Although Nintendo no longer produces the most cutting-edge video game systems, the company has always had the most powerful ideas. That’s how it has thrived in an era where it competes against tech behemoths Microsoft and Sony.
Related Articles
5 standout games from the Day of the Devs presentation
Nintendo Store San Francisco will hold a Switch 2 celebration today
Review: Wobkey Crush 80 Reboot Pro is a perfect enthusiast keyboard
Roblox’s hit farm game spurs underground digital fruit economy
Review: ‘Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny’ remaster an uneven experience
Since 2002, it has found a way to stay ahead of the game with prescient decisions that allowed it to zig while everyone else zagged. Nintendo bet on novel control schemes for the Nintendo DS and Wii so that it could capitalize on fun and immersion despite lacking the horsepower of its peers.
With the Switch, Nintendo merged mobile and console lines, foreseeing an era when gaming will become ubiquitous and time even more precious. Netflix, Twitch and smartphone games all vie for consumers’ attention, and though the original Switch was strong enough in 2017 to compete with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, it was showing its age by 2022.
A NEED FOR MORE POWER
The problem was that developers needed a bigger canvas, and the Switch’s limitations had troubling accommodating those ambitions. That changes with the Nintendo Switch 2. Although the system launches with more than 20 titles, it’s the backward compatibility that makes the system so immediately intriguing.
Modern classics such as “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and flawed titles such as the latest open-world “Pokemon” games become more intriguing because the new hardware can handle the experience as developers intended. It’s akin to growing up with “Star Wars” on VHS and seeing the same movie for the first time in high-definition. The jump in quality is immediately evident and makes titles that were arduous to play easier on the eyes and limited play time.
“You’ve got better processing power, you have improved visual performance,” said Devon Pritchard, a Nintendo of America vice president during a launch event at the Nintendo San Francisco store last week. She also mentioned Game Chat, a new feature that offers a dedicated way to communicate with friends while playing through voice and a camera. The Switch 2 supports a variety of webcams though users may need a USB-C adapter.
That’s a change for Nintendo, which has had a lackluster history with online gaming. It has always thrown up obstacles and crafted makeshift solutions to internet play, but its latest approach shows more dedication to a feature that Sony and Microsoft has already mastered. It’s uncertain if this is more of a gimmick that will be forgotten or a key pillar of the system and Nintendo titles in the future. It’s uncharted territory for a company that built its reputation on stellar single-player and couch co-op games.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has a more refined design with Joy Con 2s locking in and snapping off more easily. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
MORE TRICKS UP SWITCH’S SLEEVE
The same could be said about the new features on the Joy-Con 2 controllers. The new devices lock in and come out much more easily, using powerful magnets. They also have optical sensors on one side and can act as a mouse. The feature works amazingly well on games such as “Sid Meier’s Civilization VII.”
The control scheme opens another avenue for fun, and it has the profound potential of opening up the console to more genres of gaming such as the real-time strategy game. It works surprisingly well on the arm of a sofa and it’s serviceable on slower-paced genres like strategy games. Nintendo could also come up with inventive ways to use other aspects of the Joy-Con 2 as it did with projects such as the “Nintendo Labo” series.
When it comes to hardware, the Switch 2 is a behemoth of a portable console. With controllers attached, the system weighs 534 grams, or a little over 1 pound. That’s hefty and tired out my hands and arms. The enormous size supports a 7.9-inch LCD touchscreen that outputs a 1080p resolution and supports 120 Hz refresh rate for smooth frame rates and high dynamic range for more detailed colors. The Switch 2 also supports 4K televisions when docked.
I pushed the system through countless games of “Mario Kart World,” and the battery life lasted about four hours. That’s on par with the lower estimate of the original Switch’s battery life. For those who travel, it’s a system that benefits from a portable battery, especially now that it has 2 USB-C ports, one on the top and another on the bottom. Everything has a sturdier build quality with touches that make it more refined design-wise.
But again, the Switch 2’s biggest strength is its backward compatibility. That means players won’t have to purchase old games so they can play them on the new system (though they may have to pay a fee for an upgraded version to take advantage of the new specs). Original Switch games work straight out of the box once players transfer data from the old one to the newer hardware. That continuity extends to the interface that players will have no problem navigating. The Switch 2 can even use the old Pro Controllers, original Joy-Cons and other third-party accessories from the previous system.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is photographed in Martinez, Calif., on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
PRICE POINT
At $449 for the core system or $499 with the “Mario Kart World” bundle, Nintendo is charging a lot. Despite President Donald Trump’s tariffs altering the prices of accessories, Nintendo stuck with the price they announced before the global trade war.
“For Nintendo, we really think about how we can provide a price that allows consumers to enter and play a Nintendo Switch 2,” Pritchard said. “And so for us, we’ve really focused on the fact that maintaining the Nintendo Switch 2 to the price we announced prior to the tariff taking effect has been an important priority.”
Despite the steep price, it’s worth it for gamers who know that Nintendo’s strength lies in its ideas. The Switch has spawned a slew of PC-powered machines inspired by the same concept, including an upcoming Xbox take. The one element that machines can’t clone is Nintendo’s video game craftsmanship and its stable of franchises that are among the biggest in the world.
Nintendo has pride itself on being able to delight audiences, and though it may not have the deepest launch lineup, its current Switch library and classic ones available through the Nintendo Switch Online service will keep fans smiling until a new generation adventures come out.
Nintendo Switch 2
4 stars out of 4
Manufacturer:Nintendo
Price:$449 for core system, $499 for “Mario Kart World” bundle