Ah, the mid-2000s. It was a peaceful time for many as we fed our Nintendogs and navigated the new landscapes of Blathers' museum in Animal Crossing: Wild World. Games were a blissful $20, and we would lose our styluses every five minutes. It was the best of times, and we've written about how much we'd like to see it return. Now, Nintendo is catching on - that's why they're eyeing up a return to form with the Switch 2.
The 2DS set a dangerous precedent: a mono-screen format. The Wii U's whole gimmick before that was that you could turn any screen into the second screen, which may or may not have been what made it so wildly unpopular. Nintendo, maybe understandably after the Wii U's flop, went back to a mono-screen set-up with the original Switch. However, that might be about to change with a leaked updated patent, published recently, which shows an actual connected second screen for the Switch 2.
There's no way to tell yet if Nintendo intends for this second screen to be an attached accessory or whether we're actually looking at a new console entirely, but unless this feature is intended for years in the future, it would be surprising to see a whole new console so soon after the release of the Switch 2. This speculation is also under the assumption that the second screen patent will materialize and won't be scrapped, but plans like these have been developing for years, so we feel good about the chances.
Some online say the patent's update doesn't mean anything is actually coming our way, while others are speculating that the second screen won't actually function in the same way as the dual screens on older consoles, and will instead involve wireless streaming to the main console. Theories about NSO DS game reboots are swirling. I'm personally putting the clown make-up on and praying we get the Switch 3 one day with full integration for the DS games that I miss dearly. Please let me at Tamagotchi Corner Shop 2 again.
For more, check out why we think the Nintendo Switch 2 needs a second screen accessory. If you're after some new accessories, take a look at our guide to the best Switch 2 accessories. Then, for games to look forward to, we have our guide to the best upcoming Switch games.