I love my Nintendo Switch so naturally I’m very excited for any official details about its successor that’s tentatively being referred to as the Nintendo Switch 2. And, if rumors of it being a souped-up version of what we already have do turn out to be accurate, that’s cause enough for celebration in my book. Well, aside from one thing.
The Nintendo Switch’s biggest problem (you know, aside from its subpar specs, awkward online features, and sluggish eShop) is that it’s severely lacking in sauce. Unlike Nintendo consoles of old, there’s no fanfare when you boot up the Switch. No pleasant background music, no welcoming splash screens, and more pointedly, no customizable menu themes.
Above all else, this is the one thing I want to see the Nintendo Switch 2 address. As a 3DS enjoyer (and a staunch Wii U defender), I’d love for Nintendo to bring back these aesthetically charming elements to really set itself apart from the cold, overly-clean dashboard of the PS5 or Xbox’s miserable implementation of Windows 11.
Variety's the spice of life
If you owned a Nintendo 3DS, chances are you downloaded at least one or two menu themes from its eShop. These were easily among the two-screened handheld’s best features, and what really set them apart was that they weren’t just static images.
Well, they did have a larger image on the top screen to tie the theme together, but each individual theme offered much more. They had music relevant to the theme installed (one of my personal favorites being the Ace Attorney Trilogy’s use of the first game’s iconic 'Objection!' track) and entirely unique menu icons based on the theme you’d selected.
The Nintendo Switch, by comparison, lacks all of this. Sure, there’s a dedicated ‘Themes’ menu in its settings, but for what? Your choices are, quite literally, black or white. There’s absolutely nothing joyous here; no pleasant backing track, no Miis aimlessly traipsing around a plaza - just a cold digital void where your massive backlog goes to die.
I hear you; handheld or docked, the Switch only has the one screen. Its themes can’t possibly be as dynamic or creative as they were on the 3DS. But to that I say, both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 would like a word. Sony’s previous-gen consoles absolutely excelled here, offering tons of dynamic (and often animated) themes accompanied by music. And on both, it was common to find themes with unique menu icons and sound effects. It’s all becoming something of a lost art, I fear.
Stepping up
Now to play devil’s advocate, there’s a very likely reason as to why the Nintendo Switch is bereft of any kind of creative menu themes, and it all comes down to the system’s outdated processor. The Switch’s user interface (UI) may inspire nihility, but its sparseness does mean it’s at the very least easy to navigate. The 3DS’s themes, while lovely, did often cause a notable hitch in performance, with boot times suffering in particular. It’s possible Nintendo wanted to avoid this.
However, as mentioned, the most prominent rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2 revolve around the console being something of a ‘Super’ Nintendo Switch. With improved specs, it should be possible for Nintendo to avoid performance bottlenecks brought about by more active menu themes.
Nintendo also already has the perfect way for players to earn said themes: Nintendo Switch Online. At present, players can spend Platinum Coins (earned through rotating Nintendo Switch Online challenges) to earn series-specific profile icons. These encompass some of the best Nintendo Switch games like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Splatoon 3, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Could Platinum Coin usage then be extended to menu themes on Nintendo Switch 2? Assuming Nintendo keeps its current online ecosystem intact with the next console, I think this would be an excellent way to incentivize folks to sign up to Nintendo Switch Online in addition to existing benefits like cloud storage, its retro game library, and DLC offerings.
This would be a fantastic opportunity to grow Nintendo Switch Online’s benefits while reintroducing some of the more charming features of past Nintendo consoles. I’ve little doubt that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be a winner; I just want to see the company once again embrace features like menu themes that genuinely set them apart from the competition.
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