Nintendo Swap 2: All the things we find out about pre-order plans, specs, pricing, video games and extra

Due to Nintendo’s January 16 teaser trailer, we have lengthy identified what the Nintendo Swap 2 will appear like, and that it’ll arrive in 2025 — over eight years after its predecessor. Now it is time for the opposite shoe to drop: A particular Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct streaming on YouTube tomorrow (April 2) at 9AM ET is predicted to disclose the all the opposite key particulars, together with the worth, launch date and pre-order particulars. And we would see a number of new video games, too.

We already know fairly a bit in regards to the new console, because of the January reveal. The Swap 2 seems similar to the unique system, albeit with a bigger show, magnetic Pleasure-Cons and a sleeker design. The corporate additionally reaffirmed that the upcoming console will likely be backwards appropriate with Swap video games.

Seeking to atone for every little thing we all know — or suppose we all know — in regards to the Swap 2? Learn on.

What are the important thing last-minute Swap 2 information and rumors?

The livestream placeholder for the April 2 Switch 2 Nintendo Direct is now reside on YouTube, counting right down to the 9AM ET begin time. Nintendo has additionally confirmed that the presentation will final “roughly 60 minutes,” which is extra meaty than lots of its current game-only streams.

If that first burst of Swap 2 information is not sufficient for you, Nintendo will following up with gameplay video on April 3 and 4 at 10AM ET as effectively.

The Nintendo Swap 2 was introduced on January 16

The rumor mill had heavily suggested that Nintendo would pull again the curtain on the Swap 2 on January 16, and that turned out to be the case.

The corporate hasn’t modified the core kind issue. It is a moveable console with removable Pleasure-Cons. The Swap 2 may be positioned in a dock for big-screen gaming. There are some important variations from the unique console, nonetheless.

The obvious one is that the next-gen Pleasure-Cons will not slide into place mechanically. As a substitute, they seem to connect to the principle unit magnetically. There’s a small connector that is doubtless used to cost the controllers. It is unclear at this level if Pleasure-Cons from the unique system will likely be appropriate with the Swap 2.

One different massive (and really welcome) change is the addition of a second USB-C port on the highest of the gadget. That ought to make it a lot simpler to plug in equipment whereas the Swap 2 is docked. FCC filings recommend that you can cost the console utilizing both USB-C port, which is one other good quality-of-life change.

It is nice to see that Nintendo has stored the headphone jack as effectively. Let’s simply hope that Bluetooth headphone help is reside from the leap this time and Nintendo does not go away everybody waiting four years for that characteristic.

The kickstand is getting an improve. As with the Swap OLED, it spans the size of the console this time round. However, in line with the reveal trailer, this one seems totally adjustable, so you’ll be able to tweak the viewing angle to 1 that works for you.

There are nonetheless an important many unknowns relating to the upcoming console. We do not actually know the specs but, or what kind of show it makes use of. We additionally do not know something about battery life, the UI or launch video games. We’ll absolutely study a complete lot on April 2.

When will the Nintendo Swap 2 come out?

2025. That is all we all know for positive at this level.

It is extremely unlikely that Nintendo will launch the console earlier than the devoted Direct on April 2, and never solely as a result of that is in the beginning of Nintendo’s subsequent monetary yr. Accent producer Genki, which had been a serious supply of leaks earlier than Nintendo’s January reveal, claimed the console would be released in April. Different studies have pegged June as the discharge window, as have a number of analysts.

In any case, we should always study the discharge date through the April 2 Direct.

When can I pre-order the Nintendo Swap 2?

As with the discharge date, we count on readability on this throughout or after the April 2 presentation. A Finest Purchase Canada publish noticed on Reddit (since deleted, however archived) states that pre-orders will open on that day, however that has but to confirmed.

When can I strive the Nintendo Swap 2?

Nintendo is planning a worldwide roadshow to let avid gamers go hands-on with the console. These occasions begin in New York and Paris on April 4-6, with others going down all through the next two months. That lends credence to some solutions that Nintendo will launch the Swap 2 in June.

