WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.000 The good news is the Nintendo Switch 2 is coming very soon, specifically on June the 5th. 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:14.560 But there's also bad news. Nintendo has jumped on the gameflation bandwagon hard with a price of $450. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:18.960 For those keeping score at home, that is 50% more than the OG Switch. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:25.360 And there's more. It was very clear from today's Direct that Nintendo learned some big lessons from the Wii U, 00:00:25.360 --> 00:00:30.640 like that teaching people what makes the console different from its predecessor is a good idea. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:34.960 What might not be a good idea though is charging people for those lessons. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:37.520 I mean seriously Nintendo, what the heck? 00:00:38.160 --> 00:00:42.480 And seriously Linus, why the heck are you still gonna buy two of them? 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:48.480 Well, because aside from the bad bits, that might have been one of the strongest console 00:00:48.480 --> 00:00:56.080 showcases that I have ever seen. We've got oodles of details on the hardware itself, new online features, and most importantly, 00:00:56.080 --> 00:01:03.360 games, games, games. There's old favorites, there's some soon-to-be-new favorites, and some big surprises. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:07.840 What won't surprise you though is that as I'm continuing the sentence, 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:19.040 I'm already 15 words into this segue. Music 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:22.080 While they didn't dive into anything especially technical, 00:01:22.080 --> 00:01:26.720 Nintendo did confirm a lot of what we suspected was coming on the Switch too. 00:01:26.720 --> 00:01:30.560 At its core, it's still a juiced and jacked up Switch, 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:35.120 but there are also important quality of life improvements that really set it apart from its 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:39.680 predecessor, like a built-in microphone, improved speakers, active cooling in the 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:45.040 dock for stronger performance on the big screen, bigger and faster storage, 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:51.360 and bringing Nintendo finally into this decade support for 4K HDR output. 00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:55.520 Not gonna lie guys, that one's a big relief for me after all those rumors that it would 00:01:55.520 --> 00:02:03.360 be stuck at 1080p. But now we also know that the tablet got a big upgrade from 720p to 1080p, 00:02:03.360 --> 00:02:10.400 and maybe more importantly, it is now 120Hz refresh rate with support for variable refresh 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:16.720 rate. These are both huge wins. I mean with the amount of competitive gaming that takes place on Nintendo hardware, 00:02:16.720 --> 00:02:20.640 seeing them finally take latency seriously is a giant relief, 00:02:20.640 --> 00:02:24.640 and especially on a mobile device where frame rates can be all over the place, 00:02:24.640 --> 00:02:28.560 variable refresh rate is great for perceived animation smoothness. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:34.000 What isn't a win though is the panel technology in the launch version of the console. 00:02:34.720 --> 00:02:40.080 After the original Switch OLED, I was very hopeful that that would be the end of LCD displays for 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:45.520 Nintendo, but knowing that that would have certainly pushed the launch price to $499, 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:50.880 I can at least understand why they felt the need to hold off for the inevitable OLED refresh. 00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:55.760 It just sucks for me because I know I'm gonna buy the launch one and the refreshed one, 00:02:55.760 --> 00:02:57.120 hence the title of this video. 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:02.560 Speaking of things you need to buy over and over again, we've got a few more details 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:07.680 about the new Joy-Cons, including a closer look at the magnetic lock and release system that looks 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:12.640 like a huge improvement in function and reliability over the old rail system, 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:17.360 the bigger shoulder buttons on the inside rails that will hopefully make using Joy-Cons 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:21.920 in landscape mode somewhat tolerable, and the new mouse functionality that, 00:03:22.880 --> 00:03:29.440 well I gotta say, I was just plain wrong about. See, in our last rumor roundup, I hedged, okay? 00:03:29.440 --> 00:03:36.960 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 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.400 controller and then turn it into also the world's worst mouse. 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.400 But I was wrong. Or maybe I was wrong. 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:48.800 I mean, Nintendo, it looks so uncomfortable. You could still just bail. