[Interview] Ask The Developer Vol. 16 – Nintendo Switch 2

After the barrage of news and announcements that came from the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct that aired on April 2nd, 2025, Nintendo uploaded a new “Ask The Developer” interview to their website to share even more information about the Nintendo Switch 2 and the process behind its development like when it started, why they decided to stay close to the original Switch design but expand on its hardware, starting from scratch, and more.

Below, we have taken an excerpt from the interview, which looks into providing new gameplay experiences on the Nintendo Switch 2. If you would like to read the full interview, you can find the web page via the source link at the bottom of this page.

Chapter 1: Providing new and unprecedented gameplay experiences

First, could you briefly introduce yourselves?

Kawamoto:
Hi, I’m Kouichi Kawamoto from the Entertainment Planning & Development Department. As the producer for Switch 2, my role was to set the direction for what kind of console to develop and to consult with the hardware development department and other teams on the detailed specifications. I was the general director for Nintendo Switch, and for this project, I continue to be involved in the overall development of the hardware.

Dohta:
Hello. I’m Takuhiro Dohta from the Entertainment Planning & Development Department, and I’m the director for Switch 2. I usually work as the technical director for games such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (1). Since joining Nintendo, I’ve been involved in the development of every launch title from Nintendo DS (2) to Switch. For this project, I’ve used that experience to share ideas with others on what kind of dedicated game console we should create next from a software developer’s perspective.

(1) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a Nintendo Switch game released in May 2023. It takes place after the story of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and is set in the same world. The title explores a vast environment across the land and skies of Hyrule. It features gameplay in which players pick up, move, and fuse together various objects to create things like vehicles and weapons.

(2) A handheld video game console released in March 2005, featuring two LCD screens and touch screen gameplay using the included stylus.

Sasaki:
Hi! I’m Tetsuya Sasaki, a member of the Technology Development Division. For Switch, I supported the development of the console’s system software while also creating a more cutting-edge software development environment to further advance how Nintendo would create games. This time, I served as a technical director, overseeing the development of hardware technology, the system software that forms the basis for running games, and the network services that support them.

Thank you very much. Now, let’s jump right into the first question. This will be Nintendo’s first dedicated gaming console in eight years since Switch. When did you begin development on Switch 2? And how does the development of a game console start?

Kawamoto:
The three of us started working together on the new hardware project around 2019. But as far as the core development of Switch 2 goes, I recall that research and development had already started even before the project formally kicked off, right?

Sasaki:
That’s right. We knew that we would continue to develop new gaming consoles even after the launch of Switch, so we needed to get ahead of ourselves and start sowing the seeds of ideas for what we could do with the next console. Hardware development takes time, and if we didn’t start early, the software development environment, known as the Software Development Kit, that’s needed afterwards wouldn’t be ready in time. We started by actively gathering information each day on different kinds of technology and the results they could achieve. In that sense, you could say that we began the development even before 2019.

Kawamoto:
When we start development, rather than attempting to create the entire console from the outset, we focus on the elements that will take the most time and effort. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to provide developers with a Software Development Kit for creating games, and software development wouldn’t be completed in time.

Sasaki:
Exactly. Without constant preparation, we wouldn’t be able to develop hardware and software in a timely manner.

I see. What kind of things specifically do you consider during the seed-sowing stage that precedes the hardware development?

Kawamoto:
Well, Switch is a dedicated game console that we created so that people can play different types of games in various places and situations. Fortunately, it has been well-received by many players. However, that doesn’t mean Switch is perfect. There were times when we wished the Switch console’s processor was faster so that we could provide new and unprecedented gameplay experiences. I think the processor we chose to implement in Switch during its development was the best option at the time. However, as time went on, we began to realise that it didn’t necessarily mean developers could make any kind of game they wanted with it.

Dohta-san, I’d also like to ask you to share your view as a software developer. Like Kawamoto-san, were there moments that made you wish the processing speed was a little faster?

Dohta:
Definitely. Hardware performance and software development always have a relationship of pulling ahead of and falling behind each other. What I mean is that when new hardware comes out and processing power improves, software development can also take advantage of that and take on new challenges. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (3) was originally developed for Wii U (4), so it was created with the Wii U console’s capabilities in mind. However, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, we could create a world in the sky and underground since the performance had improved for Switch.

To add to that, the ability to fuse objects together to create new ones was also made possible because of the Switch console’s capabilities.

However, as software developers continue to take on these kinds of challenges, their technical capabilities improve and ideas expand, and then what they hope to do ends up surpassing what the hardware’s processing power can handle. Hardware with an expanded processing capability is a blessing for software developers who want to challenge themselves to create new gameplay experiences that are unimaginable today.

(3) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. A game released for Nintendo Switch and Wii U in March 2017. Awakening from a 100-year slumber, the protagonist, Link, must explore and survive the vast and dangerous land of Hyrule to regain his memories. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel to this title.

(4) A home video game console released in December 2012 in Europe. It features games that link the screens displayed on both the TV and the handheld Wii U GamePad controller.

I see, so that’s why you decided to sow the seeds and prioritise improving the processing speed for Switch 2.

Sasaki:
Software developers always try to get the most out of the hardware. On the other hand, gaming consoles nowadays need to process so many things in the background. One example would be downloading data for one of your games in the background while you’re playing another game. When Nintendo makes a game console, we don’t use an existing operating system (5) that’s already out there, rather we develop one ourselves. This is because we want to provide a console that software developers will be satisfied with. To help software developers create what they want in the long term, we decided to design the hardware with enhanced processing capability.

(5) Basic system software required to run various software on the hardware.

Kawamoto:
The Switch 2 console’s improved processor performance has allowed us to realise new types of gameplay that haven’t been seen before. To give you some examples, in Donkey Kong Bananza (6), you can experience the exhilaration of being able to destroy anything you want in the game without restrictions. In Mario Kart World (7), all courses are now connected seamlessly in a single world, so you can drive from one course to the next.

Source: Nintendo.co.uk