The Nintendo Switch 2 is playing safe. It’s the Smart Choice

We also see an extra button on the face of the right-hand Joy-Con, below the Home button. While this isn’t labeled in the teaser, it could see some form of “C-button” functionality, which Nintendo has used in various forms on the N64 and GameCube in the past. It’s also worth noting a particularly pointed shot focused on the rotation of the left Joy-Con thumbstick – it could be intended to highlight the improved thumbsticks for the new generation, possibly incorporating Hall effect technology? Date u drift problems that plagued the original Switch, would be a smart move on Nintendo’s part.

Photograph: Nintendo

The biggest changes to the main console itself, aside from the increased physical size, are the addition of an extra USB-C port at 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 seems a bit flimsy – better than the nub that supported the original Switch but less robust than the Change the solid OLED back panel kickstand.

Speaking of the Switch OLED, and judging only by the thick frame shown in the reveal of the Switch 2, the new console may return to an LCD panel. Again, this has been rumor for a whilebut it will be hard not to see it as a bit of a step backwards.

The best takeaway from the reveal, however, is Nintendo immediately confirming backwards compatibility with existing Switch games, both physical and digital (albeit with a few as-yet-unspecified exclusions). It’s fantastic news for gamers who have spent the better part of a decade building their libraries, and another example of Nintendo’s calmness and sense of continuity. When you steal 1.3 billion software sales for your incredibly successful platform, why risk alienating those customers?

And this is apparently Nintendo’s strategy for Switch 2, in a nutshell: If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Gamers love the Switch as it is, the company’s main competitors emulate it to a greater or lesser extent, and all signs point to “more but better” being a compelling selling point. He’s playing it safe, but he doesn’t need to do anything else.