"Nintendo is losing their identity": Former PlayStation exec on Switch 2's safe strategy and what it means for exclusives

Shuhei Yoshida, former PlayStation exec, thinks Switch 2 is just a better Switch — and that might not be a good thing.

Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, known for championing indie games and experimental ideas while at Sony, just dropped a spicy take on the Easy Allies podcast — and it’s got Nintendo fans debating what the Switch 2 actually is.

"Something I didn't say there... to me it was a bit mixed message from Nintendo. In a sense, I think Nintendo is losing their identity, in my opinion."

That’s coming from a guy who spent years watching Nintendo zig while everyone else zagged. You know the drill — motion controls on the Wii, the dual screens on the DS, the entire concept of the Switch being both handheld and console. Whether you love or hate it, Nintendo’s always been weird, and that’s kind of the point.

But now? Yoshida sees Nintendo doing what everyone else does: making their next console just “bigger, faster, stronger.” His concern isn’t that Switch 2 is bad. It’s that it’s… normal.

"The core premise of the whole Switch 2 is — 'we made things better'. And that's something other companies have been doing all the time."

Instead of pitching a wild new way to play, like cardboard robot suits or touchscreens under both thumbs, Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal leaned into the specs: 4K, 120fps, new chip, bigger screen. There were some glimpses of "Nintendo magic," like camera-based games and a wheelchair basketball sim called Drag X Drive, but the main pitch was still, “Here’s the Switch — now it runs Elden Ring.”

Here's where the real issue kicks in: What does this mean for Nintendo exclusives?

Let’s be real — Nintendo’s identity isn’t just quirky hardware. It’s also the games that were made possible by that hardware. Wii Sports wouldn’t be what it is without motion controls. Mario Maker would suck without a touchscreen. And Breath of the Wild felt amazing because it was on a device that let you lose yourself on the couch or on the bus.

Image: Nintendo Switch 2 3D-printed mockup (below), portative PlayStation (upper)

If Switch 2 just becomes a powerful mini-PS5, does Nintendo keep making Nintendo-style games? Or do they start chasing third-party clout?

"Of course, it's a more powerful Switch, so it's great if your gaming was only on Nintendo hardware... But for us, like, the core gamers, who own multiple hardware... what they showed were like... oh."

Yoshida’s point here cuts deep. If you’ve already played Cyberpunk, Elden Ring, or Resident Evil 4 on another system, Switch 2’s big “look what we can run now!” moment feels a little hollow. Sure, it's impressive technically — but if you're a longtime gamer, it's not new. It’s just “finally available on Nintendo.”

Nintendo Switch Ad (2017)

And that gets us back to the exclusives. Nintendo’s always been the one place where you'd find stuff like Splatoon, Animal Crossing, or a Mario game that only works because of the weird hardware choices. If Switch 2 becomes a multiplatform machine with better specs, there’s a risk that Nintendo starts phoning it in with more familiar, safe bets. And that’s exactly what Yoshida is worried about.

"I was personally a bit disappointed because they didn't disappoint everyone. Because everyone wanted that better Switch in Switch 2."

That’s maybe the most telling quote of the whole interview. Yoshida’s basically saying that the Switch 2 is giving people what they want — better visuals, better performance — but that not disappointing people is different from surprising them. And Nintendo used to surprise us constantly.

Switch 2 Role

The hype for Metroid Prime 4: Echoes is real, and its new mouse control system sounds intriguing. But that’s one game. What happens when the novelty of better specs wears off? Will Nintendo take more risks again? Or will we start seeing fewer "only-Nintendo-could-do-this" titles and more ports of games that already dropped years ago?

Nintendo has always marched to the beat of its own drum. But with the Switch 2, it might finally be syncing up with the rest of the industry — and not everyone’s thrilled about that.