WEBVTT

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The good news is the Nintendo Switch 2 is coming very soon, specifically on

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June the 5th. But there's also bad news.

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Nintendo has jumped on the Gameflation bandwagon hard with a price of

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$450. For those keeping score at home, that is 50% more than the OG Switch. And

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there's more. It was very clear from today's Direct that Nintendo learned

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some big lessons from the Wii U. like that. Teaching people what makes the

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console different from its predecessor is a good idea. What might not be a good

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idea though is charging people for those lessons. I mean, seriously, Nintendo,

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what the heck? And seriously, Lionus, why the heck are you still going to buy

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two of them? Well, because aside from

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the bad bits, that might have been one of the strongest console showcases that

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I have ever seen. We got oodles of details on the hardware itself, new

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online features, and most importantly, games, games, games. There's old

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favorites, there's some soon to be new favorites, and some big surprises. What

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won't surprise you, though, is that as I'm continuing the sentence, I'm already

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15 words into this segue to our sponsor, Dbrand. If you want to make sure you've

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got the best Switch 2 case that Dbrand makes, the Kill Switch 2, check it out

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at I am very

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short.com. While they didn't dive into anything especially technical, Nintendo

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did confirm a lot of what we suspected was coming on the Switch 2. At its core,

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it's still a juiced and jacked up switch, but there are also important

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quality of life improvements that really set it apart from its predecessor, like

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a built-in microphone, improved speakers, active cooling in the dock for

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stronger performance on the big screen, bigger and faster storage, and bringing

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Nintendo finally into this decade, support for 4K HDR output. Not going to

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lie, guys, that one's a big relief for me after all those rumors that it would

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be stuck at 1080p. But now, we also know that the tablet got a big upgrade from

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720p to 1080p. And maybe more

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importantly, it is now 120 Hz refresh

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rate with support for variable refresh rate. These are both huge wins. I mean,

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with the amount of competitive gaming that takes place on Nintendo hardware,

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seeing them finally take latency seriously is a giant relief. And

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especially on a mobile device where frame rates can be all over the place,

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variable refresh rate is great for perceived animation smoothness. What

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isn't a win though is the panel technology in the launch version of the

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console. After the original Switch OLED,

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I was very hopeful that that would be the end of LCD displays for Nintendo.

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But knowing that that would have certainly pushed the launch price to

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$4.99, I can at least understand why they felt the need to hold off for the

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inevitable OLED refresh. It just sucks for me because I know I'm going to buy

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the launch one and the refreshed one, hence the title of this video.

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Speaking of things you need to buy over and over again, we got a few more

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details about the new JoyCons, including a closer look at the magnetic lock and

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release system that looks like a huge improvement in function and reliability

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over the old rail system, the bigger shoulder buttons on the inside rails

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that will hopefully make using Joy-Cons in landscape mode somewhat tolerable,

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and the new mouse functionality that, well, I got to say, I was just plain

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wrong about. See, in our last rumor roundup, I hedged. Okay, in the video, I

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was like, maybe it'll happen. Off camera, though, I was adamant that

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there's no way Nintendo would take the world's worst controller and then turn

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it into also the world's worst mouse. But I was wrong. Or maybe I was wrong. I

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mean, Nintendo, it looks so uncomfortable. You could still just

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bail. It is an option. Another big surprise for me was the C button present

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on both the right Joy-Con and the new Pro Controller that looks just like Gen

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1, plus the addition of a 3 and a half millimeter jack. The speculation around

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the meaning of C was rampant with some folks proposing some pretty cool ideas

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for it. Unfortunately, we ended up with the most disappointing one. It's a chat

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button. Yep, Nintendo spent a few minutes showing off their new game chat

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feature that connects players online via voice chat with a brand new menu brought

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up with the C button. That's right, folks. After 23 years, Nintendo has

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finally caught up to the first generation Xbox. Speaking of

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generations, that is so long ago that the 9-year-olds that were shrieking into

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your ears in Halo 1 literally have their own 9-year-old kids who will now shriek

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into your ears in Mario Kart World. But wait, there's more. Game Chat will also

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support streaming your gameplay to your friends at what appears to be 480p sub

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10fps. I mean, it's still neat, I guess, if you've never heard of Discord. And

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you can even buy an optional webcam and add your face to the stream or even to

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supported games. Wow, Nintendo also

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caught up to the PS2's eye toy, both in terms of gameplay implementation and

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camera quality. A big question this all raises for me though is quality of the

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features aside. What's going to become of Nintendo's family-friendly image?

