Nintendo unveils Switch 2 ahead of June 5 launch
163 comments
·April 2, 2025Y_Y
Hasz
As far as MBA schemes go, this is pretty benign. Realistically,they are putting consoles into the hands of the most vocal, most dedicated, and most enthusiastic customers first. This makes a ton of sense, and if gets around scalping, I'm all for it.
At least you are getting "something" for having telemetry turned on, usually you get zilch.
wat10000
They're rewarding loyal customers, makes sense to me. The telemetry thing is kind of gross, but necessary if they want to base it on how much you've actually played and not just how long you've subscribed.
uses
This was obviously designed as a customer-friendly way to cut scalpers out of at least part of the initial supply chain. Scalping has been an incessant problem in console gaming due to supply shortages, and it makes everyone miserable except the scalpers. Valve provided a similar release strategy with the Deck as what Nintendo appears to be doing here, and it was extremely successful and welcome by the community.
JohnBooty
Yeah, absolutely.
Anybody talking about how much they like (or dislike) Nintendo's plan needs to compare it to the alternative which is "insane levels of scalping" and not some kind of mythical ideal zero-scalping world where supply precisely meets demand on day 1.
numpad0
This is flip/scalping prevention. Gang-type groups would arrange squatting campaigns at retailers to soak up stocks, some shipping to China in bulk. It fizzles launches and it had been damaging to brands just as pirating, if not more, and so a loyal customer purchasing program is absolutely necessary.
I suppose scalping hadn't been as severe globally or in US until recent NVIDIA GPU launches? But it's been a major problem for past ~15 years in Japan for all sorts of hyped products.
JohnBooty
I suppose scalping hadn't been as severe globally
or in US until recent NVIDIA GPU launches?
It was amusing, if not a little frustrating. News coverage would always show it as evidence of fanatical Apple fans. But (especially after the first year or two) it was pretty clearly mostly flippers/scalpers.
ajsnigrutin
Well... they could just make enough stock for everybody, and there would be no need for scalpers. Just delay the launch a bit, fill up the warehouses, and when they start selling, everyone gets one, and the scalpers lose.
But no, any scarcity is a must in modern times, so people don't think twice before buying if they see it in stock somewhere.
numpad0
They create artificial scarcity by buying up all stocks everywhere nationwide. They've got capitals to do so.
The gray market price under presence of organized scalpers just isn't the natural point of equilibrium on supply-demand curve.
mitthrowaway2
Tell me you don't work in the hardware business without telling me you don't work in the hardware business!
dingnuts
isn't the whole issue that they have no good way of knowing how many to make until launch? you don't want to wind up like Atari burying copies of ET in the desert
ihuman
If the person doesn't share gameplay data, then Nintendo can't know if the person played at least 50 hours
rchaud
Can't the person register their device on the Nintendo website, with a serial number and date of purchase? That's often needed for electronics repairs. That alone should be enough to determine whether the person is a scalper or true fan.
newsclues
Seems like a way to combat scalping. Which is a massive problem
asmor
Ah, share gameplay data. The thing every modded switch has turned off.
ses1984
Why would Nintendo give special treatment to owners of modded switches?
watusername
Not Nintendo, but you as a modder need to block Nintendo's servers when inside the custom firmware, otherwise you risk being banned.
philistine
Keep in mind that this is Nintendo's store policy. If you buy your Switch 2 from any other retailer, we do not yet know what the requirements will be.
jpalawaga
Despite all of the negative/critical takes, I think the switch 2 looks great. The hardware improvements look nice. The top usb-port is a great addition with the kickstand, so you can actually charge while you play (this was a bust with switch 1).
I think the camera is also good. I actually really look forward to playing mario games with my nieces. And for those who don't want it, it's no extra cost.
120fps and 1080p w/ upscaling to 4k look good but ambitious. I wonder how much AI is used. The fans inside the dock are a clever way to maintain performance.
Also, I have a lot of friends who casually stream games in discord, so the chat/sharing functionality seems aptly timed.
jsheard
> 120fps and 1080p w/ upscaling to 4k look good but ambitious. I wonder how much AI is used.