Ticket registration for most of the Nintendo Swap 2 Expertise occasions has closed, however waitlists are available. Nevertheless, on condition that Nintendo is taking a primary come, first served method, your probabilities of attending the roadshow should you do not have already got a ticket (or until you signed up for the waitlist instantly) appear very small at this level.

The total record of Nintendo Swap 2 Expertise dates is as follows:

North America:

New York, April 4-6, 2025
Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025
Dallas, April 25-27, 2025
Toronto, April 25-27, 2025

Europe:

Paris, April 4-6, 2025
London, April 11-13, 2025
Milan, April 25-27, 2025
Berlin, April 25-27, 2025
Madrid, Could 9/11, 2025
Amsterdam, Could 9/11, 2025

Oceania:

Melbourne, Could 10-11, 2025

Asia:

Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025
Seoul, Could 31-June 1, 2025
Hong Kong, To be introduced
Taipei, To be introduced

Will the Nintendo Swap 2 have some weirdness?

All the things we have seen and thus far about this console has been pretty, effectively, conventional. It seems like the unique Swap, however higher. That is superior, however will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! There are two puzzling additions that folk cannot make disguise nor hair of.

Genki, the equipment producer, simply printed a touchdown web page for his or her Nintendo Swap 2 equipment. This touchdown web page incorporates a video that features a very detailed have a look at a Swap 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ

— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025

Eager eyes may have observed a brand new button on the underside of the suitable Pleasure-Con. Promotional pictures for a brand new app referred to as Nintendo Today!, which the corporate says will present customers with day by day information updates about issues like video games and the Swap 2, confirmed that it’s a C button.

Nevertheless, it’s not but clear what this button does. May it provoke voice chat throughout gameplay? May it calibrate the controllers? May it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your front room? We’ll have to attend and see.

Now onto the up to date Pleasure-Cons. There seems to be a brand new sensor on the connecting aspect of every controller. It seems a whole lot like an optical sensor, which is what a pc mouse makes use of. This has led to hypothesis that gamers will be capable to flip the Pleasure-Con over and use it like a mouse. Of notice: the trailer reveals the Pleasure-Cons shifting alongside a flat floor, connector aspect down and looking out suspiciously like a mouse.

However why would anybody even need this? We will consider three phrases. New Mario Paint.

Genki reveal isnt a mockup, its straight up simply the Swap 2, optical sensor is actually flashing on this shot @Stealth40k #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/COeLsonqMd

— Ash  (@Ashinarii) January 8, 2025

Mouse management isn’t the one “too unusual for any firm however Nintendo” rumor floating round. A patent filed by the corporate suggests you’ll be able to swap the Swap 2’s Pleasure-Cons, snapping them onto both aspect of the console. That may align with the magnetic Pleasure-Con attachment scheme.

However very like the bizarre mouse rumors, it doesn’t essentially align with, effectively, any logical cause for why you’d need to do this. The patent suggests it might enable for extra person selection in the place the headphone jack is. However because it’s Nintendo, the corporate that introduced us Labo cardboard peripherals and the Recreation Boy Advance e-reader attachment, we have now to surprise if there are… quirkier designs at hand.

Is the Nintendo Swap 2 backwards appropriate?

The corporate confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It’s going to additionally characteristic entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will be capable to play all of these previous retro titles.

Within the preliminary Nintendo Swap 2 press launch, Nintendo reiterated that bodily and digital Swap video games will work on the brand new system. Nevertheless, it famous that “sure Nintendo Swap video games will not be supported on or totally appropriate with Nintendo Swap 2.” Extra particulars about which video games these are will likely be revealed later.

Throughout a Nintendo Direct on March 27, the corporate revealed a brand new system for loaning digital Swap video games out to family and friends members. Virtual Game Cards are designed to make it simpler to begin a recreation on one console and proceed on one other as effectively. Though Nintendo’s method to that is not as simple as it perhaps should be, Digital Recreation Playing cards can even be accessible on the Swap 2.

Will previous video games be enhanced in any manner?

