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That Nintendo Switch 2 Direct had a lot of information and hence, we have a lot of thoughts on the subject. Let’s just hop into it.

Downs

Nintendo Switch 2 Thoughts

Going into the event, I honestly didn’t have high expectations for the Switch 2. I was never a big fan of the Switch 1, but enjoyed what I played on it. I came into this even underestimating what the system would be capable of and wasn’t expecting much from the games either. (Especially game wise.) The biggest concern for me was how the Switch 2 hardware would be in terms of its capabilities. From what I knew, mobile tech hasn’t really leapt forward in recent years—at least not in an affordable way. I figured the Switch 2 would just be a slightly beefed-up version of the original and be just another Android tablet but with a 2 on the box.

Game-wise, all we really knew about was Mario Kart, which looked decent—aside from Donkey Kong’s character design. Oh man, it’s bad. He honestly looked like a poor man’s Bigs the Cat. I’m sure it will grow on me overtime, but the only thought that comes to mind whenever I see the new Donkey Kong is the following:

“Every fiber of my evolutionary being is repulsed by the genetic weakness demonstrated by your face”

Third party wise it’s always a crapshoot with Nintendo consoles as of late. I just hoped third-party titles wouldn’t be as unoptimized and blurry as they were on the original Switch.
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Hardware Impressions

Likes & Dislikes

I was genuinely impressed by the hardware. While we already had a good idea of the design thanks to leaks, the actual features were mostly unknown.

What I liked:

• Bigger screen: The larger display fills in that awkward empty space from the original. Honestly, this is something they should’ve done from the start.

• Mouse pointer controls: This feature is a game-changer. It opens the door to better PC ports and gives devs more flexibility. Easily my favorite addition—and probably the most underrated one too.

• Power: This was the biggest surprise. I expected something in the PS4 to PS4 Pro range, but what they showed feels more like Xbox One X, maybe even brushing up against Series S territory. The fact that it can hit 4K 60fps is huge. It’s way more competitive of a device than I expected. Now how many games can actually hit that remains to be seen. I just believe this is a better starting point for a system coming out at the end of a current console gen then what the Switch 1 provided.

What I didn’t like:

• Chat button: Feels pointless, especially for someone like me who mostly plays single-player. Unless it’s remappable, it’s just wasted real estate.

• No OLED screen: I appreciate the bump to 1080p and HDR, but dropping OLED feels like a major step back. After using devices like the OLED Switch, Steam Deck OLED, and even the PS Vita, going back to LCD just sucks—especially when OLED screens offers better battery life along with better colors. At this price point, they should’ve just gone all in. I guess we got to wait for that eventual “OLED edition” for $500 lol

• Game card limitations: Still stuck with the same 64GB carts, and it sounds like publishers are going to continue on cheaping out on physical copies due to this. Nintendo isn’t fully at fault with this, but there has to be something Nintendo can do to get the cost down. At least we’re still getting physical editions for the cheapskate publishers, even if it’s just a card for a digital download.
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Games

Overall, I thought the Direct had a solid lineup. There were a few games that really stood out and are on my day-one wishlist:

• Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remastered
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Mario Kart World
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Then there are others I’d like to check out eventually:
• GameCube emulation titles
• Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch 2 version
• Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
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Controversies – My Take

The big three points of contention seem to be:

• $80 game pricing

• Console price ($450)

• Physical copies that are basically just digital licenses

Honestly, I was a bit annoyed at first, especially with the $80 games and those license-only physical releases. But after talking with friends and thinking it over, I’ve come to the conclusion it’s not anything substantial.

$80 Games – Yeah, it’s expensive. But gaming’s a luxury hobby. It’s not essential, and if the price bothers you, you can always wait on sale or find deals. It’s just how things are now.

Console Price – $450 isn’t outrageous, especially compared to other current-gen consoles. It’s actually the cheapest of the big three, apart from the Series S. Sure, it’s a jump from the original Switch, but not unreasonable.

Physical/Digital Hybrid – I still don’t think this approach is future-proof model for hoarders- I mean preservationists like myself, but it’s better than nothing. It at least gives some way to trade, lend or resell digital games for the time being. Not great, but not worth crying over.
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Am I Getting One?

Yep, I plan to pick up a Switch 2. The games and hardware upgrades sold me on it. The only thing that might stop me is availability—I’m not about to pay for the eBay edition for one.

As for you the reader, If you’re on the fence, I’d say: if you already have a Switch, you’re good to hold off and wait until you can try the Switch 2 for yourself. The original still has life left in it. And if this transition is anything like PS4 to PS5 or Xbox One to Series X, you may not need to upgrade for a while. (Or ever for some people)

But if you don’t have a Switch yet, then yeah—the Switch 2 is a no-brainer. You’ll get a strong new lineup and access to a massive library of older titles too. Don’t think too hard about it and go for it.

Andrew

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct shown us plenty in that hour long presentation. I have a few thoughts swirling around about it and now I want to share them with you. Buckle up.

Game Prices

This is something I actually already tackled in this article here, but I still wish to briefly touch on the fact that while the games appear expensive, we all knew it would happen. Inflation finally got to it and now I’m sure Xbox and Playstation will follow suit.

The Actual Games

There were so many games that we simply can’t write about them all. So I’ll keep this brief. The ones that caught my attention the most were obviously Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza.

We finally know that this title is not titled Mario Kart 9 like so many of rightfully assumed and that’s okay. This game looks absolutely amazing.

Charle

It has been 8 full years since the Switch 1 came out and gave us video game bliss. Hundreds of titles, different accessory experiments like Labo and the AR based Mario Kart setup game, and we are on the precipice of another console generation kicking off. 

The main question we have to ask is:

Will the Switch 2 offer something that makes it a must buy on day one? Or is it something to hold off for on an upgrade or special edition?

