The Switch 2 is a surprising update in many ways.
Nintendo is no stranger to switching things up with their new hardware releases, often adding a novel new feature or two to catch the eye. This time however, with the Switch 2, they’ve gone for a much more conservative approach.
It's not as exciting — but Nintendo's decision to iterate rather than reinvent truly feels like the right move for the current moment.
On launch day I found the entire unboxing and setup experience somewhat familiar — opening up the little red box to see the hardware that, although technically new, represented something that, after eight years with the original Switch, we’re all now well acquainted with. Turning on the machine, complete with its strikingly similar user interface, and transferring across all my original Switch games, only added to this growing sense of déjà vu.
It’s a feeling that anybody who has upgraded their smartphone will likely be aware of — you’re excited to get a shiny new phone, but within an hour or so, with all your old apps back in their place, it feels like nothing has really changed.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. The original Switch was a huge success, with its category-defining hybrid form factor a key part of that crowd-pleasing prosperity. As such, it’s probably fair to suggest that plenty were hoping that Nintendo would keep the Switch-train running — opting for an evolution, rather than a surprising revolution.
Being able to pick up where you left off, with all of your games from 2017 and beyond, on spruced-up, yet familiar hardware is a win. It may not be as exciting on paper — but I think many will find plenty of appeal in the confident and defiantly iterative approach that Nintendo has opted for.
Before the original Switch arrived in March of 2017, the hybrid was seen as something of a gamble for the company — bringing together their handheld and home console teams and putting all of their eggs in one basket.
This risky move paid off handsomely for the company of course — but, as a result over 90% of the company’s revenue now comes from Switch machines and related software.
With this weighted reliance on one single hardware pillar, it shouldn’t be overly surprising to any of us to see Nintendo not wanting to rock the boat too much, offering us all more of the same. With over 150 million players now in the Switch ecosystem, who could blame them?
For any of those millions already with a Switch, this follow-up will be highly familiar territory. From afar it looks the same. But a closer look reveals plenty of meaningful little upgrades. You’ve got a bigger display, an improved kickstand, sturdier overall hardware, a notable leap in power, a snappier user interface, a resolution bump, and more.
Taken together, these all add up to a solid and worthy upgrade — however, not everything is a clear home run though.
The screen is one such area of concern for some — it’s not an OLED panel, so for anybody coming from the 2021 Switch OLED the display represents something of a downgrade. However, for those coming from the original 2017 Switch, like myself, it’s a rather worthy upgrade. Put side-by-side with the first model, and it’s a clear, big improvement, with great viewing angles.
I’d even go so far as to say those coming from the OLED Switch won’t be all too concerned either — yes, it’s not as good a panel, the black levels don’t compare, but it’s by no means a deal breaker either. This LCD screen is miles above the LCD panel found in the original Switch. Once you're engrossed in a nail-biting last-ditch effort to stay in a round of Knockout Tour in Mario Kart World, the screen tech found within the Switch 2 isn’t going to be the thing that halts your enjoyment.
Another wrinkle in the Switch 2 story is the storage situation. The base console now has eight times more internal storage than the first Switch, moving from a paltry 32 GB up to 256 GB. That’s a great bump, but it’s still not going to be enough when you consider the sheer, bulky size of many modern, triple-A games.
So, of course, you’re going to need to spend some extra cash on a microSD card to expand your storage. However, the Switch 2 only supports newer, faster microSD Express cards — meaning those SD cards you’ve already got for your original Switch are no good here.
Why does this matter? Well, gigabyte for gigabyte, the Express format is dramatically more expensive. A 1 TB card for the original Switch costs roughly $80 today, whereas a similar capacity card in the Express format is pretty much impossible to come by, with a smaller 256 GB Express card costing nearly as much.
However, this lack of backwards compatibility on expandable storage is only a problem for now. These Express cards are costly and tricky to come by right now, (and the Switch 2 is likely the first bit of mainstream consumer tech to really utilise them), but give this a few years, and once availability and costs shift it will be a non-issue. It’s a pricey irritation for early adopters only.