Given the hardware architecture it's probably safe to assume it supports a variant of DLSS. When that big Nvidia leak happened a few years ago there were even references to the Switches NVN API in the DLSS code.
Speaking of 120hz, it's going to be embarrassing if Apple keeps making new 60hz devices even after Nintendo's famously conservative hardware moves to 120hz.
galleywest200
They are using AI, they have a patented process apparently: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2025/03/17/updat...
johnnyanmac
Haven't heard much complaints about the hardware. Seems like a good iterative evolution. even the $450 price point was somewhat expected.
As always, it's the software pricing that makes everything absurd. They jumped straight to $80 in a mere 2-3 years for them after Tears of the Kingdom's $70. And Mario Kart hits further beyond with $90. I wonder how that will fare in this economy. Will consumers still take upon that because Mario?
j1elo
$90 if you buy it, $80 if you ~rent~ ehm I mean "acquire" a temporary digital license.
my point being: due to the risks assumed (someone can click a button and rob the product from you), the rights lost (cannot exchange games with your cousin), and the general lack of consumer protections on digital rentals aka. licenses, I'm a firm believer that their price should be 20 to 50% of what a proper physical copy costs; starting from the fact that you cannot spend $80 on a game, enjoy it, then resell it for $60 or so as we all ought to be able to do in all cases no matter what.
renata
Nintendo is going to be doing digital game lending now so that's an interesting addition. I'll probably still buy physical since the first-party games hold their value so well.
minimaxir
> I wonder how much AI is used.
The trailer for GameChat shows audio background noise removal and image segmentation with the camera. I suspect modern AI is used everywhere even outside of games.
For games, DLSS and other upscaling techniques are widely used and accepted, despite gamers' anonimosity for generative AI.
null
philistine
> The top usb-port is a great addition
I hate that port, because they removed the USB-A ports from the dock in favour of this. This means their flagship camera needs to be plugged in every time you dock. It's classic Nintendo ridiculousness of one step forward, two steps back.
numpad0
The dock seem to have two USB-A to the left, outside of the cover. No way the camera can't be plugged in there... I hope. Or maybe they're not expecting the camera to be all that popular.
philistine
Well the camera is USB-C so you're going to need an adapter.
tym0
I also thought they had removed USB-A ports given how the camera is plugged in but there's still there at 4:39 in this video:
someuser2345
Eh, it was bad when Apple removed USB-A ports, but here, I don't really care; I have never once used them in the all years I owned the Switch.
alabastervlog
Despite giving no shits about the new features (possible durability improvements aside) this'd be a month-one purchase for me (availability allowing), but the price is... bad.
I'd been counting on buying this this year, like, nearly sure I would be, it was my one planned splurge in a year of uncertainty and belt-tightening, and still would be if we got the Japanese-version pricing, but this is gonna be a no.
johnnyanmac
Wouldn't be surprised at all if Nintendo was getting ahead of tarriffs. Would also explain the region locking coming back for Switch 2.
haunter
Interestingly Japan will have 2 versions, a japanese language only (+region locked to japan accounts) and a global one. Mostly because of the weak yen + the insane amount of scalping that happened previously.
Switch 2 JP Only: 49,980 Yen (~333 USD)
Switch 2 Global: 69,980 Yen (~466 USD)
https://www.nintendo.com/jp/hardware/switch2/lineup/index.ht...
And the JP only version's launch price is still almost double of the Switch 1's (30,000 Yen)
But I'm actually glad that they look after the local market!
philistine
It's fascinating because its the reverse of the usual way to solve this problem. Typically, games would be region-locked. For the first time Nintendo has locked the console itself to a language and a region.
