In a recent interview with Easy Allies, former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida shared his candid thoughts on the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2. His reaction was notably tempered, suggesting that Nintendo might be straying from its traditional path of innovation. Yoshida remarked, "To me, it was a bit mixed message from Nintendo. In a sense, I think Nintendo is losing their identity, in my opinion. For me, they are always about creating some new experience, like designing hardware and games together to create something that [is an] amazing new experience. But Switch 2, as we all anticipated, is a better Switch, right? It's the larger screen, more powerful processor, higher resolution, 4K, 120 fps, they even have a hardware person starting the stream, like other platforms do, right? And because it's a better Switch, the core premise of the whole Switch 2 is, you know, 'We made things better'. And that's something other companies have been doing all the time."
Special guest Shuhei Yoshida gets real about the Switch 2 pic.twitter.com/CzZYPnTtue
— Easy Allies (@EasyAllies) April 14, 2025
Yoshida elaborated on his perspective, pointing out that while the Switch 2 might be a welcome upgrade for those who exclusively game on Nintendo platforms, allowing them to enjoy titles like Elden Ring that were previously unavailable, the reveal might not be as exciting for multi-platform gamers. He noted, "Publishers must have known that that show, last week, would be one of the most-watched shows this year. Millions and millions of people watched. It's amazing to announce and launch your new game, if you have a chance, but most of the games were ports from past generations. I don't know if this is Nintendo's direction or third parties' choice. But one game I reacted strongly [to] was Enter the Gungeon 2. That looks amazing. They did a great job announcing that there."
He also praised Drag x Drive for embodying the "very Nintendo" spirit, and touched on the system's pricing and international differences. Yoshida concluded, "Anyway, with some of the things Nintendo is doing, with the camera or mouse controls, creating new experiences, that's great. But other than that, I was personally a bit disappointed, because they didn't disappoint everyone. Because everyone wanted that better Switch."
Throughout the discussion, Yoshida recognized the Switch 2 as a smart business move, crediting the technical enhancements to the work of talented designers. Yet, he echoed a sentiment prevalent online that the system plays it safe, perhaps at the expense of the quirky innovation Nintendo fans cherish. He acknowledged, however, that features like mouse controls hint at Nintendo's playful development ethos.
Yoshida's comments on the Switch 2's pricing were detailed, but the actual cost for the U.S. market remains undisclosed. Nintendo has paused North American pre-orders due to new tariffs announced on the same day as the system's reveal. With the global launch set for June 5, the company is under pressure to resolve these issues before the release.
