8 Things The Nintendo Switch Did Better Than The Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 was released in June 2025 and has already become a massive commercial success, with over 6 million units sold in just three months. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, however, seeing as this is the direct successor of Nintendo’s previous hybrid system: the original Nintendo Switch, which was the best-selling home console in the company’s history.

Needless to say, the Switch 2 is a great video game system with excellent exclusive titles, such as Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, but comparisons to its predecessor are inevitable. Truth be told, the Switch 1 did a lot of things better than its follow-up, with the following being the most prominent ones so far. Of course, the Switch 2 has just begun its life cycle, so Nintendo still has time to improve and fix many of these issues in the near future.

Innovation

The Nintendo Switch Completely Changed The Game

Nintendo is no stranger to making hardware so innovative that many other companies try to emulate it, and the Nintendo Switch 1 was no exception. Back in 2017, the idea of a hybrid console that could be played on a TV at home or brought anywhere else like a handheld was completely revolutionary, and it’s part of the reason this system was so successful. It also led to a new wave of modern handheld gaming systems like the Steam Deck or the Asus ROG Ally.

On the other hand, the Nintendo Switch 2 is just a bigger and more powerful Nintendo Switch and nothing more. That’s perfectly fine, however, because it didn’t need to be anything more: Nintendo was definitely aware of the old saying “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” and knew that people would buy their new console as long as it worked similarly to the previous one.

Launch Titles

Breath Of The Wild Is One Of The Best Launch Titles In Gaming History

The Nintendo Switch came out during a critical time for Nintendo, since the company really needed to win consumers back after the failure of the Wii U. So, not only was it important to impress gamers with the hybrid nature of its new system, but to also encourage them to buy it on day one with a solid line-up of launch titles. The biggest standout was definitely The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which quickly became one of the biggest and most influential games of its generation, while also giving Switch users thousands of hours of fun during the first few months of the console.

Nintendo didn’t have anything to prove during the launch of the Switch 2, so its launch line-up was significantly less impactful, especially when considering that it is backward compatible with the games of its predecessor. The biggest launch title of the Switch 2 was Mario Kart World, which is definitely a very fun and ambitious new take on the classic Mario Kart formula, but it’s nowhere near as innovative, addictive, or expansive as Breath of the Wild was in 2017.

Tech-Demo Games

1-2-Switch Was (Somehow) Better Than Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Pack-in games are a dying art in the modern gaming industry: long gone are the days of Nintendo selling consoles alongside free copies of titles like Wii Sports or Nintendo Land. The original Nintendo Switch was heavily criticized because of this, seeing as 1-2-Switch — the title that was clearly supposed to showcase what its hardware and controllers could do – was sold separately.

Something similar happened to the Nintendo Switch 2 and its tech demo “game,” Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which is basically a playable tutorial that was sold separately for ten dollars. 1-2-Switch was far from perfect, but at least it was a real game that could be enjoyed with friends for a few hours, whereas Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is a bare-bones tutorial that should have come pre-installed with the console in the first place.

New IPs

ARMS Became A Nintendo Icon, While Drag x Drive Has Already Been Forgotten

While most people nowadays buy Nintendo consoles for its classic franchises (like Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, etc.), it’s always fascinating to see which creative new IPs this legendary company will create. During the first year of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo released ARMS, a unique fighting game that could be experienced with the motion controls of the Joy-Con. Due to its unconventional control scheme and its cast of colorful characters, ARMS quickly gained popularity among Nintendo fans to the point that one of its fighters, Min Min, was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character in 2020.

The Nintendo Switch 2 is currently thriving due to the success of titles like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, but Nintendo has created a brand-new IP very recently, and it’s called Drag x Drive. Similar to ARMS, this game has an unconventional control scheme that’s meant to showcase the Joy-Con 2’s mouse mode, but it failed to make an impact due to its dull art style, its faceless characters, and a major lack of content. It’s safe to say that the Drag x Drive robots won’t be making an appearance in the next Super Smash Bros. installment.

