Nintendo didn’t really tell us much about the console during the next-gen console’s initial brief reveal in January. Now that the most anticipated Direct of all time has been and gone, we’ve been given a better look at its next console, shown how it improves on the original Switch, and know how much it will cost and when we will be able to buy it.
The first new feature Nintendo revealed about the Switch 2 itself is its Game Chat feature. You will be able to connect with up to four other players at the same time and not only play the same game together, but play different games at the same time with everyone else’s gameplay shown at the bottom of the screen.
Nintendo also finally confirmed what the Switch 2’s mysterious C will do, and unfortunately, it’s not all that exciting. Hitting the C button will bring up the game chat with your friends. You will be able to talk to those you’re connected with via a built-in mic that will work in docked from a distance and in handheld mode. It also showed off a compatible camera that will seemingly be sold separately.
The other big mystery about the Switch 2 was whether its Joy-Con will double as mice. That was also confirmed to be the case during the Direct, although Nintendo stopped short of games that will incorporate them. It simply confirmed the Joy-Con can be used as mice with compatible games.
The Switch 2 will have an LCD screen, no OLED model, and 256GB, so eight times as much storage as the original Switch. It also shared details about a game-sharing feature that will let you share select games between four different consoles. Switch games were shown, but Nintendo confirmed some Switch 2 games can be shared between systems too.
Nintendo also revealed there will be three types of games playable on the Switch – Switch 2 games, Switch games, and OG Switch games that will be getting Switch 2 upgrades, using Mario Party Jamboree as an example for how that will work and look.
As rumors and leaks swirled about the Switch 2 throughout 2024, some feared it wouldn’t be different enough from the original Switch. If anything, when Nintendo finally showed off the console earlier this year, those who held those fears became even more skeptical. Accusations that Nintendo planned to play it safe for its next generational jump, and not just because, for the first time in its history, it has simply tacked a 2 onto the name of its current console when naming its next one.
Hopefully, now that Nintendo has shown off so much more of what the Switch 2 will be and what it can do, those doubters have been convinced this is the right next move. When a console sells more than 150 million units, and may become the best-selling console ever by the time people are done buying it, you don’t move away and do something completely different. You iterate on it, make improvements, and create a sequel. Plus, as demonstrated today, there’s still plenty of that Nintendo quirkiness to look forward to once the Switch 2 arrives later this year.