The Nintendo Switch turned four years old this March, and it's impossible to describe its first four years as anything less than a resounding success. Since launch, the Switch has managed to dig Nintendo out of the Wii U hole, reinvent several of the company's flagship series, and become one of Nintendo's best-selling consoles of all time. The only question that remains for the groundbreaking piece of hardware is whether it can keep this up.

In December, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser said he believed the Switch was at the "midpoint" of its life. If this is the case and Nintendo plans on keeping the Switch as the focal point of its business for at least the next four years, it's going to have its hands full trying to match the magic of the first four.

While rumors of an improved Switch model are rampant right now, here are a few smaller things Nintendo can do to ensure the Switch keeps flying off shelves for the rest of its lifespan.

The Nintendo Switch Needs A Virtual Console

Nintendo Virtual Console

Nintendo has the most robust library of classic games in the industry, and yet, for the past four years, the only classic games on the Switch are select NES and SNES games available through Nintendo Switch Online - and many of them are not even very good. For all of its failings, the Wii U did have an incredible Virtual Console feature, allowing users to purchase and play games from many of Nintendo's past systems. If the Switch could take a page out of the Wii U's book on this front, many Switch owners would be ecstatic.

Nintendo Switch Lite Colors

The Nintendo 3DS gave users not only purchasable backgrounds and themes but tons of different ways to organize their software. Perhaps Nintendo wants to keep the interface of the Switch as simple and snappy as possible, but it still feels odd to have next to zero customization options. Differently colored consoles are nice, but Nintendo needs to improve the basics. At the very least, adding customizable backgrounds and folders would go a long way towards making users' Switch interfaces feel like their own - an especially important feature if people will be using them for another four years.

The Nintendo Switch Needs To Fix Joy-Con Drift

Left, Blue and Right, Red Joy-Con Controllers

One of the biggest stains on the Switch's life has undoubtedly been Nintendo's handling of the Joy-Con drift issue. While Nintendo has offered free Joy-Con repairs to many Switch owners, this is still a rampant problem that hasn't gotten any better in the last four years. If Nintendo really is releasing an improved Switch model in 2021, it seems necessary to release an improved Joy-Con model, as well.

The Nintendo Switch Needs To Reinvent Another Classic Franchise

The Star Fox team gathered on a Star Fox Zero banner

One of the key reasons for the Switch's early success was that it didn't wait to bring out the heavy hitters. Not only did it have new Zelda and Mario games early in its lifecycle, but Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey also helped to reinvent the two series and became some of the best Nintendo games ever in the process. Four years into its life, the Switch is already home to marquee titles in most of Nintendo's fan-favorite franchises. However, if Nintendo wants to keep the Switch's library healthily stocked, it's time to take one of its lesser-used franchises off the shelf and give it the Breath of the Wild treatment. A fully 3D Kirby platformer or a massive, open-space Star Fox adventure could help generate the first-party hype that hasn't been as prevalent on the Nintendo Switch in recent years.

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