Nintendo Switch 2 finally unveiled

After years of speculation and a barrage of recent information leaks, Nintendo has officially revealed the successor to its current, wildly successful hybrid games console. The Nintendo Switch 2 retains the same overall design and form factor, the same kind of detachable controllers and its signature handheld/docked operating modes, but appears to be bigger than before (we’ll have to wait in order to know precisely by how much) and closer to black than grey in color. It sports a second, new USB-C port next to the 3.5 mm headphone jack, as well as a redesigned kickstand and a more streamlined dock adorning the new system’s logo.

The first-look trailer below seems to confirm a few details that made the rounds on the Web over the last few months: the Joy-Con thumb sticks look like they are built differently, they are most probably magnetically attached and there’s definitely that mysterious, much-discussed new button on the right Joy-Con (we still have no idea what it does though). As pretty much expected, the Switch 2 is compatible with both physical and digital Switch games, although the press release insists that “certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2”. Another thing we’ll know more about at a later date.

It’s fair to say that, as far as new gaming systems go, this reveal was extremely light on details. All we have to go on is that “2025” at the end of the video – indicating that Switch 2 will indeed launch this year – as well as a few frames of a new Mario Kart game that may or may not be a launch title. No release date, no price, no specs and no games would make this the absolute bare minimum for a console announcement, which might be enough for loyal Nintendo fans but probably not for the rest of us. All this video did, essentially, was confirm that the Switch 2 looks like its predecessor and that it’s coming in 2025 – both of which many gamers expected anyway.

As is usually the case with everything Nintendo, the Web seems to be reacting to the Switch 2 announcement in one of two ways so far. There are many people claiming to be disappointed by the fact that this looks very much like an iterative release, not bold enough or different enough to the original Switch (at least by Nintendo standards). There are other people who believe that this, the “more of the same but better” Switch is exactly what the company needs for this particular console to be successful, especially given the distinct possibility that it will be based on hardware that’s weaker than what even the Xbox Series S is built around.

Both parties, though, may very well be right and wrong, at the same time, for different reasons, as there are other factors that should be taken into account. Things like the vast install base of the original Switch for one (more than 145 million units at the time of writing), the wide range of PC handhelds that will be made available over the next few months for another (offering more attractive alternatives), even the probability of both Sony and Microsoft releasing more powerful handheld systems at some point in the next 2-3 years (the original Switch had an 8-year run with virtually no competition). The Switch 2 will face quite a different market in 2025 than the one its predecessor did in 2017 and things may not play out the same way this time around.

Despite the reveal video being somewhat underwhelming, more people than ever will be talking about the new console now, which was obviously the point. The Japanese company promises to share more on a special Nintendo Direct presentation on April 2nd, as well as hold Switch 2 Experience events (for consumers to try out the new system) around the world at specific dates starting April 4th. Since the dates for these events stretch as far as June or even later, that may indicate that the Switch 2 will not launch before the summer – a rather disappointing scenario. Then again, this is Nintendo we are talking about so one needs to leave some room for surprises. Let the speculation begin.