature Wii Remote motion controller with the Wii U's Game Pad, Nintendo had taken away too much of what had given its gaming ecosystem a unique selling point compared to its competitors.

The Game Pad was fun to use and the console's HD looked great, but it didn't offer that angle needed to bring its intended core gamer audience back.

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Its backward compatibility with Wii games and additions like the Wii Remote (Plus) were nice touches, but the Wii U still didn't have enough of a selling point to convince many gamers away from just continuing to play on the older system instead.

That fact was truly reflected in the Wii U's sales, only selling 13.56 million units worldwide (as of 2019) - a poultry amount compared to the Wii's 100 million.

Trying to bring back its diehard audience was a valiant concept, but by blindly innovating for the sake of innovation, Nintendo essentially shot itself in the foot, and lost out on a lot of money as a result, along with us losing more games for the platform.

With worldwide sales of over 146 million units, the Switch was both the successful lifeline and a shot in the arm Nintendo needed to learn what works and what doesn't in the modern gaming market, leaving it safely able to act on the lessons learned from the Wii U's failure as it heads towards the Switch 2's launch.

With its life cycle starting in 2017, the Nintendo Switch console launched at the right time with a hook that makes it stand out while still being able to please gamers on all levels - giving way to the best range of exclusive games and third-party support the brand has had in the modern day.

It's an incredibly tough balance to achieve, one that can only be done through years of trial and error, with the Wii U being the "error" element.

Yes, the Nintendo Switch 2 can still be seen as too safe from some perspectives, to the point where it could be hard to tell which is which between the new system and the old one.

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The cost of game development, manufacturing, and distribution is higher than ever — making a wrong move here could have big financial implications for Nintendo.

In this market, betting big on unnecessary innovation could be hugely detrimental to a console's lifecycle — if not enough people pick up the new machine, game developers will soon stop supporting it with shiny new games.

Of course, it would take a lot of financial losses to bring Nintendo down, but poor sales of the Nintendo Switch 2 could result in making games for the system seem like a bad investment.

That would mean fewer exclusive games, less support for third-party titles, or even fewer studios to develop for future consoles thanks to lay-offs as a result of low revenue.

Instead of telling gamers what they need, Nintendo's making of the Switch 2 has stemmed from listening more closely to feedback — only improving on in-demand tweaks like a bigger screen, improved Joy-Cons, and more technical power to play better games.

By playing it safe on innovation this time around, the Nintendo Switch 2 should mean more sales, more games, more support, and a better time for all of its players.

Basically, by sticking to the same basic shape and concept but with some decent upgrades under the hood, Nintendo avoid the risk of another Wii U-sized disaster of a flop.

It’s a smart move, and it’ll be very interesting to see how well it pays off!