I guess the benefit for Nintendo is that outside of the reduced price, there are zero benefits for players to having a Japanese version. It used to be that a Japanese 3DS was cool to have.
greggsy
Cripes that’s incredibly expensive for a lower spec handheld
johnnyanmac
The specs seems to exceed that of the Steam Deck. And that was barely selling at a profit for a while. I'm not really mad at the specs.
downrightmike
But no linux or steam
tigeroil
I suspect they also know full well that the global ones will be resold in China.
alabastervlog
Mmm. All I wanted was a Switch with bumped specs and a lot more durability. They could have come up with something out of left field that I cared about, like they often do, but cameras and a dedicated chat button? Things I've been intentionally avoiding or being annoyed by on other consoles since either thing has existed?
I hope there's a way to disable the chat button entirely, so I'm not accidentally triggering a function that I never want to use and my kids certainly won't be using, like the damned "share" button on the PS5. Talk about an anti-feature.
If the camera were built-in, I'd pay a little extra for a version without that and without the chat button. This is the opposite of an upgrade, for this shopper. At least I can just not-buy the camera.
The spec bump looks mediocre, if durability's not a lot better I'll just be replacing my half-broken switch with a used model of same. I'd been assuming this'd be my first-ever near-launch console purchase, I'm usually like 2-3 years behind on these things, but IDK, this is underwhelming. If there's also a more-than-tiny price hike, I'll be delaying.
[EDIT] Oh snap, pricing's on there? I'd read elsewhere they'd delayed announcing that. Shiiiiit, at that price maybe we'll get a family Steam Deck and put pirated versions of all the Switch games we already own (... and all the games we have on prior consoles) on there, instead. I can wait for used or discounted console prices to play the new Zelda or whatever, we still have hardly touched half the games we have on the current Switch. How's the Deck with multiple Switch Pro controller support? Anyone tried to use it as an actual multiplayer-friendly TV-attached console?
legitster
> if durability's not a lot better
The kickstand and controllers at least look so much higher quality.
alabastervlog
We've burned through two Switches, both of which still semi-function but with major components broken. Both provided a constant bonus game of "where the hell did the kickstand go now?" until that part just got permanently lost about 3 months in (both times!) and the Joycon rails can get fucked up and stop charging properly if a kid squeezed kind-of hard (raise your hands if you never squeezed a controller in frustration as a kid? Zero hands up? Great; Never throw one? Just a couple hands? That's what I thought)
johnnyanmac
>I hope there's a way to disable the chat button entirely, so I'm not accidentally triggering a function that I never want to use and my kids certainly won't be using, like the damned "share" button on the PS5.
Nintendo is very concious about parental features, so I'm sure there's some way to disable the chat button. I'm honestly surprised to begin with they took the step to work with live chat.
>How's the Deck with multiple Switch Pro controller support?
I've had no issues connecting a variety of console controllers all at once to the Deck. PS5, PS4, XSX, and Switch Pros worked fine.
xandrius
If you want an almost new original switch unpatched and are in EU, let me know :D
gjsman-1000
Nintendo stated in the Direct and on the website that Parental Controls must be set up for any accounts under 16 years old, the Parental Controls phone app must be installed, and the parent must approve every participant, before chatting can take place. (A parent can also just choose to not pay for Switch Online).
alabastervlog
Yeah, I'm just hoping that makes the button do nothing, not pop some UI element that goes "Sorry, this is disabled! Ask your parent!" I somehow still manage to trigger that crap once every couple hours of game play on the PS5, and on a tiny joy con this'll be even more accidentally-pressable.
gjsman-1000
Well, that's just called a terrible user experience and a return magnet. Maybe the parent deliberately wants to enable access, they are mashing the "C" button, and nothing happens, before they give up and assume the console is physically defective.
whizzter
You missed the mouse mode of the new joycons, tilt them down and use as a mouse.
kjreact
I like that Nintendo recognises that the mouse is a superior input device, but their vertical joycon implementation seems more like a gimmick than an actually useful device. Balancing and sliding a vertical joycon doesn’t seem like it would be particularly stable. I foresee an actual traditionally shaped mouse sold by Nintendo in the future.
