Nintendo Announces Switch 2 April Launch Event and Delivers First Look Video

[TheLostSwede]

Nintendo Switch 2, the successor to the Nintendo Switch system, will be released in 2025. Today Nintendo offered a first look at Nintendo Switch 2 in a video introducing the hardware. Nintendo Switch 2 plays Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, as well as both physical and digital Nintendo Switch games. Certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2. Details will be shared on the Nintendo website at a later date.

For more details on Nintendo Switch 2, please tune in for the "Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 - 4.2.2025" which will air on Wednesday, April 2. Nintendo will also hold Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events, where consumers can go hands-on with Nintendo Switch 2, in cities around the world.




Nintendo Switch 2 Experience host cities and schedule. All dates are local.

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, May 9-11, 2025
• Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025

Oceania:

• Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025

Asia:

• Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025
• Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025
• Hong Kong, To be announced
• Taipei, To be announced

A Nintendo Account is necessary to participate in a Nintendo Switch 2 Experience event. Ticket registrations for consumers will begin in the near future. Please visit https://www.nintendo.com/us/nintendo-switch-2-experience/ for more information.

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[Chaitanya]

Hopefully it has OLED screen and hall effect sticks.

 

[dir_d]

Need more information to judge this. Just on looks not really impressed.

 

[Dragokar]

Hopefully it has OLED screen and hall effect sticks.

You can get it in the Switch 2 OLED and Switch 2 Pro with HE Stick or of course the Switch 2 Pro OLED. Do I believe they pull this move? Yes I do.

 

[Daven]

So we have four main gaming device categories:

Mobile - smartphone and tablet touch devices (Android, iOS, iPadOS)

Handheld - joycon enabled portable devices (Switch, Deck, ROG Ally, Legion, etc)

Consoles - joycon enabled stationary devices (Xbox and Playstation)

Laptop/desktop - mostly keyboard/mouse power hungry devices (many vendors, DIY)

Many gamers will own at least one device from each category.

 

[Kyan]

So we have four main gaming device categories:

Mobile - smartphone and tablet touch devices (Android, iOS, iPadOS)

Handheld - joycon enabled portable devices (Switch, Deck, ROG Ally, Legion, etc)

Consoles - joycon enabled stationary devices (Xbox and Playstation)

Laptop/desktop - mostly keyboard/mouse power hungry devices (many vendors, DIY)

Many gamers will own at least one device from each category.

Many will have 3 of them but 4, idk if it's gonna be that much

 

[jak_2456]

*yawn* Not particularly impressed. It looks far too similar, the bezels are too thick for a device like this in 2025, and the ergonomics still look poor. One of the major reasons why I like the Steam Deck is because I think it is very comfortable to hold. The layout here still looks awkward to me.

 

[CosmicWanderer]

Hopefully it has OLED screen and hall effect sticks.

I hope so too but the leaks say its LCD. If so it will certainly be a noticeable downgrade going from the Switch OLED to Switch 2.

 

[Dr. Dro]

The absolute lamest hardware release of the year, backed by the absolute strongest software library... this console isn't for me. I'm entirely outside of the target audience of this pitiful, sad piece of hardware. But somehow, this is the real spotlight of the hardware launch season.

 

[Durvelle27]

I’ll go for it if they offer 3rd party games and better settings in first party games

 

[Dr. Dro]

I’ll go for it if they offer 3rd party games and better settings in first party games

AFAIK it will be fully backwards compatible with the entire Switch software library, both physically and digitally. I suppose patches to be Switch 2 Enhanced will probably be done like Sony does for their Pro variant consoles, and will likely depend on devs themselves.

 

[Gooigi's Ex]

You can get it in the Switch 2 OLED and Switch 2 Pro with HE Stick or of course the Switch 2 Pro OLED. Do I believe they pull this move? Yes I do.

Yup just look at the bezels.

AFAIK it will be fully backwards compatible with the entire Switch software library, both physically and digitally. I suppose patches to be Switch 2 Enhanced will probably be done like Sony does for their Pro variant consoles, and will likely depend on devs themselves.

Unfortunately that is incorrect regarding the full backwards compatibility

 

[phints]

Not a Switch fan but it looks nice, a lot bigger. It's funny now large the Steam Deck OLED seemed when it came out now this looks a similar size. Mainly looking forward to read about the Nvidia SoC tech they selected.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Yup just look at the bezels.


