Nintendo Switch 2's Biggest Unknown Piece: The Weird Stuff

I retrieve nan room clearly. An aged CNET colleague, Jeff Bakalar, and I were moving done a room afloat of Nintendo Switch games to play. But what we flocked to that January time was an acquisition that progressive milking cows pinch our Switch Joy-Cons. 

What precisely is going connected here, we said. We were stunned by nan absurdity. 

That crippled was 1-2 Switch, and it wasn't discussed aliases shown during nan Switch's first Fall 2016 announcement trailer. It was near arsenic a surprise, revealed person to nan Switch's launch. And it's nan benignant of point I'm keeping my oculus retired for erstwhile nan Switch 2 details and games are afloat unveiled soon. Whimsy is Nintendo's calling card, and nan Switch 2 is owed for a dose of weirdness that I deliberation mightiness beryllium astir nan corner.

1-2 Switch was for illustration a crippled tutorial for caller ways to play connected Switch

The postulation of weird small collaborative two-player games encouraged you to look distant from nan TV aliases Switch surface and look each different to play virtual ping-pong aliases formed spells (or beverage cows aliases eat basking dogs). There was thing wholly overseas and instantly conversation-starting astir it. It was besides a comparative nonaccomplishment for Nintendo, thing that nan Switch tried to bring backmost pinch a sequel that besides didn't look to ignite important interest. But my kids still emotion to play it from clip to time. It is, unmistakably, thing that feels highly "Weird Nintendo" and highly Nintendo Switch. 

Watch this: Nintendo Switch 2 Announced: Everything We Know

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I've said this before, and I'll opportunity it again: Nintendo deals successful whimsy and nan unexpected. As overmuch arsenic nan institution plays it safe pinch franchise sequels to Mario and Zelda, and predominant re-releases of classical games, nan company's toy-making origins ever look pinch unexpected curveballs. So far, location person been very fewer surprises erstwhile it comes to what's been announced of nan Switch 2: a similar-looking design, a familiar-looking caller Mario Kart crippled and a fewer mini features that look to lucifer what reports person been mentioned for a while (snap-on magnetic Joy-Cons, for instance). 

But my favourite Nintendo moments are ever nan weird ones. The Wii Balance Board (and nan full Wii U, for that matter) is one. Nintendo Labo is another, which shocked everyone pinch wholly improbable papercraft creations that turned nan Switch into a robot backpack, a VR headset aliases a sportfishing kit. The integrative hoop fittingness accessory that's Ring Fit Adventure and Mario Kart Live, a full RC car kit that unrecorded broadcasts an AR racing acquisition into nan Switch. Or hey, those small astonishment Game & Watch collectibles pinch Zelda and Mario connected them… aliases Nintendo Alarmo.

Good weirdness: A Nintendo cornerstone

In 2017, I said pinch Nintendo's Yoshiaki Koizumi, past nan wide shaper for nan Nintendo Switch, astir precisely this benignant of thing. "Good weirdness is really important to us. You mightiness play Milk, and you're laughing, you're enjoying yourself, but you're going to mention backmost to it later and deliberation astir really wacky that was and really overmuch nosy it was." 

Back then, Nintendo moreover made a relationship betwixt nan instant versatility of nan Switch and nan company's oldest product, playing cards. The merchandise of a classical games postulation for Switch later on, Clubhouse Games, followed done connected this moreover further pinch unsocial ways of playing.

Nintendo's been down this roadworthy pinch different spinoff games, specified arsenic WarioWare and Rhythm Heaven (which just sewage announced for nan Switch), and Switch-optimized caller games for illustration Arms, which utilized in-air boxing moves, aliases Snipperclips, different Switch motorboat crippled that was utterly charming and progressive insubstantial creatures solving puzzles (or attacking each other), arsenic ways of exploring nan Switch's then-unique collaborative controller sharing.

Whimsy arsenic crippled design

More recently, Super Mario Bros. Wonder moreover pointed retired really unexpected Nintendo's ain cornerstone games could be. The 2D Mario wasn't connected anyone's radar, and nan crippled itself celebrated throwing players for a loop astatine each shape pinch caller level-melting twists and unusual caller characters. 