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:52.400 It is an option. Another big surprise for me was the C button, 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:56.400 present on both the right Joy-Con and the new pro controller that looks 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:00.160 just like Gen 1, plus the addition of a three and a half millimeter jack. 00:04:00.160 --> 00:04:04.560 The speculation around the meaning of C was rampant with some folks proposing 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:09.520 some pretty cool ideas for it. Unfortunately, we ended up with the most disappointing one. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:16.160 It's a chat button. Yep, Nintendo spent a few minutes showing off their new game chat feature that connects players 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:21.040 online via voice chat with a brand new menu brought up with the C button. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:29.360 That's right, folks. After 23 years, Nintendo has finally caught up to the first generation Xbox. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:34.720 Speaking of generations, that is so long ago that the nine-year-olds that were 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:40.160 shrieking into your ears in Halo 1 literally have their own nine-year-old kids who will 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.400 now shriek into your ears in Mario Kart World. 00:04:43.280 --> 00:04:48.720 But wait, there's more. Game chat will also support streaming your gameplay to your friends 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:52.320 at what appears to be 480p sub-10 FPS. 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:59.360 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 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:05.280 or even to supported games. Wow, Nintendo also caught up to the PS2's iToy, 00:05:05.280 --> 00:05:09.120 both in terms of gameplay implementation and camera quality. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:11.520 A big question this all raises for me, though, is 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:16.960 quality of the features aside, what's going to become of Nintendo's family-friendly image? 00:05:16.960 --> 00:05:21.680 Even support for emotes feels like a relatively new addition for Nintendo. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:25.760 With voice chat, honestly, how many hours are going to pass 00:05:25.760 --> 00:05:29.920 after I hand my eight-year-old a Switch 2 for her to hear her first N-word? 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:34.720 And I realize that that's a really strong way to put that, but serious mode here for a second. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:39.600 As a parent watching this reveal, Nintendo did show off some new parental controls, 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:42.880 but I still have a lot of questions that I need answered 00:05:42.880 --> 00:05:47.040 before I hand one of these things to my kid. Okay, back to excitement. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:52.080 Speaking of online, Nintendo is adding some GameCube games to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass, 00:05:52.080 --> 00:05:57.600 meaning you'll be able to play F-Zero GX, Soul Calibur 2, and Wind Waker on the Switch 2. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:02.400 All at a higher resolution than the original GameCube, but seemingly not quite HD, 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:07.040 like the full Wind Waker HD remaster that is still currently marooned on Wii U Island. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:12.640 Give us that version, Nintendo. Thankfully, though, you'll be able to play GameCube games online with your friends, 00:06:12.640 --> 00:06:17.200 customize your controls to fit a modern controller, or buy a wireless GameCube-style controller 00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:20.400 with more games looking to be added in the near future. 00:06:20.400 --> 00:06:23.440 Honestly, pretty stoked for a whole new generation of gamers 00:06:23.440 --> 00:06:29.200 to get to fall in love with some of the all-time classics that really haven't gotten as much love as they deserve. 00:06:29.200 --> 00:06:32.880 And even more stoked that Nintendo, of all companies, 00:06:33.440 --> 00:06:39.520 is loosening restrictions on game sharing. Now, even online, in-supported games, 00:06:39.520 --> 00:06:42.720 up to three friends will be able to play multiplayer games with you, 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:46.160 even if they don't own a copy. That means you probably won't need to buy 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:49.200 four copies of the new Mario Kart across your friend group, 00:06:49.200 --> 00:06:52.000 even though, if you're being honest, you still will. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.080 And this is an addition to Nintendo's recent improvements 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:59.760 to console and family sharing for digital games that we saw last week. 00:06:59.760 --> 00:07:03.680 Absolutely fantastic. What feels a little less fantastic, though, 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:07.600 is Nintendo's approach to updating the experience of Switch One games 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:12.160 on the Switch 2 hardware. Personally, I was hoping that I could just play the same game 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:16.320 at 60, or even, dare I say, 120 FPS. 00:07:16.320 --> 00:07:21.760 But it looks like instead, these are mostly going to be paid upgrades on a per game basis. