It isn’t an April Fool’s; it’s instead the actual announcement of Nintendo’s long awaited Switch 2. From a release date and pre-order period to price to launch games and beyond, we’ve got all the information you could need to learn about what’s coming down the line from Nintendo.
Always one to buck a trend, Nintendo certainly seems to have cornered the market in some ways while always being completely blind to it in others. Ever since the Wii, the company has eschewed the idea of pursuing graphical processing power and realism for broader appeal and first party quality; it’s hard to argue with that strategy, as, save for the Wii U, Nintendo’s strategy has helped them dominate the gaming market in terms of sales for quite a few iterations now. The Switch is no different, being Nintendo’s most successful console, but as the hardware aged and went through minor iterations (Switch Lite and screens for example), consumers were curious what was next. And the answer is… the Switch… 2!
And that’s not really even being glib; it really is just called the Switch 2. Implied to be a straight upgrade to the original Switch in all ways, boasting more power and ability while maintaining essentially the same shape and function. Whether that’s a bold enough move to continue dominating the market (or justifying the price, more on that in a bit) remains to be seen, but Nintendo often seems to defy doubters with their long game. Let’s dive into the announcements.
The Switch 2
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: June 5 2025
Marcy: Perhaps the thing you are going to talk about first, and I know I certainly did, is the price. The Switch 2 is marked at $450 dollars, a pretty huge uptick in price from the original Switch and a sizeable investment for a handheld focused system for sure. The second thing to note is the relatively short announcement window: The Switch 2 is slated to release in June, barely two months away from this announcement. Nintendo has been recently doing much of their announcements in this manner with games, but an extremely short retail notice for a big hardware release does bring some questions of supply issues and availability to mind; in the post-COVID world, supply chains have never seemingly recovered, and so how easily obtainable a Switch 2 will be (or pre-orderable, even) is a question with no current answer, but we’ll get some sense of an idea when the pre-order period starts on April 9th.
Mario Kart World
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: June 5 2025
Platform: Switch 2
Marcy: Right after announcing their 450 dollar system, Nintendo also laid out the next big release: a new Mario Kart that will accompany the system on launch, and if bought with it, brings the pricetag up to 500 dollars, and if bought separately, the game is a whopping $80(!!) dollars. However, one of the nicer parts of this announcement was the indication that only one player (at least locally) needs to own a copy of Mario Kart World in order for others nearby to play it. A whopping 24 players can participate in a race, and so one of the first things to note about the Switch 2 is a large focus on heavier multiplayer opportunities. Here’s hoping that Nintendo’s network capabilities are up to the challenge.There’ll be more details on april 17th during an exclusive Mario Kart World Direct, so we’ll know more soon.
Switch 2 Features (Gamechat, Camera, GameShare)
Marcy: Back when the Switch 2 was announced, keen-eyed observers noted a “C” button on the controllers. A lot of theories went into what it could mean and do, and why one more button might matter, and… it’s the Chat button. That’s right, Nintendo wants you to be really social with the Swich 2, so they included a chat feature that… almost everyone has access to. It’s called Discord (which sucks, so maybe this isn’t as much of an own as it sounds). The Gamechat feature boasts a “noise cancelling” microphone that won’t pick up ambient noise while you game and chat without headphone and a mic like some sort of insane person, so look forward to hating this feature.
Also shown was a Camera, because why not. Sure. Who doesn’t want to Zoom call your friends while playing Mario Kart with them?
Me. I don’t want that.
Finally, the most interesting new feature is GameShare, which shows off the ability for local share among players who don’t own the base game, and the most interesting aspect of this diagram that Nintendo showed off was that the Switch 2 can speak to and play with Switch 1s (as it shows a regular Switch and a Switch Lite), and I’m very curious to find out how that works and in what capacity it works. While cool, this is unlikely to lessen the financial burden of playing a game with friends online, where everyone will need a Switch 2, a game, and a membership (aside from internet, also).
Welcome Tour
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: June 5 2025
Platforms: Switch 2
Marcy: Were you the type to read an instruction manual, or simply just try to figure something out without reading it? Well, in either case, Nintendo has opted to sell you a game in which you can learn about the Switch 2 while playing the role of a man who lives in and around a Switch 2. That’s right, you can pay for the experience of learning all of the features your Switch 2 does while engaging in minigames; it is somewhat reminiscent of Astro’s Playroom, game was free, while this is a game you have to pay for, and I am sort of baffled by that.
Switch, Switch 2, and Switch 2 Editions
Marcy: Adding some layers of confusion to the mix, the Switch 2 has “three” types of games available: Switch 2 games, Switch 2 “compatible” games, and Switch 2 Edition games which promise to improve or add features to the game. To demonstrate this, Nintendo showed a version of Mario Party Jamboree that added new control features, camera use (ugh), and more. The biggest takeaway from this is that Switch games are not inherently backwards compatible to the Switch 2, meaning that you may not want to get rid of your Switch right away. Second is that Nintendo may ask you to double dip on games you already own to play them “enhanced” on the Switch 2. As someone who already had to spend 120 dollars so my wife and I could play Mario Party online with our friends, I’m not exactly thrilled by this.
Enhanced Zelda Releases
Marcy: Aside from the almost anti-Marcy Mario Party “additions”, Nintendo also showed off the Switch 2 Enhanced versions of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. While I am also loathe to want to play through both of these game again from the beginning, the enhanced graphics and support for the games are nice to see, as are the interesting app features that are being added; Breath of the Wild has a Korok Finder, while Tears of the Kingdom gets the ability to build, share, and download other players Zonai contraptions, which were absolutely the most fun part of Tears of the Kingdom for sure. I’m more curious to see what Nintendo will charge for these, although the ability to buy “upgrade packs” if you already own the Switch versions are a nice option (depending, again, on price).
