With Nintendo continuing to corner the handheld gaming market following the reveal of theNintendo Switch 2, the company should consider reviving the cut StreetPass feature from the heyday of the Nintendo 3DS. Between the likes of the Nintendo Wii and the original Nintendo DS, Nintendo has spent the last two decades refining its gaming hardware, culminating in its best-selling home console, the Nintendo Switch. As a successful hybridization of at-home and portable gaming, it’s arguably unsurprising that Nintendo’s subsequent consoles have stayed true to the Switch, such as the OLED model and the upcomingNintendo Switch 2.
However, despite emphasizing the Switch’s portability and social gameplay with launch titles like1-2-SwitchandSnipperclips, features that once played a significant role in Nintendo’s previous handheld consoles did not carry over to its next generation of gaming hardware. More specifically, the StreetPass was first introduced and last seen on the 3DS console family, with Nintendo still touting the feature as its next step in social gaming on its official site. Now, as Nintendo prepares to launch theSwitch 2 as its next-gen handheld console, it’s time to consider pulling StreetPass off the cutting room floor.
Nintendo’s StreetPass Feature Was A Unique Selling Point
While the Wii had been Nintendo’s best-selling console before the arrival of the Switch, its Wii U successor failed to achieve the same success, which was likely why the company focused its attention on its DS consoles and their longer lifespans. From the original 3DS console to its later New 3DS and 2DS XL versions, it seemed that for nearly a decade Nintendo prioritized the handheld gaming market while its competitors focused on home entertainment. As a result, encouraging players to get out and about with their consoles usingStreetPass helped Nintendoto sell the 3DS family’s unique portability and social gaming aspects.
But beyond the StreetPass' functionality of sharing data with nearby players and its exclusiveStreetPass Mii Plazacontent, other 3DS games benefitted from the StreetPass feature by adding new layers to their gameplay. For instance,Animal Crossing: New Leafshared houses with passing players through StreetPass, players could earn PokeMiles from every trainer they met using StreetPass inPokemon XandY, andFire Emblem: Awakeningcould send armies via StreetPass to another player’s game to fight, hire, or barter with. Ultimately, this meant that though3DS games could be played solo, StreetPass capitalized on the console’s portability for an enhanced multiplayer experience.
Cutting StreetPass From The Nintendo Switch Was A Mistake
With Nintendo’s next generation of consoles combining at-home and handheld gaming, it would have been natural for the 3DS’s StreetPass functionality to transition to the new Switch. However, even though the Switch also marketed itself as a portable console with features encouraging social gameplay, such as itsdual Joy-Cons working as individual controllers, Nintendo did not include its StreetPass technology. While this decision may have been motivated by Nintendo’s desire to move on beyond the 3DS and focus on new concepts for the Switch, it is still a missed opportunity the Switch family could finally take advantage of.
The Nintendo Switch 2 Could Still Salvage StreetPass
Following the reveal of Switch 2 and an upcoming Nintendo Direct that could potentially showcase more about the company’s next console, there is still hope that StreetPass features could be revived. While Nintendo may continue to enhance the Switch’s hardware as it did with its OLED model, other ways to improve the Switch 2 would be to focus once again on social gameplay. For instance, just as the 3DS exclusiveMario Kart 7utilized StreetPass to share player data and ghost racers, the nextMario Kartgameseen in the Switch 2 trailercould include similar features by adapting StreetPass functionality for the new console.