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Even support for emotes feels like a relatively new addition for Nintendo

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with voice chat. Honestly, how many hours are going to pass after I hand my

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eight-year-old a Switch 2 for her to hear her first nword? And I realize that

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that's a really strong way to put that. But serious mode here for a second. As a

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parent watching this reveal, Nintendo did show off some new parental controls,

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but I still have a lot of questions that I need answered before I hand one of

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these things to my kid. Okay, back to excitement. Speaking of online, Nintendo

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is adding some GameCube games to the Nintendo Switch Online expansion pass,

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meaning you'll be able to play F-ZeroGX, Soulcalibur 2, and Wind Waker on the

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Switch 2. All at a higher resolution than the original Gamecube, but

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seemingly not quite HD, like the full Wind Waker HD remaster that is still

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currently marooned on Wii U Island. Give us that version, Nintendo. Thankfully

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though, you'll be able to play GameCube games online with your friends, customize your controls to fit a modern

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controller, or buy a wireless GameCube style controller with more games looking

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to be added in the near future. Honestly, pretty stoked for a whole new

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generation of gamers to get to fall in love with some of the all-time classics

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that really haven't gotten as much love as they deserve. I'm even more stoked

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that Nintendo, of all companies, is

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loosening restrictions on game sharing. Now, even online in supported games, up

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to three friends will be able to play multiplayer games with you, even if they

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don't own a copy. That means you probably won't need to buy four copies

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of the new Mario Kart across your friend group. Even though, if you're being

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honest, you still will. And this is in

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addition to Nintendo's recent improvements to console and family

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sharing for digital games that we saw last week. Absolutely fantastic. What

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feels a little less fantastic though is Nintendo's approach to updating the

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experience of Switch One games on the Switch 2 hardware. Personally, I was

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hoping that I could just play the same game at 60 or even, dare I say, 120 FPS,

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but it looks like instead these are mostly going to be paid upgrades on a

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per game basis. The good news is that it

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seems like they generally include real performance and visual upgrades as well

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as additions to the games that range from exciting like new DLC chapters to

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kind of sort of nifty like new game modes to one of the stupidest second

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screen features that I can even imagine. Proceed north. Now, I can't be mad yet

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because I don't know the price for any of these upgrade packs. And they did

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announce that some of them will be free for some games. It's just a little

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frustrating when you compare to some of the other handhelds that seem to be on

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the horizon, like the rumored Xbox XOG

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Ally that I imagine is going to be capable of the same, if not better

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performance for free on every OG Switch

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game. though. But with that said, I doubt it'll manage the same two to six

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and a half hours of battery life that Nintendo's advertising. So, there is

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that. And if we look at some of the first party Switch 2 games that likely

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you won't be able to yar anytime soon, it may be worth it to stick with Big Red

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for your next upgrade. The first thing Nintendo showed off was Mario Kart

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World, the

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long awaited sequel to The Carding King.

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now with a bit of open world exploration in between your contests, seemingly like

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Crash Team Racing. It also boasts 24

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racer, not necessarily player support, which seems pretty slick. And it looks

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better, though not by as much as some folks seem to have hoped, which is a

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stark reminder of just how much juice Nintendo can squeeze out of lowowered

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hardware, which makes me pretty excited for the future capabilities of this new

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handheld, even if the launch titles might not look like that much. Jumping

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to the end of the presentation, the last thing Nintendo showed off was Donkey

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Kong Bonanza. It's the first 3D Donkey Kong game since literally the N64, and

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you'll be digging your way through destructible environments, platforming your way to giant bananas, and punching

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bosses, all while wearing pants. Very respectable, Mr. Kong. We also got our

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first look at Kirby Air Riders, a new Hyrule Warriors for the people who are

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into that. a wheelchair basketball game that focuses on mouse movement. And

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lastly, what actually looks to be a tutorial where you walk around

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activating text boxes that tell you about the Switch 2 with some mini games

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sprinkled in. And yes, that bit in the intro was not a joke. Nintendo wants

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real actual money for Switch 2 Welcome

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Tour. Is this even the same company that put Wii Sports in the box of a $250

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console? Okay, so maybe there's not that

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much on the first party side, which normally would be a death nail for a

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Nintendo console, but check this out.

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Strong third-p partyy game support. No, no, that would be an understatement. We

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saw, I kid you not, 48 non- Nintendo

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titles during the direct with 15 being available at launch and 21 more coming

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before the end of the year. Immediate standouts for me were definitely the new

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From Software game, Dusk Bloods, a more modern set multiplayer Bloodborneesque,

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and Demon X Machina, a cross between Vanquish and Armored Core. We also saw

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classic heavy hitters like Elden Ring, Street Fighter 6, now with added waggle,

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Hogwarts Legacy featuring mouse magic,

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Hitman, Cyberpunk 2077, the upcoming Borderlands 4, and Final Fantasy is

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back. That's right, baby. Final Fantasy 7 remake. Let's go. EA and 2K are even

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porting their biggest sports franchises. We're getting a new Tony Hawk and that

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new 007 from IO Interactive was teased.

