When the original Switch came out almost eight years ago, few realized that they wanted console-quality games on the go. Turns out we did and the Switch became Nintendo's best selling console. Five years after the Switch launched, Valve gave PC gamers a way to play those games anywhere with it Manually playing Steam Deck. With Switch 2 unveiled this week, it's possible for gamers to get it all in one package – if Nintendo allows it.
The Switch 2 could be shaped as the ultimate all-in-one portable gaming device. It has the potential to play other console games and PC games while still being the only device capable of playing Nintendo games. The only obstacle is Nintendo's insistence on keeping its ecosystem closed and unnecessarily complicated.
It's true, we don't know much about the Switch 2 since it was only revealed on Thursday. However, there are some things we know for sure. The first is that it will be more powerful than the original Nintendo Switch. How much we don't know, but if it's anywhere near the power of an Xbox Series S or Steam Deck, it can play virtually every game on the market, and probably every new home console or PC game in the next few years. .
That would be a big leap: The original Switch was on par with the PlayStation 3 when it came out in 2017, so it couldn't handle many of the big, so-called “AAA” games that can be found on Xbox, PlayStation or PC.
But it doesn't end there. Thanks to the promotion of cloud streamingThe Switch 2 can also play many games from Day 1 without the need for developers to port their games. You have Xbox Game Pass which allows subscribers to play Xbox games on their phones, tablets and other portable gaming devices via browser streaming. So no need for an app, just browser access and that should be enough to play Xbox games on Switch 2.
This is also the case for GeForce now. It's a streaming service for playing PC games through the cloud, and it also works with a browser.
That means that with just a browser readily available, a Switch 2 owner could potentially be able to play hundreds of Xbox games with Game Pass and thousands of games with a GeForce Now subscription. That's complemented by all the Switch games that are available through backwards compatibility and all future Switch 2 games.
A potential library like this could easily give the Switch 2 one of the largest libraries available for a console, and would include one thing that other consoles and portable gaming devices don't have easy access to: Nintendo games.
However, this will only happen if Nintendo allows it, and the Mario maker doesn't have a track record of making things easy for third parties to get involved in the company's ecosystem. Nintendo simply doesn't want to make things easy if it requires the use of more than the bare minimum of technology — or threatens its family-friendly reputation.
That's why there are Switch Friends Codes, instead of just sending friend invites, and online voice chat is only available through the app. Nintendo is also a company that is very protective of its hardware, hence hers ongoing litigation against Switch emulator developers.
There is tremendous potential with the Switch 2 that could allow Nintendo to dominate the entire gaming industry, not just consoles. But maybe Nintendo just doesn't want to give up any control.