This is despite the fact that the Switch is considerably underpowered in comparison to its competition. Rather than pushing ahead with complex and expensive hardware features like ray-tracing, Nintendo's focus with the Switch has always been strong exclusives and a no-frills user experience. Even the system's most significant hardware refresh, the Switch OLED, was designed with the intention of improving the experience of playing in handheld mode, rather than attempting to revolutionize the console with ambitious new design implementations. While one can only assume that Nintendo will reach for greater processing power and visual fidelity with the Switch successor, it ought to keep this emphasis on player experience at the forefront. It can do this, while competing with the likes of Sony, by doubling down on an oft-overlooked aspect of the original Switch.

The PS5's DualSense Controller is Astro Bot's Secret Weapon

Astro Bot transcends the traditional 3D platformer by leveraging the Sony DualSense controller's abilities in a way no other game has.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Should Hone In On HD Rumble

HD Rumble Could Be the Switch 2's Version of the PS5's DualSense

Sony's DualSense controller is one of the best parts of the PS5. Though overlooked or written off as a gimmick by some, the haptic features of this controller have proven to be effective in elevating various games, increasing immersion in both realistic and more outlandish titles. Indeed, from The Last of Us Part 2 to Astro Bot, the advanced features of the DualSense have been instrumental in shaping next-gen gaming experiences.

But before the PS5, many of these same praises were being sung about Nintendo's HD Rumble feature. Designed by the same developers that would go on to create the DualSense, HD Rumble was sold as a premier tool that Switch games could use to be more immersive and tangible, as it was a more articulated and nuanced version of traditional rumble mechanics. If the DualSense is viewed as a sort of continuation of HD Rumble, then perhaps "HD Rumble 2.0" could be an evolution of the DualSense, with Nintendo not conceding victory to Sony on the haptics front.

How Nintendo Could Compete With the DualSense On the Switch 2

Central features of the DualSense like adaptive triggers should set a new industry standard. Even if other console manufacturers don't directly ape Sony's approach, extending the haptics experience to controller triggers, which are the most inherently tactile part of a modern gamepad, seems like a no-brainer. And on a hybrid console like the Switch 2, this could lead to even more dramatically engaging and gripping (no pun intended) gaming experiences.

Fundamentally, the DualSense's vibration is very similar to that of the Joy-Cons and Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, in that it offers a wide spectrum of vibrations for different in-game scenarios. But it goes further by being localized, meaning that players can theoretically get a more one-to-one haptic experience based on what their in-game avatar is meant to be feeling. Learning from this focus on verisimilutide through haptics could be a boon for the Nintendo Switch 2's controllers.

It would be extremely unlikely, on top of being disappointing, if Nintendo were to back down from its haptics initiative with the Nintendo Switch 2. Though overshadowed in many regards by the DualSense, HD Rumble is a fantastic part of the Switch hardware ecosystem, and with the PS5 hogging all the attention with its proprietary controller, there's no better time for Nintendo to remind audiences of its relevance in this arena.