Holy moly, Switch 2 Nintendo Boogaloo, it’s here. I can already feel the hole in my wallet.

After months of speculation and a lot of leaks from third-party accessories manufacturers, the Switch 2 has finally been announced. It was only a teaser trailer, so we don’t know much. A full Direct will be held on the 2nd of April, at the end of the financial year, and the console probably won’t launch until around June-July time. But yesterday, we got our first look (not counting the many leaks). The announcement was expected to happen a few hours earlier than it did (as per the rumour mill), which led some outlets to speculate that Nintendo would keep it under wraps for longer. Then, the teaser did come out, making those articles seem premature. Yesterday, I had a disappointing morning and an exciting afternoon (UK time). Regardless, Switch 2 is happening! And it looks great! The teaser looked pretty good as well; Nintendo has gotten much better at making ads. My only complaint is that they didn’t include the Zelda treasure chest music.

The Name

Much of what the teaser included had already been rumoured or speculated. Still, it was an exciting confirmation. For one thing, it’s now officially called Switch 2. People have been calling it that for ages (myself included), and it is the best possible name. I’ll grant that it’s not the most exciting or interesting name; Nintendo has a history of unique branding for their consoles (GameCube, Wii, DS, etc.). But then they also have a history of confusing console names that hurt sales, namely the WiiU. It’s better that the name is clear and unambiguous. What the console is and how it relates to previous consoles should be obvious. This a lesson that PlayStation and Phone companies learnt years ago and which Xbox/Microsoft has apparently forgotten (to their detriment). Switch 2 is the perfect name.

Backwards Compatibility

The teaser also confirmed that the console will be backwards compatible with Switch 1 games (both physical and online). Again, this has been rumoured and speculated on, but it’s a nice confirmation. It is an essential one as well, from Nintendo’s perspective. They don’t want people to stop buying Switch 1 game in anticipation of the next console; some of those games have only just been released (because consolidating the home console and handheld divisions has finally sorted out Nintendo’s once-patchy release schedule). It will also ensure that the Switch 2, upon launch, already has a massive library of games. That’s vital. No matter how good a console is, it’s the library that matters. Anyone who has never had a Switch but wants to play its games, and I know people like that, will immediately have a lot of reasons to adopt the new hardware. That’s without even mentioning the launch titles. The teaser did mention that some Switch 1 games won’t be supported, but I don’t think that’s anything to worry about. It will probably be the handful of games that employ Switch 1’s underutilised features, like the IR sensors. That means no 1-2-Switch compatibility; what a shame.

Console Design

Let’s talk about the actual console, what’s new, and what they’ve changed. Again, many of these features had already been leaked or rumoured. But now they’re official! First, it’s bigger. The screen is bigger, the Joy-Con controllers are bigger and the Dock (to facilitate this) is also presumably bigger. A larger screen will make for a better portable experience (you can see what’s happening!), and bigger Joy-Cons will make for a better experience generally. I did like the Switch 1 Joy-Cons. Mine were broken for a while due to age and a lot of use. But I’ve recently repaired them, and now they work like new. It’s given me a whole new appreciation for them. But they’re not ergonomic, and I can see why people might steer clear of them and use a Pro-Controller instead. The buttons are too small and can be difficult to push. Not to mention the whole Joy-Con drift issue. But Switch 2’s bigger Joy-Cons means bigger and more accessible buttons. It’s also been rumoured that they’re using Hall Effect Joysticks, which should resolve the drift issue. A larger Switch will, of course, be marginally less portable/require more carrying space. But that’s barely a problem. It’s not like a phone that can’t fit in a pocket. Switch 2 was going in a bag either way.

And beyond the larger size? We got a look at the new kickstand. The kickstand on Switch 1 was flimsy and terrible. The new Switch 2 kickstand looks much better, it’s stronger and more reliable. So much so that the teaser made sure to show it off. You can even set it to different angles. They also demonstrated the magnetic Joy-Con ports. On the old Switch, the Joy-Cons were connected to the tablet or accessories via a mechanical rail. It worked but could be cumbersome. Nearly everybody did it wrong at some point, causing them to get stuck. A magnetic clamp seems like a much better solution. Then there’s the new colour scheme, but that’s only cosmetic (there will be different colours over time), so I’ll keep it brief. It uses colour in a more reserved way than Switch 1. Instead of uniformly blue or red Joy-Cons, the bright colours are reserved for the magnetic Joy-Con ports and the bases of the Joysticks. It looks good.

Interestingly, there seems to be a USB-C port on top of the console. It’s next to the headphone jack. I’m unsure if that was included in any rumours. My guess is that it can be used to connect an external microphone. That lack of a mic always seemed like an oversight on Switch 1 (especially since the DS and 3DS had one) and did no favours for the already limited online service (it had no chat feature). So, it would be a welcome addition. I can’t help but wonder if it’s somehow related to the mysterious new button near the bottom of the right Joy-Con. The leaks had already revealed the new button, and there’s been a lot of speculation about it. It has changed slightly in this teaser. It’s now just a straightforward, unmarked tab. But in the earlier leaks, it was marked with a “C” symbol. I’m betting that this is a chat button (“C” for chat) that activates and deactivates the external microphone.

Joy-Con Mouse?

Perhaps the most notable feature is the ability to use a Joy-Con like a computer mouse. This had also been rumoured, and the teaser trailer shot of the Joy-Cons racing over a flat surface like mice confirms it (why else would they have that shot?). It’s a fantastic idea. Nintendo consoles nearly always have an unnecessary gimmick. They like to experiment, and sometimes that works out great. Nintendo’s constant innovation has brought them past successes. But it has also caused them pain (the WiiU), and it’s rare that a gimmick turns out to be useful. For example, the 3D effect on the 3DS was cool but so underutilised that the budget version could dispense with it entirely.

But being able to use the Joy-Con as a mouse? That has immense potential. A lot of computer games have been purposely designed around the mouse and are, resultingly, never released on consoles. Strategy games like Civilisation are sometimes released on consoles, but they are meant to be played on a computer with a mouse. Some real-time Strategy games probably won’t work without a mouse. So Joy-Cons with a mouse mode is genius. It will enable them to make DS-style touch games as well (Professor Layton’s, anyone?). You could use the touch screen in Handheld mode and the Joy-Con mouse in TV mode. It’ll also give you a massive advantage in First Person Shooters, so there’s that.

Mario Kart 9

Finally, and I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this already, we got our first glimpse at Mario Kart 9. It was only a brief couple of shots, but it’s definitely a new game. The character designs are different (especially Donkey Kong) and the track is new. The track seems to be called the Mario Bros Circuit and seems very big. Some people have speculated that it might have an open world where you drive to different race tracks. That would be cool, but it seems unlikely. However, that might be 24-person races instead of the usual 12. Whatever the case, the confirmation is pretty awesome and makes perfect sense. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still the best-selling game on Switch, and they’ve had plenty of time to make a new one (it was originally released in 2014 for the WiiU). It’s the ideal launch title.

What’s next?

That’s pretty much all we know so far, and it just makes me want to know more. I’m sure many third-party developers are about to announce their support, especially since it’s reportedly as powerful as the PS4 (and PS5 graphics are too expensive to be worth developing for). Still, it will be an agonising wait for the Direct on April 2^nd.

-Dexter