The Nintendo Switch 2 reveal might be the biggest fumble in video game history. Nothing has been said about it aside from Nintendo confirming its general existence (but not its name) and telling us before Direct presentations that it won’t be featured.
With every day that goes by, I’m surprised that an email hasn’t arrived in my inbox teasing a long-awaited reveal, because right now I’m getting tired of waiting. Especially when accessory makers are showing off the console at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, as it’s been public knowledge for months now.
Earlier this week saw a number of companies like Genki reveal cases, controllers, and other third-party accessories for the console with product descriptions and imagery all giving us a comprehensive idea of what the console will look like, alongside claims that the plan is for an April 2025 launch.
For decades, CES has been known for showcasing new products ranging from televisions to consoles to fancy fridges and hoovers, and was the pioneering place for video game reveals before E3 became a thing in 1995. But normally you don’t see unrevealed consoles from companies as big as Nintendo on the showfloor like this.
Why Hasn’t The Nintendo Switch 2 Been Announced Yet?
Nintendo likely hasn’t blown cover for the Switch 2 yet because it doesn’t align with its own plans. I know we associate the company with whimsical adventures like Mario or Zelda, but when you break it all down it’s an incredibly old-fashioned business that hasn’t kept up with the times.
So if plans were made to reveal the console at a bespoke event in February, part of me is doubtful it will budge from those intentions even as third-party products and high-profile leaks ruin the surprise over and over again. When it is revealed, however, Nintendo is going to treat the console like the best-kept secret in history. Besides, it’s still likely to move millions of units at launch regardless of how its messaging is scuppered.
#CES2025: Genki shows the Nintendo Switch 2 and the accesories they have been working on for the console pic.twitter.com/4CAUtAs3Gf
— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) January 8, 2025
Products being shown off by Genki behind closed doors at CES align with previous leaks of other accessories and the console design itself, meaning they are almost certainly legit. The machine itself isn’t too dissimilar to the original, although it does look somewhat larger with a sleek modern finish, putting it somewhere between the Switch and Steam Deck.
It is another hybrid machine with detachable controllers, a dock to play on an external display, and, with any luck, will be fully backward compatible. A Switch 2 rather than a new console entirely. On the showfloor, Genki is using what appears to be a 3D-printed model of the console to display its range of accessories. It isn’t the real deal, but you can’t get much closer than this.
Nintendo Is Letting Other Companies Spoil Its Biggest Surprises
In the modern landscape it is impossible to avoid leaks, but seldom do we see a console like this shown off ahead of its official reveal with such flippant transparency. Maybe Genki and a few other companies are accidentally breaking NDAs, leaving Nintendo to awkwardly pick up the pieces mere weeks before an event we don’t even know about yet. There is no way for us to know, but it is only a matter of time until the Switch 2 breaks cover for real. I do wish it was done without such a whimper, however, because now so much about it will feel dry and predictable.
The original Nintendo Switch reveal was a bona fide event. Nintendo had to win back favour with hardcore and casual consumers alike after the catastrophic failure of the Wii U. It had to come out swinging and show it wasn’t messing around, and was capable of offering a new console that both lived up to its legacy and was capable of carving a worthwhile future.
Now we are potentially months away from its successor. Nintendo is once again an industry leader with nobody capable of usurping its throne. Perhaps this is why the reveal pipeline has been so careless, punctuated by countless leaks, reports, and now third-party products at CES showing the console off to the world before Nintendo has a chance to. It tells us so much about the sort of company Nintendo has become, and the expectations it has for the Switch 2 to be just as big a success as what came before. Time will tell, and with any luck this time next week I’ll be writing about the official reveal.
Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is both a home console and a handheld gaming system in one package, with various versions offering better specs for dedicated enthusiasts.