After months upon months of rumors and supposed leaks, Nintendo has finally given eager fans their first official look at their next hardware offering, the aptly named Nintendo Switch 2.
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Revealed to the public on January 16th via a ‘first-look trailer’, the console shares the basics of the original’s design, delivering the same ‘single screen sandwiched between two Joy-Cons and optional screen dock’ set-up as its predecessor, albeit with slightly larger versions of the hardware.
While the First Look trailer avoids outright describing any specifications, several details appear to line up with what leakers had been claiming in recent weeks. Along with the screen and Joy-Cons being bigger, the main unit appears to have a USB-C charging port at the top and bottom, along with a stronger stand for its table-top mode.
Additional changes include the main unit featuring top and bottom USB-C charging ports, a stronger stand for table-mode, and the Joy-Cons being seemingly switched from a rail-only connection system to a port based one.
Further, the right Joy-Con appears to have added a ‘flat’ face button added to its set-up akin to the camera button on its left-side counter-part, while the console’s television dock has traded in its previous straight-line shell for one featuring rounded corners.
There’s also a bit in the trailer wherein the individual Joy-Con units are shown ‘gliding’ around a surface on their edges, similar to a computer mouse, possibly indicating a new functionality for Nintendo’s proprietary controllers.
While Nintendo’s trailer remained light on many specific details related to the Nintendo Switch 2, such as what its internal hardware looks like or its price-point, they were able to provide a three interesting tid-bits for fans to mull over.
The first is that while the Nintendo Switch 2 will have exclusive games, it will also be backwards compatible with nearly all of the original Switch’s full physical and digital libraries – “Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2,” explained the publisher. “Details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date.”
The second is that, barring any unforeseen delays, Nintendo is looking to release the console sometime later this year.
And finally, the trailer appears to show that a brand new Nintendo Switch 2-specific Mario Kart entry, as indicated by the teaser footage taking place on a never-before-seen track and some of the character’s karts featuring new details, is now in development.
To this end, it seems the game will mark a new ‘visual refresh’ for Mario and crew, as the faces of both the red-hatted hero and his brother Luigi appear more rounded, almost akin to their designs in Super Mario RPG, and Donkey Kong seems to have a more pronounced dark space around his eyes, as well as his biggest set of arms yet.
Notably, this design brings the video game appearance of Mario’s long-time rival more into line with his design in Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie., which itself combines his original retro look with his Donkey Kong Country-era hair quaff.
The trailer ends with the announcement that not only with Nintendo host a Switch 2-specific Direct presentation on April 2nd, but also a series of worldwide hands-on events, as set to take place in April and May across the US, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
Notably, the events will only be open to a limited number of attendees, with selections to be determined via an open online ticket draw, applications to which can be submitted until January 26th.
While this is as far as official information goes regarding the Nintendo Switch 2, alleged leaks shared to the internet over the recent year can perhaps provide at least a general ‘temperature read’ of the console’s offerings.
Per the insiders who claimed to be privy to this information, the console will boast an impressive 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, a massive upgrade compared to the original’s respective 4GB and 32GB capacities.
Other leakers have noted that at least one of the console’s Joy-Con units will have an optical sensor on its inner edge akin to a computer mouse and that the new mystery ‘flat button’ may be a new ‘C’ button.
And in September 2023, a filing related to the FTC’s inquiry into the Overwatch developer’s then-pending purchase by Microsoft revealed that according to a personal briefing on the console’s specs given to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, the Switch 2 was “closer alignment to Gen 8 platforms [such as the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One] in terms of performance”.
According to rumors, this power will be afforded to the console by an exclusive modified Nvidia T234 processor, the T329.
In terms of actual games, leakers and corroborating journalist sources claim that in addition to the new Mario Kart, other titles currently planned to launch with the console include a new 3D Super Mario, as well as ports of both Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Beyond launch titles, further rumors suggest that the Switch 2 will receive its own versions of Assassin’s Creed Shadows (as well as a number of other titles in Ubisoft’s library, including a bundle of their Mario + Rabbid crossover titles), Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Metal Gear Solid Delta, and even Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 an Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
