Summary
The Switch 2 sees Nintendo playing it safe and following up its best-selling console with more of the same. This is good news on the whole, but there’s one part of the plan that has me worried.
As a tall adult man with tall adult man hands, playing a game likeBreath of the Wildfor hours on the original Switch feels like speed-running arthritis.
It’s not so bad in casual experiences likeTownscaperor when playing turn-based games likeMario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, but in games that might make you lean forward and assume the “gamer position” the ergonomics feel like a cramped mess.
The convex analog sticks are too small, forcing me into a position where the console is balanced precariously on my fingertips. They also lack travel, which makes them feel less accurate. Thankfully the Switch did such a good job of implementing gyro-aim, since it made everything fromSkyrimtoSplatoonfeel infinitely more playable.
The perfectly flat Joy-Con design leaves me balancing the (admittedly light) weight of the unit on my pinky fingers because my palms are nowhere close enough to provide any friction. It feels like a controller that was designed with a child’s hands in mind.
I went as far as replacing my Switch Joy-Con with theinferior but admittedly more comfortable HORI Split Pad Pro. The first unit lasted six months before developingcatastrophic stick drift, which makes even Nintendo’s analog sticks look good. It also lacks rumble, wireless play, or Amiibo support.
And still, it was worth it to be able to comfortably play throughTears of the Kingdomin portable mode.
Will the Switch 2 Be Big Enough?
The good news for anyone who shares my concerns is that the Switch 2—and by extensionits new magnetic Joy-Cons—is bigger. you’re able to see both consoles, side-by-side inNintendo’s first-look trailer, and in this still below:
It looks like the Joy-Cons are taller and slightly wider. The face buttons both on the left and right Joy-Con appear to be slightly larger, and a bit more spaced out. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the analog sticks are any bigger based on this quick and dirty comparison I made:
Note how the (still convex) sticks line up perfectly. While it’s possible they’ll have a bit more travel (and I’d be surprised if Nintendo hadn’t put some serious thought intofixing the Joy-Con stick drift issue), this isn’t the ergonomic overhaul many of us had hoped to see.
As for the Joy-Con grips themselves, it’s not looking good. This still from the trailer shows what looks like another flat Joy-Con design:
While the controller itself looks thicker, it’s hard to say how much of a difference this will make compared to the original. Larger triggers and shoulder buttons are a welcome arrival, but I don’t ever remember complaining that they were too small in the first place.
Other Handhelds Don’t Have This Issue
One thing I can’t quite get my head around is the idea that many other handhelds have come and gone in the days since the Switch launched in 2017. Nintendo walked so that manufacturers like Valve, ASUS, and MSI could run. But it seems like in one key department, Nintendo is being left behind.
The Steam Deck is a heavier, larger, yet unquestionably more comfortable handheld. The Switch feels like a toy compared to Valve’s hardware, but somehow it’s still less comfortable to hold.
I’m starting to worry that making the Switch larger and adding more heft is only going to exacerbate the problem. We might end up with a heavier Nintendo hybrid that’s just as uncomfortable to hold, making it even less ergonomic than the original.
Time will tell how much damage control grip and aftermarket Joy-Con manufacturers will have to do to keep people like me happy. On the bright side, if the Switch is half as popular as its predecessor there will be plenty of support.
At least there will always be a Pro controller and docked mode, right?
