Nintendo Switch 2 Gets Bigger and Better, but Has a Monumental Legacy to Follow

After a string of leaks and months of speculation, Nintendo finally revealed its next hybrid console, the Nintendo Switch 2, Thursday. In a video published on its social media channels, the Japanese company showed off a bigger, blacker, and better successor to the phenomenally successful Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 will be released in 2025 and run exclusive games built for the console in addition to supporting physical and digital Switch titles.  

Nintendo has not yet shared technical details for the Switch 2, opting instead to show off the new hardware in the first-look trailer. The new console's design does not stray far from the Nintendo Switch, favouring refinements over a radical departure. A lot of the changes echo what leaks and reports had predicted over the past few months.  

Nintendo Switch 2 Gets a Bigger Screen

The most prominent and expected of all the changes is perhaps the larger screen. The original Switch featured a 6.2-inch LCD display, while the OLED model made the jump to a 7-inch OLED panel. While Nintendo has not shared specifications, the Switch 2 display looks noticeably larger in the video. The console could come with an 8-inch screen, as earlier reports have claimed.  

The Nintendo Switch 2 retains the USB Type-C port on the bottom edge of the screen and adds a second USB Type-C port on the top side to accompany the power and volume buttons, the 3.5mm headphone jack, and the game card slot.  

Just as leaks had predicted, the console also comes with a revamped kickstand. Gone is the flimsy stand from the original Switch and the plate-style one from the OLED model; Switch 2 features a rail kickstand that runs across the bottom edge of the backside of the screen. The kickstand can now bend to a larger degree, too, almost flattening the console on the surface. 

The Nintendo Switch 2 comes with a larger screen
Photo Credit: Nintendo

Revamped Joy Cons

The Joy Cons have been revamped, as well. They're bigger now to match the larger display, and Nintendo has drained out the iconic blue-red colour scheme from the original Switch controller. The new Joy Cons are all black, with blue and red accents along their spine and on the joystick housing. And just as leaks claimed, Nintendo has ditched the rail system for connecting the Joy Cons to the display in favour of a snap-on mechanism with pins in the middle of the spine.  

The company has not yet shared details, but the new Joy Cons will likely use a magnetic attachment system. The new controllers also feature a more prominent release trigger on the back to sever the connection with the screen. All buttons on the controllers, however, retain their positions and design from the Nintendo Switch. The Joy Cons can still be connected via a grip to form a single, complete controller to play games in docked mode.  

Overall, the console, while larger, is sleeker and smoother, with a matte finish draping the build. The dock, now larger too, is more rounded than the sharper rectangular one that came with the original Switch. It sports a large “Nintendo Switch 2” branding on the front. 

The Joy Cons on the Switch 2 connect via a possibly magnetic, snap-on mechanism
Photo Credit: Nintendo

New Mario Kart Teased

As was reported earlier this week, the Switch 2 announcement didn't really feature any new games — except for one. Towards the end of the first-look trailer, Nintendo teased the next Mario Kart title, presumably running on the Switch 2. While the company, again, did not share details, this could be the much-awaited sequel to Mario Kart 8, which was released in 2014 on the Wii U, before a Deluxe version was rereleased for the Switch in 2017. 

Nintendo confirmed that the Switch 2 would be released in 2025, but did not reveal a launch date. Specs and pricing for the hybrid console remain under wraps, as well. The company did confirm again that the Switch 2 would be backwards compatible with digital and physical Nintendo Switch titles, in addition to getting its own exclusive games. Nintendo, however, said in its announcement that certain Switch titles might not be supported on or be fully compatible with the Switch 2.  

Additionally, Nintendo will host a Nintendo Direct stream focussed on the Switch 2 on April 2, where it is expected to provide more details about its next console and possibly showcase some of the new games arriving on it. The company will also host hands-on experience events in select cities across the globe for consumers to experience the Switch 2 before they choose to buy it. These events will begin after the Nintendo Direct stream, on April 4. 

The Nintendo Switch first-look trailer also teased a new Mario Kart game
Photo Credit: Nintendo

Nintendo Switch's Legacy Looms on Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 reveal comes nearly nine years after the company took the covers off the original Switch in 2016. In that time, the hybrid console and its OLED and Lite variants have collectively sold over 146 million units, becoming the third-highest selling console in history behind only the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS (and not by much).  

Aside from the stellar sales, the Nintendo Switch, that has now lived across two console generations and emerged as the runaway winner over much more powerful PlayStation and Xbox competitors, has established itself as a landmark device in the last decade, transforming gaming industry trends, hardware development and games themselves.  

The console's rich library of all-time great exclusive titles like Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, among others, speaks of its legacy, but also sets the bar incredibly high for its successor. Despite a flattening market for console hardware, the Nintendo Switch 2 will likely break through and sell like hot cakes. Whether its exclusive games live up to the ones that rocketed the original Switch to the summit, however, remains to be seen.