We also see an additional button on the face of the right-hand Joy-Con, below the Home button. While it wasn’t labeled in the teaser, it does see some form of “C-button” functionality, which Nintendo used on various N64 and GameCube forms in the past. Also worth noting is a particularly focused shot focused on the left thumbstick of the Joy-Con rotating – could this be intended to highlight the improved thumbsticks for the new generation, which could to include Hall effect technology? Given the drift issues that plagued the original Switch, this is a good move on Nintendo’s part.

Photo: Nintendo

The biggest changes to the main console itself, beyond the increased physical size, are the addition of an additional USB-C port on 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 supported the original Switch but less sturdy. rather than Move the solid back-panel kickstand to the OLED.

Speaking of the OLED Switch, and judging purely from the chunky bezel shown on the Switch 2 reveal, the new console could be replaced by an LCD panel. Again, it did rumor for a whilebut it’s hard not to see it as a small step backwards.

The best takeaway from the reveal, however, was Nintendo immediately confirming the backwards compatibility of existing Switch games, both physical and digital (although there are some as-yet-unspecified separations). That’s great news for gamers who have spent the better part of a decade building their libraries, and another example of Nintendo’s quiet confidence and sense of continuity. When you are angry 1.3 billion selling software for your incredibly successful platform, why risk alienating customers?

And that seems to be Nintendo’s strategy for the Switch 2, in a word: If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Gamers love the Switch as it is, the company’s main competitors all imitate it to a greater or lesser extent, and all signs point to “more but better” being a compelling one. point of sale. It plays it safe—but it doesn’t need to.