New York
CNN
—
It’s a big day for Nintendo fans. The gaming giant’s new console, the Switch 2, arrives on store shelves globally after being announced in April — marking Nintendo’s first major console launch since the original Switch arrived roughly eight years ago.
And fans have clearly been waiting; 2.2 million people applied for a lottery system to buy the Switch 2 in Japan, according to a translation of an X post from Nintendo in April. Nearly all US Best Buy stores opened just after midnight to accommodate eager fans.
The Switch 2, priced at $450 in the US, can be played in handheld mode, when propped up on a table; or on a TV when plugged in to its accompanying dock, like its predecessor. While the formula is the same as that of the original Switch, Nintendo has made significant upgrades to the hardware, including giving its new console a larger screen, upgraded versions of the Joy-Con controllers and new social features.
Nintendo’s decision to stick with a winning template for the Switch 2 is a testament to the original’s popularity — but also a gamble that its success will endure for the better part of the next decade. While the 2017-era Switch introduced gamers to the concept of a home console that also serves as a portable game machine, the Switch 2 doubles down on that idea, amid growing competition from PC rivals like Valve and Lenovo that have emerged over the last three years.
But Nintendo’s catalogue of beloved characters and games could give it an edge against rivals. Gamers typically buy a Nintendo console because they want exclusive games, like “Super Mario” or “The Legend of Zelda,” despite owning another gaming device.
“The cross ownership rates historically between people that would own an Xbox or a PlayStation or a gaming PC, and who also own a Nintendo device, have always been pretty high compared to other systems,” Mat Piscatella, executive director for video game coverage at market research firm Circana, told CNN in April.
The Switch 2 iterates its predecessor with several new features, including a Game Chat function that lets gamers communicate with other players by tapping a button on the console. Up to 12 players can chat at the same time, and players can share their screen in real time even when playing other games. Nintendo will also allow users to share certain games with other Switch owners while playing in person even if the other player doesn’t own the title.
Nintendo is also bringing some of its signature quirkiness to the Switch 2’s social features; in addition to sharing their screen and video chatting with others, players’ faces will pop up in a tiny bubble near their character in the Switch 2 edition of “Super Mario Party: Jamboree” — an effort to make it feel like players are part of the game itself. However, it requires Nintendo’s $55 camera that’s sold separately.
“Being able to now take that (multiplayer) experience and virtually create it, we think, is something special, because we know more and more people are playing online,” Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser told CNN in April.
The Switch 2’s Joy-Con controllers, which attach to the Switch when it’s being used as a handheld console or can be used separately, now support computer mouse-like functionality, unlike the previous version. That will allow players to drag the controllers across a surface — whether it be a table or person’s lap — to control gameplay on screen.
One new game called “Drag x Drive” is designed around this idea; players pilot characters in powered-up wheelchair-like vehicles across a basketball court to shoot hoops by sliding and dragging Nintendo’s new controllers. In the Switch 2 version of “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond,” players will be able to move the Joy-Con like a mouse for more precise aiming when shooting enemies.
“People who may play on a PC with a mouse and a keyboard, that’s an experience they can’t replicate,” Bowser said.
Nintendo has also given the console hardware a much-needed upgrade. The Switch 2 has a larger 7.9-inch display compared to the original Switch’s 6.2-inch screen, and the Joy-Cons now snap to the console magnetically, which should make them easier to attach or remove from the console. The console has eight times as much storage as its predecessor and the dock supports 4K resolution, two changes that should give players more room to store games and improve how they look when connected to a compatible TV.
Nintendo is pointing to these changes to justify the console’s higher price, which is significantly above the $300 original.
“All of that lends itself to creating a price point that we think is a value to the consumer, because they’ll see the benefit in all these features,” Bowser said. “But it’s also, we think, a reasonable price based on what we’ve been able to build into the device itself.”
Nintendo’s major launch title for the Switch 2 is “Mario Kart World,” a new version of its popular cart racing game that lets players drive off-track to explore the world around them. Games coming later this year include “Donkey Kong Bonanza,” which arrives on July 17, “Drag x Drive,” “Kirby Air Riders” and “Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.”
The Switch 2 can also run games for the original Switch, although Nintendo says on its website that some games may not be fully compatible or supported. But Nintendo is launching Switch Edition 2 versions of existing games that enable those titles to take advantage of the Switch 2’s new hardware with improved visuals and new gameplay modes.
Switch 2 editions of “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom” are available now, while “Super Mario Party Jamboree,” “Kirby and the Forgotten Land” and “Pokémon Legends: Z-A” will get Switch 2 editions later this year.
Yes, Nintendo still sells previous Switch models including the $200 Switch Lite, $300 standard Switch and $350 Switch OLED.
That’s a benefit for shoppers who don’t want to shell out $450, but it could also eat into demand for Nintendo’s new system — especially since many major new titles aren’t out yet.
“The Switch being so successful is a double-edged sword,” Piscatella said ahead of the Switch 2 debut in April. “On the one hand, a huge, great positive base to build on. On the other hand, a huge target to try to reach in terms of the same level of success.”