ThatMedicIsASpy
The legion go has a mouse mode but its more like a flight stick that doesn't tilt.
alabastervlog
I can't really think of anywhere in my living room this wouldn't mean wrist-pain-inducing wrist angles or adding new furniture or something, so kinda skipped over it as something I would only use when a game forces me to. But good point, that's a new feature.
smeeger
this is what consumers demand. despise your fellow man
TheBigSalad
A lot of kids these days socialize together and talk on the phone while playing games. I think the camera and seeing each other's screens on Minecraft or Fortnite will be huge for them. I can relate though, I'm also on enough video calls to not want this in my free time.
dxuh
There was a time where Nintendo clearly made consoles and games for children. I think the price of the console and the game (80€ by now) is just too high for most children. When I was a child I was always a console generation behind and bought games off the flea market or borrowed them from video rental stores. With physical copies going away or being discouraged heavily by higher prices, I feel like Nintendo is not even competing in financially accessible gaming anymore and it's sad to see. And since they are so expensive now, you might as well buy a Steam Deck. The only reason to buy Nintendo now really is just Zelda and Mario Kart. Also how many years ago was it that publishers released announcements about 60€ games not being sustainable anymore? Three maybe? The physical copy of Mario Kart World will be 90€! They got by without an increase for almost 10 years and now they increase it by 50% in just three years. I hate that we live in a time, where allowing someone to raise a price by 10€ will just lead to them doing it as many times as they can as quickly as they can.
minimaxir
The real takeaway is $80 MSRP games, and I’m surprised it was Nintendo that crossed that particular Rubicon.
legitster
For comparison, some of the original NES games were MSRP $45. That's the equivalent of over $100 today.
(Although, of that $45, 15% went to distributors and another 15% went to retailers).
AdmiralAsshat
Late Super Nintendo and early N64 games went up to even $70/$75, if memory serves. I remember an uncle getting me NBA Hangtime for my birthday one year at $75.
I think it definitely contributed to the PS1 outselling the N64. There were many reasons, of course, but seeing those Toys R' Us flyers where the PS1 games were marked $40-50 and the N64 games at $60-70...I'm sure it gave some parents pause about which systems they were buying their children.
Fricken
I got the NES Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for christmas in 1990. My mom left the price tag on so I could see how ridiculously overpriced it was: $69 CDN. It was a crap game.
alabastervlog
Volume was way, way, way lower.
But in fairness, so were development costs.
bilekas
> and I’m surprised it was Nintendo that crossed that particular Rubicon.
Not only that, but one thing that really bothers me with Nintendo as apposed to Steam for example is, those prices basically never change. There never seems to be a sale or special offers.
legitster
The counter to this though, the used market for Switch physical games is really efficient. You can buy a used game for $30. Play the snot out of it. Turn around and sell it for $30.
nothercastle
Yeah but now there is another 10$ premium for that physical copy. Nintendo is really trying to squeeze every aspect
pdpi
Honestly, I respect them for it.
Sure, I’d be happy to spend less money on games, but there’s a certain honesty and transparency with buying Nintendo games that’s missing on the other platforms. No FOMO, no preorder bonuses, no pressure tactics, no nothing. You know the value proposition, and either you’re happy with it, or you’re not.
szatkus
Most Nintendo games are on modest -33% sale from time to time. The only exception is Pokemon games. These are never on sale. Just look up on Deku Deals.
legitster
Or, more to the point, as a publisher Nintendo stands by their products. They come out finished and aren't riddled with microtransactions. The fact that years later people still want to buy Zelda BotW is a real testament.
numpad0
If you look close, they seem to have been always committed to create and maintain an impression that a) Nintendo makes perfect products that just works, and b) you can't negotiate a deal to your advantages with Nintendo. And I think it has to be part of their hardwired company policy as a surviving hanafuda card manufacturer in Kyoto - those cards were used in literally yakuza-controlled underground gambling for a long time.
I mean, just go watch The Godfather, and think how would you sell him a product, or worse yet, manufacture mass-market products that isn't intended for his acquaintances but he would be extremely interested with purchasing and using in substantial numbers. Lots of Nintendo behaviors and customer horror stories start making total sense.
