Nintendo has just released its Western commercial for theNintendo Switch 2, and it’s one big callback to the 1990s. The Nintendo Switch 2 was officially announced earlier this year and will be hitting shelves on June 5, much sooner than was anticipated. To celebrate the release and promote the upcoming console, Nintendo is traveling back in time to 1991.
The Nintendo Switch 2 commercialrecreates the original 1991 ad for the Super Nintendo console, and it even recasts Paul Rudd in the lead role. The homage to the SNES ad is wonderfully nostalgic and even uses the same sound effects and music, up until the moment Rudd connects to the system’s social features and reality comes crashing back to the present.
Nintendo Switch 2 Commercial Is A Callback To The SNES Era
Paul Rudd Reprises His Role For New Ad
In the new commercial,Rudd retraces his footsteps to the same soundtrack and sound effects as he did 33 years ago,but this time he places the Switch 2 into its docking station instead of thrusting a SNES cartridge into the console. The new trailer shows some new Switch 2 features, including the Joy-Cons, camera, and thesocial “C” GameChat button. The moment Rudd connects to join three other friends in a video play session, they call him out for his ridiculous outfit as comedian Joe Lo Truglio (Charles Boyle onBrooklyn Nine-Nine) asks Rudd why he’s dressed like he’s in a boy band.
The commercial then becomes hilariously self-aware, with Rudd having to explain that he’s dressed the same way as in his 90s ad, complete with his “long black duster, indie rock hair, and beaded necklace,” as a fog machine goes off next to him. The four (Rudd, Truglio, comedian Carlos, and a girl named Lisa) then play around of Mario Kart World, making playful jabs at each other the whole time.
The commercial evenmakes a callback to the SNES ad’s tagline,which stated: “Now you’re playing with power. SUPER power.” Rudd ends the commercial speaking directly to the audience, saying that it may have been nice to play with power, “but this is better, because now we’re playing together. SUPER together!”
Nintendo Is Leaning Heavily Into Nostalgia For Switch 2
Nintendo Knows Its Audience
Nintendo of Americaintroduced the new commercial on X by comparing it to the 1991 ad and noting that “Nintendo and Paul Rudd have a history of launching systems together.” The new commercial shows thatNintendo is in tune with its entire audience, young and old. Nintendo isn’t just using commercials to draw in older fans, but also with the carefully curated list of launch titles. When the Nintendo Switch 2 launches, it will have recognizable long-time franchises and characters backing it, like the Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong.
The commercial is clearly aimed at older fans who would appreciate the throwback, but it also shows off how easy it is formultiple generations and fans of any age to play and enjoy the console together, even when they’re not physically close together. It’s clear that Nintendo is aiming to have theNintendo Switch 2continue the company’s legacy of bridging generations and bringing home consoles to households that wouldn’t normally get one.
