Nintendo’s only gone and done it. The Nintendo Switch 2 has been fully revealed. We know the specs, when it’s out, and about the giant pile of games coming out in the next few months.
You can find out about the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 launch games here. There are loads of the things. But when it comes to the console itself, here’s everything we learned at the dedicated Nintendo Switch 2 Direct event on April 2.
UPDATE:Nintendo has now announced UK pricing for the Switch 2. You'll pay £395.99 for the console on its own or £429.99 for the bundle with Mario Kart World, which is a code rather than a physical cartridge. Pre-orders begin at the Nintendo Store from April 8.
1. It’s out on June 5
If it feels like we’ve been waiting years for the Switch 2, we have. But from the date of the console’s full unveil, there’s only two months left to wait until we can get our grubby hands on the thing.
Well, assuming you weren’t lucky enough to snag yourself a ticket to the April 11-13 hand-on experience event at London’s Excel. The console is out on June 5.
2. The Joy-Con does work like a mouse
One of the more speculated-about bits of the Switch 2 from its original teaser was whether the Joy-Con controllers could be used like a mouse. It certainly seemed that way, and now Nintendo has confirmed you can indeed use either Joy-Con like a mouse. Not only will it be used in some new games made for Switch 2, it’ll be usable in some of the Switch 2 Edition titles that were originally on the first Switch too.
3. The (not that) magic C button
Loads of folks have spent the last couple of months wondering what the Switch 2 Joy-Con’s C button does. It stands for GameChat, and lets you talk to your friends. No headset required, as it uses the microphone built into the console. Yep, even if it’s docked. And it uses noise cancellation to block out unwanted ambient noise. Nintendo showed it nixing the sound of a food blender, which seems a bit ambitious. One for the review testing maybe. When you press the C button, a chat menu pops up to let you disable the mic, and camera. More on that shortly.
4. Screen low-down
We already knew the Switch 2 had a bigger screen. Now we have almost all of the core specs. It’s a 7.9-inch LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate and a Steam Deck-beating 1080p resolution. Nintendo says it’s an HDR screen too, but an LCD without local dimming? It’s not going to give you the best HDR experience. And we don’t know how bright it will be able to get. There’s also no word of whether it will have rumoured variable refresh rate tech — we’d guess not.
5. We get 3D audio (in some games)
Use a Switch 2 with headphones and you’ll get surround sound-like 3D audio with games that support the feature. Sony uses this to great effect (at times anyway) with the PlayStation 5. Nintendo even says a system update will bring this to the on-board speakers. 3D audio from speaker units no better than those of some phones? Let’s not expect miracles.
6. Stand can sit at any angle
One of the original complaints of the Nintendo Switch: crap stand. This improved with the OLED edition of the first-generation console, and Nintendo has gone a strep further with the Switch 2, employing a stand that can sit at just about any angle you like.
7. There’s a Switch 2 camera
Nintendo wants to up the social side of a Switch 2 gaming with a camera made for the console. It’s basically a webcam on a stick designed to sit, most likely, by your TV. One of the neat parts is it’s able to auto green-screen your image, judging by Nintendo’s demos, cutting our your head and torso from the background so the picture doesn’t eat up too much of the game image.
8. Dual USB-C: it’s not for a second screen
Bad news for those who were hoping Nintendo would put something kinda mad in the Switch 2: the second USB-C socket on the top is not to attach a second screen. Not yet anyway. Nintendo says it’s to connect the multiplayer and social-enabling camera accessory. And you can also use it to charge the battery. Handy.
9. 256GB storage
The original Switch had 32GB storage. The OLED version got the bump up to 64GB. Nintendo packs 256GB into the Switch 2, up to eight times as much. This was no doubt a virtually mandatory upgrade considering the shift in resolution and power, which usually comes with much more refined game textures.
10. 4K dock with cooling fan
When you use the Nintendo Switch 2 docked, it will be able to put 4K video when playing games that support such a mode (maxing out at 60fps). It’s a big step up from the 1080p of the first Switch. This is a more involved stand too, one with its own fan that helps reduce the heat of the console. It suggests the Switch 2 will be able to rev a lot harder docked than when handheld, and not just because battery life considerations fade away.
11. Switch game cards are now red (but are they tangy?)
Here’s the biggest shocker of them all. Switch 2 games will now use a red cartridge design rather than the black of the Switch 2. It’s probably a sensible move, though, given some games will be available as original Switch versions as Switch 2 Editions. You don't want to end up with the wrong one. There’s no word on what they’ll taste like, though. Nintendo laces original Switch cartridges with denatonium benzoate, to turn off the more, err, curious tongues out there.
12. There are Switch 2 Edition games
Nintendo loves it when we pay for a new version of a game we already bought. And that get turbo-charged in Switch 2 Edition games. These are original Switch titles given a boost to match the Switch 2’s hardware. In some cases this may mostly been better performance and better graphics. But Nintendo explained the concept with Super Mario Party Jamboree, where the new camera hardware and GameChat features are put to good use. But most of us are probably more interested in the new versions of the Switch’s The Legend of Zelda titles, which get bumped up performance and graphics, and support for phone app features.
13. Mario Kart World bundle is coming
It sounds like we get two optons at launch: a Nintendo Switch 2 with no games at all, or with a Mario Kart World bundle. You can expect home-brew bundles to appear at retailers, as shops try to offload some of the less popular stuff, but from actual Nintendo, it’s Mario Kart World or bust.
14. There’s a new Pro Controller
We kinda hope the existing Switch Pro controller will work on the Switch 2, which is as yet unconfirmed. But we do know a new version is coming too. It looks pretty similar to the old version, but now that the C-button that lets you control your chat settings without much fuss.
15…And a GameCube Controller
Subscribers to Switch Online will also be able to get their hands on a modern recreation of the GameCube controller from 2002 (for us European folks anyway). And here’s why…
16. Nintendo Switch Online now includes Gamecube titles
Just like the rumours suggested, Gamecube games are coming to Switch via the Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. This costs £34.99 a year at present. Games that will be playable at launch are The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, SoulCalibur II and F-Zero GX. Classics. As well as running at higher resolutions than you’d have seen on the Gamecube back in the early 2000s, you’ll be able to play multiplayer either locally or online (up to four players). And you can customise the controls of these titles. Other titles confirmed for release further down the line include Pokemon XD, Mario Smash Football, Chibi-Robo, Luigi’s Mansion, Pokemon Colosseum, Super Mario Sunshine and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
17. Switch 2 only supports faster Express microSD cards
You won’t be able to reuse your Switch microSD cards on the Switch 2. Yep, even if you bought the official cutesy Nintendo ones. The console will only support Express-grade cards, which deliver speeds not dissimilar to a classic (for the nerds, SATA) SSD. This is going to be because in order to avoid horrible texture pop-in, interminable loads and other issues, Nintendo has to let developers be assured a certain grade of storage pep — probably matching what the actual game cartridges provide.
18. GameShare multiplayer
Certain games will support GameShare multiplayer, which lets multiple people play the same game while only one person actually owns the thing. Titles on the list include Captain Toad Tresure Tracker, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, 51 Worldwide Games, Super Mario Odyssey and Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain. Expect more in the future.
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