I still have a clear memory of Christmas Day 2001. After a morning of excitedly unwrapping my presents, my parents presented one more surprise that I had been so desperately waiting for. Without a second’s hesitation, I took it out of the box and started touching and pressing every button on the little box. It wasn’t just a fancy new electronic device; It was a toy.
That used to be the dual function of a video game console. Each one was unpredictable and brought completely new innovations or tricks that begged to be played as much as the games. Those who didn’t at least got fun with their design. That slows down with each passing generation. The vibrant colors have been replaced with black and white plastic. Xbox console designs now border on brutalist. Everything is slowly converging towards a unified vision of what a video game console looks like.
End of an era
The early days of home consoles were a true wild west. With so many companies trying to enter the market, manufacturers had to find ways to make their systems stand out. That translated into a lot of experimentation with what a console looks like, but also how the games are controlled. There is a tactile joy in something like The large rubber joysticks of the Atari 2600 or rotary paddle controllers. His console was a toy, one that even the most hardened adult couldn’t help but play with.
This spirit remained strong throughout the first few console generations, especially when newcomers like Sega and Microsoft entered the race, offering their own unique variations on a theme. We saw a lot of different console designs, colors, controller designs, and internal services. That crazy race gave us some of the best video game consoles of all time.
Things started to change in the mid-2000s, when Sony and Microsoft determined what a PlayStation and an Xbox looked like. Color gradually faded from their console designs and controllers became standardized. It seemed like we were starting to move towards a modern vision of what a console should be. That idea was becoming less about toys and more about all-in-one lifestyle brands that could sit in an entertainment center without drawing too much attention.
Nintendo was always the exception to that rule. Where PlayStation and Xbox zigzagged, Nintendo zigzagged. That attitude gave us innovations that completely changed the way we think about gaming devices. When the Nintendo Wii was a success, both Sony and Microsoft had to scramble to find their own answer. Their ideas weren’t always successful (just look at the disastrous Wii U), but they were sincere efforts. Nintendo understood that gaming was the heart of video games and that extended to the console itself.
He nintendo switch It had that toy factor in its own right when it was released in 2017. There was nothing like it at the time, so just playing with it was a pleasure. I remember having friends over that year and gleefully demonstrating to them how their Joy-cons could be attached or detached. Its bright red and blue Joy-cons invited that kind of play, indicating that at heart it was still a device for the young at heart.
The Switch was so ingenious that it was begging to be replicated. Valve was the first company to really take advantage of what made the device special with the steam cover. This gave rise to a long wave of competitors, from the MSI Claw toward legion goall of which only offered slight variations on a theme. Now, in 2025, hardware manufacturers have already standardized the look of laptop PCs. The main difference between any device is in the specifications, not the unique features.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Nintendo has also been swept up in this radical change. Compared to any previous Nintendo console, the nintendo switch 2 It’s the most secure and button-rich hardware Nintendo has ever made. It looks exactly like their latest console and basically works the same way. Its colorful Joy-cons have been replaced with black ones that only feature slight nods to the iconic color palette of its successor. The experimental IR sensors, which Nintendo abandoned as soon as they introduced them, are no more. It’s simply a better Switch, one that wouldn’t look out of place next to a Steam Deck. That’s exactly what it should be, but it’s undeniable that Nintendo works with a different kind of creative spirit.
There’s still a bit of that toy factor left, although it’s discreet. I look forward to attaching your magnetic Joy-cons to the system. It also features a true innovation in the fact that a Joy-con can be moved like a computer mouse. Perhaps that last feature plays a bigger role in how games play on the Switch than Nintendo lets on.
For now, however, the nintendo switch 2 It feels like the end of an era of gaming I grew up on. When even Nintendo has figured out a repeatable template for its systems, you know we’ve reached the end of the experimental phase. There’s nothing wrong with that either; The Switch really seems like the perfect gaming device and I would appreciate dozens of systems like it. There’s a part of me that’s nostalgic for those kids who will open their Switch 2 on Christmas morning and run straight to the games instead of marveling at the plastic that powers them.