We will examine this topic through two different perspectives. I will discuss the metrics of the Switch 2 and wrap up this feature with what I think I will go forward with and what others should do to make their decision easier. 

Switch 2: first impressions and what we know of it. 

The Switch 2 is the game industry’s worst kept secret. It got leaked on the first Nintendo Direct announcement last year, and the company has been trying to do damage control ever since. 

What are the main differences between Switch 1 and 2? Switch 2 has more firepower under the hood. It has a stronger processor, more ram, additional hardware capabilities like built in microphone and mouse feature with the joycons. Another thing it has is 4K 60FPS docked for most games. The games part I’ll discuss in a different section of this feature.

Lastly, it is boasting magnetic joycons, instead of the slide features like the Switch 2. The cherry on top of this powerhouse is backwards compatibility for most games. It’s good to see Nintendo invest in this feature because a lot of us, like myself, have invested 100s of dollars into building our collection. The very least we want to be able to do is play our games in the next generation. 

From the hardware standpoint, it is impressive and worthy of an upgraded platform. The price is a firm 450 USD. It is comparable to the low end Series S Xbox, but in portable format. This price is for the base system. It’s 500 for Switch 2 and Mario Kart World. 

If we’re getting a new system, in addition to the internal specs of it, we have to discuss the variety of launch games if offers. To give you an example, Xbox 360 had Perfect Dark Zero, King Kong, Kameo Elements of Power, and Call of Duty 2. PS4 had Killzone Shadow Fall, Battlefield 4, Infamous Second Son, and Call of Duty Ghosts. Both systems were a good mix of action and shooter games for launch titles. 

The current lineup for Switch 2 is Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Banaza, and 2 remasters, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild enhanced and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom enhanced edition. Both editions can be upgraded if you already bought either game. The enhanced versions discuss remastered graphics, gameplay, and quick load times.

Two out of the four games I listed will be brand new. The rest of the games on launch day are third party like Hitman Absolution, and Cyberpunk 2077. Unless you’ve already played these on PS5 and Series X, they will get a small boost from playing them on a new console. 

Overall, I’d say this is a solid spread of games to try out for the new console. I think Nintendo needs to lean more into first party games if they want to keep their main player base happy. We will get into why you should or should not get one. 

Okay, now that we talked about what the Switch 2 will offer and how it compares to Switch 1, what are my thoughts on the new console being announced?

Excite factor: with every new console launch, it is magical thing. New tech, new games, new experience to create and bond with family and friends over going through the first time of starting up a game. Until the Series X predecessor and PS6 come out , Switch 2 is going to lead the charge in getting new systems out there and new hardware into new developers. 

Price:

As mentioned earlier, it is 450 USD. Its higher than the standard Switch 1 models, but I’m guessing you’ll have to save up or find a solid trade in. For this part of the console, consider me mildly interested. I’ve read so far that GameStop gives the best trade in value for Switch 1 consoles, so if I’m wanting to check it out, I’d probably stop there if I can find anything else. 

Games:

Two of the games announced are first party and are sequels. The rest of the games are ported, or there are some stronger third party sequels like the Daemon Ex Machina sequel my editor is talking about in his previous news feature. Honestly, I think Nintendo has to offer more if it’s going to turn me and others to get your console. 

If I’m spending a couple hundred dollars for a new console to play games with, I need to downsize my current Switch 1 library or use my collection . The price was something I thought was locked in too high for an average fan, but I also anticipate they will release a special edition one or drop the price a little bit. The biggest question about that is will Nintendo entertain that idea that could be trusted to be written carefully? Or do I just need to eat the cost and get a console?

My overall thoughts for Switch 2, based on the games, hardware, and price are not in favor of getting the newest console. I say this because if we are going to enter the next step that will thrust us into the next generation of games, they better be worthwhile to have. The games are okay at launch, but Nintendo should have had their latest Pokemon or a new Animal Crossing ready to go for playing. Games like the two I mentioned are on the way to release, but it needs time to cook.

Lastly:

Should I get the Switch 2? That’s a complex question. If you have the money and resources, I’d say buy it up with the latest games. But these last 2 console and platform generations haven’t offered any games that were a must buy. A lot of them were standard or remasters. 

Most people might be content with remasters or reboots of IPs of long past, but it kills creativity. Yes, I would love to play my favorite game from 10 years ago, but this also puts up a barrier for fresh ideas to come in. Developers used to take more risks, instead of sequels or things with an established IP. This is why I think indie games are the booster shot we all need to keep things interesting in video games. There is no corporate overhead to control everything from the original team’s vision. We will continue to have remasters and reboots if we buy them, but we should also look at those creators brave enough to try different things. Even if they fail or no one hears about them for years, they still took a risk to put their idea out there and to cement their place in history to give us new ideas to throw into the ecosystem. 

So this brings us to the ultimate question. Should I buy a Switch 2? I’m not going to get the Switch 2. I will save up and eventually I’ll have enough to get one, but I’m not going to get one on launch day. I highly suspect, based on the specs it has, that Nintendo has a new version of the switch 2 ready to go. The launch wave of any new tech is a culmination of not enough product, questionable software (Mario Kart and Donkey Kong are strong contenders for launch titles), and price. Things have changed drastically since before COVID in terms of how people view entertainment, their time, or money, so this is something to approach with modesty. I will not get the Switch 2, but for families or someone that hasn’t had a console in years, this might be a good entry to get back in the game. And luckily, most of the Switch 1 games are backwards compatible. 

I hope this information could help give a better explanation on what the Switch 2 is and why it is or not the best choice to pick up right now. I don’t think it will run out of units, but if you don’t want to battle scalpers, I’d say either pre order now or wait a year or so when they’re freshly restocked.