On Jan. 16, 2025, video game giant Nintendo announced their newest console: The Nintendo Switch 2. They withheld any information about the new console, making the fans wait until Nintendo Direct on April 2. When that long-awaited direct finally happened, Nintendo showed off The Switch 2 and its abundance of features, as well as a few new installments in some of their flagship franchises. The Nintendo Switch 1 was a huge step up from Nintendo’s last family of consoles, the new Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL, which was released in October 2014 and February 2015 respectively, so they set a pretty high bar for what the next era of Nintendo should look like.
New Features
The Nintendo Switch 2 is largely similar to its predecessor, the Nintendo Switch, with the main draw being its ability to function both as a home console and handheld console, allowing you to play your favorite games both on a TV and on the go. Don’t be deceived though, as the Switch 2 has plenty of improvements and new features that make it an upgrade to its predecessor.
GameChat – The Switch 2 has built in voice call functionality, allowing you and your friends to play and have fun together, all from the comfort of your own homes. GameChat will allows players to share their screen and even green screen yourself over your gameplay in real time, as long as you have a functional Nintendo Switch 2 camera or other compatible USB-C camera.
Bigger, Stronger, Faster – The Switch 2 has a larger screen (7.9 inches), higher processing power (1080p), and better frame rate performance (120 fps) compared to the Switch 1.
Quality of Life – The Switch 2 has a storage capacity of a whopping 256 gigabytes, eight times as much as the Switch 1. Additionally, it has an internal fan to help keep the system cool, as well as a larger more stable stand for handheld or tabletop mode, two USB-C ports, and a headphone jack.
Switch 2 Editions
With the addition of the Switch 2 and its greater performance and processing power, Nintendo is offering paid upgrades for select Nintendo Switch 1 titles. These can be anywhere from simple graphical and performance upgrades, to full on brand new DLC. The prices for these are currently unknown and will likely vary from game to game, based on the contents of the upgrade.
New Games
The Switch 2 is bringing along plenty of new installments for a lot of their most popular and beloved game franchises.
Mario Kart World – Newest installment in the classic Mario racing title. New stages, characters, double the racers, and even an open world exploration mode
Donkey Kong Banaza – DK’s first 3D platformer in 25 years. Get ready to climb, tumble, and burrow through a colorful world. The new title uses the incredibly expressive redesign for DK popularized by 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – The newest installment in the Metroid Prime series, which sees Samus Aran navigate strange worlds in 1st person. This game fits Samus out with new psychic powers, allowing her to interact with the world around her like never before.
There will be plenty more Switch 2 titles announced as time goes on. Keep an eye out for what draws your attention the most.
Pricing
As of publishing, the Switch 2’s retail price is $450, with Mario Kart World being listed as $80. If we are to believe this will be standard for Nintendo Switch 2 titles, it’s a pretty steep price increase. Remember that up until 2020, new Nintendo video games were being sold at $60, which was standard at the time for all platforms. When the current generation of consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S) released in 2020, the standard retail price for video games was increased to $70. Simply put, going from paying $300 for the console and $60 per game for the Switch 1, up to $450 for the console and around $80 per game for the Switch 2 is a pretty hefty increase.
