Sweet, sweet relief. That’s most of what I feel.
There has never been, in the entirety of my 25-odd years of following the videogame industry, a more tiring new console hype cycle.
It’s been almost four years since all that supposedly guaranteed “Switch Pro” bluster turned into the Switch OLED model, and to this day it seems just as likely that internal plans at Nintendo changed late as a “Pro” model never existed in the first place. The internet learned nothing from that experience, of course, and essentially all of the online – then, eventually, the increasingly offline – hardware speculation since has centred on the system’s successor. Reports have indicated the Switch 2’s hardware specs may have been finalised as early as 2022. Analysts have thrown out ironclad predictions and been wrong repeatedly. Entire YouTube channels have made their names off speculation and anticipation.
The wait for a Switch 2 reveal was so long that Nintendo themselves felt the need to add a “no new console news” asterisk to the announcement of every new presentation. Eventually third-party accessory manufacturers conspired to leak the dimensions and form factor of the system, emboldened by the number of competitors doing the same thing. By the middle of December 2024 we had essentially seen everything it was possible to see about the supposed chassis of this machine; by the time the January 2025 date had reached double digits we had seen and cross-examined every inch of the new dock, joy-cons, even a motherboard. All that was left was for the big N to draw aside that stupid curtain and show up in an official capacity with the new console.
And then yesterday, at long last, they did. What a day.
– Sleek and Safe –
Surprise surprise; the most leaked console of all time does not look all that surprising. Whether you’ve had your social media feeds inundated with speculation for months or not, the form factor of the Nintendo Switch 2 is probably not going to shock you. It’s got a bigger screen – resolution and panel type unconfirmed – with bigger joy-con controllers, a kickstand heavily inspired by the Switch OLED model, a black (or at least darker grey than the original Switch) colour scheme with pastel pops of colour where you’ll find an electromagnetic side-on attachment mechanism instead of slide rails. Otherwise, it appears to work just like the first Switch, and yes, it’s called the Nintendo Switch 2. Not the Super Nintendo Switch; not the New Nintendo Switch; not the Switch U or the Switch XL; this is unquestionably a sequel console in the long-standing, very effective Playstation tradition.
The 2-minute reveal trailer focuses almost entirely on drawing a direct comparison with the original 2017-model Nintendo Switch, foregoing that system’s trademark “lifestyle” trailer playbook in favour of an all-CG piece-by-piece transformation from Switch to Switch 2. In conjunction with the name choice, this is likely to prove a smart move for the majority of Nintendo’s audience, even if it rings a bit underwhelming for more dedicated fans like myself. The prime objective of the reveal video seems to be to eliminate any and all potential confusion among potential customers as to what the Switch 2 is. Even the iconic ‘click’ sound that opened every game trailer for the last eight years has been replaced by a distinctive ‘snap’ or ‘clap’ soundbite, and I mean, just look at the size of that number 2 in the logo. For now, potentially distracting bells and whistles have been kept close to the chest.
– Two Blind Mice –
Regardless, traces of those trademark Nintendo quirks are still present in the reveal trailer. Chief among them is undoubtedly the capability of the new joy-cons to function as PC-esque mice, which while not unprecedented – hello, Lenovo Legion Go – is relentlessly exciting as a built-in feature on a dedicated videogame console. Like almost everything else in the trailer, the feature did leak online, but only a couple of weeks beforehand, rather than literal months ago like the chassis design and magnetic joy-con reports did. This recency might contribute a bit to the excitement I feel for the almost-unexpected development, but not as much as the sheer potential of such an intuitive control option in the hands of Nintendo’s wacky first-party development houses.
And as for things that technically did not leak, we now have a look at the fresh Switch 2 take on joy-con wrist straps, which are hollow to complement the colourful segments jutting out of the controllers – and what a way to reveal their form! Using the corded part of the wrist straps to evoke mouse tails as the joy-cons slide across an invisible surface towards the Switch 2 tablet itself is just such a Nintendo marketing move, and it works fabulously to add a bit of whimsy to an otherwise corporate-clean presentation. Sure, questions around long-session comfort arise, but it’s all to play for.
– A Fond Farewell to Mario Kart 8 –
We often talk about videogames that inspire warm nostalgia in us, but how often can we say a single game has held countless fond memories and yet remained the latest in its franchise for eleven years? Indeed Mario Kart 8, its enhanced port Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and the multitude of expansion content released over the last decade have been with me, my various friend groups and my family ever since May 2014. Through parties, gatherings and online sessions, sober and decidedly un-sober moments, friends and rivals have come and gone. This resilient game has survived major life changes and, perhaps more impressively, my ongoing efforts to get my nearest and dearest into new multiplayer titles. A session has rarely been far away – usually unplanned.
MK8 now faces the distant horizon as a mega-selling champion of the industry, with dignity and pride. A successor is on the way.
