Whenever I look, nightmares come to me: the "Nintendo Switch 2" appears everywhere. Despite the effort from Nintendo to always mention the "Nintendo Switch successor" just like that, internet easily becomes one big common brain, and people started to call it the same way it appears in my nightmares, since years ago.
Well, I'm being dramatic on purpose. First of all, don't get me wrong, I won't be mad at any name, I'm pretty sure that Nintendo is gonna deliver the games I want, because they have done it through 40 years already. The point is, not only I would prefer another name for the system, but also I really believe Nintendo will name it with a brand new name. These are my reasons.
The Wii U situation
Yes, everyone is talking about it. Wii was a huge success, to the point it was impossible to think that the next system would live a different scenario. So even Nintendo didn't want to lose the "Wii" brand. Nowadays it is easy to point out the reasons why Wii U failed, while back then nobody expected that, not even at launch, since the first month everything seemed to be normal in terms of sales.
It is said that people didn't understand the concept, and such confusion made that Wii users believed it was just like the Wii with an accesory. Well, if Wii users loved something more than anything, it was a new cool accesory. I don't think most people were confused, they just didn't want another Wii. Maybe "Wii 2" was easier to sell, but the problem was different. And the consequences would have been worse, because if it success, then they have to maintain the Wii concept forever, and if it fails, to restart the count after a "Wii 2" would be fatidic, just impossible to sell. In fact, now I believe Wii U would have performed a lot better with a totally different name, just like the new console that it was.
Now it is a similar case, people who already owns a Switch, they may not be interested in more of the same, so "Switch 2" can produce the effect of "why I have to buy it again, I already have my Switch". Yes, other kind of systems have such tradition, just put a new number and people go crazy to buy it, but Nintendo is different, and this comes a good and a bad side. In fact, every time Nintendo tried something similar, with Game Boy, Nintendo DS, or Wii, it was always a downgrade in termn of sales.
The gimmick.
As almost every console and game made by Nintendo, it needs one specific reason to be. The name, the way to play and the circumstances, everything usually comes to one unique point, sometimes mentioned as: the gimmick. Maybe the "Super Nintendo" was a bit simple, but even back then the name was a message itself. The only way to make a gimmick out of a "Switch 2" would be to sell it as two screens, but it seems forced, because we would know the name is just a continuation.
Nintendo still invests a huge amount of resources to find new ways to play, they haven't lost such intention. If the next console brings new ideas, this should be reflected in the name, because it assembles a pack that it is easier to deliver among fans, casual players and the new audience. People will realize we are talking about the next big thing, and that's all what they need to know. Like a music band that shocks the world with every album, a reiteration of the same never hits the same way.
Imitation doesn't work.
Others system sell the graphics, basically, so for them it is simple to say here you have your new machine, now more powerful and that's it. Nintendo focus in something else. I can't but feel frustration when I see online so many people asking for Nintendo to imitate what other compaines do. Even Miyamoto and his peers are tired of saying they build and walk their own path, and the only competence is themselves. The Switch success comes from being Nintendo, not from imitate others.
The fun.
This shouldn't even be a pesonal take. If Nintendo has one specific reason to be, that is to have fun. I can't be the only one who finds absolutely boring the name and the idea. Switch is a concept itselft, there is no need to try to live forever under the same concept.
A "Switch 2" alone could take us to 16 years of the same console. Nintendo's developers could die of boredom, I think. The high level of excitement in every generation of Nintendo consoles comes from the unknown experiences, the wonder behind the new ways to have fun. I love the Switch, and maybe that's why in my heart something tells me it is better if we keep it as something unique in time. I mean, there is a universe in which they are waiting for the Wii 4, are you all sure about just adding a number?
Conclusion.
Even if a possible "Switch 2" success, it could be problematic in the long term, because then it would come a "Switch 3", and Nintendo would be reduced to deliver the same experience with better gaphics until the formula is over. Hopefully, if finally we have a "Switch 2", and it becomes the new stablished name system for generations to come, I still think Nintendo is more than capable to create a new whole experencie of gaming with every new console. I get it, if the consoles are too similar, a completely different name might seem odd. So yes, I'm saying it shouldn't be, but I'm aware that we're in a situation where it's very likely to happen and maybe it "has to be".
This is not just some kind of "I want to believe". I tried to explain why I believe that Nintendo could come with a new name and also a new concept for the Nintendo Switch successor, and why it would be a logic and right decision. Of course, after saying all of this, I have to recognize that Nintendo Switch 2 also could be the perfect name, and who knows, there is always more deep than it seems, since Nintendo surprises us all the time, and that's part of the fun. My body is ready for everything.