Nintendo Switch 2 Revealed: The Improvements, Rumors, and Questions We Still Have
How does the Nintendo Switch 2 improve on its predecessor? We finally have some answers, but also quite a few more questions. Dive into POWER-UP's deep-dive analysis of what we know so far.
â Next, the new Joy-Cons, also larger, which should help make playing in handheld mode a little more comfortable. There are two other updates to note: 1) gone are the annoying rail connections that would get stuck if you werenât paying attention and tried to slide in the wrong Joy-Con, replaced by a magnetic snap-on connection that looks so much easier to use; and 2) you can also use the Joy-Cons as mice, although how Nintendo plans to implement this new functionality into the gaming experience remains to be seen. Overall, these are the upgrades that have us the most excited so far.
â Thereâs one other detail to note regarding the Joy-Cons: thereâs a new button! Nintendo has added a mysterious C button to the right Joy-Con (the square button all the way on the bottom). What this button actually does is anyoneâs guess but IGN points to speculation that it might have something to do with more intuitive group chat functionality.
â Back in 2017, Nintendo used the then-upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to show off the original Switch. This time around, Nintendo has gone with what seems to be a new Mario Kart gameâpresumably the long-rumored Mario Kart 9! You may be wondering why Nintendo went two console generations with just one Mario Kart game, but the answer is pretty simple: Mario Kart 8, specifically the Deluxe port for the Switch, sold incredibly well. In fact, itâs the best-selling Nintendo game of all time if you donât count Wii Sports, which came bundled with the Wii.
â The Switch 2 will allow you to play games on physical cartridges and digitally. As previously rumored, it will also feature backwards compatibility, meaning youâll be able to play most of your Switch library on the new hardware, although Nintendo warns that âcertain games may not be supported on or fully compatible with the Switch 2.â
Of course, thereâs a lot we still donât know about the Switch 2, questions that will hopefully be answered in April as well as the Nintendo Experience events planned in the Spring and Summer for anxious fans who want to be the first to check out the new console in person. In the meantime, we only have rumors and leaks to go on when it comes to what is actually powering the new Switch console. What specs are we talking here?
Nintendo hasnât revealed anything on that front, but leaked concept images of the Switch 2 and an alleged specs list released in September (via VGC) could provide some clues. Again, itâs important to note that this is all unconfirmed rumor at the moment, although the leaked images themselves seem to be the real thing after todayâs announcement. The leak also correctly stated that the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display, magnetic controllers, and two USB-C ports.