Nintendo is playing things too safe

Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct showcase felt like an important moment for the company. With the Switch 2 heading into its second holiday season, one in which the hardware will be even more expensive thanks to a price hike, it was a chance for Nintendo to really sell new audiences on its latest console — but that’s not exactly what happened. While there were some impressive-looking titles, there wasn’t much that felt truly new. Instead, the two major Switch 2 exclusives that will round out the 2026 calendar are both remakes from the Nintendo 64 era.

If you missed it, the final reveal of the Direct was a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2. We don’t know when, exactly, it’s launching, but Nintendo says it’ll be out this year. The brief teaser didn’t reveal much of what the game will look like, nor how it might differ from the N64 original, so chances are you can expect an Ocarina-focused Direct in the coming months that will detail more. Whenever it comes out, the Ocarina remake will follow the Star Fox remake, which is launching later this month in an attempt to revitalize Nintendo’s long-dormant sci-fi series for modern audiences.

It’s not as if the Nintendo of the past was immune to remakes and rereleases. Its best-selling non-pack-in game ever, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch, is a port of a Wii U title. But seeing the upcoming Switch 2 schedule dominated by a pair of remakes, coupled with the fact that neither Zelda nor Super Mario has an original game on the console (yet), makes me worried that Nintendo might be a little too complacent following its dominating Switch era. That seems like a particularly dangerous mindset in 2026, when nearly every major video game company is struggling to manage the chaotic state of the industry. Nothing is a sure thing right now.

At its very best, Nintendo finds the right balance between being conservative and being inventive. The Switch 2 needs a few more daring ideas to push the scale back in the right direction.