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.840 The good news is that it seems like they generally include 00:07:25.840 --> 00:07:31.440 real performance and visual upgrades, as well as additions to the games that range from exciting, 00:07:31.440 --> 00:07:35.120 like new DLC chapters, to kind of sort of nifty, 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.720 like new game modes, to one of the stupidest, 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.840 second-screen features that I can even imagine. Proceed, Nor. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.840 Now, I can't be mad yet, because I don't know the price for any of these upgrade packs. 00:07:47.840 --> 00:07:51.280 And they did announce that some of them will be free, 00:07:51.280 --> 00:07:54.960 for some games. It's just a little frustrating when you compare it 00:07:54.960 --> 00:07:58.080 to some of the other handhelds that seem to be on the horizon, 00:07:58.080 --> 00:08:01.840 like the rumored Xbox XROG ally that I imagine 00:08:01.840 --> 00:08:05.520 is going to be capable of the same, if not better, performance 00:08:05.520 --> 00:08:08.880 for free on every OG Switch game. 00:08:08.880 --> 00:08:13.920 Though, with that said, I doubt it'll manage the same two to six and a half hours of battery life 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:19.120 that Nintendo's advertising. So there is that. And, if we look at some of the first-party Switch 2 games 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:22.400 that, likely, you won't be able to YAR anytime soon, 00:08:22.400 --> 00:08:25.760 it may be worth it to stick with Big Red for your next upgrade. 00:08:25.760 --> 00:08:35.040 The first thing Nintendo showed off was Mario Kart World, the looooooooooooooooooooong. 00:08:35.040 --> 00:08:41.360 Awaited sequel to The Cardin King. Now, with a bit of open world exploration in between your contests, seemingly like Crash 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.080 Team Racing. It also boasts 24 racer. 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:48.740 Not necessarily player support, which seems pretty slick. 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:53.800 And it looks better! Though not by as much as some folks seem to have hoped. 00:08:53.800 --> 00:08:58.400 Which as a stark reminder, just how much juice Nintendo can squeeze out of low powered 00:08:58.400 --> 00:09:02.480 hardware which makes me pretty excited for the future capabilities of this new 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:06.760 handheld even if the launch titles might not look like that much. Jumping to the 00:09:06.760 --> 00:09:10.040 end of the presentation, the last thing Nintendo showed off was Donkey Kong 00:09:10.040 --> 00:09:15.160 Bananza. It's the first 3D Donkey Kong game since literally the N64 and you'll 00:09:15.160 --> 00:09:18.200 be digging your way through destructible environments, platforming your way to 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:23.080 giant bananas and punching bosses all while wearing pants. Very respectable 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:27.320 Mr. Kong. We also got our first look at Kirby Air Riders, a new Hyrule Warriors 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.760 for the people who are into that, a wheelchair basketball game that focuses 00:09:30.760 --> 00:09:36.560 on mouse movement and lastly what actually looks to be a tutorial where you 00:09:36.560 --> 00:09:40.840 walk around activating text boxes that tell you about the Switch 2 with some 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:46.000 mini-game sprinkled in. And yes, that bit in the intro was not a joke. Nintendo 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:51.640 wants real actual money for Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Is this even the same 00:09:51.640 --> 00:09:58.800 company that put Wii Sports in the box of a $250 console? Okay, so maybe there's 00:09:58.800 --> 00:10:02.440 not that much on the first party side, which normally would be a death knell 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:08.520 for a Nintendo console. But check this out. Strong third-party game support? No 00:10:08.520 --> 00:10:14.560 no. That would be an understatement. We saw, I kid you not, 48 non-Nintendo 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:19.920 titles during the Direct with 15 being available at launch and 21 more coming 00:10:19.920 --> 00:10:23.600 before the end of the year. Immediate standouts for me were definitely the 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:28.080 new From Software game, Dusk Bloods, a more modern set multiplayer Bloodborne-esque 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:33.280 and Demon X Makina, a cross between Vanquish and Armored Core. We also saw 00:10:33.280 --> 00:10:37.280 classic heavy hitters like Elden Ring, Street Fighter 6, now with added 00:10:37.280 --> 00:10:44.000 waggle, Hogwarts Legacy featuring mouse magic, Hitman, Cyberpunk 2077, the 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:49.520 upcoming