For the last few years, when rumors of a Switch successor would pop up, it was always labelled as the Switch 2. Nobody knew what it was actually going to be called, but Switch 2 was a quick shorthand for saying “Nintendo’s next console” or “the successor to the Nintendo Switch.” It seems a little like a playground rumor, just tossing the next logical number in sequence next to the name of the thing that already exists – I remember hearing and wondering about things like the N128, the Xbox 2, and the PlayStation 3 as a kid, though only one of those ended up being an actual console. Despite its absolute simplicity, using Switch 2 as a name for the rumored console was clear and concise, and it’s easy to see why it took off as the main name people would toss around when talking about or reporting on rumors and leaks.
As more info, both true and false, continued to leak out about the console, it was clear that what we were all talking about was actually going to be a “Switch 2” in more than just spirit. Analyst predictions that the Switch’s successor would be an “iteration rather than a revolution,” reports that it would be backwards compatible with Nintendo Switch games, leaked images of the new console, and Genki’s Switch 2 replicas shown off at CES all pointed towards this new device being a second Switch. It has a similar form factor, a similar dock, and plays the Switch’s games – Switch 2 was by far the most apt descriptor for what we were seeing.
Yet people speculated that this new console would bear a name other than a simple numbered upgrade when it was finally announced. After all, when has Nintendo ever just dropped a number on the end of a name and called it good? You’d see suggestions couched in Nintendo’s own history of console names, things like the New Nintendo Switch and the Super Switch. You’d also see folks try and replicate the feeling of the original Switch name – something that seemed so simple and silly at first that ended up being the perfect name – like the Switch Up or the Snap (referring to the new Joy-Cons “snapping” into place via magnets, I assume).
There were, of course, silly names tossed around too. I had a lot of fun making comments about the New Nintendo Switch XL over on Bluesky, and people loved to joke about the new console being named the Switch U, it ended up having a U-shaped kickstand, after all! The Switch U never would have happened, of course, but it’s a funny joke that brings to mind the all-too-real disaster that was the Wii U, Nintendo’s terrible name for the follow up to one of their most successful consoles, the Wii.
I believe that the Wii U debacle is exactly why when Nintendo finally gave us our first official look at this new console it was officially named the Nintendo Switch 2 rather than something a little more vague. Back in 2012 no casual video game fans knew what the Wii U was supposed to be just by reading its name. The console’s looks didn’t help, with the Wii U GamePad drawing most of the attention when they looked at it. Was the GamePad an accessory for the Wii they already owned? Was the Wii U just another model of the Wii? Why would they want that when they already have a Wii? The Switch, now far more successful than the Wii was with 146 million consoles sold versus the Wii’s 101 million, is in even more homes and in the hands of even more casual gamers, and I don’t think Nintendo could afford having that many people being confused about exactly what the new Nintendo console is.
I’ve seen more than a few comments today about folks talking about the Switch 2 with their friends and family who are casual Nintendo fans only to have them remark that it just looks like a bigger Switch (New Nintendo Switch XL anyone?). Comments like that are the most crucial aspect of naming this console the Switch 2. It’s a clear delineation, telling folks that yes, this looks like a Switch and it even plays Switch games, but it’s not a Switch, it’s a brand-new thing. Calling the Switch 2 the Super Switch, for instance, wouldn’t send that same message as easily. Numbers are easy to understand. If you put a 2 behind something, even the most casual of consumers will understand that it’s a new thing, even if it looks the same and the name is the same. Is it simple? Yes. Is it boring? Yeah, a little. Does it feel very Nintendo? No, not at all. But as far as naming the console goes, I still think that Switch 2 was the smartest move Nintendo could have made to minimize the number of people who won’t think twice about not buying one because they already have a Switch.
Never before have we gotten a numbered “sequel” to a console from Nintendo. When it comes to successor consoles we’ve gotten the likes of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Game Boy Advance, and the Wii U – new and separate from their predecessors while sharing the same name. On the flipside, Nintendo has also frequently doled out incremental upgrades to their consoles and given them new names: the Game Boy Pocket, the DS Lite, the DSi, and the smörgåsbord of 3DS models. If the average person was picking all of those names out of a lineup and had to sort out the successor consoles versus the iterative upgrades, they’d have a hard time nailing them all down. With the Switch 2, Nintendo has made that distinction easy, and while there are plenty of other reasons they may still have a hard time convincing people to upgrade from their current Switch to the Switch 2, at least they’ll know it’s not just a new accessory.
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Written by Jaxson Tapp
As a lover of gaming and the written word, Jaxson currently fills his time not only with playing games, but also writing about them. Ready for anything, Jaxson’s passion for puzzle games, JRPGs, tough platformers, and whimsical indies helps him bring a well-rounded opinion to Nintendo Wire’s reporting.
