Super Nintendo Switch. Nintendo Switch Pro. New Nintendo Switch. Swiitch. Switch U. New Nintendo Switch HD 3D XL Final Chapter Prologue. All were floated as potential names for Nintendo's new console (okay, maybe not that last one). But Nintendo settled on the most normal possibility of all, which also just happened to be the most abnormal one for Nintendo specifically: the Nintendo Swich 2.
"Thank god, Nintendo did not try to be creative with the name - which I think makes a lot of sense," said Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games when I asked for his opinion on the name.
Thank god, Nintendo did not try to be creative with the name.
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Toto's reference to Nintendo being "creative" isn't unearned for a console maker that's managed to historically throw off audiences with names like "Wii U" and "New Nintendo 3DS XL" In fact, Nintendo's never sequentially numbered its consoles before, unlike console competitor PlayStation or other tech companies such as Apple.
"As they say, 'keep it simple, stupid!'," said George Jijiashvili of Omdia Research when I asked him about the name. "While calling it ‘Switch 2’ isn’t creative, it’s very clear and effective – it’s a strategy that has served PlayStation very well for quarter of the century. Calling it something like 'Super Nintendo Switch' would have provided nice fan service, but doing so would have risked causing confusion among consumers, similar to what happened with Wii U and 3DS."
New 2 U
MIDiA's Rhys Elliott also made reference to the Wii U era when I asked him about it, pointing out that customers though that Wii U was an add-on of some sort for the Wii when it first launched, like a Wii Fit Balance Board or Wii Motion Plus. "This marketing fumble almost destroyed all the gains Nintendo made with the Wii," he said. "Things would have been dire if the Switch hadn’t become a cultural phenomenon. And Nintendo’s leadership – more conservative than ever before – understands that.
"Now that Nintendo has all its console eggs in the Switch basket, it simply cannot risk confusing fans," he continued. "After all, Nintendo’s cross-entertainment efforts across film, theme parks, toys, and even alarm clocks all lead back to its core console brand. If the beating heart of the brand fails, everything falls apart."
Joost van Dreunen, author of the Super Joost newsletter, also pointed to the Mario movie and theme parks as reasons why Nintendo may want to keep things basic. “It may be after seeing all the new handheld devices announced at CES, but we live in an era where gaming hardware names tend to be increasingly baroque and confusing. Naming the new device Switch 2 leverages Nintendo’s brand equity and communicates the product's position in the marketplace. Its simplicity particularly resonates given Nintendo's expansion beyond traditional gaming markets through initiatives like the Mario movie and theme parks, where clear brand communication becomes increasingly vital.”
So make fun of the boring name if you want, but it's pretty clear that calling it the Nintendo Switch 2 was the only real possible name for a console that is, in almost every respect, just a bigger and more powerful verison of its predecessor. It's a direct sequel in every way we can see for now, making this seemingly boring naming convention the only real option for Nintendo that wouldn't backfire spectacularly. Nintendo Switch 2 it is, then.
Now, with that out of the way, time to get to work on the rumor mill for the Nintendo Switch Thrii.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