Drag x Drive
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: Summer 2025
Platforms: Switch 2
Marcy: A Murderball-style game, Drag x Drive had some cool visuals and fast-paced arcade sports style gameplay to show off. The thing that is going to make or break this game for most people is that this is the “launch” game that usually accompanies Nintendo products, as much of Drag x Drive’s footage is accompanied with showing off the Switch 2’s motion controls. If you like motion controls, you might like this game! If you don’t, you… might like this game, if it allows you to play it without being forced to use them! I hope so, as it does look fun, and I loathe motion controls.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
Developer: Nintendo and Koei-Tecmo
Release Date: Winter 2025
Platforms: Switch 2
Marcy: Bringing back the Dynasty Warriors formula to Zelda for another Hyrule Warriors, Age of Imprisonment advertises itself as a prequel to Tears of the Kingdom in which players take on the role of Zelda and her companions. Coming further down the pipeline this year, it looks to provide a new addition to the “Breath of the Wild”-verse lore, and if you like the hack-and-slash combat of Musou games, then this gives you something to look forward to later this year.
GameCube Games for Switch Online
Marcy: GameCube games have finally made their way to Nintendo Switch Online, meaning you too can play Wind Waker for the first time again, or something. The return of F-Zero GX was certainly the highlight of this little showcase; Soulcalibur 2 is also on the way, which is more of a historical oddity than anything else. Sadly there weren’t many other games shown for launch, but Nintendo did tease releases of Pokemon XD, Super Mario Strikers, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance, and Luigi’s Mansion (as well as Chibi Robo!).
The Duskbloods
Developer: FromSoftware
Release Date: 2026
Platforms: Switch 2
Marcy: “And they call themselves… the Duskbloods!”
Perhaps the most baffling and surprising announcement of the Switch 2 showcase was FromSoftware’s exclusive title, The Duskbloods, which seems to really want to piss me off by using a lot of cute callbacks to Bloodborne but not be 1) Bloodborne or 2) Bloodborne 2. Proposed to be a PvPvE game, The Duskbloods seems to be FromSoftware’s first multiplayer-focused “Souls” game, complete with a weirdo in round armor. The aesthetics are a little all over the place in this trailer, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested; FromSoftware games have a big place in my heart, and if anyone can make me buy a system, it might be FromSoftware.
Kirby Air Riders
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 2025
Platforms: Switch 2
Marcy: the racing sequel no one seemed to expect, Kirby Air Ride from the GameCube has finally been vindicated with the announcement of Kirby Air Riders coming later in 2025. Kirby Air Ride was a frankly unique and odd racing game, and I’m pretty interested to see what Kirby Air Riders brings to the table, especially since the Switch 2 is launching with Mario Kart, but Kirby Air Riders teased the important part: Masahiro Sakurai is in charge.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: July 17 2025
Platforms: Switch 2
Marcy: Showing off some really interesting terrain destroying platforming, Donkey Kong is back in a brand new title that isn’t just trying to reinvent Donkey Kong Country (sort of. It still kind of has some of that vibe). The new art style is fun and exciting, giving a lot of personality to Donkey Kong and the other surrounding beings in the game, and frankly an issue Donkey Kong has suffered from since the original Rare titles is a lack of supporting cast, villains, and NPCs that gave the world a lot of life (there’s a reason King K. Rool remains so iconic, aside from Gang-Plank Galleon being a fucking BANGER). Of any title shown so far, this one actually has me the most interested, and I hope it lives up to the hype.
Wrap-Up and Thoughts
Marcy: If the tone of this overview is a little odd, then you may have picked up on the fact that, at least for this lady reporter, the Switch 2 has overall received a mixed reception. The price is astronomical, and the cost of individual games riding the 75-80 USD line is making it harder to swallow. I am increasingly becoming reluctant to spend anywhere over 40 dollars for games these days, and while some of these titles looked great, I’m still not sure they look 80+ dollars great.
About a week before this showcase, I bought a game called Nubby’s Number Factory for 5 dollars, and currently have nearly 200 hours in the game. Those 200 hours have come from all manner of times of day, moods, and feelings; big gaming marathons, nightly wind-downs, something to do while recovering from being sick, something to share with others and talk about while playing it over a call. I didn’t marathon the game from 0-200, and instead played in mostly short, hour long bursts or so (with some longer ones in between, obviously).
Can I see myself doing that with Donkey Kong Bananaza, or Mario Kart World? I… I really don’t know if I can actually say “Yes” to that question with a straight face. My actual gut feeling is “No”, and so it is making it a lot harder for me to be excited about a 450 dollar entry fee to then spend 80 dollars per game on something. And then, how many of the systems and games will my household need? Since my wife and I play a lot of games with friends online and have a fairly wide, global friend pool, am I looking at 900 dollars and 160 per game? That’s untenable; frankly, even buying 2 copies of Switch games now is insanely expensive and a main reason why I’ve stopped playing many of them.
That’s not to say I’m not interested; I actually very much am. While the PS5 and Xbox have been nullified by the fact that I own a modern computer, Nintendo’s library is often games that don’t exist anywhere else, and thus the allure of a Switch 2 is a lot stronger than a PS5 ever was. So, I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for how pre-orders are conducted and handled, and hope that availability of the system will be ready, if not plentiful, and that the cost of entry is rewarded with good gaming experiences. If not, well… I’ve got plenty of 0-10 dollar games to enjoy.
We’ll keep you posted on updates for the new system and check back in on the Mario Kart Direct, if there’s enough there to cover, coming up in about a week and a half! Until next time, gamers!
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