We’ve had nearly eight whole years of the Nintendo Switch, and still, the perfected hybrid home console games machine is being enjoyed by millions. When it was announced, some feared a repeat of the maligned Wii U, but with a refined design and superior features, it ended up selling over 146 million units.
One of the novel features of the Nintendo Switch that allows it to stand out among its peers is the touchscreen. When deployed, it can essentially offer premium, high-class, mobile-like gaming that’s actually worth your time while still being convenient and intuitive. Still, some question why it’s there and if it should be on the Switch 2.
Touchscreens Remain Exceedingly Useful
Touchscreens have revolutionized all sectors of gaming. They’ve made mobile gaming the single biggest segment of the global games industry and even become the single most important compatibility factor in one of the oldest forms of competitive gaming. In the world of poker these days, a poker app has to be a dream to navigate. On top of this, the poker apps are given extra points for working multi-tabling into the touchscreen interface.
It’s a complex task, but making the controls intuitive and easy makes the experience all the better for so many people. Luckily, some developers have utilized the power of the touchscreen on the Switch. Some are limited, like with the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe menus, while others like Brain Training, The World Ends With You, Sushi Striker, Big Brain Academy, 51 Worldwide Games, Deemo, Loop Hero, VOEZ, and Retro Bowl go all-in with touchscreen.
Each of those games is all the better for allowing smooth and seamless touchscreen gameplay in handheld mode. The controls are particularly useful with hit card games. The game that won over everyone in 2024, Balatro, is made all the more compulsive on touchscreen, while the touch controls make reading and deploying the text and cards of Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution! much, much easier.
Limitations to Touchscreens
A counter that many will throw to all of those games reveling in using touchscreen controls will be those that don’t. Super Mario Maker 2, for example, annoyingly mandated touchscreen controls on handheld, which greatly cut down how accurate you could be when building these game levels. Further, some games really are poor when you need to use touch controls, like shooters, driving games, and ones accustomed to all of the controller buttons.
Another element to take into consideration is that the Nintendo Switch, and likely the initial Nintendo Switch 2 release, is and will be a hybrid console. Many people will play the games when docked – especially when it comes to sprawling blockbusters like The Legend of Zelda, The Witcher, Skyrim, and the like. For these, when you do have to pick up and play, you likely don’t want an accidental screen bump or a dust wipe to matter in-game.
Overall, while some developers don’t maximize the potential of the touchscreen, very few use it in a way that hinders the experience. It rarely harms a game but can make the controls all the more intuitive and easy in handheld when adopted by a creative designer. So, hopefully, the Switch 2 will have a touchscreen.
