In the first Ask the Developer interview for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo employees talked about how they landed on naming the Nintendo Switch successor “Nintendo Switch 2”.

There were many ideas that circulated within the company, including “Super Nintendo Switch”. However, Nintendo thought that the name would make players “focus on the specs”, something which they wanted to avoid.

Thus, Nintendo went ahead with the name “Nintendo Switch 2”, as it was clear that it is a direct successor to the Switch that could be easily communicated to consumers.

How did you land on the name “Nintendo Switch 2”?

Kawamoto: There were a lot of ideas for the name, and we really struggled to find the right one.

We even considered ideas like “Super Nintendo Switch.” However, Super NES (25), which came out after the NES (26), couldn’t play NES games. Since Switch 2 can play Switch games, it didn’t feel right to use the same naming convention as Super NES. Switch 2 is a new system with improved performance, but we’d like players who get their hands on it not to focus on the specs, but rather to think of it as the latest system developed by Nintendo.

So, in the hope that it becomes the new standard for Nintendo Switch, we named it Nintendo Switch 2.

(25) Nintendo Entertainment System™. A home video game console released in October 1985 in North America. It came bundled with two controllers featuring a Control Pad and A and B Buttons. Players could swap game cartridges to play a variety of games.

(26) Super Nintendo Entertainment System™. A home video game console released in August 1991 in North America following the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Dohta: That’s right. From the beginning of development, we wanted Switch 2 to be a system that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of players. This hasn’t changed from Switch to Switch 2. I also wanted to create an experience that as many players as possible could enjoy, rather than an experience made specially for those who prefer high-performance hardware. So, we wanted a name that would communicate simply to potential customers that, if you’re considering buying a Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 is the newest system.

Sasaki: I thought the name was simple and easy to understand, since development began with the idea that Switch 2 would be a proper successor to Switch.

Dohta: We really struggled because there were so many different ideas, but in the end, after lots of back and forth, we all agreed that it should be Nintendo Switch 2 after all.

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