Former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida recently shared his candid thoughts on the Nintendo Switch 2's reveal during an interview with Easy Allies. His reaction was notably reserved, expressing a sense of mixed feelings about the new console.
Yoshida's full response to the Switch 2 reveal was, "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 that while the Switch 2 is exciting for those who exclusively game on Nintendo hardware, offering titles like Elden Ring that were previously unavailable, it might not be as thrilling for those who play on multiple platforms.
He also noted the high viewership of the reveal event and the predominance of ports from past generations among the announced games. However, he singled out "Enter the Gungeon 2" for praise, appreciating its innovative approach and strong announcement.
Yoshida further commended "Drag x Drive" for embodying the "very Nintendo" spirit, yet expressed some disappointment with the overall reveal. He remarked, "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."
Despite his reservations, Yoshida acknowledged that the Nintendo Switch 2 was a sound business decision, crediting the technical improvements to the work of highly skilled designers. He recognized that while the system might play it safe in some aspects, it still retains elements of Nintendo's playful and innovative nature through features like mouse controls.
Yoshida also touched on the Switch 2's pricing during the interview, though the exact cost for the U.S. market remains undisclosed. Nintendo has temporarily halted North American pre-orders due to impending tariffs announced on the same day as the system's reveal. With the global launch scheduled for June 5, time is running out for Nintendo to finalize these details before the release.
