[COLUMN] Switch 2 Was Absolutely the Right Name For Nintendo (Don’t @ Me) | by Marty Sliva

After literal years of folks saying that the reveal of the next generation of Nintendo hardware was just around the corner (it’s me, I’m folks), the company officially unveiled the successor to the Switch, aptly called Switch 2.

While we’ll have to wait a bit over two months until the big April 2nd, 2025 blowout, there were still a few takeaways from the brief hardware teaser, including confirmation that for the first time in its history, Nintendo would be taking an extremely conventional, PlayStation-esque approach in naming a console successor. And while some people are bemoaning that decision as a risk-averse lack of surprise that feels decidedly “non-Nintendo,” I think calling the thing the Switch 2 was the absolute right move, even if it does feel a bit safe and predictable.

Since the very beginning, Nintendo has seen the names of its hardware act as a kind of a signifier for what folks can expect from a leap of one console to another. The “Super” in Super Nintendo didn’t just refer to the more powerful hardware, but was also a mission statement when you viewed the growth in countless franchises from their NES iterations to their SNES successors. From first-party titles like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, to third-party staples like Mega Man, Castelvania, and Final Fantasy, the SNES leaps marked a noticeable evolution that built upon their original foundations.

Fast forward a few years, and the Nintendo 64 did the same thing, but marked a dive into the world of 64-bit 3D graphics. While fewer third-party developers came along for the ride, the Marios, Zeldas, and Karts of the world took the plunge into the unknown waters of 3D gaming, with all three of those learning to swim immediately. At the same time, Nintendo’s handhelds were following a similar trajectory, with Color, Advance, DS (dual screen), and 3DS being quite literal in their technological leaps.

While Sony marked the turn of the century by sticking to a very simple and clean naming convention with the PlayStation 2, Nintendo still viewed its hardware names as mission statements. In 2001, the GameCube name signified a 360 degree refinement of the 3D path laid out by the Nintendo 64, which was evident in the visual leap we saw in games like Super Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, Double Dash, and Smash Melee.

While all the names so far had been pretty literal and easy to to understand, that changed in 2006 with Nintendo Wii, a name that shocked pretty much everybody when they first heard it, partly because it was so unexpected, and partly because it sounded like literal piss. But the pair of “ii” side-by-side represented the visuals of the Wii remote and nunchuck controllers, along with the communal nature of the hardware, which the pack-in sensation of Wii Sports hammered home.

Yes, the name was undoubtedly silly, but while the PS3 and Xbox 360 were chasing something cool and cutting edge, Nintendo continued to focus on the primal act of play delivered to everybody from children to grandparents, and given the immense sales and popularity of Wii, they were obviously doing something right.

But the Wii’s unique gimmick and generational success felt like a bolt of lightning that couldn’t be replicated, which was evident when the time came for Nintendo to deliver the follow up in the form of 2012’s Wii U. From the start, Nintendo was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Wii was such a monumental hit that they felt like they had to carry that naming convention and branding into the future. At the same time, they realized that by catering to a wider, more casual audience with the Wii, they lost many “hardcore” players to the more traditional experiences found with Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. So the Wii U was meant to marry accessible gaming for everyone, with the depth catered towards “you,” the longtime player.

If you read that last sentence, you’ll immediately understand what a mess that is to try to explain to someone who’s just looking to buy a present for their kid. Is the Wii U just an add-on for the Wii? Do Wii U games play on Wii? Why should I own both when they’re just one letter apart? If you see a PS3 and PS4 side-by-side on shelves, you immediately understand their relationship. The same is absolutely not true for the Wii and Wii U. And this isn’t even factoring in the extreme lack of compelling software, and the truth that less than a year after launch, the PS4 and Xbox One would arrive and truly highlight that on a technical level, the Wii U was immediately left in their dust.

In hindsight, it’s obvious that the Wii U’s failure was a dry-run for what would eventually become the Switch, and Nintendo would clearly nail that idea on a second go around. While the Wii U’s GamePad allowed you to sometimes free yourself from your television, you still had to remain within close proximity of your console. The Switch severed that invisible cord and allowed you to truly choose how you wanted to play your games. It also helped that the software actually showed up this time, both from Nintendo’s first parties, to eventual third parties, to the rise of incredible indies.

Eight years and a thousand words later, and we arrive at the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2. In the lead-up, lots of fans were hoping that the name would follow a classic Nintendo zig to the rest of the industry’s zag. Some new noun, or a clever modifier, or maybe even a return to their roots with the Super Nintendo Switch. But honestly, the sting from the Wii U is still fresh. Going from 100+ million Wiis sold, to fewer than 14 million Wii Us was proof that sometimes the cute, abstract naming convention doesn’t pan out. And given just how historically popular the Switch has been, I completely understand why Nintendo opted to just stick a 2 on the end of the new one. 

No parent is going to roll up to a store this fall and be confused at what the hot new Nintendo toy is, which is something that Xbox had to deal with regarding the naming conventions of the Xbox Series X and S, especially given the Xbox One X was still relatively fresh at the time. And Nintendo’s promise that a vast majority of your Switch games, both physically and digital, will work on Switch 2 means that you aren’t severing ties with the library you’ve accumulated over the past decade.

And given Nintendo’s track record, it’s clear the Switch 2 isn’t just going to be a Switch with fancier graphics. The reveal trailer strengthens reports that the new Joy-Con might be able to be used as a kind of mouse-like input device, opening up a ton of play possibilities. And my thoughts are that Nintendo will double down on Switch Online, bringing more classic consoles into the mix, possibly even the likes of Dreamcast, GameCube, and DS. I’d also be willing to bet a pretty drastic refresh at a UI level, going back to some of the communal and playful ideas found in the Miiverse.

So yeah, a part of me who still considers the SNES to be one of the three or four best consoles ever was kinda hoping for a Super Nintendo Switch. But replaying that brief Mario Kart footage from the hardware reveal points to a lot of signs that this new game seems to be going back to the roots of the franchise, further evidenced by the serendipitous timing of Nintendo dropping the original  Super Mario Kart soundtrack on the Nintendo Music app. Time will tell if this is just grasping at straws, but part of me thinks that come April 2nd, Nintendo will show that the spirit of the SNES will be alive and well on Switch 2, which is something I am absolutely here for.