The following is what I had on my "Future Speculation" section of my Nintendo AGENDA page. I'm putting it all here as a "moment in time" archive of ideas/speculation I had for Nintendo's next system. A lot of this is now moot since Nintendo has started to officially reveal more about the system. Check my Nintendo AGENDA page for more up-to-date speculation.
Switch Pro, Switch 2, Super Switch boogaloo we've already heard it all. From here on I'll refer to the next Nintendo platform as the next Switch as it's widely believed that it'll keep the Switch-like hybrid form.
The other sections in my Nintendo Philosophy pointed out where Nintendo has done things right in "The Switch Effect" but also the dangers that came before then...namely Nintendo spreading itself too thin. The main advantage of the Switch is that it combined home & portable hardware & software...but the danger in that is transitioning to what's next...in the past they could lean on an established home console when launching a new portable console and vice versa...not anymore!
All eggs in one basket arguments aside, I do think Nintendo has more strength outside of video games today (through entertainment media, licensed products, etc.) than in the past so the risk is lessened. Spreading themselves too thin can happen if they lose balance in supporting the current Switch with the next Switch. You don't wanna brickwall the current Switch nor do you wanna use it as a safety net too much. You wanna carry over Switch support/success to the next Switch but you have to communicate that it IS the next Switch whilst not abandoning the current Switch too soon. Nintendo will be competing with themselves just as much as their outside competition, but if balanced properly that can actually be a profitable venture. Continuing the current Switch alongside the next Switch gives Nintendo two revenue streams and consumers more options by having low-end and high-end systems. It's gotta be made clear that while they are a family of similar hardware, they are also separate generations so there has to be good communication to convince customers to "swim upstream" and upgrade. The danger is if not enough of the market moves to the next Switch quick enough to convince outside publishers to go where the marketshare is...but I don't think that will be too much of a problem to convince buyers and publishers since there is a big generational leap between the two systems.
President Furukawa has already expressed that they plan to communicate properly through the transition as he admits that is a danger for them. The next Switch will be the first platform he will launch as President...to note, Furukawa has been described as a business-focused leader and it shows. Being business focused would hopefully mean he aims to repeat and improve on the current Switch by making money doing what consumers want instead of seeing this as a personal idea/creative vision. Nothing wrong with creativity or Nintendo's own personal touches...as long as it lines up with what customers actually want!
I see what most reasonable Nintendo customers want: a better Switch with backwards compatibility, more power and more current games. Doable, if Nintendo is also being reasonable. Keep the Switch name, the brand is still fresh with people and don't create more problems by trying to be too different. Add those Nintendo touches but not at the detriment of what people want.
The name of the next Switch is important 'cos it has to tell people it's the next or new thing whilst also carrying forward brand recognition. The Switch brand name this late in this generation is still a strong one, unlike the Wii brand was going into Wii U. A bad name can really hurt the brand and/or confuse customers so I would hope Nintendo wouldn't call it Switch U, Switch On or Switch Up, Switch Pro, Switch GO, "new" or "next" Switch. Switch Lite & Switch OLED are good names 'cos they tell you what's different about them in the name itself...this would make you think the name Switch 4K might make sense but I don't think they'll go with that. PlayStation has a simple but effective numbered naming convention as do cars, cellphones and other products...but could Nintendo do the same? Calling it Switch 2 or better: Switch 2.0 could work 'cos it quickly tells you it's the next one and it would fit with later iterations of the system, like: Switch 2LT (Lite or mini), Switch 2.5 (mid-gen upgrade), etc. I kicked around Switch + or Switch Plus, but that would've been more for a mid-gen jump. My personal hope would be Super Nintendo Switch (SNS) or Super Switch which would fit with recent Nintendo naming (like Super Nintendo World) and also bring up SNES nostalgia...get Paul Rudd to do the Super Switch commercial like the old SNES one:
They may call it something else though, especially if it's not backwards compatible with Switch?
