After watching the underwhelming Nintendo Direct last month this Nintendo Direct is the main event where they unveil their next Nintendo console which is going to be an upgrade over the original Nintendo Switch console. The Nintendo Direct got to share plenty of information about the hardware and compare to the original hardware of the Nintendo Switch as well as talk about new features and a few games that will come exclusively to Nintendo Switch 2.
Firstly the size of the system is much larger than the original Switch console as it has a 7.9 inch screen supporting 1080p resolution in Handheld and 4K resolution when plugged into the TV. It also supports 120 FPS and HDR, Two USB-C slots, has 256 GB internal storage, fan ventilation for power cooling, improved audio as well as having 3D Audio support.
The game changer is the updated Joy-Con called the Joy-Con 2. It is taller than the regular Switch Joy-Con Controllers with bigger sticks but still using the not-so-good thumbgrips that the original Joy-Cons used. But the Joy-Con 2 can be used now as a Mouse which will games take advantage of the Mouse feature and I personally would like to see First Person Shooter games on the console take full advantage of this. The Mouse feature of the Nintendo Switch 2's Joy-Con 2 looks to deliver an experience closer to the PC and it is great and about time a game company decides to implement it to the Joy-Con 2. Just hope that the new Joy-Con 2s are more long lasting and resolve the Joy-Con drift once and for all.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will still offer up a Pro Controller for those wanting a traditional controller to use and the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller is for the most part the same as it was on the original Switch with the exception that it has two back buttons with GL and GR Buttons that you can assign any of the controllers buttons to. This again is a game changer to compete with Third Party PlayStation and Xbox controllers that offered those features but with only having two of the back buttons instead of four.
One of the big main features that the Nintendo Switch 2 has that Nintendo talked in depth about was the GameChat feature where you can talk with your friends while still playing your games which has been a thing since the Xbox 360/PS3 era. However you will be able to enable friends game screens so you can watch friends or family play. The New Joy-Con 2s and the new Pro Controllers have a C Button which will allow you to pull up a Chat Menu for you to customize screen settings as well as turning on or off the microphone which is built into the console which is another game changer that means no longer needing to buy a separate microphone or headset to chat with friends or family. So Nintendo is finally stepping up with the whole game chat party thing that every other 8th gen and 9th gen console has already done brilliantly up to this point. The Nintendo Switch 2 will also have a camera which you can use to display your body on the game screen similar to how streamers and Vtubers display themselves in their own game streams and they plan to have games take advantage of having player bodies show up and be used for interacting in gameplay.
They also talked about being able to share games with other Nintendo Switch 2 consoles locally through wireless which can also be used for GameChat as well.
As far as specs for the Nintendo Switch 2 will go it won't be as powerful as a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S but will be as powerful as a PlayStation 4 Pro which makes the Nintendo Switch 2 console much behind the current gen consoles much like the original Nintendo Switch.
You can still enjoy the online features of the original Switch on the Nintendo Switch 2 such as streaming classic games alongside other features that are on the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack as well as transfer everything you have on the original Nintendo Switch console to the new Nintendo Switch 2 Console.
On the subject of streaming classic games the big highlight of this Nintendo Direct was announcing that releasing exclusively onto the Nintendo Switch 2 at launch is the Nintendo Gamecube Library coming to the Nintendo Switch Online Service with three games confirmed to launch with the service. These are The Legend of Zelda Windwaker, Soulcalibur 2 and F-Zero GX, all of the game's can be save stated if needed as well as being able customize controls to their liking. More Nintendo Gamecube titles like Pokemon Coliseum, Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness and Fire Emblem Path of Radiance are planned to come in future, just a shame that the original Nintendo Gamecube version of Tales of Symphonia is NOT one of games announced.
As for the games that are announced to come for the Nintendo Switch 2 most of the games announced are either games that were already released on other platforms or first party Nintendo Switch games that have been updated to take advantage of the new Nintendo Switch 2's more powerful hardware. Games like The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have higher resolution, support higher frame rates and HDR that makes for an improved visual quality experience while Mario Party Jamboree for the Nintendo Switch 2 will have more minigames to play and Kirby and the Forgotten Land will have a new storyline exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2. The upcoming Metroid Prime 4 Beyond for Nintendo Switch 2 will not only take advantage of the new hardware of the Nintendo Switch 2 but also take advantage of the Mouse control features.
Other games announced coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 are Eldern Ring Tanished Edition, Street Fighter 6 Years 1 + 2 Fighters Edition, Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion, Split Fiction, Hogwarts Legacy, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4, Hitman World of Assassin Signature Edition, Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut, Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment, Deltarune, Borderlands 4, Sid Meier's Civilization VII, WWE 2K, NBA 2K, Survival Kids, Enter the Gungeon 2, Starseeker Astroneer Expeditions, Kirby Air Riders, Donkey Kong Bananza, Cyberpunk 2077 Ultimate Edition, the utterly disappointing Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Edition which will no doubt come with that stupid and pointless Yuffie chapter and lastly from the minds of the souls/borne genre From Software with their latest game The Duskbloods.
So the Nintendo Switch 2 has a decent number of games that are going to be available at launch as well as a couple that will come in the future of 2025 and 2026 but however there are few stand outs from them all. Plus plenty of the announced games were just games that are already available on other platforms without much Nintendo Direct 2 exclusives.
By far the biggest standout Nintendo Switch 2 Launch game is the new Mario Kart game with Mario Kart World which will have a new Battle Royale type game mode called Knockout Tour where you can get eliminated if you don't reach the placement when you reach a checkpoint, a free roam mode where you can freely drive around each new track and explore around to your hearts' contempt.
Nintendo have a revealed the release date for the Nintendo Switch 2 which the system will launch on the 5th June 2025 is a bit too early in my opinion. Surely they could have waited maybe a couple more months or waited for the right holiday session to launch it but instead they picked 5th June 2025 which we only have to wait two more months for the console.
What will turn off people is the price tag which the Nintendo Switch 2 console with retail for £429.99 for Europeans like me and $449.99 for those in the US which is a very hefty price tag which will include the console and Mario Kart World game Bundle. It shows that with these new game consoles coming out the price tag for them raises so it is going to be too much for those that currently still holding on to their old Nintendo Switch consoles.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will be compatible with the original Nintendo Switch titles but Nintendo has confirmed that NOT every Nintendo Switch game will work on the new Nintendo Switch 2 console so you need to check online to see if the Nintendo Switch you want to play on the Nintendo Switch 2 will work on it or not.
Overall the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal was okay, it showed off the capabilities of the new hardware with some of them being game changing like the Joy-Con 2 working like a mouse. I do like that Nintendo Gamecube games are coming to the Nintendo Switch's Online Service and launching with Mario Kart World is great but is £429.99 even worth getting it. Honestly I don't think so, mostly because there isn't enough standout games for the Nintendo Switch 2 to make you want to invest getting this console yet especially when the library of games announced are just a bunch of re-release titles and remasters. There are other things I would want to see from the console like would Nintendo add a more traditional achievement system like what PlayStation, Xbox and Steam have to adding more classic games to the Nintendo Switch Online Service and lastly will the new Joy-Con 2 last better than the old Joy-Cons. I'm sure that Nintendo will do more with the new Nintendo Switch 2 as time goes on but we'll need to see what support this new Nintendo console gets when it launches.
Are you going to get a Nintendo Switch 2 console when it comes out on 5th June 2025 or wait when more worthwhile titles come out or when the price goes down a bit.
Written by Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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