The Nintendo Switch was one of the hottest hits Nintendo has made in recent history. And because of that, its successor has been wildly anticipated. After Nintendo confirmed the existence of the Nintendo Switch 2, the company has finally unveiled the console in full, and it looks amazing.
Nintendo has just announced the full details of its upcoming console, the Nintendo Switch 2. And there are a lot of changes here compared to its predecessor. The console has a bigger screen, at 7.9 inches. While the screen itself is LCD (we might see an OLED version down the road, just like with the original Switch), it is still greatly improved—it has HDR support for more vivid colors, it has a 1080p resolution, and it has a 120Hz refresh rate, so games can now run at a top speed of 120 frames per second. This last part is big because we’re used to seeing framerates top out at 60 frames per second on consoles. I’m sure not all games will run this fluidly, but the capability is there.
The new Joy-Con 2 controllers are also a huge change compared to the controllers in the Nintendo Switch. They now attach magnetically to your console, and detach with a new back trigger specifically for that purpose. In addition to this, the controllers themselves are also changed a lot. The joysticks are physically bigger (no mention of whether they did anything to fix Joy-Con drift), the SL and SR buttons are bigger, and they have a new “mouse control” functionality where you can run the magnetic rails against a flat surface to perform in-game actions, similar to a computer mouse. There’s also a new Pro controller with new programmable GR and GL back triggers, a C button, and a headphone jack.
Talking about the C button, which is also included on the Joy-Cons 2, Nintendo has confirmed it is for the console’s new GameChat feature. GameChat is made to make the Switch 2’s online multiplayer experience more “personal” with voice and video chat. In a way, you can think of it as a built-in Discord clone. The console has a built-in microphone meant for this GameChat feature, which Nintendo says can catch your voice clearly even if it’s across the room with the console docked to your TV. There’s also a camera that plugs into your console to enable video chatting through GameChat, which is sold separately. GameChat supports parental controls and requires an Online membership, but Nintendo is opening it up to everyone for a limited time until March 31st, 2026.
Other hardware changes touted by Nintendo include better speakers and support for surround sound. The console has support for local multiplayer with multiple consoles through a new feature called GameShare. With one game copy, you can play local multiplayer through multiple consoles by having the other consoles download a temporary in-place copy of the game. It’s almost identical to the “DS Download Play” feature we had in the Nintendo DS. The console has an improved, sturdier kickstand design compared to the kickstand on the original Switch, and it has two USB-C ports—one on the bottom, and one on the top. The one on the top can be good for charging the console while it’s standing up, or it can be good for plugging in the video camera.
The Switch 2 features 256GB of storage compared to the 64GB on the original Switch. Assuming Switch 2 games have a larger download size, the actual storage gains are relative and probably unknown until the console is actually released, but if you stick only to original Switch games, you can fit a lot more of them. The console’s dock is greatly improved, supporting up to 4K resolution on some games.
As previously announced, the Switch 2 has backwards compatibility. A lot of Nintendo Switch games will be upgraded for the Switch 2 with resolution improvements and even new gameplay features, and we’ll see those as “Switch 2 Edition” games with upgrade packages available, so the new console might actually have an upgraded experience on some games.
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Some games were made for the Switch 2 before the console was even announced.
The actual game cards are identical to the original Switch ones, but they’re red—there is technically nothing stopping you from physically putting Switch 2 cartridges on an original Switch, but they won’t work. The Switch 2 will not work with microSD cards made for the original Nintendo Switch, and will instead only take microSD Express cards with faster transfer speeds—you should keep that in mind if you want to expand the console’s storage. It’s relatively easy to migrate from one console to another with the new System Transfer feature, just like you would transfer your data from your old phone to a new phone you just bought.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available for purchase starting on June 5th, with launch titles including Mario Kart World, Street Fighter 6, and Elden Ring. It will be available for pre-order beginning next week, April 9th, for $449.99. It’s a bit steep compared to the pricing on the original Switch models, but it also packs a lot of hardware changes, so it’s up to you to decide whether that price hike is worth it.
Source: Nintendo
