While we now have quite a few details about the Switch 2, Nintendo has revealed in a recent Q&A, dubbed Ask the Developer, that it had internally toyed with the idea of calling the new console the Super Nintendo Switch. The name would have been a call-back to the console generation switch between the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) and the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System).
“There were a lot of ideas for the name, and we really struggled to find the right one,” said Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto. “We even considered ideas like ‘Super Nintendo Switch.’”
Ultimately, however, Nintendo decided to scrap the idea of calling the Switch’s successor the Super Switch because of how it would remind players about the NES and the SNES. Kawamoto explained that the fact that the SNES could not play NES games was a major factor in this decision. The Switch 2, on the other hand, is backwards compatible with games made for the original Switch.
“Super NES, which came out after the NES, couldn’t play NES games. Since Switch 2 can play Switch games, it didn’t feel right to use the same naming convention as Super NES,” he said. “Switch 2 is a new system with improved performance, but we’d like players who get their hands on it not to focus on the specs, but rather to think of it as the latest system developed by Nintendo. So, in the hope that it becomes the new standard for Nintendo Switch, we named it Nintendo Switch 2.”
Switch 2 director Takuhiro Dohta also spoke about the ultimate decision to call the new console the Switch 2, since it is a clear indicator that the console is separate from the original Switch, while also being able to play its games.
“From the beginning of development, we wanted Switch 2 to be a system that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of players. This hasn’t changed from Switch to Switch 2,” said Dohta.
“I also wanted to create an experience that as many players as possible could enjoy, rather than an experience made specially for those who prefer high-performance hardware. So, we wanted a name that would communicate simply to potential customers that, if you’re considering buying a Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 is the newest system.”
“We really struggled because there were so many different ideas, but in the end, after lots of back and forth, we all agreed that it should be Nintendo Switch 2 after all.”
The Nintendo Switch 2 is slated to be a massive upgrade over the original Switch. Along with more powerful hardware that runs off a custom chip designed by Nvidia, the console has a larger display with a higher resolution and capable of outputting at higher frame rates, bigger Joy-Con 2 controllers, and a new mechanism for attaching and detaching the controllers.
The console will be hitting store shelves on June 5 alongside a host of launch-day titles, including the newly-announced Mario Kart World, as well upgrades for Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
