Nintendo’s Switch 2 is a better handheld than the original Switch in both overt and subtle ways.
That lack of specs clarity is why Nintendo made Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.
Save for GameChat and mouse controls, the Switch 2 is a sequel console in every sense of the phrase.
Nintendo’s original Switch has been around for eight years and still costs $300.
After my limited time with it, I already feel that the Switch 2 does everything the original Switch did, but better.
Compared to the original Switch, Nintendo’s Switch 2 is a superior handheld device in both obvious and subtle ways. Though not full-sized, the sticks tilt with the ideal amount of force. My open palms feel opulent due to the subtle graininess of the plastic. Though it is significantly more powerful, it is almost as thin and light as the gadget from eight years ago. The true appeal of this console will be found beyond its specifications when it launches on June 5, despite Nintendo’s desperate attempts to convince consumers that its new design is worth the $450 asking price.
You have to hold the Switch 2 in order to understand its allure. For nearly eight hours, Raymond Wong, Senior Editor of Consumer Technology at Gizmodo, and I played Mario Kart World on Nintendo’s Switch 2. Additionally, we tested the system’s new Welcome Tour “game,” local cooperative with camera functionality, and the new GameChat feature for online play. In addition to a number of recently released and soon-to-be released Switch 2 games, Gizmodo and io9 have already shared their thoughts on the Joy-Con 2 mouse controls. The best part is still the mouse controls. The Joy-Con 2 feels sufficiently comfortable in the hand, and they respond quickly. The optical mouse system functions just as well on your pants’ legs as it does on a flat counter.
Visit Walmart to see the Nintendo Switch 2.
Playing with the Switch 2 made me feel like a beaver settling into the same hole I dug for the original Switch. There are two possible interpretations of that statement. Aside from a few key features like GameChat, mouse controls, and GameShare, the Switch 2 lacks many innovative ideas. The best parts of the original Switch are merely improved by many of those new features. The greatest gaming system for entertaining friends is still the Switch 2.
This time around, Nintendo is having trouble explaining the differences in its hardware. Devices from the Japanese console manufacturer are typically not designed for users who are aware of the differences between 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rates or VRR, or variable refresh rate. (In case you were wondering, a variable refresh rate is a feature that enables a screen to support a greater range of frame rates, which reduces flickering. Refresh rates are the number of times a screen displays a new image per second. Because of the unclear specifications, Nintendo created the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Packed with minigames designed to highlight the advancements in the hardware, the game serves as an interactive instruction manual for the Switch 2. As if you were a visitor to a monument to Nintendo’s ambitious vision, your tiny player character is placed directly on top of a Switch 2 handheld. Each island has its own minigames and quizzes and is divided into sections for the dock, main screen, and left and right Joy-Con 2. In order to explain to the general public what some Switch 2 technical terms mean and how the hardware functions, the maps include help guides and trivia.
There are minigames that are as detailed as quizzes in which you must determine whether a scene is moving at 20 frames per second or 120 frames per second. Another shows what 4K resolution looks like in relation to Super Mario Bros.’s size. A meager 256 x 240 pixels on the NES. Several of these technological terms can be better understood by playing the game. I believe Nintendo erred greatly by failing to include the Welcome Tour with the system. Rather, you must pay $10 for it individually.
The Switch 2 is a sequel console in every way except for GameChat and mouse controls. Despite being a visually appealing game with some evocative animations for each powerslide and head-on collision with an approaching truck, Mario Kart World is not the kind of game that demonstrates the console’s overt power. It’s just specs left. These days, adult-sized hands can hold the Joy-Con 2 controllers. We cannot overstate the advantages of 4K support, especially since the screen resolution has become much more common since 2017. Furthermore, the 1080p screen is brighter and more colorful than before.
Nintendo has a challenging job of making sure everyone is aware of the important things. Think about how long the original Switch lasted—eight years. It was an underpowered console even when it was released. Because the Switch had been around for so long, it seemed like everyone had an original Switch. As of May, Nintendo sold 152 million original Switch units, which was the closest thing to its best-selling device ever, the Nintendo DSdot. You could expect to find at least two Joy-Cons and a copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to play with at any friend’s house because it was so common. Eight years have passed since the release of Nintendo’s original Switch, which is still $300. The new Switch 2 is $150 more expensive and has not yet been extensively tested.
The new GameShare features are still pending testing. Certain compatible games should allow a Switch 2 to share them for play with both original Switch and Switch 2 owners, even if they are not the owners of the game. Even though GameShare will only support a small selection of games when it launches, it’s a good reason to keep your old console close at hand. It was very easy to carry the original Joy-Con 2 to a friend’s house because it still has a similarly thin body. When taken as a whole, the features highlight Nintendo’s greatest asset: its emphasis on cooperative play.
In the short time I’ve had it, I already think the Switch 2 is better than the original Switch at doing everything. It has better controls, is bigger, and is more comfortable. It can play more demanding games, but we won’t be able to fully appreciate the Switch 2’s potential until we play those games ourselves. However, even on a single Joy-Con 2 and even when the frame rate suffered greatly from playing in four-player splitscreen, I was thrown back into the same feeling of joy that I get from playing Mario Kart 8 or Super Smash Bros. when I played Mario Kart World with four-player co-op. with pals on the sofa. The sense of community can be strengthened by new features like a live view camera in multiplayer, and maybe more games will add mouse controls. We just hope Nintendo can remember where its handheld console really shines as gaming becomes more expensive. The Switch is the best communal console.
