Well, it finally happened. Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2.
And yes, it’s actually called the Nintendo Switch 2.
While the announcement trailer doesn’t show much besides the console itself and a brief glimpse of a new Mario Kart, it promises more information coming in a special Nintendo Direct on April 2.
As for the console, it pretty much just looks like a new Switch, which is what people have been expecting for a while now. (Ironically, after years of only seeing people say Nintendo would be foolish not to just make their next console a more powerful Switch, I now see people complaining that their new console is just a more powerful Switch.)
One notable part is that part of the trailer shows the Joy-Cons gliding along a surface, which combined with rumors, suggests they might be able to function as a mouse. That makes me wonder if it could be useful for something improved by having more precise control – Professor Layton puzzles, for example, in the absence of a stylus.
It also reiterates their previous statement that the Switch 2 will be backward compatible, this time clearly stating that it will play both physical and digital Switch games.
Although it says certain games may not be compatible, that probably only includes a handful of games that use Switch-specific functions (ex. anything that relied on Joy-Con functions that might be changed in the Switch 2).
I’m looking forward to learning about the Switch 2 in April, although as usual, the exclusives announced for it will likely determine when I get one. In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of games in my backlog to keep me busy until then.
What do you think of the Switch 2?