This morning, April 2, 2025, Nintendo had their Switch 2 Direct at 8 a.m. to discuss not only the new system itself but some of the major titles either in development for the console or publishers who will be launching their titles on the next flagship platform. The stream lasted about an hour but it covered all the essentials to know about the console as well as covering some of the biggest games of 2025 coming to Switch 2. Without further ado, lets get into the nitty-gritty of next generation of Nintendo.
The Console
Let’s start with availability and pricing so you know when you can get the next chapter in the Nintendo console story. The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available on June 5, 2025 with pre-orders starting in just a week on April 9, 2025. Now, it does carry a hefty price tag with just the console costing $449 and the bundle with the newly announced Mario Kart World being priced at $500. The specs for this console however almost justify the price to go along with the innovations.
The Specs
So obviously, from the outside looking in you would wonder what slapping a “2” on the end of an existing system would really mean. Well, they innovated everything from their Joy Cons to the system itself. For starters they added a C button. Now on previous Nintendo controllers, the C button/joystick was to control the camera. Instead, it now allows you to game chat through the console! This will allow you to hop into a Nintendo version of a Discord call with your friends. The microphone is built into the Switch 2 system right above the screen and also features noise suppression to help drown out background noise. In the same menu, it allows you to share your game screen with those present with you in the call so they can see what your doing, even if they are in a different game! The last cool thing of note with the new C button is that it also helps control the Switch camera add-on as well! It will turn your normal game chat into a video call and even allow your face to be shown in party games like Mario Party! They are also adding a game share feature where if only one person owns a compatible game. Other Switch systems can join in on the fun with up to three other systems.
Now for the technical part, the Nintendo Switch 2’s thickness will stay the same 13.9mm it has been so no need to worry about a bigger system and your hand cramping. This will come with an upgraded high-definition display though with almost double the pixels from the original Switch. This allows the console to now go from its 720p resolution to its new 1080p resolution. It will also come with a 120fps rate on the handheld console itself allowing for smoother gameplay and visuals. On to the controllers, they are magnetic now. Instead of lining up the rails and locking it in, the console has powerful magnets that attaches the controllers to it. It is similar with its release with a button on the back to push and it will release from the console. Sticking with the joy con though, the buttons on the inner part of the joy cons are bigger as well as the
thumb sticks. The SL and SR are larger now for better control and comfortability alongside the joy stick. The truly neat part about this new joy con though is that it has mouse controls! Both the left and right joy cons have mouse controls that can be used in a multitude of games coming with the system. The are also adding a 3D spatial audio to the system to help with immersion in their games.
The Switch 2 will also be sporting two separate USB-C ports on the console, one on the top and the other on the bottom. This will help when you have to hook up the camera and have to charge at the same time so you don’t have to pick one or the other. The Switch 2 will also pack up to eight times the amount of storage that the original Switch does. With 256 GBs of storage, you may never have to buy a microSD for your Switch system again! This also comes with a new dock that will not only allow an ethernet connection but also allow to sport a 4K resolution for your Nintendo titles! Finally, one of the best editions they could have added to the system, they added a cooling fan within the dock of the Switch 2 allowing you to keep optimal performance for longer gameplay.
This is all amazing and quite frankly a lot so I highly recommend going to the Nintendo of America YouTube to watch the direct for yourself and see more of what they have to offer. The Nintendo Switch 2 launches on June 5, 2025 with pre-orders starting on April 9th, 2025.