The head of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Shiro Mouri, told maine successful 2023 astir nan game's pursuit of enigma and wonder. "The baseline basal conception we were going for was to create a crippled that's filled pinch secrets and mysteries," Mouri said. "The original Super Mario Bros. was precisely that, a crippled filled pinch secrets and mysteries."

The past Zelda game, Echoes of Wisdom -- a akin out-of-nowhere astonishment -- had a likewise table-turning measurement of reinventing nan thought of really Zelda games are played.

Nintendo is expected to make a caller 3D Mario crippled a centerpiece for nan Switch 2 launch, and erstwhile again, it makes maine wonderment really overmuch Nintendo will thin connected Mario arsenic a conveyance to present akin surprises and shifts. 

Labo lesson: Don't discount nan accessories

The cardboard-folding Labo kits didn't get for nan Switch until a twelvemonth into nan console's life, but they followed a akin way of clever pensive astir nan Switch's modular possibilities. Many of nan Labo forms progressive types of accessory ideas Nintendo would usually make successful integrative but this clip played pinch successful cardboard: steering wheels, sportfishing rods, pulleys, philharmonic instruments, elephantine birds and VR headsets. Many of nan accessories utilized nan Joy-Con gyros, accelerometers, vibrational haptics and IR cameras successful programmable ways.

Labo was besides a motion of Nintendo pushing nan boundaries of caller ideas. Tsubasa Sakaguchi, nan head and package lead for Labo, told maine successful 2019 that nan overlap betwixt nan acquainted and nan unusual was ever a portion of Nintendo's creation thoughts. "Something that you consciousness for illustration you've known and thing that is new, that constituent that overlaps, that's what we're ever seeking. But because each time everything evolves and everything changes, that overlap changes," Sakaguchi said.

Where could that overlap constituent beryllium successful 2025? The caller Switch 2 has its ain redesigned enigma Joy-Cons, which looks to person relationship possibilities. The controllers reportedly activity for illustration optical mice, tin of reference array movement. Could they some person sensing cameras? And they threat magnetically, it seems, into caller ports connected nan Switch's sides. Could those ports let for different snap-on extras?

Finally, nan Switch 2 has a 2nd USB-C port, meaning there's 1 connected apical now arsenic good arsenic nan bottom. That instantly caught my eye. The existing Switch and handhelds, for illustration nan Steam Deck, person only 1 USB-C port, chiefly utilized for charging and docking. However, nan Steam Deck and Windows handhelds tin usage USB-C to link outer displays and display-enabled glasses, meaning you tin put connected a brace of Xreal glasses, for instance, and play games connected nan spell connected a large virtual screen.

Nintendo has already dabbled successful VR and AR, but could this caller handheld present a brace of Nintendo glasses aliases astatine slightest compatibility pinch glasses from others? Or what precisely is that larboard for? What astir a snap-in camera pinch sensors to way activity aliases a 2nd screen? I could daydream forever, but my existent constituent is location are each sorts of ways a caller Switch 2 could present pathways for early accessories… and Nintendo is simply a institution that loves to play pinch new, weird, whimsical accessories.

Subscription curveballs, perhaps?

A last area for astonishment could beryllium successful what Nintendo dangles for Switch Online connected nan Switch 2. The subscription work has added a batch since nan Switch's debut, and a ton of retro virtual console games successful 2 value tiers already make nan Switch 1 of nan champion ways to play aged Nintendo and Sega games connected nan go. 

But Nintendo hasn't introduced immoderate subscription support for classical games connected nan GameCube, Wii, aliases Wii U -- aliases nan Nintendo DS and 3DS, for that matter. The two-screen DS is its ain weird problem to solve, but I besides wonderment if Nintendo mightiness connection immoderate of nan Switch's backmost catalog games successful subscription shape too. Microsoft and Sony person already done this for years astatine higher prices. Would Nintendo besides flex this measurement and trial really overmuch Nintendo fans would pay? Already, Nintendo has pre-announced a caller measurement of sharing integer games connected nan Switch and Switch 2 and a new telephone app. More changes could beryllium successful nan air.

We'll cognize soon

The Nintendo Direct presentation for nan Switch 2 is April 2, and we expect much specifications connected nan still mysterious console. But for immoderate nan functional upgrades will be, I'm waiting for nan weird from Nintendo to look and woo america pinch strangeness again. I'm fresh to beverage nan cow.