We have spent a lot of time thinking about the Switch 2 so far this year. In fact, we spent a lot of time thinking about it last year too. And the year before... and the year before that. And th... you know what? We've been thinking about it for a while. Our thoughts have covered everything from just how Switch-y Nintendo's next console will be, to when we will finally get an announcement about the flipping thing. But one thing that we haven't considered is the games that will launch with it.
Nintendo has always been game-first in its approach to roping us in to buy the latest hardware, with a handful of launch titles and early releases to create just enough buzz that you might think, "huh, I don't know about the console, but I sure would like to see what this 'Zelda' is all about". Before you know it, you've splashed out a few hundred quid on a console and game bundle, with £50-£100 spent mopping up some of the other early releases that had you licking your lips — don't worry, we've all been there.
Historically, Nintendo has launched its consoles with a couple of gimmicky releases (1-2-Switch, Nintendo Land, Wii Sports), one big name to pull in the fans (Luigi's Mansion on GameCube, Twilight Princess for Wii, and a little game called Breath of the Wild on Switch). You can be sure that there will be a handful of other titles thrown in for good measure too — your Snipperclips, Super Bomberman Rs and the odd third-party title, but it is generally the first two options that get potential buyers reaching for their piggy banks.
So, with rumours of the Switch's successor once again doing the rounds — which include a potential announcement at Gamescom 2023 [Ha! - Ed.] — we want to turn our attention to what games might be used to launch the hotly-anticipated follow-up.
Have a read through our guesses (and wishes) and then take to the comments to let us know what you see coming next console generation.