The good news is the Nintendo Switch 2 is coming very soon, specifically on June the 5th.
But there's also bad news. Nintendo has jumped on the gameflation bandwagon hard with a price of $450.
For those keeping score at home, that is 50% more than the OG Switch.
And there's more. It was very clear from today's Direct that Nintendo learned some big lessons from the Wii U,
like that teaching people what makes the console different from its predecessor is a good idea.
What might not be a good idea though is charging people for those lessons.
I mean seriously Nintendo, what the heck?
And seriously Linus, why the heck are you still gonna buy two of them?
Well, because aside from the bad bits, that might have been one of the strongest console
showcases that I have ever seen. We've got oodles of details on the hardware itself, new online features, and most importantly,
games, games, games. There's old favorites, there's some soon-to-be-new favorites, and some big surprises.
What won't surprise you though is that as I'm continuing the sentence,
I'm already 15 words into this segue. Music
While they didn't dive into anything especially technical,
Nintendo did confirm a lot of what we suspected was coming on the Switch too.
At its core, it's still a juiced and jacked up Switch,
but there are also important quality of life improvements that really set it apart from its
predecessor, like a built-in microphone, improved speakers, active cooling in the
dock for stronger performance on the big screen, bigger and faster storage,
and bringing Nintendo finally into this decade support for 4K HDR output.
Not gonna lie guys, that one's a big relief for me after all those rumors that it would
be stuck at 1080p. But now we also know that the tablet got a big upgrade from 720p to 1080p,
and maybe more importantly, it is now 120Hz refresh rate with support for variable refresh
rate. These are both huge wins. I mean with the amount of competitive gaming that takes place on Nintendo hardware,
seeing them finally take latency seriously is a giant relief,
and especially on a mobile device where frame rates can be all over the place,
variable refresh rate is great for perceived animation smoothness.
What isn't a win though is the panel technology in the launch version of the console.
After the original Switch OLED, I was very hopeful that that would be the end of LCD displays for
Nintendo, but knowing that that would have certainly pushed the launch price to $499,
I can at least understand why they felt the need to hold off for the inevitable OLED refresh.
It just sucks for me because I know I'm gonna buy the launch one and the refreshed one,
hence the title of this video.
Speaking of things you need to buy over and over again, we've got a few more details
about the new Joy-Cons, including a closer look at the magnetic lock and release system that looks
like a huge improvement in function and reliability over the old rail system,
the bigger shoulder buttons on the inside rails that will hopefully make using Joy-Cons
in landscape mode somewhat tolerable, and the new mouse functionality that,
well I gotta say, I was just plain wrong about. See, in our last rumor roundup, I hedged, okay?
In the video, I was like, maybe it'll happen. Off-camera though, I was adamant that there's no way Nintendo would take the world's worst
controller and then turn it into also the world's worst mouse.
But I was wrong. Or maybe I was wrong.
I mean, Nintendo, it looks so uncomfortable. You could still just bail.
It is an option. Another big surprise for me was the C button,
present on both the right Joy-Con and the new pro controller that looks
just like Gen 1, plus the addition of a three and a half millimeter jack.
The speculation around the meaning of C was rampant with some folks proposing
some pretty cool ideas for it. Unfortunately, we ended up with the most disappointing one.
It's a chat button. Yep, Nintendo spent a few minutes showing off their new game chat feature that connects players
online via voice chat with a brand new menu brought up with the C button.
That's right, folks. After 23 years, Nintendo has finally caught up to the first generation Xbox.
Speaking of generations, that is so long ago that the nine-year-olds that were
shrieking into your ears in Halo 1 literally have their own nine-year-old kids who will
now shriek into your ears in Mario Kart World.
But wait, there's more. Game chat will also support streaming your gameplay to your friends
at what appears to be 480p sub-10 FPS.
I mean, it's still neat, I guess, if you've never heard of Discord, and you can even buy an optional webcam and add your face to the stream
or even to supported games. Wow, Nintendo also caught up to the PS2's iToy,
both in terms of gameplay implementation and camera quality.