Borderlands 4, and final fantasy is back! That's right baby! Final Fantasy 00:10:49.520 --> 00:10:54.000 7 remake! Let's go! EA and 2K are even porting their biggest sports 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:58.800 franchises. We're getting a new Tony Hawk and that new 007 from IO Interactive 00:10:58.800 --> 00:11:03.680 was teased. Wait, teased again? Come on guys, show me some gameplay! We're also 00:11:03.680 --> 00:11:06.680 getting some indie darlings like Hollow Knight Silk Song, which I'll believe is 00:11:06.680 --> 00:11:11.240 actually coming in 2025, when it's out in 2025, Hades 2, and new chapters for 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:15.200 Delta Rune. As a big handheld lover by the way, the quality of the visuals in 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:19.040 the gameplay that was shown was really impressive to me, with many of the games 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:23.240 appearing to run with noticeably better fidelity than what we've seen on most 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:27.360 PC handhelds. There are a couple of potential reasons for this. One is that 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:30.800 Nintendo is likely running their demos docked, which is going to give the Switch 00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:35.880 2 more performance. And the other is that NVIDIA, the provider of the Switch 00:11:35.880 --> 00:11:41.240 2's GPU, just plain knows what they're doing when it comes to efficient gaming, 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:46.640 and especially when it comes to AI upscaling. Now, the words DLSS were 00:11:46.640 --> 00:11:51.200 never mentioned in the video, but looking at what I'm looking at, I stand by 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:55.760 what I said. If the Switch 2 doesn't have some form of AI upscaling, I will buy 00:11:55.760 --> 00:12:00.760 and eat an entire box of this Super Mario cereal with Mountain Dew as the milk 00:12:00.760 --> 00:12:07.760 live on Wansho. Now let's talk about the value. $450 is the price for the base 00:12:07.760 --> 00:12:12.280 console, and I really do mean base, given that you have to pay for the freaking 00:12:12.280 --> 00:12:16.160 instruction manual. Sorry, I know this is the third time I've mentioned this, but 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:21.080 I'm still annoyed about it. Then it's going to be $500 for the bundle with 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:26.200 Mario Kart World. Now, that's not an outlandish price, at least when you 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:30.280 consider its functionality as both a living room console and a portable 00:12:30.280 --> 00:12:35.600 console. But a 50% price bump versus its predecessor is certainly going to make 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:41.960 it up a less obvious purchase for many families out there. And that's on top of 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:46.400 new games getting a wicked next-gen tax. I didn't mention yet that Mario Kart 00:12:46.400 --> 00:12:51.960 World sets a new high mark for pricing at 80 US dollars for a digital copy with 00:12:51.960 --> 00:12:56.480 the physical copy rumored to be even higher. Now, not every title is going to 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:01.880 be so expensive, but this is Nintendo, so it also probably won't be the only 00:13:01.880 --> 00:13:06.360 one at that price. So if you look at this as spending a whole console's worth 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:11.120 of dollars for what is essentially an evolutionary change, the Switch 2 kind of 00:13:11.160 --> 00:13:15.920 looks like a big miss. But from my point of view, it's been almost four years since 00:13:15.920 --> 00:13:21.280 Nintendo has asked for any money from me for our console and eight years since the 00:13:21.280 --> 00:13:25.560 original Switch. And when you consider that the Switch 2 addresses most of the 00:13:25.560 --> 00:13:29.320 fundamental issues that I had with the original, which is exactly what a good 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:33.920 sequel should do, it's hard not to get at least a little excited about it, 00:13:34.280 --> 00:13:39.200 especially with Nintendo actually taking strong action against scalpers to ensure 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:44.760 that gamers can freaking buy these things and not just resellers. Now, personally, 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:50.400 I am fairly irritated that they are requiring 12 months of Nintendo online, 00:13:50.400 --> 00:13:54.200 which I don't pay for on principle because I shouldn't have to buy a 00:13:54.200 --> 00:13:58.680 subscription to back up my save games, but I still do have to acknowledge that 00:13:58.800 --> 00:14:02.440 they've done something to ensure that their most ardent fans can pre-order this 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:07.000 thing at MSRP. And I also have to acknowledge you for listening to this segue. 00:14:07.280 --> 00:14:10.280 If you want some more Switch 2 details, you should check out the last video we 00:14:10.280 --> 00:14:15.320 made, which is more about rumors, but still manages to include a deeper dive into 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:17.720 what are the likely technical specs of the system.