It’s lastly right here. After months of rumors, Nintendo has formally introduced the Switch 2, and maybe the most important shock is how unsurprising it’s.
I’m not simply talking concerning the leaks, which have confirmed to be largely correct. As beforehand reported, the Switch 2 seems to be very very similar to the primary Switch. It’s greater and the Joy-Cons now connect magnetically, however the type issue, perform, and value stay largely unchanged from the primary Switch.
As a sequel to Nintendo’s hottest console of all time, the corporate opted to supply an even bigger, extra highly effective model of the system tens of millions of individuals already personal. And this, I believe, is for the most effective. It won’t have a gimmick, however perhaps, for the primary time in an extended whereas, there doesn’t must be one. The improve in energy alone permits Nintendo to lean even deeper into what made the Switch so successful: video games.
Nintendo’s first occasion output in the course of the Switch period — between Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — has been a number of the finest within the firm’s historical past. And between the Super Mario Bros. Movie and points of interest at Universal Studios, the Nintendo model is probably greater than it is ever been. So releasing a system that can assist the video games shine even brighter is probably the most effective factor Nintendo can do proper now.
In the previous, Nintendo’s {hardware} updates have been outlined by some type of new, normally quirky function or hook. The Wii’s movement controls, the DS’s double display screen, the 3DS’ glasses-free 3D, the Wii U’s pill, and the Switch’s hybrid nature. Even unpopular consoles just like the Virtual Boy nonetheless supplied a novel spin on {hardware}.
The whimsy and enjoyable of every new piece of Nintendo {hardware} normally makes up for the dearth of energy in comparison with PlayStation or Xbox; nicely, that and the Nintendo first-party exclusives. And for the Nintendo Switch, the large hook of the system — the flexibility to play console video games on the go, or on the TV — mixed with a number of the finest Zelda and Mario video games ever launched on a Nintendo console have been sufficient to propel the Nintendo Switch to report gross sales, turning into the second-best promoting console of all time behind the Nintendo DS. As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t repair it.
But right here’s the factor. There was one thing concerning the Switch that wanted a repair. One obvious problem seemingly mounted by the Switch 2: The horsepower.
Even when the primary Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, many famous that whereas the flexibility to play console video games on the go or on the TV was a game-changer, it was nonetheless notably under-powered in comparison with its contemporaries, the PS4 and Xbox One. There have been miracles, for certain, like getting video games like Doom Eternal to run on the Switch, however because the years went on, the Switch fell additional and additional behind.
As console makers like Sony and Microsoft launched aggressive mid-cycle refreshes just like the PS4 Pro and Xbox Series X, many thought Nintendo would introduce a Nintendo Switch Pro . Instead, Nintendo opted for enhancements to the shape issue (Nintendo Switch Lite) and the display screen (Nintendo Switch OLED). The enhancements to the GPU can be reserved, it appears, for the Switch 2.
The mission assertion is obvious: This is a greater, extra highly effective Switch. If you personal a Switch and it’s (virtually) all the things you’ve ever wished from a console, you’re going to like the Switch 2. If you have been ready for a extra highly effective Switch, right here it’s. It’s a system that does just about nothing to alienate anyone that remotely enjoys the present Nintendo Switch expertise.
Even its backward compatibility appears geared to get as many Switch house owners as potential to improve. With just a few exceptions, it seems like most Switch video games you already personal shall be playable on the Switch 2. And whereas we have now no additional info on it, the extra highly effective {hardware} will probably supply some advantages to older video games.
There have been just a few people on-line who lament this “true sequel” nature of the Switch 2. For them, the 3D, or movement controls, or no matter new thought comes packaged in a brand new Nintendo {hardware} launch is the large attraction, a sentiment with which I agree considerably. I nonetheless play my 3DS to today and the glasses-free 3D results proceed to place a smile on my face.
But if Nintendo faces a alternative between innovating with one more new {hardware} mannequin, or bettering its present one, the reply is obvious. The Switch has apparent technical shortcomings that the Switch 2 plainly addresses, in the meantime experimental tech in 2025 appears to have hit a wall as seen by the stagnant AR and VR {hardware} house. Something Nintendo briefly experimented with themselves with Nintendo Labo to combined outcomes.
On the graphics-side, even new consoles just like the PS5 and Xbox Series X aren’t promoting their imaginative and prescient of the long run. Sure, ray-tracing is good, and the quicker SSDs imply load instances are just about a factor of the previous, however 4K graphics haven’t materially improved the gameplay expertise for many individuals, particularly for the reason that analysis exhibits many avid gamers are nonetheless largely taking part in video games from the mid-2010s.
Nintendo is an exception to this. While the Switch 2 probably gained’t hit 4K graphics, as the corporate’s consoles usually fall about two generations behind the competitors, there’s nonetheless headroom to make up. The Switch 2 won’t be as highly effective because the PS5, not by a longshot, however closing the hole is a crucial step each for permitting additional innovation and evolution for Nintendo first-party video games, and making certain the Switch 2 is taken into account a worthwhile vacation spot by third-party builders and publishers.
If the Switch 2 is ready to be on par with or perhaps a bit higher than the Steam Deck, for instance, then it’ll theoretically be capable of run video games like Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which was only in the near past verified for Steam Deck. That is a current-gen sport that we might doubtlessly see on the Switch 2, elevating its worth proposition for doubtlessly tens of millions of extra avid gamers than simply those that already personal and luxuriate in their Nintendo Switch.
Ultimately, the large new hook of the Switch 2 is that for the primary time since perhaps the Super Nintendo, the corporate has determined the most effective plan of action to take care of its stage of creativity is to play it secure and easily simply launch a extra highly effective console.
Even the title is a press release of intent. Whereas the Wii U confusingly tried to promote itself as each a successor to the Wii (with its previous options like movement controls) and one thing model new (its tablet-like controller), the Switch 2 is simple. This is the following Switch, the higher one, the one you must improve to the identical approach you wish to improve to the following iPhone.
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor.
