Nintendo’s new era: looking back at the Switch and ahead to the next generation

The Switch was a transformative product for Nintendo. Following the dire days of the Wii U, the company came out swinging with a tablet-console hybrid with defining games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Switch went on to sell more than 150 million units, and Nintendo built on that success with expansions into feature films, theme parks, and other areas outside of gaming.

Now, the company is trying to do it again with the Switch 2. Ahead of the new console's launch on June 5th, The Verge is looking back at the various ways that Nintendo has changed over the last eight years and how those changes might continue into its next generation.

• The Nintendo Switch was an indie game haven, until it was overrun with slop
• With the Switch, technology finally caught up to Nintendo
• Nintendo's bold new era is full of safe bets