A big question this all raises for me, though, is
quality of the features aside, what's going to become of Nintendo's family-friendly image?
Even support for emotes feels like a relatively new addition for Nintendo.
With voice chat, honestly, how many hours are going to pass
after I hand my eight-year-old a Switch 2 for her to hear her first N-word?
And I realize that that's a really strong way to put that, but serious mode here for a second.
As a parent watching this reveal, Nintendo did show off some new parental controls,
but I still have a lot of questions that I need answered
before I hand one of these things to my kid. Okay, back to excitement.
Speaking of online, Nintendo is adding some GameCube games to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass,
meaning you'll be able to play F-Zero GX, Soul Calibur 2, and Wind Waker on the Switch 2.
All at a higher resolution than the original GameCube, but seemingly not quite HD,
like the full Wind Waker HD remaster that is still currently marooned on Wii U Island.
Give us that version, Nintendo. Thankfully, though, you'll be able to play GameCube games online with your friends,
customize your controls to fit a modern controller, or buy a wireless GameCube-style controller
with more games looking to be added in the near future.
Honestly, pretty stoked for a whole new generation of gamers
to get to fall in love with some of the all-time classics that really haven't gotten as much love as they deserve.
And even more stoked that Nintendo, of all companies,
is loosening restrictions on game sharing. Now, even online, in-supported games,
up to three friends will be able to play multiplayer games with you,
even if they don't own a copy. That means you probably won't need to buy
four copies of the new Mario Kart across your friend group,
even though, if you're being honest, you still will.
And this is an addition to Nintendo's recent improvements
to console and family sharing for digital games that we saw last week.
Absolutely fantastic. What feels a little less fantastic, though,
is Nintendo's approach to updating the experience of Switch One games
on the Switch 2 hardware. Personally, I was hoping that I could just play the same game
at 60, or even, dare I say, 120 FPS.
But it looks like instead, these are mostly going to be paid upgrades on a per game basis.
The good news is that it seems like they generally include
real performance and visual upgrades, as well as additions to the games that range from exciting,
like new DLC chapters, to kind of sort of nifty,
like new game modes, to one of the stupidest,
second-screen features that I can even imagine. Proceed, Nor.
Now, I can't be mad yet, because I don't know the price for any of these upgrade packs.
And they did announce that some of them will be free,
for some games. It's just a little frustrating when you compare it
to some of the other handhelds that seem to be on the horizon,
like the rumored Xbox XROG ally that I imagine
is going to be capable of the same, if not better, performance
for free on every OG Switch game.
Though, with that said, I doubt it'll manage the same two to six and a half hours of battery life
that Nintendo's advertising. So there is that. And, if we look at some of the first-party Switch 2 games
that, likely, you won't be able to YAR anytime soon,
it may be worth it to stick with Big Red for your next upgrade.
The first thing Nintendo showed off was Mario Kart World, the looooooooooooooooooooong.
Awaited sequel to The Cardin King. Now, with a bit of open world exploration in between your contests, seemingly like Crash
Team Racing. It also boasts 24 racer.
Not necessarily player support, which seems pretty slick.
And it looks better! Though not by as much as some folks seem to have hoped.
