It's easy to let your imagination run wild when thinking about the possibilities Nintendo Switch 2. Little has been revealed about the upcoming successor to Nintendo's Switch, except that it will reportedly be a more powerful version of the previous, highly successful hybrid console.
The renewed performance will undeniably benefit the Nintendo Switch 2 as it tries to compete with the likes of the PlayStation and Xbox, but it's not the be-all and end-all. The ninth console generation has delivered a number of strong projects that make great use of the newer hardware, although the past few years have also been shrouded in a sense of disappointment, with many feeling that some of the best games beyond 2020 could run smoothly on a last-gen system – and many of them actually do. All of this means that Nintendo doesn't necessarily have to match the hardware capabilities of its competitors to stay relevant, but some of the console's features are a different story.
Nintendo Switch 2 could benefit from the equivalent of successes
Nintendo's flagship console still lacks an achievement/trophy system
The value of achievements and trophies in modern games is subjective, as many players can take or leave these digital awards, while others enter the game with the express goal of obtaining the ever-elusive platinum. There are even obscure games that turn a profit for the sole reason that they are easy to platinum. But wherever one falls on the spectrum, it's hard to deny that it can be remarkably satisfying to tick such boxes, however inconsequential to success in actual games.
Given the prominence of trophies and achievements after the seventh console generation, it's a little puzzling that Nintendo's own consoles haven't responded with their own internal milestone. This is particularly questionable because cross-platform games that are popular on the Switch, such as Stardew Valleyhave achievements on other platforms, forcing some players to choose between the Switch's portability and the satisfying finishing tools of achievements and trophies. With more high-fidelity games being heavily discounted for the Switch, the inability to get these virtual rewards could serve as another knock against the console. In other words, if achievements and trophies are the features players care about, then the Switch is missing an important feature, making it an inferior way to enjoy many third-party games.
Adding trophies/achievements could make Switch 2 a more complete platform
Aside from a noticeable lack of power compared to the competition, one of the biggest marks against the Switch is its lack of modern features. Usually, these criticisms are directed at things like the Switch's online ecosystem, which leaves out common sense tools like voice chat, or the console's quality-of-life shortcomings, like the ability to run smaller apps like streaming services alongside games. Maybe no accomplishments aren't as big of a problem as the problems above, but they're part of the same, larger problem.
Nintendo views its consoles as gaming devices, not gaming and entertainment hubs like the PlayStation or Xbox. There is nothing wrong with that. But when a non-negligible portion of the gaming population prefers something like trophies/achievements, which is directly related to the overall gaming experience, it begs the question why Nintendo doesn't pull the trigger on its own, potentially branded, equivalent. And unlike something like voice chat or running concurrent programs, the Switch's lower performance doesn't preclude something like achievements. More power on the Switch 2 could lead to more advanced features, but Nintendo should come out on top and join the likes of Xbox, PlayStation and PC in the silly, pointless, but gratifying world of digital laurels.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console launched in 2017 that can be played in handheld mode or connected to a television. The Switch Lite, a manual-only model, followed in 2019, with an OLED refresh in 2021.