(and Valve behaviors too. they have their own, no less adamant than Nintendo policies that you start noticing after a while)
jpalawaga
I have no idea why you're getting downvoted. A lot of highly-paid software developers are complaining that nintendo doesn't cheapen their offerings by discounting them to $5 a game like steam sales. why not cheapen your product's offering as it continues down the x-axis of time?
I've always respected Nintendo for this. They know they're offering a quality product, and the price will be the same if you buy now or in a year, so buy it if you want it.
It also means if you want to resell your game, you'll get a fair price for it.
stevenwoo
IIRC it took six years for Switch Breath of the Wild to get a price cut and that was a port. Just have to wait for the Switch 2 successor announcement to get a Switch 2 Nintendo game sale.
mepian
90 EUR in Europe. This completely deflated my interest in the Switch 2, I'd rather finish my combined Switch 1 and Steam backlog than support this price creep, considering that Nintendo games practically never get discounted.
hobofan
Yeah, same here. My Switch is essentially a indie game console (~indish, e.g. Hades, Darkest Dungeon), as I didn't want to pay the absurd prices of the first party titles.
With the Steam Deck coming out in the meantime, I'll likely pick that up soon instead of a Switch 2. Around the same price, much better specs (and also Bluetooth support, which the Switch 2 will supposedly be missing again), and access to a much bigger library of games.
rchaud
Nintendo is the Apple of videogames, especialy with the vertical integration and pricing.
Their games were always incredibly expensive. 30 years ago, I remember being stunned to hear that my friend's SNES copy of Mortal Kombat II was GBP 70. From this Reddit post, I'm seeing Canadian prices were equally absurd. CAD 95 for Batman Forever on SNES.
https://www.reddit.com/r/snes/comments/12aq8zu/snes_games_pr...
BearOso
The physical game cards are going to be expensive to manufacture because they need to be much faster. Look at the cost of microSD Express cards. I thought they might go entirely virtual with required installation.
Needless to say, 80 USD is too high for me, personally. 70 is pushing it, honestly. Most of the time you can use sites like isthereanydeal and even get new releases under 60, but that's a no-go with Nintendo.
jsheard
The carts will be expensive to make if they actually have the game on them, but some will just be a DRM dongle which allows you to download and play the game.
https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...
BearOso
That's what I meant when I said I predicted the game cards would be virtual. I didn't know that was actually the case.
gjsman-1000
To be fair, when the Switch launched in 2017, games cost $78 after inflation.
BearOso
That's true. Unfortunately, the purchasing power hasn't kept up with inflation.
napolux
GTA VI will be 100$
alabastervlog
AAA games have already been doing this for years with "pay $30 more for a 'DLC Pass' to get the actual complete game, oh and also you can't resell this part of it'"
no_wizard
The hype around GTA VI is going to be crazy hard for it to live up to.
People been speculating for years and years now and that could lead to a lot of unrealistic expectations.
One thing I do respect Rockstar for though is they never caved to pressure to release the sequel fast
MYEUHD
> One thing I do respect Rockstar for though is they never caved to pressure to release the sequel fast
You respect them for taking 12+ years to make a sequel?
The Playstation 2 had five GTA's whereas GTA V has three console generations.
johnnyanmac
No pressure to make a seuquel when your MTX in the existing game net you a billion a year for a decade+. It's their own mini-Steam at this point.
stevenwoo
Mario Kart World is kind of like the kid safe version maybe?
12_throw_away
tbh I vividly remember paying $60+tax for Super Metroid in 1994, which is about $130 in today's dollars ...
downrightmike
$80 for a copy of a software +$10 to get the cartridge, I wonder how much the cartridges cost to make? $0.10 maybe
galleywest200
One interesting thing is that they seem to have multiple types of physical cards. I am assuming they will have normal physical games but they also have these "key cards" [1] which I assume will be for MASSIVE games or games from really small teams who are short on cash. Since the digital purchase is tied to a physical game I assume you can resell/buy these used as well.
[1] https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...
philistine
Holy smokes, it's big news that Nintendo is bringing this functionality in-house so to speak. There were many third-party Switch games that implemented similar features with codes in the box or required downloads that would confuse users.
