Nintendo Swap 2: The whole lot we learn about specs, pricing, video games and extra

Because the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Swap 2 will arrive in 2025, over eight years after its predecessor. Nintendo officially revealed the successor to its best-selling residence console in a quick trailer on January 16.

The Swap 2 seems to be functionally 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 can be backwards suitable with Swap video games.

Whereas the reveal did affirm some rumors and have a couple of fascinating particulars for individuals who had been paying shut consideration, Nintendo remains to be largely preserving its playing cards near its chest. We'll have to attend till a particular Nintendo Direct at 9AM ET on April 2 for all of the juicy info. Earlier than that, we'll simply need to gaze on the sleeves on the Seattle Mariner's jerseys this yr — Nintendo and the MLB team announced they'll have a Nintendo emblem on the sleeve of the house jersey and a Swap 2 emblem on the away jersey. In the event you can't belief a sports activities partnership to forecast a brand new console arriving quickly, what are you able to belief?

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 type issue. It's a conveyable console with removable Pleasure-Cons. The Swap 2 will be positioned in a dock for big-screen gaming. There are some important variations from the unique console, nevertheless.

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

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

It's nice to see that Nintendo has saved the headphone jack as properly. Let's simply hope that Bluetooth headphone assist is reside from the soar this time and Nintendo doesn't go away everybody waiting four years for that function.

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

There are nonetheless an excellent many unknowns concerning the upcoming console. We don't actually know the specs but, or what kind of show it makes use of. We additionally don't know something about battery life, the UI or launch video games. We'll certainly study a complete lot on April 2.

When will the Nintendo Swap 2 come out?

2025. That's all we all know for certain at this level.

It's extremely unlikely that Nintendo will launch the console earlier than the devoted Direct on April 2, and never solely as a result of that's initially of Nintendo's subsequent monetary yr. Nevertheless, accent producer Genki, which has been a significant supply of leaks in current months, claims the console will be released in April. Different experiences have pegged June as the discharge window, as have a number of analysts.

In any case, we must always study the discharge date throughout the April 2 Direct.

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 3-6, with others happening all through the next two months. That lends credence to some options 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, provided that Nintendo is taking a primary come, first served strategy, your possibilities of attending the roadshow if you happen to don't have already got a ticket (or except you signed up for the waitlist instantly) appear very small at this level.

The total listing 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, Might 9/11, 2025
Amsterdam, Might 9/11, 2025

Oceania:

Melbourne, Might 10-11, 2025

Asia:

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

Will the Nintendo Swap 2 have some weirdness?

The whole lot we've seen and to date about this console has been pretty, properly, conventional. It seems to be like the unique Swap, however higher. That's superior, however will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! There are two puzzling additions that folk can't make disguise nor hair of.

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

— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025

Eager eyes could have seen a brand new button on the underside of the proper Pleasure-Con. It it not but clear what this does. May it provoke voice chat throughout gameplay? May it calibrate the controllers? May it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your lounge? 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 to be 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 observe: the trailer exhibits the Pleasure-Cons shifting alongside a flat floor, connector aspect down and searching suspiciously like a mouse.

However why would anybody even need this? We are able to 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, properly, any logical cause for why you’d need to try this. The patent suggests it may enable for extra person alternative 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 now have to surprise if there are… quirkier designs at hand.

Is the Nintendo Swap 2 backwards suitable?

The corporate confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It’ll additionally function entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will be capable to play all of these outdated 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 might not be supported on or totally suitable with Nintendo Swap 2." Extra particulars about which video games these are can be revealed later.

Will outdated video games be enhanced in any method?

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

What’s going to the cartridges style like?

You might do not forget 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 concerning specs are in all places, so it’s robust to pin down. We all know one factor for certain: It’ll be extra highly effective than the traditional Swap {hardware}, which was already antiquated again in 2017. One analyst allegedly acquired 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 inside eMMC storage. This tracks, as these specs are about as underpowered now as the unique Swap was in 2017. Nevertheless, some experiences do indicate that the console will embrace 12GB of RAM.

One other supply means that the eight-core CPU can be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the present Swap runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a variety of sense. The CPU can be extra highly effective, but it surely's the Swap 2's new GPU that can be a significant differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Swap 2 will assist 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 reality: We truly wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the expertise was introduced alongside the RTX 20 collection again in 2018.)

There are nonetheless questions concerning the Swap 2 and DLSS: Will the system assist newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will present video games be mechanically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Whatever the precise implementation, DLSS upscaling can be an enormous leap over the rudimentary methods out there to Nintendo Swap builders.

As for the show, there are numerous conflicting rumors. Early experiences from strong sources instructed the Swap 2 would have an 8-inch LCD display. The Swap 2's show definitely seems to be bigger than that of the unique Swap in a side-by-side comparability within the reveal trailer. Some people have fearful that the Swap follow-up may actually be too big, particularly for teenagers.

Sure analysts have instructed this might 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 quite than edge lighting. This enables for native dimming, making the blacks extra black.

We're hedging our bets right here. We expect it’ll be a typical 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 definitely a risk at launch.

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

Extra tenuous “leaks” have intimated that the Swap 2 may additionally assist a quicker microSD card customary often known as microSD Categorical. This enables for significantly faster switch charges than the frequent 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 just lately began to see microSD playing cards that benefit from the spec hit the market.

We truly examined one of them from SanDisk for our microSD card buying guide and located it may 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 concept, all of this might carry a large increase in load occasions and basic storage efficiency for the Swap 2 (although it’s nonetheless not prone to be on par with the SSDs within the PS5 or Xbox Collection X/S). However once more, these rumors are removed from concrete. It’s additionally value noting that microSD Categorical playing cards value considerably greater than what we often see in the present day — the SanDisk card we examined, for example, begins at $45 for simply 128GB of storage.

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 don't have an excessive amount of info concerning worth 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" relating to Nintendo console releases in recent times. The Wii U additionally got here in at $300.

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

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

Once more, we must always get affirmation of the value throughout the April 2 Nintendo Direct.

How properly will the Nintendo Swap 2 promote?

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

As Bloomberg notes, the corporate offered 2.7 million Swap models in that console's first month. Sony's PS4 and PS5 every offered 4.5 million models of their first quarter available on the market, although it's value 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 outdated 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 learn about any launch video games?

Not a lot. The reveal trailer provided 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's been milking that money cow ever since, having offered greater than 64 million copies of the sport throughout that console and the Swap. It's positively time for a brand new entry!

It's definitely been a long time since we’ve gotten a correct 3D Mario journey as properly, so a brand new one could possibly be a launch title. That may be one heck of a system vendor. Apart from that, your guess is pretty much as good as ours. Previous as prologue, we are able to count on one thing from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Swap. One report instructed 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 also be a risk.

It's all however nailed on that we'll study far more concerning the Swap 2 launch lineup throughout the April 2 Nintendo Direct, which begins at 9AM ET. You'll positively need to set your Alarmo for that one.

That's every little thing we all know concerning the Nintendo Swap 2 in the present day. We'll replace this text with rumors we belief and with info we collect instantly from sources. Any adjustments made to the article after its preliminary publishing can be listed beneath.

Replace, January 24, 2025, 12:36 PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate hypothesis about worth, 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 Categorical 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 assist.

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 observe concerning the Seattle Mariners new jersey patches that includes Nintendo and the Swap 2.

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-specs-pricing-games-and-more-172120466.html?src=rss

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