We’re just a couple of days away from that all-important Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, where we’ll finally be getting more info about Nintendo’s new console.
While yes, I’d love all the big answers — a Switch 2 launch date would be nice, and I’d be delighted to see a game lineup beyond Mario Kart 9 — ahead of the launch, I’ve been thinking about one Nintendo Switch upgrade that I’d personally love to be revealed.
It’s probably not at the top of many gamers’ lists, but I want to see the Switch 2 user interface, specifically because I want to know whether the Switch 2 is finally going to give us new console themes.
Theme me up
I’ve always been a sucker for fun console theming — I was devastated when Sony took away those 30th Anniversary PS5 dynamic themes — and have been disappointed that the Switch UI has stayed so drab throughout its entire lifespan.
Aside from the now-iconic Switch ‘click’ sound, the Switch experience is just a bit dull until you load up a game. It does the job, but that’s it; there’s no flair.
Despite having a “Themes” section sitting there in the Settings menu for the Switch’s entire lifespan, Nintendo has offered us one of two options: Bland, default white, or, essentially, Dark mode style. What a choice!
Sure, Nintendo Switch Online gave us the ability to put together some custom player icons, but I’ve long been disappointed by the lack of console customization — especially since past systems weren’t quite so soulless.
It wasn’t always like this
While thinking about this article, I dug out my Flame Red 3D and was immediately confronted by a system with a far more playful vibe.
My 3DS menu is full of dynamic game and app icons, decked out with extras courtesy of Nintendo Badge Arcade, and the tiny speakers were kicking out the funky background music from a Club Nintendo Hanafuda Theme that I haven’t thought about in years.
Deep down, I know that there’s probably a good reason behind the Switch’s static, simplistic user and music-less interface.
Nevertheless, we spend an awful lot of time scrolling through these menus, and it would be fun to, well, switch things up a little, especially since (as you can see below) the company was previously all-in on customization:
Fans have long called for the inclusion of extra themes, and I’m sure that many would be happy if, come April 2, the Switch 2 livened things up a little.
I’d be fine with extra themes not being there to start with. They could come later down the line, perhaps as Nintendo Switch Online rewards.
Given how gamers have lamented the lack of customization, I bet plenty of us (myself included) would be willing to pay to inject a little more color into our shiny new console.
It would just be nice to see Nintendo put the fun back into “functional.” Or, at the very least, pay someone to give the Switch 2 eShop a new backing track on the level of the Wii Shop Channel theme.