The hardware itself is pretty much perfect for a successor to Switch. The first-party games are better than the first year of Wii U, and possibly some Nintendo handhelds. The new content on Switch titles that now have Switch 2 Editions is pretty nice.
The software on the whole doesn't have the wow factor in terms of first-party games that Switch had. Admittedly some of those were Wii U ports and even Breath of the Wild was cross-gen. But Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey under 8 months apart and in the same calendar year was a massive move for Nintendo that will likely never be repeated.
I love Donkey Bananza, but it's no Super Mario Odyssey. DK is Top 100, maybe Top 50 games of all-time material. Odyssey is right around the top, and my second favorite game.
I'd be more into the third-party games if I didn't have a PS5. I didn't have a PlayStation when I got a Switch in 2017. Nintendo is a complimentary platform for me now, with PlayStation as a primary.

Bought it at a midnight launch at GameStop. First time I have ever done this. I'm very pleased with it. It's exactly what I wanted from Switch 2: Switch, but everything is better.

My most played game on S2 is Mario Kart World; I'm enjoying the 24-player Knockout Tours to the point where it's hard to imagine going back to MK8DX. DKB is also a great game. I've bought Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, and Persona for it. Cyberpunk ran better on Switch 2 than on Steam Deck. I've also enjoyed the enhanced performance from my Switch 1 favorites like BOTW and TOTK. I've played a lot of Street Fighter 6 on it and my current obsession is VF5 REVO.

As long as they continue to bring the games, I will be satisdfied.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention FF7 and Cyberpunk. Those were the beginning of 2026 for me.
I’m hoping with the new Witcher 3 expansion coming out next year that CDPR brings the upgraded Witcher 3 to Switch 2.

Over 18,000 games are available for that hardware. Not bad for a handheld console.

I think the first year has been really great. The console is more powerful than I hoped for and the third party support is actually really good. The screen could be better and the first party output hasn't been as great as on Switch 1 so far, and I don't like Game Key Cards, but that's about the only negatives.

If Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S have gotten so many games over the years, little fear of that with Switch 2 given the good engineering of the hardware for all types of games.

Granted, Microsoft was more successful for a lot of games (especially European and North American) to come to their hardware even when it wasn't as popular as PlayStation and at times now for a while below Nintendo too. But still, even in the unlikely event Switch 2 sales drop off gradually in the next few years or a near impossible "cliff" (I hope you all get the reference), there is a massive incentive for developers to bring their games to it. Gaming on the go is more popular in 2026 for a lot of people than it was as Switch was launching. People want Switch 2, they want Steam Deck and its competitors. Playing games that perform around the PS4 or better on the go is a big selling point. 

Switch 2 will likely have a better third-party library than Switch. Better third-party exclusives? Eh, probably not. Better ports, remakes, multiplats and such? That seems all but guaranteed given the first year. Just look at the trepidation of third parties in the first year (even 2 years) of Switch compared to now. We have games on Switch 2 like Street Fighter Vi, Resident Evil Requiem, FF7 Remake Trilogy (the first two are out already, part three is day one on platforms), Cyberpunk 2077. Elden Ring (out in August), and Indiana Jones. And of course, lots of smaller titles in budget, demands, and indie studios. 

Sure, if you consider shovelware, it's a huge catalog. But I don't care about shovelware... i say this with all due respect.

My focus is on amazing games, and, with all due respect, Switch 2 doesn't have neraly enough.

IMHO, PS5 is just starting to get interesting "heat"... Switch 2 is still very weak, not enough at all.

Like with any system, you’re going to have people with unrealistic expectations but anyone looking at it logically is going to think overall it’s been a really solid first year.

Hardware-it’s a full generational leap over Switch, bigger screen, more storage, bigger/more comfortable Joy-Cons, some neat new features like Mouse controls & GameChat.

Price-it’s expensive but so are PS5 ($600-900), Xbox ($400-800), Steam Deck ($790-950), Rog Ally ($600-1000), flagship smartphones ($800+) and gaming PCs ($1000+). At $500 it’s one of the cheaper options for playing high end games.

3rd Party Support-Whereas Switch support started slow and grew over time, 3rd parties seem to be on board from the get go and even improved where Switch left off. More AAA titles are releasing day and date with the competition along with the return of games like Madden & Call of Duty which skipped Nintendo platforms for well over a decade.

1st Party Output-This is the area where people can really get delusional about what is possible and expect a mega release every month. It started with the 1-2 punch of Mario Kart at launch and Donkey Kong in the launch window, since then it’s been a steady stream of exclusives, cross-gen titles and updated ports.

Here’s the full Nintendo lineup in the 12 months from June 2025 to May 2026

Exclusives
June 5-Mario Kart World
July 17-Donkey Kong Bananza
November 6-Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
November 20-Kirby Air Riders
February 12-Mario Tennis Fever
March 5-Pokemon Pokopia
May 21-Yoshi and the Mysterious Book

Cross-Gen
October 16-Pokemon Legends ZA
December 4-Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Updated Ports
June 5-Breath of the Wild
June 5-Tears of the Kingdom
July 24-Super Mario Party Jamboree
August 28-Kirby and the Forgotten Land
January 15-Animal Crossing: New Horizons
February 19-Xenoblade Chronicles X
March 26-Super Mario Bros Wonder

Via Backwards Compatibility
October 2-Super Mario Galaxy 1+2
April 16-Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

eShop
June 5-Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
August 14-Drag x Drive


You can’t rationally look at that list and think Switch 2 had a poor first year.