Comparing the Switch 2 reveal to the originalSwitch’s reveal shows how differentNintendo’s task is this time around.
The Switch has been a huge victory for Nintendo, but the Wii U wasn’t that long ago.
The CG-heavy trailer has much more in common with how SonyrevealedthePS5than how Nintendo has historically shown off its hardware.
The camera swooped along the faceplates and vents, showing every dimple and divot in the hardware’s surface.
It was less here’s what our console can do and more here’s how our console looks.
They eventually coalesced to form the dark, vase-like outline of the PS5’s interior.
There’s a guy playing on his TV with the Joy-Cons placed in the controller frame.
You could turn the Joy-Cons sideways and use them as individual controllers.
You could use a Pro Controller whether it was docked or in handheld.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 video like that PS5 first look doesn’t really do that.
Like the PS5 reveal, it combines live-action shots of the console with a heaping helping of CGI.
It doesn’t show how you’ll play with it in different ways because it can’t.
The Switch 2 is an incremental upgrade and is being sold as one.
The failure of the Wii U set the Switch up for massive success.
The Switch 2 can’t run that playbook.