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Wait, teased again. Come on, guys. Show me some gameplay. We're also getting

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some indie darlings like Hollow Night Silk Song, which I'll believe is actually coming in 2025 when it's out in

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2025. Hades 2 and new chapters for Delta Rune. As a big handheld lover, by the

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way, the quality of the visuals in the gameplay that was shown was really

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impressive to me, with many of the games appearing to run with noticeably better

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fidelity than what we've seen on most PC handhelds. There are a couple of

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potential reasons for this. One is that Nintendo is likely running their demos

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docked, which is going to give the Switch to more performance. And the

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other is that NVIDIA, the provider of the Switch 2's GPU, just plain knows

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what they're doing when it comes to efficient gaming. and especially when it

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comes to AI upscaling. Now, the words DLSS were never mentioned in the video,

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but looking at what I'm looking at, I stand by what I said. If the Switch 2

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doesn't have some form of AI upscaling, I will buy and eat an entire box of this

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Super Mario cereal with Mountain Dew as the milk live on Wow. Now, let's talk

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about the value. $450 is the price for the base console.

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And I really do mean base, given that you have to pay for the freaking

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instruction manual. Oh god. Sorry. I know this is the third time I've

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mentioned this, but I'm still annoyed about it. Then it's going to be $500 for

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the bundle with Mario Kart World. Now, that's not an outlandish price, at least

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when you consider its functionality as both a living room console and a

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portable console, but a 50% price bump

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versus its predecessor is certainly going to make it a a less obvious

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purchase for many families out there. And that's on top of new games getting a

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wicked nextG tax. I didn't mention yet that Mario Kart World sets a new high

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mark for pricing at $80 US for a digital

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copy with the physical copy rumored to be even higher. Now, not every title is

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going to be so expensive, but this is Nintendo, so it also probably won't be

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the only one at that price. So, if you look at this as spending a whole conso's

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worth of dollars for what is essentially an evolutionary change, the Switch 2

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kind of looks like a big miss. But from my point of view, it's been almost 4

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years since Nintendo has asked for any money from me for a console and 8 years

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since the original Switch. And when you consider that the Switch 2 addresses

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most of the fundamental issues that I had with the original, which is exactly

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what a good sequel should do, it's hard not to get at least a little excited

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about it. especially with Nintendo actually taking strong action against

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scalpers to ensure that gamers can freaking buy these things and not just

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resellers. Now, personally, I am fairly

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irritated that they are requiring 12 months of Nintendo Online, which I don't

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pay for on principal because I shouldn't have to buy a subscription to back up my

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save games. But I still do have to acknowledge that they've done something

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to ensure that their most ardent fans can pre-order this thing at MSRP. And I

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also have to acknowledge you for listening to this segue to our sponsor

00:14:18.560 --> 00:14:25.279
Dbrand. Now, I'm a little annoyed at Dbrand right now. Not because their

00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:28.160
vanity URL is I am very.com, but because I thought that they were going to send

00:14:26.560 --> 00:14:33.839
me one of their kill switch cases for the Switch, too. So, Dbrand, where is

00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:37.199
it? Oh, you we actually don't have one. Great. I am still excited for the case,

00:14:36.160 --> 00:14:42.880
though. I thought I thought it was a setup. One of my biggest issues with the original Switch was the terrible Joy-Con

00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:46.480
ergonomics. And considering that my hands aren't very big, that's really

00:14:44.560 --> 00:14:51.120
saying something. Well, the Switch 2 doesn't fix that, but the super

00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:55.519
ergonomic hand grips on the Kill Switch look way more comfortable. One thing I

00:14:53.760 --> 00:14:58.959
was curious to find out is how Dbrand was going to handle OEM dock

00:14:57.079 --> 00:15:03.519
compatibility. Well, as it turns out, the answer is a totally custom dock

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adapter with built-in USB 4. Not only does it give you full data and power

00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:12.880
pass through, but it actually turns your system into a nice little trophy display. Finally, the latest kill switch

00:15:10.560 --> 00:15:16.800
has an allnew game card holder. It lets you take up to 10 game cards with you on

00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:19.839
the go, and it's built into the crush proof travel cover. Now, I know a lot of

00:15:18.800 --> 00:15:26.720
us around here are going to take advantage of our free Dbrand products perk for this one. Do we have that? Oh,

00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:29.600
that's hilarious. Um, but for the rest of you out there, if you want to make

00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:34.800
sure you've got the best Switch 2 case at launch, you'll have to reserve yours

00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:36.399
at, you guessed it, I am very short.com.

00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:40.800
If you want some more Switch 2 details, you should check out the last video we

00:15:37.920 --> 00:15:44.639
made, which is more about rumors, but still manages to include a deeper dive

00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:47.040
into what are the likely technical specs of the