The Switch 2 Proves Nintendo Has Learned Its Lesson

Nintendo’s next console is a safe bet, has predictable upgrades, and will finally break its flip-flop curse

Earlier in April, Nintendo revealed its long-awaited successor to its hit console the Switch. Aptly named “ Switch 2” it shows Nintendo is playing it smart this time around.

It’s a Switch, but “plussed” to put it in Disney Imagineer terms. The console has the same shape, same ability to quickly switch from a home console to a portable one, backwards compatibility to play Switch 1 games, and more. But it now has 4K resolution on a TV, 1080 on the console, more internal memory, a better system for attaching / detaching the Joy-Con controllers, and of course some more horsepower. The Switch 2 is “safe” in some ways, but Nintendo has many hard-learned lessons that forged this path.

Let’s rewind to 2006 and Nintendo is licking its wounds from the lukewarm sales of its GameCube console. When all was said and done, the company sold only 21.74 million consoles. That is not a lot in the video game world. It knew it needed a hit and boy did it deliver. The Nintendo Wii was the its first console to embrace motion (and wireless) controllers, a novel idea. But the inclusion of Wii Sports as a pack-in game was a genius move.