Backwards compatibility *should* be in the next Switch...it's just a no-brainer. But we still have to address that they may not have it and why. Maybe the hardware is too different and can't natively support it, maybe they go digital only, maybe they don't want confusion on it being a new platform and leaving out BC means a clean break? That's a lot of (doubtful) maybe's that I just don't see being good reason to cut BC for them or for us. If they are greedy they may want to cut BC so as to get people to re-buy upgraded Switch ports and it's been rumored that some 3RD party publishers have wanted Nintendo to cut BC so they don't have to compete with old Switch software on the new hardware. Hopefully, that wouldn't be the case! The real reason I'd see that they'd cut BC is piracy. The current Switch is compromised and maybe the only way they see fit to fix that problem is to cut anything to do with the current Switch to remove or further delay any piracy on the next Switch. Wii U was cracked thru Wii BC and the Wii was cracked thru GAMECUBE BC, so on and so on. I think the next Switch will be BC with the current Switch, but if it isn't, it's 'cos of piracy and would probably hurt the transition which would hurt the next Switch (and Nintendo's hardware business) more than piracy.
A lot of the following continues as if Nintendo *will* have BC in the next Switch...if it doesn't, then a lot of things change in my speculation.
While I don't wanna stick to conventional revolution/evolution thinking in regards to what Nintendo would do next, I don't think they'll aim to re-invent their next hardware business...just take what they got and make it better. More power, improved parts and added features would already make it better. The real value in the current Switch isn't just the hardware or software itself...but how long it's lasted on the market. A market that has been hit by bad world events and bad macroeconomics, consumers in a bullish thrifty economy appreciate a product that lasts longer and is supported for longer. Game consoles are kind of like a committed investment and that's even more important these days in this questionable economic climate.
So before Nintendo goes all out with the next Switch they should really assure current Switch owners with more support. This should help in the transition and building brand trust, especially if they keep the Switch name and Switch BC. Beyond that they should, in this order:
-communicate clearly (and soon) that current Switch software will work (maybe even with improvements) on the next Switch*-
-give the name of the console (which should include Switch branding) to assure it'll continue the established 8yrs of quality the current Switch has given us**-
-bring back their budget "Nintendo Selects" line for Switch's older software-
-continue to support the current Switch with smaller titles well after the next Switch launches since those titles will also work on it-
-have a GameBoy to GameBoy Color-like "cross-gen" transition having new software that works on the old Switch but has improvements on the new Switch-
-go back through some of the old Switch hit software and offer patches to make them look/run better on the next Switch-
-maybe even introduce a Switch Home mini console? (without a screen, battery or dock they could make it a super budget console)***-
*UPDATE: CHECK, Nintendo has confirmed Switch software will be playable on the next system. This has to mean both digital eshop software and physical game cards.
**UPDATE: All rumors & leaks point to the next system being named "Switch 2" so there's that!
***SWITCH HOME
Such a stand-alone console could be the "junior" to the Switch (like the NES top loader, SNES mini, Wii mini, etc.) but would Nintendo see the Switch Lite as their budget console already? Maybe something like this could be saved for the next Switch a few years in to provide a budget option?
Dealing with the transition without spreading themselves too thin across both generations I'll go into what I think they'll do for the next Switch. They should make it powerful enough to run more current games from 3RD parties as that will also help in the transition since their partners could help fill in the gaps while Nintendo makes new games for the next Switch. It should also be powerful enough to give it a long lifespan even in the wake of what the competition may do. Diminishing returns comes into play here as I don't think the mass consumer believe that games look/perform that much better from PS4 to PS5. Maybe take power scaling to the next level having different performance settings for: portable, docked & unlocked/over-clocked modes.
The system should have more storage, but even better would be that the next Switch physical software cards would have a much higher capacity so you won't have to use as much of the built-in memory or download too much. We now know through leaks that the Switch 2 will have a micro SD slot that takes micro SD Express cards which will not only grow to higher capacity but will also have speeds comparable to SSD's. I would think that they made the same important advancements in their Switch 2 game cards since more current games will require more space & speed, but we'll have to see if that's the case.
A lot of things have already leaked and the reveal could literally be this week! I've revised this future speculation section just today, January 15TH 2025. I will write more here once we get that first official look at the Switch 2.