The unique Swap has, to place it mildly, struggled to run some of the late-generation software that is come down the pike. May these video games be enhanced to reap the benefits of the elevated horsepower of the Swap 2? We don’t know. We additionally do not know if any of those releases will obtain graphical upgrades, maybe making the most of upscaling tech.

What is going to the cartridges style like?

You could keep in mind that the unique Swap cartridges taste absolutely awful. This was on function, to discourage people from placing the video games of their mouth. Will the successor observe go well with and proceed to dip cartridges in a foul-tasting bitter coating? Solely time will inform.

What about specs?

The rumors relating to specs are in every single place, so it’s robust to pin down. We all know one factor for positive: It’ll be extra highly effective than the traditional Swap {hardware}, which was already antiquated again in 2017. One analyst allegedly bought a maintain of a spec sheet from the Korean United Every day Information that stated the Swap 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM and 64GB of inner eMMC storage. This tracks, as these specs are about as underpowered now as the unique Swap was in 2017. Nevertheless, some studies do indicate that the console will embrace 12GB of RAM.

One other supply means that the eight-core CPU will likely be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the present Swap runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes numerous sense. The CPU will likely be extra highly effective, but it surely’s the Swap 2’s new GPU that will likely be a serious differentiator. It is all-but-confirmed that the Swap 2 will help DLSS, NVIDIA’s “deep studying supersampling” upscaling tech, which might enable the console to render video games at a low decision internally whereas outputting a high-resolution picture. (Enjoyable truth: We truly wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the know-how was introduced alongside the RTX 20 sequence again in 2018.)

There are nonetheless questions in regards to the Swap 2 and DLSS: Will the system help newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will current video games be mechanically tidied up by NVIDIA’s algorithm? Whatever the actual implementation, DLSS upscaling will likely be an enormous leap over the rudimentary methods accessible to Nintendo Swap builders.

As for the show, there are lots of conflicting rumors. Early studies from stable sources prompt the Swap 2 would have an 8-inch LCD display. The Swap 2’s show actually seems bigger than that of the unique Swap in a side-by-side comparability within the reveal trailer. Some people have nervous that the Swap follow-up may actually be too big, particularly for youths.

Sure analysts have prompt this is able to be an OLED display, whereas others have stated it could be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED show is principally an LCD show that has a backlight fabricated from (shock!) mini-LEDs relatively than edge lighting. This permits for native dimming, making the blacks extra black.

We’re hedging our bets right here. We expect it’ll be an ordinary LCD, to chop prices, with an OLED or Mini-LED mannequin coming later down the road. Nevertheless, Mini-LED screens are barely cheaper than OLED shows, in order that’s actually a risk at launch.

As for decision, current reporting means that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That is significantly better than the OG Swap.

Extra tenuous “leaks” have intimated that the Swap 2 might additionally help a quicker microSD card customary referred to as microSD Specific. This permits for significantly faster switch charges than the widespread UHS-I playing cards supported by the Swap in the present day. It’s technically been around for a number of years, however we’ve solely not too long ago began to see microSD playing cards that reap the benefits of the spec hit the market.

We truly examined one of them from SanDisk for our microSD card buying guide and located it might attain sequential learn speeds as much as round 900 MB/s. With the present Swap, microSD transfer speeds prime out nearer to 100 MB/s.

So, in idea, all of this might convey a large enhance in load instances and normal storage efficiency for the Swap 2 (although it’s nonetheless not prone to be on par with the SSDs within the PS5 or Xbox Sequence X/S). However once more, these rumors are removed from concrete. It’s additionally price noting that microSD Specific playing cards value considerably greater than what we normally see in the present day — the SanDisk card we examined, for example, begins at $45 for simply 128GB of storage.

Just lately-unearthed FCC filings additionally point out that the console will support Wi-Fi 6 and NFC. The latter signifies that the Swap 2 will proceed Amiibo integration.

How a lot will the Nintendo Swap 2 value?

We do not have an excessive amount of data relating to value however we do have loads of historical past to work with. The unique Nintendo Swap launched at $300, which is just about the “magic quantity” with regards to Nintendo console releases in recent times. The Wii U additionally got here in at $300.