Whether the single videogame glimpse from the Switch 2 trailer will bear the title Mario Kart 9, Mario Kart X, or (my favourite theory) simply Mario Kart, its presence makes it extremely likely to be a Switch 2 launch title, and the game brings along some exciting changes to the franchise. First and foremost, the new character art style is an instant hit with me: from what we can tell, the characters all share a wider, more rigid look that immediately calls to mind the sprites from the very first Super Mario Kart and its immensely influential sequel Mario Kart 64; the clincher here is Donkey Kong’s throwback pre-Rareware design, which also seems to have taken on characteristics of Seth Rogen’s 2023 Super Mario Bros Movie look.
Secondly, the focus of the new game as far as we can tell is size; no less than twenty-four starting grid spots show up in the opening frames, and the straight road at the end of the teaser looks like it goes on without end. I daresay, as someone who finally started watching Drive to Survive this month, I can’t help but think there may be a few more Formula 1 fans on the Mario Kart development staff than there were a decade ago, and the possibilities for power-up pit stops and team racing run wild in my mind – for now.
It must be said the game hardly screams “next generation visuals” – especially under the weight of YouTube video compression and the still-ridiculous visual chops of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I would believe you if you told me this game was initially planned to release on the first Nintendo Switch before Deluxe’s crazy sales momentum pushed plans back. Still, modest technical aims might be what allows for such large maps and player counts, so who am I to complain. In any case, this is a tremendously smart choice to spearhead a launch game lineup.
– Uh-Oh –
But will this console get joy-con drift?
That is perhaps the least exciting question left to answer after this reveal trailer ticked off so many other mystery boxes, though suffice to say it’s pretty important. But unless Nintendo outright reveals the use of hall-effect joysticks in the schematics of their new system – which is far too technical a bullet point to be likely – we won’t know for sure until people get their hands on the console for long enough to test durability.
What is worth noticing, however, is that the virtual camera holds oddly long on that zoomed-in shot of the new left joy-con in the trailer – enough to showcase rather clearly that this control stick is housed tightly beneath a colourful debris shield of sorts. This won’t mean much if the mechanism underneath is unchanged, but tiny abrasions and shaved plastic are famously one of the main contributors to the ugly drift phenomenon that continues to affect PS5 controllers just as badly as Switch ones, so this is… something?
We do have ourselves a potential new challenger for a widespread console issue, however, and it has already been pointed out to me independently by friends and strangers alike in the past 24 hours: just what is going on with those perilously-exposed multi-pin connectors on either side of the main console body? I’m sure they have been rigorously tested, but they look ready to snap right off with any bit of force, and I shudder to think what a child or two might do to them during an argument. Fingers crossed this leads to nothing majorly concerning, but yeeeeesh.
– The Real Fun Begins Now –
The Switch 2 will not release until after April 2nd, when a massive Switch 2 blowout presentation will air online to flesh out the console’s launch plans. This of course means the Switch 1 is hurtling towards an unbroken 8-year streak (and then some) as the main pillar of Nintendo’s console business. That is an unreal stretch, and the unlikely presence of an OLED screen on the Switch 2 means I intend to treasure the next three months of Switch 1 games – especially Xenoblade Chronicles X in March – as best I can. History has proven I do not move from OLED back to LCD without significant first-world whinging.
There’s still a myriad of tasty questions to ask of this thing beyond the robustness of its launch window game lineup, which (it’s probably fair to assume) will probably be just fine. These are the big ones for me, or at least the ones that come to mind for now:
- Is the second USB-C port at the top of the device just for a second charging option and Apple/Google wired headphones (both massively appreciated, incidentally), or are we in for more insane Nintendo peripherals?
- Is this portable screen really going for a 1080p display when most big games will be unable to hit that resolution natively?
- What does that mysterious button on the bottom of the new right joy-con do, and why is it completely blank in this trailer when every believable leak so far has had the letter “C” on that button?
- Why didn’t Nintendo show off the operating system, and is the answer possibly related to the last question?
- Backwards compatibility is fantastic, but how will Switch 1 games take advantage of the new console’s extra power? Will publishers charge for some graphical upgrades like on other platforms?
- What SD card spec are we looking at here to expand console memory, and how much more expensive will the better cards be?
- Will the console’s price exceed $750 AUD? I highly doubt it, but I don’t see a price under $650 happening either, especially since the Switch OLED still sells for $540 here. Come to think of it, will the Switch OLED be discontinued? Surely all three Switch 1 models don’t stay on shelves all together with the Switch 2 alongside them?
- Is a July release the most realistic option here? Would Nintendo really take on Summer Game Fest by dropping a new console in the middle of June?
- Why does Melbourne get a limited hands-on event in May, but Sydney doesn’t?
There will be much more to say on the new Nintendo machine over the coming months, but for now, I’m just going to bask in that glorious relief a bit longer.
Vagrant Rant 