There’s been rumors floating around forever about the Nintendo Switch 2 and what it would be. Everything from what it will look like to what it would be called because never in Nintendo’s history have they simply tacked a “2” onto a console title. Even when it would have made sense *Wii U cough cough*
Nintendo wasn’t impressed with the leaked information regarding the Switch 2 out there so it seems to have forced their hand into showing us what they have been working on. While there still isn’t a lot of information about specific details to be found, there is a lot of speculation.
Now I would prefer not to get into the speculation because I don’t have time for it and I’m assuming you don’t either. So let’s get to what we can tell for sure.
Bigger is Better
The most obvious thing is that the Switch 2 is a larger unit. Larger screen, larger controllers and likely heavier as a tradeoff. I’ve gotta assume this is in direct competition with the Steam Deck’s abilities as the only real competition to what Nintendo has brought to the market.
For the time being we have no idea how these changes are going to effect battery life but there is a possibility we are going to be able to play longer between charges.
Controllers
It appears that while also being larger, the controllers have had some other design changes as well. The main one being they appear to connect through magnets to the console as well as to the armband attachment. There will also be a connection port on the controllers to match the plug in on the console. Seems like a backwards step in my opinion but we’ll have to see why they’ve gone that route. Possibly for controller attachments in the future as well.
It is unclear in the video if the armband attachment will have other features as well since you can see the controllers “racing” once attached. Again not worth speculation as of yet.
Otherwise the other thing that I am honestly disappointed in is the muted color scheme of the controllers. Hopefully that will not carry across every unit and will instead be a choice to the buyer.
Features
There are a few other features of the new unit that are interesting to point one. First they have kept the headphone jack!! I had a fear they would not and honestly having no option for a plug in headset even with my phone can be a pain, I don’t want to even consider it with the Switch.
Next there will be a USB-C port on both the bottom and top of the new unit. It is unclear why that is the case but the easy answer is, accessories. I would put money on there being games that come out with plug in add ons to improve your experience. Think of something like a camera plug in so you no longer have to hold your controller for Just Dance.
Finally the Kickstand has been redesigned. Spanning the whole distance of the console to help avoid randomly tipping over to the side without the kickstand. Small change, massive improvement.
Release Date
While there isn’t a confirmed release date yet they have now confirmed that it will be this year, 2025. As per usual it would only make sense to release the console for the Christmas sales rush to create the highest initial sales that they can. Sorry everyone, something to add to your Christmas list.
While it is exciting to finally get some concrete information on the upcoming Switch 2 console, it wasn’t much. We’ll all just have to wait until April to learn more through Nintendo Direct.