Coupled with those confusing cartridges, Nintendo sells cards that could be redeemed for a copy of a game. They're shaped like credit cards, and I always thought they made for horrible gifts. They just don't look good as a gift. These cartridges solve that problem.
This is a clean interface in terms of the software and the sales experience, is as cheap as possible for the devs, and preserves the resale value (so long as Nintendo keeps their store open). This, my friends, is the future of physical games.
If I were Microsoft or Sony, I would pay attention to the reception of these cards. I wouldn't be surprised if Sony's next console has a cheap card reader to allow physical copies with a similar system.
ChocolateGod
Doesn't microSD Express rely on DMA over a PCI-e lane?
Curious if that could become a future attack vector to get homebrew running.
jsheard
It does, but so do the NVMe drives used in the Playstation and Xbox, and neither of those systems have been successfully attacked through that interface as far as I know. I'm sure they're using IOMMU to sandbox the exposed PCIe lanes as much as they can.
robotnikman
This is the first consumer device I know of to use MicroSD Express. I hope this begins a trend with other devices using it, I would love to see more laptops, phones, or the Steam deck support these cards in the future
dcmatt
No new Zelda, no new Mario. I don't know what Nintendo is doing but I am not a hyped up for the Switch 2 as I thought I'd be.
entropi
Same. Also the prices are quite steep. 470 euros for the console and games cost 90 euros now? That feels quite unreasonable.
DerekL
Why would there be a new Zelda? There were two new games in the past two years.
Yeah, it has been 8 years since the last new 3D Mario game.
downrightmike
ToK was a rehash, and the zelda game was not made to be serious like the Botw series is.
johnnyanmac
There is a new Zelda. It's just another Hyrule warriors game instead of a core Zelda adventure title.
I do wonder how the upgrades for BOTW/TOTK will be though. I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't seem to add anything (especially a DLC expansion for TOTK).
gradientsrneat
A Kirby Air Ride successor?
Kirby Air Ride was one of the best and most unique Gamecube games. A sequel to do the original justice would be a big deal.
Sadly, Nintendo has made a reputation for itself as a copyright troll, most notoriously their legal takedowns of YouTube lets plays. As a result, I have boycotted Nintendo for over ten years now. While the new releases are tempting, Nintendo's recent legal actions against Palworld sour that proposition. Although I admittedly only can have so much respect for a Windows-only game with anti-cheat.
piyuv
I don’t dare boycott gaming companies because then I’d be stuck with indie games on itch.io. While they aren’t always bad, they’re not my cup of tea.
All 3 major gaming companies are horrible in their own ways. Just like both major smartphone platforms. The times we live in…
codybontecou
The original battle royale. My friend was addicted to this game as kids but I never enjoyed it because he always stomped me.
gradientsrneat
Back in the day, we'd play city trial in sandbox mode and drive all the vehicles we unlocked up on top of the floating platform. The achievement system was also great.
syndeo
Same, such fun memories. Those were some good times.
GlumWoodpecker
>Windows-only game
Huh? Palworld is available on Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and macOS.
gradientsrneat
Sorry, I meant in the context of desktop operating systems. Steam page says only Windows is supported. Not sure why Wikipedia says MacOS.
piyuv
It’s in the Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/palworld/id6503918400?mt=12
jareds
Did Nintendo mention anything about accessibility in the presentation? It's shameful if they still don't have a screen reader when both Xbox and PlayStation do.
> Nintendo will send out invitations for "priority" purchasing of the Switch 2, direct from the company, starting on May 8. Those who have purchased a Switch Online membership as of April 2, have had it for a minimum of 12 months, have opted to share gameplay data, and have logged at least 50 hours get priority. There will be a 72-hour window in which to use priority purchasing invitations.
So they're trying to circumvent retailers, while "rewarding" people for allowing telemetry and having a long running credit card subscription, by offering them a time-limited fomo pre-release.
I think I won tech-MBA bingo, why do I still feel so empty inside?