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After what feels like literal years of wading through leaks and speculation, Nintendo finally showed off its successor to the hugely successful Switch, creatively named the ‘Nintendo Switch 2‘.
While the a lot of the specs have been splattered all over the internet for months (assuming they’re correct), the big N only gave us a very brief look at what the console will look like, and some very basic functionality.
It did confirm that the console is coming sometime in 2025, with more information to be shared on 2 April.
So far, we know the Switch 2 is another handheld-home-console-hybrid like the original Switch, and comes with detachable controllers (called Joy-cons) and a dedicated dock to plug it into an external display. We also know that most Nintendo Switch games will be compatible with the Switch 2, meaning if you have a decent backlog of titles you’re still working your way through you’ll have a shinier console to play them on later this year.
It’s also a larger unit than the Switch and Switch OLED, appearing to deliver on the 8” screen that was speculated on ahead of the announcement, as well as magnetically connected Joy-cons and a redesigned stand for table-top play. For my money, I feel like the OLED model’s stand is probably sturdier, but we’ll have to wait and see how the new one holds up.
Prior to the console’s launch, Nintendo company president Doug Bowser (yes, his last name is really Bowser) said that Nintendo would look to make the transition to newer hardware easier than it had in previous generations.
Talking with Inverse, Bowser said, “Our goal is to minimise the dip you typically see in the last year of one cycle and the beginning of another. I can’t speak to the possible features of a new platform, but the Nintendo Account is a strong basis for having that communication as we make the transition.”
Where are all the Games?
If you watched the above hardware announcement trailer (and you definitely should), you probably noticed that while we got a decent look at the Switch 2 itself we got almost no information on what you’ll be playing on it. A few seconds of a new Mario Kart game is all she wrote, with other game reveals likely kept back to be shown off on April 2, when Nintendo will pull the curtain back a bit further.
Thankfully, we do know that Nintendo Switch games will be compatible with the new console, which means any big Switch game you’ve been putting off buying or playing can serve as a decent launch game for the Switch 2.
In the meantime, we can really only go off what leakers have suggested will be on the system at launch: a new Mario Kart (now confirmed), a new 3D Mario game, and (probably) a new Animal Crossing.
Other than that, it’s thought that some original Switch games will be enhanced by the new console, with rumours surrounding a 60fps mode for Zelda: Breath of the Wild (and hopefully its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom) having circulated for a very, very long time.
If Metroid Prime 4 plays at a locked 60fps, we’ll be pretty happy.
How does the ‘Switch 2’ Compare to the Competition?
When the Switch originally launched in 2017 it felt like a one-of-a-kind product. Yes, there’d been handheld consoles in the past, as well as home consoles, but there hadn’t really been anything to bring those two worlds together. The Switch changed that, but the handheld-hybrid space is looking very different today.
We now have a whole bunch of handheld consoles that can easily be plugged in to a monitor or display to serve as a really good console alternative, and can be taken on the go when you need. Granted, these products, such as Valve’s Steam Deck and Lenovo’s Legion Go, tend to be quite a bit bigger and heavier than Nintendo’s consoles, and have worse battery life, but they’re also far more powerful.
The Switch 2 isn’t expected to blow them out of the water power-wise, by any stretch, but it already looks quite a bit more portable than the competition. The Switch 2 maintains the thin design of the original, which is something that other hardware manufacturers haven’t really sought to replicate.
Plus, while most of the competition runs Windows, which is a fairly terrible operating system for a handheld, or Linux, which is better but still not perfect, the Switch 2 will run its own dedicated OS made for gaming, and will obviously deliver access to Nintendo’s coveted first-party titles. You’ll lose a lot fo the extra stuff that comes with having access to a whole desktop OS, but gain a more streamlined product that is a bit more fit-for-purpose.
We’ll know more once Nintendo shows more, so keep 2 April marked on your calendars!
