NERDAGES

I was wrong about the Switch 2

Eric Poole Updated: 9/23/2025 | Posted: 9/23/2025

(Credit: Nintendo | Events Page)

Growing up playing Super Nintendo with my dad and sister, Nintendo hardware and games have always held a special place in my heart. Naturally, I loved my original grey Nintendo Switch. That little console has traveled nearly 20,000 miles with me on work trips. My OLED Switch didn’t rack up the same travel time, but it has plenty of gameplay hours logged.

So when the worst-kept secret in gaming finally became reality and Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2, I was beyond excited. I even built a small bot to make sure I secured a preorder in the first wave of online sales. Launch day hype was real.

That’s where things started to go south.


Launch Day Letdown

The online retailer I preordered from hit me with bad news: my console wouldn’t arrive until almost a week after launch. I was frustrated, but decided to spin it into something positive. I would relive the Nintendo Wii launch vibes of driving around town with my brother, hunting down a console on store shelves.

And honestly, that part was fun. After two failed stops, we struck gold at a small campus Target, where we snagged a Switch 2 Mario Kart bundle. The thrill of finding it in person was a refreshing change from today’s endless online “refresh race.”

Unboxing the console was about what I expected. It wasn’t mind-blowing, but it wasn’t disappointing either. I fired up Mario Kart World with the rest of the lucky Day One players. At first, it was fun, but without the deep kart customization I had lived with for nearly a decade, I got bored quickly.

The Switch 2 ended up collecting dust on my desk. Before long, I was spending more time with my PlayStation Portal than Nintendo’s brand-new hardware.


My Harsh First Impression

As a longtime Nintendo fan, I’ll admit I was disappointed. The launch lineup leaned too heavily on remakes, and Mario Kart World didn’t feel like the kind of tentpole game the console deserved. I couldn’t figure out what Nintendo was thinking, and I vented my frustrations to friends more than once.

At that point, I was convinced the Switch 2 had been rushed to market with an underwhelming launch.


Nintendo’s Long Game

But here’s the thing: I was wrong.

Sure, my Switch 2 summer wasn’t great. But Nintendo clearly wasn’t targeting summer 2025. They were setting up for the holiday season.

Now, months later, the picture is much clearer. Walk into most Targets in my area, and you’ll see Switch 2 consoles actually sitting on shelves. Amazon restocks are common, and you don’t need a botnet of supercomputers to check out before they sell out. Supply is steady, and the chaos of launch day is gone.

Even better, the software drought is ending right on time. By Christmas, kids asking Santa for a Switch 2 will be greeted with a solid first-party lineup:

That’s a holiday lineup worth waiting for.


Final Thoughts

I was wrong to call the Switch 2 launch a failure. For me personally, the summer was underwhelming, but Nintendo’s strategy is starting to make sense. By holding back the heavy-hitting releases and ensuring hardware availability, they’ve positioned the Switch 2 for a massive holiday season.

So while my console may have gathered dust this summer, I’ll be dusting it off for Metroid 4. Nintendo played the long game, and it looks like they’re about to win big.

See you again soon, Switch 2.

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