From the very best visuals to the blockbuster games and so much more, the Switch 2 is a worthy successor to the original Switch.
And fellow Nintendo fans, rejoice. On Wednesday, the clouds parted, the sun rose, and so did the celestial spectra; Miyamoto's hand came down from the heavens and he graced us with Nintendo's latest handheld carnival, the Switch 2 itself. After years of speculation we finally got a clear look at this mysterious console hybrid.
Too sad that despite being sleek, compact and powerful, the rumors are all false. The Switch 2 doesn't actually pack a little Reggie into every GPU. But after an hour of poring over every word during the Direct: dissecting this and that, screenshotting every image, watching every captured video for the smallest clues to its form and function, we can finally apply something other than guesswork and give you some solid facts, including how it leaves its beloved predecessor in the dust.
Nintendo Switch 2 system and its accessories gallery
1. The Switch 2 has much more raw graphical power than the Switch
This is probably the least surprising reveal, as practically every next-generation Nintendo console has been vastly improved over its predecessor (yes, even the Wii). But still, when it released in 2017, the Switch was hardly a cutting-edge powerhouse compared to Sony and Xbox consoles, and eight years later it struggles with demanding games. Nintendo and its partners were pushing very fast against the limits of the hardware.
This week we've seen elements that promise a much improved experience: handheld resolutions up to 1080p, HDR as well as up to 4K docked, and framerates up to 120 fps. It's a welcome upgrade that will allow a wide variety of games to be brought to the Switch 2. But we can already see some benefit in EA's decision to host soccer and football games on the Switch 2, and its intention to do the same with 2K's wrestling and basketball.
Third parties have shown us all sorts of current-generation games to give us some insight into all of the Switch 2's enhanced capabilities, and what we saw was encouraging: a console/handheld capable of the handling Elden Ring or Street Fighter 6, and others demanding software. And what Nintendo showed of its new first-party offerings was simply spectacular.
2. The Switch plays GameCube games. But not the Switch
There's a little purple lunchbox that may finally be coming to Nintendo Switch Online, which is available exclusively on the Switch 2. Nintendo has very effectively drawn a fence between online experiences on the Switch and Switch 2, and that means that from this point forward people who want to play some of Nintendo's best retro games will have to shell out money for better hardware. Sure, there are only three games right now, but they're three absolute bangers: The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, and, holy shit, Soul Calibur 2, complete with Link.
And that's okay, seriously. Soul Calibur 2 is incredible. And if you've never played it, it's worth it to have a friend with whom you can enjoy the experience.
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3. The Switch 2 acknowledges the existence of the internet
While humanity will later review and list that great day in video game history, this opening chapter won't be about how Mario Kart is now like Forza Horizon, or the return of Donkey Kong in Bananza, or even the announcement of a so-far secret project called Duskblood. Instead, the book will begin, and probably end, with the most important non-Nintendo thing to happen this week: the easy integration of online features normally available on other platforms.
The company that gave us Friend Codes now delights us with GameChat, a feature-rich communication and visual sharing feature set for the Switch 2. A noise-cancelling mic that picks up your voice and shares it with friends; an optional desktop camera that allows you to share your face in both Windows-like settings and compatible games like Mario Party. You can even share the screen remotely across the console. This is exactly what we stopped asking Nintendo for years ago... a simple and straightforward tool for playing with friends. I'm very curious to see how it actually works.
There's a lot of potential with this feature. So my mind goes to Monster Hunter, in which teams of four benefit from a shared screen as they stalk and trap their prey. It would have been unthinkable for Nintendo to willingly provide fans with such a useful range of online features, but now we're finally living in the future.
4. Magnetic Joy-Cons
This is okay, because we already guessed it, but it's still pretty cool. And the Joy-Cons now fit magnetically into the Switch 2 body, rather than having to fit into a slot. Nintendo showed how the steel shoulder buttons on each controller are attracted to the magnetic facings on the sides of the screen, locking them together. Pressing the buttons releases the magnetic grips.
This is a great feature for my home setup, where a shelf top makes it difficult to remove the Joy-Cons from the dock without removing the entire Switch, sometimes causing the entire Switch to fall down. Now I'm a fan.
5. Much bigger screen
Bigger isn't always better with a handheld, but given the sharp resolution of the 1080p portable screen and the nature of most Switch games, the slight increase in size to 7.9 inches should be a net gain for most players. The Switch has already sacrificed screen real estate for portability, but I think Nintendo is making the right decision in giving these detailed, feature-rich games more room to shine.
6. Mouse Control
Nintendo was weirdly excited to show off its own innovative Joy-Con mouse feature. The Switch 2 Joy-Con can be rotated on a tabletop by laying it on its edge, and its telemetry is tracked to provide precise pointing and rotation. It seems to have been well-received at launch by games like DragX-Drive, Civ 7, and Metroid Prime 4.
