As of March 2023, the Nintendo Switch is just over six years old. Revolutionizing the industry with its novel handheld/ home console hybrid concept when it hit store shelves in 2017, the Switch brought the Big N from near extinction after the flop that was the Wii U. Historically, Nintendo consoles typically have a life cycle of five to six years. As the Switch enters what feels like the platform’s closing era, many of us are eagerly looking forward to what Nintendo is cooking up behind closed doors. According to VGC, “[d]evelopment kits for Nintendo’s next console are now with key partner studios, with launch planned for next year”. Until we get any official confirmation, let’s look at ten things the Nintendo Switch successor needs.
10. A More Customizable UI
Currently, the Nintendo Switch’s user interface is only available in two bland colors: basic white and basic black. The funny (read: annoying) part of this is they’re classified in the settings as “themes”. When the Switch launched, many fans still riding the 3DS high were expecting the same level of quality the handheld Superstar had with its own themes. For example, you could download different menu themes from specific games that changed the background, music, and select sound effect that really helped make your console feel more personalized. Eventually, all the Switch got was… folders. Thanks Nintendo.
9. Backwards Compatibility
Starting with the Wii, Nintendo fans were able to play their favorite last-gen games on the current hardware, as it was able to read GameCube discs. This continued onto the handheld consoles as well; the DS could play Game Boy Advance games, and the 3DS played DS games, you get the picture. With the next hardware, it would make sense that Nintendo would make it backwards compatible with the Switch’s physical cartridges as a way to maintain that audience and keep supporting the Switch brand. Also, I’d just like to play Metroid Dread without buying it again.
8. A Shared Nintendo Account
This is kind of cheating, as it was recently confirmed, but a big aspect of the Nintendo Switch was the necessity of a Nintendo Account. With it, players could earn Platinum Points that translated to real money and could use them to purchase digital titles, among myriad other things. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa stated during a shareholder Q&A (as translated by Twitter user @Genki_JPN):
“[F]or the transition from Nintendo Switch to the next generation machine, we want to do as much as possible in order to smoothly transition our customers, while utilizing the Nintendo Account.”
It remains to be seen if that means digital purchases and the Nintendo Switch Online retro game applications will also be transferred, but I would sure love them to.
From the Shareholder Q&A.
More direct Furukawa quote translated by me:
"As for the transition from Nintendo Switch to the next generation machine, we want to do as much as possible in order to smoothly transition our customers, while utilizing the Nintendo Account."— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) June 27, 2023
7. Better Controller
Aside from the Switch’s Pro Controller (which is probably one of the best video game controllers of all time, fight me), the new Joy-Con concept left a lot to be desired. They’re of course an extremely innovative design, what with being able to seamlessly transition from handheld to a regular controller using the Joy-Con Grip, or use a single ‘Con as its own controller, but they aren’t entirely ergonomic when playing in handheld mode. Another gripe a lot of gamers had when it was first revealed was the lack of a traditional D-pad, making certain inputs for games like Street Fighter a little harder to perform. But most importantly, they need to focus on mitigating stick drift at launch. Cries in launch model.
6. Better Online Functionality
Although more competitive games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate had dedicated online ecosystems and metagames, the quality of connection and performance was fairly abysmal. Playing a match of Smash with randoms often resulted in stuttering, frame rate drops, and disconnects, things that are relatively not present in other modern games. Additionally, the Switch successor needs more online features integrated to the console, such as voice chat, doing away with Friend Codes in favor of a more streamlined search system, and built in streaming capabilities directly to YouTube or Twitch. Oh, and probably get rid of Cloud-only versions of popular third-party titles.
5. Maintain the Hybrid Console Concept
“Switch” Isn’t just a cool name – it also describes the console’s design. As we all know, the Nintendo Switch is a home console and handheld hybrid. Despite the lack of higher performance compared to its contemporaries, this is one innovation Nintendo has rolled with that I hope is the standard moving forward. Being able to seamlessly undock the tablet to game on the go or play AAA first party Nintendo titles while while on a flight is a huge upside. And let’s be honest – we were all pretty stoked about being able to play Skyrim while dropping the kids off at the pool.
4. Better Handheld Battery Life
Like I said, playing handheld or on the go is a big draw for the Nintendo Switch. But for the more demanding games, those play sessions are typically cut short. For example, I recently had a 4 hour flight and played The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom the whole time on my launch Switch model, and when I landed, was at 7% battery life. Comparatively, playing a less-demanding game like Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster eats up significantly less battery. While it is game-specific, and Nintendo has released an updated model with better battery life, the next hardware is still in need of an upgrade.
3. A Trophy or Achievement Equivalent
If you’re like me and you play on all of the “big three” consoles, you’re probably familiar with PlayStation and Xbox’s integrated Trophy and Achievement systems, where you complete in-game tasks and challenges that translate to console- or account-specific milestones. Over the years, these milestones have become so popular that there are even dedicated communities to unlocking them, like the Trophies subreddit. Nintendo fans have been hoping for an equivalent since the dawn of time, so maybe now is the time for the Big N to modernize just a little bit more.
2. Better Performance
Despite the neat hybrid concept innovation, many of the Switch’s games suffer when it comes to performance. The fact that some modern games actually don’t look terrible in handheld mode is of course a good thing (seriously, The Witcher III doesn’t look too shabby despite its obvious downgrades from the PS4 Pro performance), but many games look truly awful. Looking at you Mortal Kombat 11. Some first party games, like ARMS or Splatoon 2 run at a pretty flawless 60fps, while more demanding titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild caps at 30fps (let’s just look away from Pokemon Scarlet/ Violet, it did its best). It all depends on the game, but as Nintendo fans have been saying for years, their next iteration needs to step up to modern standards. We have the Nintendo Switch OLED Edition now, so if the next hardware is indeed a hybrid, it should launch with an OLED screen and 1080p resolution. The dock should be a little bigger and be able to support 4k and DLSS. Odds are, though, that Nintendo will be Nintendo and do their own thing when it comes to utilizing current technology. I’ll still be first in line to buy the thing.
1. StreetPass
If you owned a Nintendo 3DS circa 2012, odds are you connected with countless others using the handheld’s StreetPass function. Advertised as “a new level of social gaming”, StreetPass was an integrated social media-like function that allowed players to trade Miis, see what others are playing, and unlock certain gameplay elements for games that StreetPass was enabled for. You could add friends, share images, and send messages. Additionally, there were StreetPass-centric games and activities you could play with those you’ve connected with. This function is widely regarded as one of the best parts of the 3DS era. With the handheld Switch, it seemed as though StreetPass was a shoe-in. But even now, 6 years later, the service is nowhere to be seen. Many of us take our Switches with us, whether it’s through an airport, a convention, or just in our bags to the mall. So with the new iteration, provided of course it is another hybrid console, the return of StreetPass would brighten the day of any Nintendo fan.
What do you want from Nintendo’s next hardware iteration? Let us know on our socials, and until then be sure to check out more from Temple of Geek’s gaming coverage!
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