Years of rumours have preceded this moment, essentially turning the grand announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2 into less of an exciting moment, and more of a “Finally!” one. Yes, Nintendo has officially announced the successor to the Nintendo Switch and it’s called….well, the Nintendo Switch 2.
The reveal trailer was rather understated. It depicts the existing Nintendo Switch going through a Pokemon-like evolution. The screen grows bigger, the Joycons sprout new buttons and grow magnetic strips that let them snap onto the main console easier.
In fact, the trailer doesn’t go into any details about what’s under the hood, so the video almost makes it look like this is just a new version of the Switch, much like the Switch OLED or the Switch Lite. It’s not until the words “Nintendo Switch 2” pop up that it becomes clear this is a new machine.
Nintendo is planning a proper look at the Switch 2 at the Nintendo Direct event on April 2. The machine itself is due out this year, and will presumably get a more precise release date when it’s properly shown off in April.
We did, however get a few other details. Nintendo says that the new console will be work with original Switch titles, both digital and physical. It does also say, though, that “Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2.” This could simply be the company giving themselves some leeway in case a small handful of games can’t work, or it could be a sign that not all of your existing library will carry over. More details will apparently be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date.
Only a single game was shown actually running on the new console, but it’s an exciting one: a new Mario Kart. Considering Mario Kart 8 continues to sell a staggering amount of copies, and is frequently high up on the sales charts, I was genuinely beginning to wonder if they would ever make a proper sequel.
So there we have it: Switch 2 is real, and it’s not called The Super Switch, which is a truly baffling decision, I reckon. How are you feeling about the reveal? Personally, I have to admit the various leaks, even though I didn’t bother reading them or covering them much, did kill my excitement for the reveal because in my mind the Switch 2 was already real.