While there are still a few question marks, the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct has taught us pretty much everything we need to know ahead of the console’s June 5 release date, and I have some mixed feelings.
GameChat seems fun (though suspiciously reminiscent of Discord), Switch 2 Editions of both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom caught my interest, plus a litany of new games and ample examples of why mouse mode could be a silver bullet for an otherwise iteratively updated console.
One area sorely missing an overhaul is the user interface (UI), which, based on a screen capture shared by Nintendo, looks much the same as the original Switch with a few minor tweaks: rounded corners on the game library and a slightly expanded menu bar.
The menu bar features a few new options, though. Those include a green scroll, which I’d expect to be for news, a ‘C’ button for the new GameChat features, and a teal button, which I’d wager is for GameShare.
Now, UI news may not take pride of place on your Nintendo Direct Bingo card, but I’ve always been surprised that Nintendo has gutted so many of its personalization and customization features over the years.
Gone are the days of wacky menus, peppy menu music, and Miis; now, it’s sterile, stripped-back, and, in my opinion, entirely at odds with Nintendo’s design ethos.
Especially when you consider the pared-back Joy-Con 2 design, too, it feels like Nintendo has lost its look.
I was really hoping for UI themes to be announced or for some new features to bring Miis back to its former glory. Even the new, bizarrely positioned Welcome Tour game (which, to everyone’s surprise, seems to be a paid-for title, not pre-installed free software) opted for a lifeless, basic design instead of utilizing anything remotely Nintendo-like.
Time will tell if Nintendo plans to bring back some of its iconic whimsy to the Switch 2’s UI, but I’m certainly hoping for a suitably garish Splatoon UI theme at some point to bring back a splash of color to the more sleek-looking Switch 2.
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josephine.watson@futurenet.com (Josephine Watson)
