The future of Switch 2, if it is up to us -.

It’s not really surprising that Switch 2 is off to a good start, even if it has done surprisingly well in a way that has exceeded both Nintendo and analyst expectations. The Switch has almost become the best-selling gaming device of all time, and with significantly more powerful hardware, a larger screen for portable gaming and an overall more thoughtful design, it’s easy to see why it’s doing so well.

Thanks to the console’s backwards compatibility, there’s no shortage of games to enjoy, but aside from Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, there unfortunately isn’t much new to enjoy. Switch 2 Welcome Tour is about the most limited game you can get, and the upcoming Drag x Drive doesn’t feel like a console seller (though I certainly hope I’m wrong).

So far, Nintendo is doing extremely well, and it’s still not natural to walk into a store and buy a console. That’s how popular they are, and in Japan, Switch 2 has become the fastest-selling console ever. Sales will certainly continue for a long time, but at some point Nintendo will have to show some future plans and new games. We know Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is on the way, as is Kirby Air Riders, but that’s not enough, so I thought I’d go over some of the things I hope Nintendo will do in the near future to make sure Switch 2 continues at the same fast pace as it has so far.

I know Nintendo is a master of secrecy and certainly won’t present five to 10 major titles released over a three-year period; That’s just not how they work. But a little more action is needed than there is now, and I think the updated versions of Switch games announced or released so far give us clues as to what not to expect.

In short, I don’t think they would have released better Zelda editions and a Mario Party with more content if there were new titles in each series around the corner. Instead, I think we need to look elsewhere. For starters, perhaps the most important thing currently missing for a modern Nintendo console is a true Mario game in three dimensions. Obviously Nintendo is working on this, but they really need to release the game.

However, since Donkey Kong Bananza was developed by the Super Mario Odyssey team, there is a risk that it will be at least next year before it is time for Mario to go on his own adventures. Another title that would be needed is Animal Crossing. The series finally broke through on Switch, and New Horizons is one of Nintendo’s best-selling games ever. However, it lacked the sufficient online support that today feels like a given for Animal Crossing.

With a good live service setup, we could have a game that was continuously developed, where no two years are the same, full of surprises and new things, as well as better opportunities to interact with each other. There are few games where it feels like live service would add value in the same way it did for Animal Crossing, and an early announcement would have made it possible to deliver the game for an entire generation.

One thing Nintendo is pretty good at are role-playing games. On Switch, we have been able to play the remake of Super Mario RPG, as well as Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi, Fire Emblem and the odd Mario + Rabbids. It certainly would have been appropriate to announce something in this category, as it would have filled a gap in the lineup. There are rumors that a Fire Emblem game is on the way, but I suspect it won’t be announced yet and that Nintendo would like to keep it a secret for a while longer.

Nintendo is expert at releasing smaller games featuring their icons, such as Luigi’s Mansion, WarioWare, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and the various sports games, which would certainly be a good thing to announce as well. However, I don’t think we will see anything Smash Bros. -related for a long time. Masahiro Sakurai is working on the aforementioned Kirby Air Riders, and it is reasonable to assume that it will be released before work on Smash can fully begin, which, by the way, makes me wonder how it will even be structured. How do you connect to the content of its predecessor? I think it will have to be released in parts.

Then of course we have Nintendo’s eternal backlog, including Advance Wars, F-Zero, Golden Sun, Kid Icarus, Punch-Out, Star Fox and several others that Nintendo could pull out to immediately surprise fans. After all, this is Nintendo we’re talking about, so we can reasonably expect some completely unexpected accessories, such as their steering wheel, Wii Balance Board, Ring Fit ring and the cardboard concept Labo.

Then there’s the fact that Mario Kart World was a stroke of genius as a release title, and I assume it will now be a live service title that will be expanded over a long period of time. That said, I think Nintendo needs to tell us more about what they have in mind. Why not release a roadmap with a list of what’s to come, just like we knew when the expansions for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe were on the way? New drivers, tracks, routes, outfits and other things at a steady pace would be a huge draw.

Hopefully there will be a Nintendo Direct soon where Nintendo begins to lift the lid a bit for what is to come. I know they like to be secretive, but at least in the beginning, when there aren’t actually that many Switch 2 games, it would actually be appropriate to be more transparent.