Talking of pricey, the machine itself is around 30% more than the original Switch. We’ve got to take into account inflation and tariffs, but it’s undeniable that Nintendo has priced this new machine at a higher level than folks probably expected.
This elevated price point will, of course, represent a barrier for some (despite what early sales figures may have you believing). Ultimately though, it costs what it costs — Nintendo has always been firm in not taking a loss on hardware like others do.
The increased price of the hardware, when taken alongside the somewhat lacklustre (and also more expensive), first-party software launch line-up from Nintendo, means some may opt to wait before jumping into this new generation. That’s ok. The Switch 2 is going to be with us well into the 2030s — so skipping out on launch because you’re not one of those clamouring to play as Cow in Mario Kart is probably fine.
Admittedly, the FOMO factor is real, but the lack of a big, compelling day-one single-player experience from Nintendo itself (such as Breath of the Wild) will make it an easier pill to swallow. Come back once Donkey Kong: Bananza is here, or once the exclusive library has padded out in time for the holidays and you won’t have missed too much.
The screen, the storage, the software, and the price — those are the obvious gripes with the Nintendo Switch 2. These new quibbles don’t really represent any meaningful roadblock to this thing finding success though. Most of these concerns are likely going to be a non-issue in a rather short time.
However, there is one issue from the first Switch era that casts a long shadow: Joy-Con drift. It was a widespread annoyance, and one that affected most Switch owners at some point (I have the data to prove it). It’s too early to say whether this controller defect will rear its ugly head here too, but early signs don’t look good.
Even with these lingering concerns, it’s hard to ignore just how well Nintendo has refined its winning formula with the Switch 2.
The handheld now has a lovely, textured finish which makes the entire portable feel grippier and on the whole sturdier, the versatile kickstand can be positioned at pretty much any angle you’d like, the way in which the Joy-Con controllers attach to the screen has been vastly improved thanks to a clever use of magnets. The Joy-Con controllers themselves are bigger, making them much more enjoyable to hold in each hand over the somewhat cramped experience offered by the controllers for first Switch. Every small detail here adds up.
Thanks to the new custom NVIDIA chip found inside, the Switch 2 continues to deliver on the, originally rather lofty, promise of the first Switch — a pledge to bring home console experiences to a portable machine. Having the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 in your hands, playable anywhere is a treat.
Outside of Mario Kart World, Nintendo’s own launch day offering is a tad underwhelming, but thankfully many third-party offerings such as Fast Fusion and Survival Kids fill the gap, with the likes of Yakuza 0 and Split Fiction going some way to highlight just how this new handheld can handle more ambitious ports.
Of course, playing such demanding big-budget games on the Switch 2 does eat through the battery a little quicker than I’d like, but on the whole, I’d say the battery life remains good and is adequate for most play sessions.
Another thing that’s well worth highlighting is GameChat. It allows voice and video chat in-game — and it’s something that Nintendo has thoughtfully implemented at a system level, smartly removing any reliance on external apps. Whereas Nintendo fumbled with the original Switch and their half-baked app approach, this time around it’s a considered addition that I’d argue is a huge success. So, much so that Nintendo felt confident enough to give the feature a dedicated hardware button. Now, adding a button that essentially requires an online subscription to be functional doesn't feel right, but it sure does speak to the strength of the feature and Nintendo’s overall belief in it.
GameChat, and the associated GameShare feature, represent Nintendo — finally — taking online features seriously at the OS level, and doing so in a way which is a real boon to the core Switch 2 console experience. Both Xbox and PlayStation would be smart to copy what Nintendo has done here.
Overall, this new console repeats successfully on what came before it — and that’s the surprise here, in a world of enshittification, sometimes it’s refreshing to see something simply improve.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is a modest continuity update for OLED owners, a hugely compelling upgrade for those coming from the original hardware, and an insane offering for those who skipped on the Switch entirely — that group can now get in at a time where the hardware is solid, good for the years ahead, and has a vast library of superb games, both old and new.
Nintendo's latest is a safe, yet more capable machine that retains everything that made their first hybrid such a hit, enhancing things where needed most.
It’s the Switch, but future-proofed for the next decade.
Kevin Wammer
