But there are still a few surprises and mysteries hiding in the evolutionary, not revolutionary, successor to Nintendo’s phenomenal hit.

In a move simultaneously hotly anticipated and done with minimal fanfare, Nintendo has finally officially announced the successor system for its Switch hardware. In typical understated fashion, Nintendo’s official Japanese Twitter account simply sent out a post saying “This is a new announcement from Nintendo. Please take a look at the images here” with a link to the system’s announcement page, which includes the reveal video for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Right from the name, Nintendo makes it clear that this is a stay-the-course evolution of the Switch in terms of form factor and user interface. At first glance, non-hardcore gamers might even look at the Switch 2 and think it’s just a regular Switch with some new Joy-Con controllers.

This isn’t a bad thing, though. In the years since the original Switch’s release, consumers have shown a strong preference for handheld gaming experiences, with handheld gaming PC Steam Deck, its various imitators, and even Sony’s PlayStation Portable peripheral for PlayStation 5 all following the Switch’s design lead. It’s clear that gamers are happy with this setup of controls flanking a central horizontal screen, so why should Nintendo do anything to make them sad on that front?

Size-wise, the Switch 2 is larger than its predecessor, as can be seen in the top image of a Switch 2 screen surrounded by Switch 1 Joy-Cons. The Switch 2’s controllers are correspondingly bigger too, and now snap on directly from the sides, instead of sliding in from the top, with a central female port that slots onto a prong extending from the side of the screen unit.

There’s still no D-pad for the left controller, with the overall button layout almost exactly the same as the original Switch. There is a new button on the right controller, though, an unlabeled square that site below the home screen button. Given that it’s not in a good position for use in the heat of action, this new button is most likely going to be used for system-related function instead of gameplay ones, but Nintendo has yet to make any comment on what exactly it’s for.

The analog sticks also have more substantial shafts, which is hopefully an attempt by Nintendo to address the stick drift woes that many gamers have experienced with the Switch. The inward-facing edges of the controllers also now feature a lens, which could be a camera that allows them to be used as an optical mouse, as suggested by a part in the revel video where they’re being run over a flat surface.

Finally, around back there’s a redesigned kickstand with a wrap-around U-shape, which should inspire more confidence than the short, flimsy-feeling rectangular version from the original Switch.

Nintendo had previously promised backwards compatibility with original Switch games for its new hardware, but it wasn’t sure if this would be limited to digital download versions. Good news for physical media fans: the Switch 2 can play original Switch cartridges too, with its cartridge slot located in the same spot, at the top right of the unit.

Also identically to the original Switch, the Switch 2 has a dock it plops into vertically for higher performance and playing on a TV/monitor, and also a central connector so that you can use the left and right controllers like a conventional controller when doing so.

As for games, the video only shows one: a new Mario Kart. While Nintendo hasn’t officially announced that this is Mario Kart 9, taking the step to the next fully numbered installment in the combat-racing franchise seems appropriate, considering that Mario Kart 8, despite a host of content upgrades, is now more than a decade old. It also feels like a foregone conclusion that the new Mario Kart game will be available at launch for the Switch 2, seeing as how Nintendo is showing it off for the first time as it does the new hardware.

So when is launch day for the Switch 2? That’s something Nintendo is remaining cagey about, simply flashing a giant “2025” on screen near the video’s end. However, there are a few signs that point to its launch still being a few months away at the least. For starters, Nintendo has already said that it’ll be steaming a Nintendo Direct video presentation on April 2 with more details about the Switch 2, so the system obviously isn’t coming out before that. Then there’s the series of announced Nintendo Switch 2 Experience hands-on fan events, where gamers can it out for themselves. The first of these will be held in New York and Paris, between April 4 and 6, followed by Los Angeles and London on April 11-13. Japan doesn’t get its first Nintendo Switch 2 Experience until April 25-27 in Tokyo (Chiba Prefecture’s Makuhari Mess convention center, actually), and while Japanese video game companies have sometimes in the past released systems overseas earlier than in their home market, it seems unlikely that Nintendo would schedule its first Switch 2 Experience in Japan for a date after the system has already gone on sale in other countries. Other Switch 2 Experiences are already scheduled for late April and May in parts of Europe and Australia, and the very latest currently planned is for Seoul from May 31 to June 1, so odds are the Switch 2 debut won’t be coming until early summer at the soonest.

Nintendo has also kept entirely mum regarding the Switch 2’s technical performance and price point. However, considering that this looks to be one of the most evolutionary generational hardware upgrades in Nintendo’s history (they’re not calling it the “Super Nintendo Switch” or “Switch Advance,” they just straight-up named it Switch 2), it’s probably a safe bet that we’ll be getting another helping of good but not blazing performance and a budget-friendly price, seeing as how that recipe brought Nintendo so much success with the original Switch.

Source: Nintendo (1, 2), Twitter/@Nintendo
Top image: YouTube/Nintendo 公式チャンネル
Insert images: YouTube/Nintendo 公式チャンネル, Nintendo (1, 2)
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