I love Nintendo. My guess is that the mouse feature won't be used much after the launch window (much like the microphone on the old DS) but I'm actually 1000% willing to play Metroid Prime 4 with a mouse. As a PC gamer, I rarely enjoy FPS games that force me to use a controller, so this surprising option feels a little liberating. Now hopefully we get Mario Paint 2.
7. Lots of storage
This one is a bit of the double-edged sword. Nintendo has packed 256GB of external storage into the Switch 2, which is a lot more than the original Switch. But with the Switch 2's extra graphics capability, those asset-rich game files are also going to be a lot bigger, so it might be almost useless. The memory is also faster to deal with larger game files, which means you'll need a new, faster memory card for your supplemental storage.
8. Quality of life improvements on the Switch 2 This is no small matter
Nintendo has changed the Switch hardware in response to nearly a decade of feedback. The Switch 2 now has two USB-C ports, one of which is added on top to aid charging when playing in kickstand mode. Nintendo has also added a fan to the dock to aid cooling stability. The sticks are bigger and sound capabilities are much improved.
Even the Switch 2 Pro controller is a step forward, with an audio jack (finally!) and assignable buttons. What's yet to be revealed is that this new controller has the same little star that's been at the core of every Switch Pro controller, giving it nearly unlimited battery life.
And one of these most subtle features might be the most useful. I use the Switch on my tabletop a lot. The fact that the Switch 2 screen angle is adjustable in kickstand mode is a big deal to me. But too often the ambient light at the airport or the angle of a cramped airplane tray table makes playing on a kickstand feel like an exercise in futility. But with the ability to subtly change angles with the new mouse feature, I'm confident I could actually enjoy a serious game of Civilization 7 on the go.
9. The Switch 2 gives you more options
So first of all, the Switch 2 is backwards compatible. That's always good. Microsoft has already paved the way for optimized backwards compatibility on the Xbox, and Nintendo has wisely taken into account its Gamecube-to-Wii-to-WiiU history, so most Switch games can be played on the new hardware very easily. Backwards capability helps consoles sell in their first year.
But while the Nintendo Switch 2 is backwards compatible with Switch games, it also supports exclusive new Nintendo Switch 2 editions of some Switch titles, like Metroid Prime 4. These enhanced titles offer new features, including choosing between a higher-resolution quality mode or a faster frame rate in performance mode.
So one really nice feature of these Nintendo Switch 2 Editions is that if you already have the original games on Switch, you'll be able to buy a single simple Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade then enjoy to all the new features on your new hardware. Let's hope it's not too expensive.
And it's also possible that these features could make the Switch 2 Editions of the Switch's notoriously-junky Pokémon games even better. So let's hope that's the case. Not every problem can be solved by tweaking the hardware, but sometimes it really does help.
10. You really need a Switch 2 to play these new games from the best developers in the world
Mario Kart World is everything we've come to expect from Mario Kart with two key elements added. The first is the ability to traverse a persistent world, Forza Horizon-style, and that includes racing from course to course, exploring in free mode, roaming around, and so on. The second is expanding the field size to 24 karts, which, when the shells start flying, is pretty much incomprehensible. It just feels out of control. And I can't wait.
Nintendo has taken its time showing off new games for now, but at the end of the show we were treated to a minute-long teaser of a new Kirby's Air Ride game, Kirby's Air Riders, an announcement that would have likely been a bummer if it weren't for the surprise involvement of Mr Sakurai, who is equally known for his self-immolation work ethic and his status as the god of Smash Bros. I like Kirby, but this Air Ride sucks... but it's Sakurai so I'm 100% on board now.
Then there was The Duskbloods, a trailer that had me pretty excited. At first I thought it was Bloodborne 2, then I thought it was FROM Software's licensed take on Castlevania, and then finally I accepted that what I was looking at was a completely original Miyazaki game for the Switch. And remember this, my friends: FROM Software does not miss. You'll probably die. You'll probably be blown away. You'll definitely have a blast.
And that's for sure; the original King of Kong makes his triumphant return to 3D with Donkey Kong Banza. It's a moment of redemption for Nintendo: 26 years after dropping the barbecued turd Donkey Kong 64 on an unknown planet, a wiser, more accomplished Nintendo is back to the drawing board with what is sure to be a landmark adventure.
Nintendo developers have been absolutely killing 3D platforming on the Switch, not just with Odyssey and its Bowser's Fury, but also with Kirby's incredible journey to the shores of the Forgotten Lands. Banza was created to show off these modern-day classics on far more capable hardware than they were on, meaning developers had opportunities to iterate on ideas that simply wouldn't have been possible on a basic Switch.
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