The Nintendo Switch 2 Is Playing It Safe. That's the Smart Choice

We also see an extra button on the face of the right-hand Joy-Con, beneath the Home button. While this is unlabeled in the teaser, it could see some form of “C-button” functionality, which Nintendo used in various forms on the N64 and GameCube in the past. It's also worth noting one particularly pointed shot focused on the left Joy-Con thumbstick rotating—could this be intended to highlight improved thumbsticks for the new generation, possibly incorporating Hall effect technology? Given the drift issues that plagued the original Switch, it'd be a smart move on Nintendo's part.

Photograph: Nintendo

The biggest changes to the main console itself, beyond the increased physical size, are the addition of an extra USB-C port on the top and a new U-shaped kickstand. While the former is an excellent addition, opening up the potential to support more accessories, the latter looks a little flimsy—better than the nub that propped up the original Switch but less sturdy than the Switch OLED’s solid back-panel kickstand.

Speaking of the OLED Switch, and judging purely from the chunky bezel shown in the Switch 2 reveal, the new console may be reverting to an LCD panel. Again, this has been rumored for a while, but it will be hard not to see it as a bit of a step backward.

The best takeaway from the reveal, though, is Nintendo immediately confirming backward compatibility with existing Switch games, both physically and digitally (albeit with a few as-yet -unspecified exclusions). That's fantastic news for players who've spent the better part of a decade building up their libraries, and another example of Nintendo's quiet confidence and sense of continuity. When you've racked up 1.3 billion software sales for your incredibly successful platform, why risk alienating those customers?

And that's seemingly Nintendo's strategy for Switch 2, in a nutshell: If it ain't broke, why fix it? Players love the Switch as it is, the company's main competitors are all emulating it to greater or lesser extents, and all signs point to “more but better” being a compelling selling point. It’s playing it safe—but it doesn't need to do anything else.