Which as a stark reminder, just how much juice Nintendo can squeeze out of low powered
hardware which makes me pretty excited for the future capabilities of this new
handheld even if the launch titles might not look like that much. Jumping to the
end of the presentation, the last thing Nintendo showed off was Donkey Kong
Bananza. It's the first 3D Donkey Kong game since literally the N64 and you'll
be digging your way through destructible environments, platforming your way to
giant bananas and punching bosses all while wearing pants. Very respectable
Mr. Kong. We also got our first look at Kirby Air Riders, a new Hyrule Warriors
for the people who are into that, a wheelchair basketball game that focuses
on mouse movement and lastly what actually looks to be a tutorial where you
walk around activating text boxes that tell you about the Switch 2 with some
mini-game sprinkled in. And yes, that bit in the intro was not a joke. Nintendo
wants real actual money for Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Is this even the same
company that put Wii Sports in the box of a $250 console? Okay, so maybe there's
not that much on the first party side, which normally would be a death knell
for a Nintendo console. But check this out. Strong third-party game support? No
no. That would be an understatement. We saw, I kid you not, 48 non-Nintendo
titles during the Direct with 15 being available at launch and 21 more coming
before the end of the year. Immediate standouts for me were definitely the
new From Software game, Dusk Bloods, a more modern set multiplayer Bloodborne-esque
and Demon X Makina, a cross between Vanquish and Armored Core. We also saw
classic heavy hitters like Elden Ring, Street Fighter 6, now with added
waggle, Hogwarts Legacy featuring mouse magic, Hitman, Cyberpunk 2077, the
upcoming Borderlands 4, and final fantasy is back! That's right baby! Final Fantasy
7 remake! Let's go! EA and 2K are even porting their biggest sports
franchises. We're getting a new Tony Hawk and that new 007 from IO Interactive
was teased. Wait, teased again? Come on guys, show me some gameplay! We're also
getting some indie darlings like Hollow Knight Silk Song, which I'll believe is
actually coming in 2025, when it's out in 2025, Hades 2, and new chapters for
Delta Rune. As a big handheld lover by the way, the quality of the visuals in
the gameplay that was shown was really impressive to me, with many of the games
appearing to run with noticeably better fidelity than what we've seen on most
PC handhelds. There are a couple of potential reasons for this. One is that
Nintendo is likely running their demos docked, which is going to give the Switch
2 more performance. And the other is that NVIDIA, the provider of the Switch
2's GPU, just plain knows what they're doing when it comes to efficient gaming,
and especially when it comes to AI upscaling. Now, the words DLSS were
never mentioned in the video, but looking at what I'm looking at, I stand by
what I said. If the Switch 2 doesn't have some form of AI upscaling, I will buy
and eat an entire box of this Super Mario cereal with Mountain Dew as the milk
live on Wansho. Now let's talk about the value. $450 is the price for the base
console, and I really do mean base, given that you have to pay for the freaking
instruction manual. Sorry, I know this is the third time I've mentioned this, but
I'm still annoyed about it. Then it's going to be $500 for the bundle with
Mario Kart World. Now, that's not an outlandish price, at least when you
consider its functionality as both a living room console and a portable
console. But a 50% price bump versus its predecessor is certainly going to make
it up a less obvious purchase for many families out there. And that's on top of
new games getting a wicked next-gen tax. I didn't mention yet that Mario Kart
World sets a new high mark for pricing at 80 US dollars for a digital copy with
the physical copy rumored to be even higher. Now, not every title is going to
be so expensive, but this is Nintendo, so it also probably won't be the only
one at that price. So if you look at this as spending a whole console's worth
of dollars for what is essentially an evolutionary change, the Switch 2 kind of
looks like a big miss. But from my point of view, it's been almost four years since
Nintendo has asked for any money from me for our console and eight years since the
original Switch. And when you consider that the Switch 2 addresses most of the
fundamental issues that I had with the original, which is exactly what a good
sequel should do, it's hard not to get at least a little excited about it,
especially with Nintendo actually taking strong action against scalpers to ensure
that gamers can freaking buy these things and not just resellers. Now, personally,
I am fairly irritated that they are requiring 12 months of Nintendo online,
which I don't pay for on principle because I shouldn't have to buy a
subscription to back up my save games, but I still do have to acknowledge that
they've done something to ensure that their most ardent fans can pre-order this
thing at MSRP. And I also have to acknowledge you for listening to this segue.
If you want some more Switch 2 details, you should check out the last video we
made, which is more about rumors, but still manages to include a deeper dive into
what are the likely technical specs of the system.