We now have a new rumor about the Nintendo Switch 2, that sounds like there’s something about it that Nintendo fans might not like.
According to Nick “Shpeshal Nick” Baker, in the latest XboxEra Podcast, he says that the Switch 2 will be PlayStation-like. Nick took pains to not share too much so that this rumor wouldn’t get shut down, but that’s the most he will reveal about the upcoming platform.
Here’s a slightly edited version of what Nick said on the podcast:
“I’ve heard some stuff about the Switch 2, which I’m not going to say. But, if it is true, I’ll be very very interested to see the reactions.
The only clue I can give, and I don’t know if it quite works is, it’s almost PlayStation-like.
It’s weird. It’s hard to describe now without getting into specifics and getting in trouble.
I don’t know how well worded that is. It’s like something PlayStation has done, or looked into, in the past. It’s something PlayStation like, and I heard that they’re looking at, for the Switch 2.
My wording on that is probably bad, so don’t read into it too much. But if it happens, you’ll know what I’m talking about.“
Truth be told, we had a hard time speculating on what this could even possibly be referring to. Will Nintendo compete again with powerful hardware to match the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One? Does it mean Nintendo will sign more third party exclusive deals like PlayStation does?
Or is this just an indication that Nintendo will literally do nothing new to the Switch but rerelease it with more powerful processors? AKA, it will coast on what has been proven to make them successful and not make any changes from it?
Similarly vague to this rumor, was a statement from Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa himself, about the Switch 2. Talking to Japanese broadsheet publisher Nikkei, Furukawa said that Nintendo doesn’t release new hardware unless they can come up with a new experience.
We do know, at least, that this seemingly vague pronouncement lies up with what has been the company’s hardware philosophy for the past few years. The Wii and the DS were both intended to shake up the market and succeeded there. The Wii U and 3DS didn’t live up to the legacies of their predecessors in that regard. However, it should be noted that the ideas for the Wii U and the Switch both came from the same brainstorming session on how to make a Switch successor.
So it’s highly likely that Nintendo has had that big talk now, on how to move forward in the industry, without either Hiroshi Yamauchi’s intuition for what the market would like, or Satoru Iwata’s zeal in entering blue ocean markets.
