Whether it be a basic JPEG on an online forum, or a fully customized image on the Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox, profile icons are a wonderful way of expressing who you are and what kind of games you love to play.
The Switch has been surprisingly adept when it comes to providing options for players to customize their profile icons. Dozens of first-party characters are available to all users alongside various Mii poses, but additional characters are constantly added via Nintendo Switch Online's Missions & Rewards. Regardless of which Nintendo property you hold most dear, you can be sure there will be an icon available for you to use at some point — maybe there already has been.
What is conspicuously missing, however, is a selection of awesome third-party icons. Yes, there are a whole bunch of Nintendo images for you to use, but what if you're itching to showcase your love for Final Fantasy, or perhaps Street Fighter? Right now, you can't, and it's a shame. We absolutely love the catalogue of profile icons on the Switch, but there's no doubt that it could be made even better if Nintendo opened the door to some contributions from third-party publishers.
With that in mind, we've compiled a selection of icons that we think deserve a spot in Nintendo Switch Online's Missions & Rewards section. Now, this won't be exhaustive, and there absolutely will be some games or franchises missing that you'd love to see represented, but hey, that's what the comments section is for.
So let's get started with the obvious one...
SEGA
Let's be honest, one of the franchises we'd most like to see represented with some icons is Sonic the Hedgehog. We've got the 'core four' below, but there are so many other characters you could include, like Robotnik, Shadow, Chao, Trip... all sorts!
The same goes for the Persona franchise. Those characters have become some of the most cherished in RPG history, and we reckon they'd look wonderful with a block color background representing their respective games.
Capcom
Capcom has a long history with Nintendo. The Mega Man franchise is arguably one of the most beloved on the NES, and Shinji Mikami's exceptional work on Resident Evil for the GameCube resulted in two of the best games in the franchise (REmake and RE4, of course). Not to mention fan favourites such as Viewtiful Joe and Street Fighter.
Konami
Konami's reputation has taken a bit of a beating in recent years, but there's no denying that it owns some of the most recognisable and iconic gaming franchises of all time. Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania alone (both of which now enjoy significant representation on Switch thanks to those collections) have enjoyed significant crossovers with Nintendo properties in the past; most notably the Super Smash Bros. franchise.
Square Enix
Final Fantasy needs no introduction. Heck, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, or Kingdom Hearts don't, for that matter. Much like Persona, Square Enix's catalogue of JRPGs plays host to a smorgasbord of characters that could be utilised for profile icons. The sky's the limit with this publisher, as far as we're concerned.
Indie
Indie games have found a great home with the Switch, and we'd argue that Nintendo's console bears a great deal of responsibility in ensuring the success of a few of the titles represented here. Balatro immediately comes to mind: it was certainly making waves before its release on Switch, but we reckon it plays best on Switch thanks to the touchscreen controls and portability. Plus, who doesn't love that cheeky little joker?
Misc.
Finally, here's the best of the rest. Or some of the best, at least. We could have sections dedicated to pretty much every major publisher on Switch, but frankly, we don't have the time for such shenanigans. So these are just a few that we think have made a few waves on Nintendo's platform over the years. The Witcher III was obviously a huge port for the console, and the recent Tomb Raider collection from Aspyr was a welcome return for such classic games.
