The Nintendo Switch came out March 3, 2017 and became an instant hit among people. With a total of 2.74 million sales in just its first month, it became Nintendo’s fastest-selling home console. Eight years later, Nintendo announced the successor to the Switch, which will be released soon.
The Nintendo Switch 2 which Nintendo first announced on Jan. 16 with a teaser trailer. Four months later, a Nintendo Direct showcase came out with details about the Switch 2, including information about the technical specifications, new games and the console’s release date. It was announced that the Switch 2 would release June 5, coming out two months after its official announcement, with pre-orders releasing April 24. The console was set to be $450 or $500 if bundled with the new Mario Kart games. Fans could pre-order the console through Best Buy, Gamestop, Walmart and Target. The pre-orders, quickly bought up within minutes of being released by the fans, are currently sold out. Nintendo expects sales of up to 15 million units upon its first year of release.
When announced, the Switch 2 let us in on the technical specifications for the new console. The design of the console and its predecessor are very similar but there are many differences. The new joy-cons connect magnetically compared to the original, which would just slide onto the console. Additionally, the new joy-cons can be used as mice for specific games that plan to come out. The screen on the Switch 2 is also a big improvement. It is 7.9 inches with 1080p resolution and has double the refresh rate. The new console is also the first Nintendo system that the company has put out that is capable of 4K resolution, and it’s able to run frames above 60 frames per second. Storage isn’t even a fair comparison between the two. The Switch 2 has 256GB of internal storage compared to the original switch which only had a measly 32GB of storage. Finally, the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, meaning most games fans could play on the Switch they can also play on the Switch 2.
The new Switch is expected to come out with some new games and improvements for some old ones. To start, Nintendo introduced their new game in the Mario Kart series, Mario Kart World. The game seems to have an abundance of characters to play, new items and new modes on top of its original grand prix’s and time trials. A new Donkey Kong game announcement as well, Donkey Kong Bananza. Added along is the new Metroid Prime game, Metroid Prime 4. This is a long-awaited game for some Nintendo fans; this game allows the mice feature that the new joy cons have. Improvements for games are made as well. The games in The Legend of Zelda series for the Switch, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, is getting upgraded frame rates and resolution. Two other games are getting updates as well. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is getting added content and so will Super Mario Party Jamboree.
The new Switch console looks like a promising successor that might find more success than the original. All the improvements and new games are a step forward for Nintendo.
