Nintendo Switch 2: A Game, a Home Entertainment System, and a GameCube Accessory for On-the-Go Play

In the Switch 2 reveal Nintendo didn’t state how powerful the new console is. We can see that the console is bigger, but what’s the screen size? Is it OLED or LCD? The screen resolution is still at 720p. Is the resolution supported?

The reveal video featured a Joy-Con attaching to a cover and zooming around on a surface like a mouse. Is MouseFunctionality one of the new tricks in the Switch 2? Speaking of gimmicks, is there still an IR camera for games like 1-2-Switch? The Ring Fit Adventure Ring-Con is a GameCube accessory and I hope it will work with the Switch 2.

At a glance, the reveal video shows a … slightly bigger Switch. It’s still a console that can be used as a handheld gaming device, and a home entertainment system that outputs to your TV via a docking station. The Joy-Con controllers are still used as two independent controllers for on-the-go play in ever present, on-the-go modes. It runs Mario Kart! There is a reason that this is Switch 2: switch harder.

There’s a new button on the Switch 2 directly below the home button on the right Joy-Con. Does it have something to do with a new chat functionality like rumors have suggested?

The handheld will play both Switch 2 and Switch games, Nintendo said in a press release, but added that “certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.”

The original Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, at a time when Nintendo was still recovering from poor sales of its previous console, the Wii U. Where the Wii U failed to find an audience, however, the Switch soared. It became the third best-selling console in the history of the world in 2023, behind the Nintendo DS and the Sony 2.

The 2017 Nintendo Switch: Insecticide or Spikes? The Story Behind Its Progress and Consequences for Gaming Handhelds

Oh, wait, there is one more burning question… what flavors can we expect for the Switch 2 cartridges? I hope something better than “insecticide”

Nintendo will hold a Direct presentation on April 2 to give more information on the Nintendo Switch. In the video announcement, Nintendo debuted a larger screen with a pair of black and pink and black and blue Joy-Cons. The video shows a few seconds of footage for a new Mario Kart game.

The console appeared to have peaked by the year 2024. There were rumors of a next-gen entry, and sales were collapsing. Nearly a year ago, when Nintendo announced Pokémon Legends: Z-A would be coming to its “systems” in 2025, fans speculated that a new console was on the horizon. This could well have just been the case if the system had referred to the OLED and lite models.

You might be shocked by how close the Switch 2 sticks to the form and function, since several peripheral makers were bold enough to show off replicas of the unrevealed hardware to showcase their Switch 2 accessories.

It’s hard to overstate the impact the Switch has had on the gaming industry since its launch in 2017. Not only has it become one of the best-selling consoles of all time—146.2 million units sold globally as of September 2024, putting it behind only the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS handheld, though it may overtake even those by the end of its life cycle—but it’s almost single-handedly driven the renewed surge in gaming handhelds.