Nintendo Might Look to its Past For the Switch Successor

Excitement for the Switch successor has reached a fever pitch, and Nintendo is remaining steadfast in its silence. Though speculation is rampant, we still have no idea what the Switch 2, or whatever it’s called, actually is.

Is it simply a more powerful Nintendo Switch, maintaining the hybrid model? Will it feature DLSS 3.5 and ray tracing? Can it actually run The Matrix Awakens demo with comparable image quality to the PS5 and Xbox Series X? No one truly knows, and we won’t until it gets a formal announcement.

What do the Rumours Say About the Switch 2?

The latest rumour harkens back to an older one, suggesting that Nintendo might look to its past for the Switch 2. First there was the Nintendo Entertainment System, then there was the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. So, could we get the Super Nintendo Switch?

Well, that rumour has been doing the rounds for some time, but the recent trailers for the remakes of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door included coloured button prompts that mimicked the SNES and New Nintendo 3DS. The latter also drew inspiration from the SNES.

Where Did This Come From?

The recent excitement for this rumour kicked off when a Twitter user “discovered” the coloured buttons in a datamine of Super Mario Wonder. However, this turned out to be false, as the buttons simply appear without colour in the code, so the user likely added that colour themselves.

So, yes, this is very much a pinch of salt rumour, but one that makes sense. Previously, Nintendo consoles have changed name alongside a new gimmick. The GameCube was cube-shaped, the Wii featured the Wiimote, and the N64 kicked off the 3D era.

What Does the Past Tell Us?

Consoles that haven’t featured a new gimmick have bucked this trend. The Wii U introduced HD and a new controller, the 3DS was a DS with 3D visuals, and the Super NES was 16bit, rather than 8bit.

The Switch 2, meanwhile, is widely expected to follow the same hybrid model of the original, but with considerably more power. That’s exactly the territory that the Super Nintendo Entertainment System found itself in, so it entirely makes sense.

Source: Reddit.

Glen Fox

Head of Editorial

Glen has over a decade's worth of experience in gaming journalism, writing for Pocket Gamer, Pocket Tactics, Nintendo Life, and Gfinity. When he's not badgering everyone about the dangers of passive text, you can probably find him playing Wild Rift.