Lack Of Game-Key Cards

The Nintendo Switch 2’s Most Polarizing Change

As physical media is slowly dying, the Nintendo Switch 2 introduced a brand-new game format that is already extremely controversial among Nintendo fans. Game-Key Cards are basically empty cartridges without a game written on them, but with a key that enables a download of a digital copy from the eShop. While the concept itself is not bad per se, it has already spawned discussion among fans who see Game-Key Cards as “fake cartridges” and that it’d just be easier to buy a game on the eShop instead.

During the Switch 1 era, most third-party games were released physically, but a few of them were so big for the console that they had to be downloaded separately, despite being sold on a cartridge. Game-Key Cards were clearly made to circumvent this issue, but nowadays most third-party Switch 2 titles are exclusively released on this format, and it seems that neither Nintendo nor the other publishers even want to try and make an effort to optimize their games for the new console. Nevertheless, Nintendo has been gauging player opinion on this topic, so it’s possible they may try to fix this (or ditch this format entirely) in the near future.

Introductory Price

The Nintendo Switch Was Considered Cheap When It Came Out

The introductory price of the Nintendo Switch back in 2017 was $299.99, which was significantly less expensive than the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, which, respectively, cost $399.99 and $499.99 on release. This was a brilliant move from Nintendo because not only did it want to attract more consumers after the failure of the Wii U, but it also wanted to reflect that the Switch was a hybrid system, and handhelds were usually less expensive than home consoles.

Nintendo became the target of heavy criticism when it announced the introductory price of the Nintendo Switch 2 in April 2025: it costs $449.99, meaning that it’s $150 more expensive than its predecessor. Curiously enough, it seems like Nintendo had the last laugh, because the PS5 (the Switch 2’s direct competition and a more powerful system) was originally priced at $499.99 at the moment of that announcement, but Sony very recently raised the retail price of its main console to $549.99, which accidentally made the Nintendo Switch 2 one of the cheaper options in the current market.

Software Prices

$70 & $80 Games Are Slowly Becoming The New Norm

Most Nintendo Switch games were priced at $60 (and some of them were even cheaper than that), so gamers were understandably very frustrated when the company announced that the first two flagship Nintendo Switch 2 titles would cost more than that, with Mario Kart World being priced at $80 and Donkey Kong Bananza at $70.

Needless to say, Nintendo is not the only gaming company that is currently raising the prices of its games, but it was one of the biggest and most notorious ones, so it quickly received a lot of backlash because of it, especially when considering the original Switch was such an accessible and affordable console. It’s worth pointing out that, while this practice was normalized during the recent release of the Switch 2, it actually began during the final years of its predecessor, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom being priced at $70 on release back in 2023.

It Saved Nintendo During A Bad Time

The Switch Saved The Company After The Dark Days Of The Wii U

It may be easy to forget nowadays, but the early-to-mid 2010s are often considered one of Nintendo’s darkest eras. While the Nintendo 3DS – which got a mixed reception during its first year – eventually took off and became a massive success, the same can’t be said about its home console counterpart: the Nintendo Wii U. Due to a lack of solid exclusives, a confusing naming scheme and an interesting hook that not many developers (not even Nintendo) were taking advantage of, this console sold quite poorly, and it eventually made the company lose a lot of money.

That’s precisely why the lifespan of the Wii U was so surprisingly short: because Nintendo quickly realized that they needed to change directions if they wanted to survive, which explains why its next system was so different, ambitious, and innovative. After a few dark years, the Nintendo Switch quickly became one of Nintendo’s best-selling consoles and has now been thriving for many years. The Nintendo Switch 2, on the other hand, didn’t really save Nintendo because it didn’t need to, as the company was going through one of its best moments when it released its newest console and, based on its immediate success, it’s safe to say that it’ll keep that momentum going for many years to come.