Nevertheless, there are many rumors circulating that Nintendo might be upping the asking value for the Swap 2. A number of analysts predict Nintendo to hike the worth to a minimum of $400 and presumably whilst a lot as $500. Rising prices of elements and improvement, in addition to US tariffs, are prone to imply that the Swap 2 is dearer than its predecessor.

Dipping again into historical past, there may be some priority for a value uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Swap elevated to $300 and, effectively, numbers wish to go up. A $400 price ticket would make the Swap 2 almost as costly as a PS5 and Xbox Sequence X. That may additionally put it on the similar value because the 256GB LCD Steam Deck.

Once more, we should always get affirmation of the worth through the April 2 Nintendo Direct.

How effectively will the Nintendo Swap 2 promote?

Even with an anticipated value improve, Nintendo is prone to promote boatloads of Swap 2 consoles. The corporate appears to be positioning itself to shatter gross sales information. Experiences recommend that Nintendo desires to have as many items able to promote as potential on launch day. One analyst informed Bloomberg that they anticipated Nintendo to have a list of between 6 million and eight million items on the outset.

As Bloomberg notes, the corporate offered 2.7 million Swap items in that console’s first month. Sony’s PS4 and PS5 every offered 4.5 million items of their first quarter in the marketplace, although it is price noting the PS5’s early momentum was hindered somewhat by shortages.

Nintendo has offered more than 150 million Switch units. On condition that many followers are greater than prepared for an improve (and to maybe give their previous Swap to a younger relative or promote it on a budget), the Swap 2 could be very prone to go gangbusters proper out of the gate.

Can we find out about any launch video games?

Not a lot. The reveal trailer supplied a peek at a brand new Mario Kart recreation. Nintendo launched Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U over a decade in the past and it has been milking that money cow ever since, having offered greater than 64 million copies of the sport throughout that console and the Swap. It is positively time for a brand new entry!

It is actually been a long time since we’ve gotten a correct 3D Mario journey as effectively, so a brand new one might be a launch title. That may be one heck of a system vendor. Apart from that, your guess is nearly as good as ours. Previous as prologue, we will count on one thing from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Swap. One report prompt that PowerWash Simulator 2 is sure for the Swap 2, in order that’s one thing.

If there’s a gimmick or hook concerned with the console, we’ll additionally get a recreation that takes benefit of that. A twin launch of Metroid Prime 4, identical to Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess earlier than that, can be a risk.

It is all however nailed on that we’ll study far more in regards to the Swap 2 launch lineup through the April 2 Nintendo Direct, which begins at 9AM ET. You will positively need to set your Alarmo for that one.

That is every little thing we all know in regards to the Nintendo Swap 2 in the present day. We’ll replace this text with rumors we belief and with data we collect straight from sources. Any adjustments made to the article after its preliminary publishing will likely be listed under.

Replace, January 24, 2025, 12:36 PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate hypothesis about value, potential recreation enhancements and the style of cartridges.

Replace, February 5, 2025, 9:30AM ET: This story has been up to date to notice the time when the April 2 Nintendo Direct begins.

Replace, February 24, 2025, 12:30 PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate hypothesis about storage and details about the brand new microSD Specific customary.

Replace, March 6, 2025, 2:30PM ET: This story has been up to date to notice current FCC filings to point the presence of Wi-Fi 6 and NFC help.

Replace, March 14, 2025, 12:15PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate pricing and gross sales hypothesis from analysts.

Replace, March 20, 2025, 12:45PM ET: Up to date to incorporate a notice in regards to the Seattle Mariners new jersey patches that includes Nintendo and the Swap 2.

Replace, March 27, 2025, 3:50PM ET: Up to date so as to add particulars in regards to the C button, Nintendo As we speak! and Digital Recreation Playing cards.

Jeff Dunn contributed to this report.

This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-everything-we-know-about-pre-order-plans-specs-pricing-games-and-more-195136485.html?src=rss

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