Nintendo’s latest Direct showcase felt like an important moment for the company, but it was mostly a reminder that they are playing things too safe. With the Switch 2 heading into its second holiday season and facing a price hike, Nintendo had a chance to really sell new audiences on its latest console, but there wasn’t much that felt truly new.

The two major Switch 2 exclusives for 2026 are both remakes from the Nintendo 64 era. The final reveal was a remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, with another remake, Star Fox, launching later this month. While Nintendo has a solid lineup for the Switch 2 for the rest of 2026, including big hits like Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream and Pokopia, the lineup is largely full of familiar titles in the form of remakes and original Switch games that have been upgraded.

This isn’t new for Nintendo – playing things safe has become a defining trait of the company’s current era. The Switch 2 itself is an iteration of an existing idea, and other ventures like feature films have hewed to closely established norms. But one of the things that has defined Nintendo is creativity and ingenuity, which leads to oddball ideas like dual-screened handhelds or a bunch of cardboard video game accessories.

Nintendo zigs when everyone else zags, and often succeeds because of it. That said, the industry in 2026 is chaotic, with nearly every major video game company struggling to manage this state. The Switch 2 needs a few more daring ideas to push the scale back in the right direction.