by Y_Y on 4/2/25, 3:28 PM
> 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?
by jpalawaga on 4/2/25, 3:43 PM
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.
by haunter on 4/2/25, 3:38 PM
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!
by alabastervlog on 4/2/25, 3:26 PM
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?
by minimaxir on 4/2/25, 3:20 PM
The real takeaway is $80 MSRP games, and I’m surprised it was Nintendo that crossed that particular Rubicon.
by galleywest200 on 4/2/25, 3:48 PM
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/...
by adamrezich on 4/2/25, 3:24 PM
I sure hope those “microSD Express” cards end up being relatively inexpensive… I really appreciated being able to buy cheap, high-capacity microSD cards for the 3DS and Switch when I bought each console such that I then basically never had to worry about storage ever again.
by ChocolateGod on 4/2/25, 3:33 PM
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.
by robotnikman on 4/2/25, 5:23 PM
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
by dcmatt on 4/2/25, 3:41 PM
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.
by gradientsrneat on 4/2/25, 4:01 PM
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.
by dxuh on 4/3/25, 10:38 AM
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.
by jccalhoun on 4/2/25, 3:40 PM
I'm not super fan of first party Nintendo so this doesn't tempt me much over getting a steamos handheld or similar.
by nickvec on 4/2/25, 3:39 PM
Will they have fixed joycon drift though?
by gekoxyz on 4/2/25, 3:29 PM
449 usd is pretty disappointing. A steam deck is pretty much the same price but is repairable and i don't have to pay for an online subscription. And even the steam deck doesn't appeal to me much since i like FPS games, which are better if played from a proper PC. At this point i'm sticking with my Nintendo 3DS for gaming away from home.
by xandrius on 4/2/25, 3:33 PM
I'm curious if the switch 1 would back support mouse mode if one were to use the new joypads on the old models. Probably not but maybe in the homebrew ones?
It seems pretty much a software update as one can already connect any BT device to a patched switch.
by napolux on 4/2/25, 3:24 PM
Love it, but usual Nintendo prices. I'll wait a bit (or an improved version)
by pupppet on 4/2/25, 4:08 PM
As an owner of a bucket of overpriced Joy-Cons I've long since stopped bothering shipping to Nintendo to get fixed, they should have made it clear they addressed the drift issue, even if they had to do it subtly.
by jareds on 4/3/25, 3:15 AM
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.
by ihuman on 4/2/25, 3:53 PM
by lenerdenator on 4/2/25, 4:05 PM
> mouse for Metroid Prime 4
I would do horrible, horrible things to get keyboard + mouse controls for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on Wii.
by _imnothere on 4/3/25, 2:42 AM
This is a device from a super community-dev-hostile company btw.
by pipeline_peak on 4/3/25, 1:38 AM
Where do they get off making an Android tablet that costs more than a PS5?
by manishsharan on 4/2/25, 3:31 PM
Joy Con Drift. Can they please solve for that ?
Chat Button ? Camera ? are they intentionally driving away parents who buy Switch for their kids ?