Unfortunately that is incorrect regarding the full backwards compatibility

View attachment 380225

This is always the case, and more of a generic disclaimer. The truth is only a few obscure games will be incompatible with the newer model (some others might run awkward, but then again probably not). This happens even within the same console generation, for example there are many games that will run on the original fat PS2 models but will not work with the slim, and I believe for the Switch there is quite the list of games that don't work on the basic Lite model either, some if not most of which should work on Switch 2. A little reference, not sure how accurate, I stopped buying Nintendo handhelds after the DSi which I bought pretty much to play Pokémon Black and White

Every Nintendo Switch Game That Isn't Compatible With The Switch Lite

Just about every Nintendo Switch game is playable in some form on the Lite but there are a few titles where gameplay becomes much more difficult.

www.thegamer.com

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

So we have four main gaming device categories:

Mobile - smartphone and tablet touch devices (Android, iOS, iPadOS)

Handheld - joycon enabled portable devices (Switch, Deck, ROG Ally, Legion, etc)

Consoles - joycon enabled stationary devices (Xbox and Playstation)

Laptop/desktop - mostly keyboard/mouse power hungry devices (many vendors, DIY)

Many gamers will own at least one device from each category.

The switch is not competing with the PC handhelds though. Those are completely different markets.

Nintendo is it's own thing. That's why they are still around.

 

[HairyLobsters]

Hopefully it has OLED screen and hall effect sticks.

It was already mentioned the next Nintendo handheld wont launch with an OLED screen.

The absolute lamest hardware release of the year, backed by the absolute strongest software library... this console isn't for me. I'm entirely outside of the target audience of this pitiful, sad piece of hardware. But somehow, this is the real spotlight of the hardware launch season.

Why lame? They aren't going to sell a $700 handheld.

 

[trsttte]

Many will have 3 of them but 4, idk if it's gonna be that much

I know people who have 4. I myself technically have 3 but the phone shouldn't count because I don't use if for gaming, like at all.

Nintendo is it's own thing. That's why they are still around.

They sure would like people to believe that, but they're really not, not anymore. It's a handheld console, they were the only ones selling those for a good while but now there's several different ones all around. They do have their proprietary catalog but that's it and it only goes so far, take zelda, mario and pokemon and what's really left?

Why lame? They aren't going to sell a $700 handheld.

Because you can find similar specs on phones. According to the current leaked information it's not gonna be as underwhelming as the original switch was at launch, but it's still not great. A78 cores? 12gb ram? They could easily do better if they wanted to, especially with the money they're milking out of switch online subscriptions and for how long they'll be selling this.

 

[R0H1T]

backed by the absolute strongest software library

Debatable plus emulation is getting better on most mobile devices these days. That's probably the biggest threat to arguably the biggest IP/copyright "abuser" in the industry!

 

[Dr. Dro]

Debatable plus emulation is getting better on most mobile devices these days. That's probably the biggest threat to arguably the biggest IP/copyright "abuser" in the industry!

Haha, handheld PCs are still PCs, and that means freedom! RetroArch making it to iOS was big, too. Nintendo's gonna copyright troll to the end of their days, sadly.

Why lame? They aren't going to sell a $700 handheld.

This is the least innovative hardware that Nintendo has ever released. I fully recognize I am not the target demographic, however. Personally I'm more interested on a Pro Controller 2, I love the original Pro Controller and use it to game on my PC.

 

[JustBenching]

Don't want to break any bubbles, but i really doubt any handhelds on the market today will be able to emulate sw2 games.

Hopefully it has OLED screen and hall effect sticks.

And how are they gonna sell the upgraded version down the line my man?

 

[Durvelle27]

AFAIK it will be fully backwards compatible with the entire Switch software library, both physically and digitally. I suppose patches to be Switch 2 Enhanced will probably be done like Sony does for their Pro variant consoles, and will likely depend on devs themselves.

Reread what I said

 

[Dr. Dro]

Will Ubisoft manage to weather the storm?

PC gaming has "around a 93-95% piracy rate" claims Ubisoft CEO

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has been speaking to GamesIndustry International about Ubi's reasons for embracing the free to play model. He says free to play games are more cost effective to create because typical PC releases are so heavily pirated. He claims that "only about five to seven per...

www.pcgamer.com

 

[KrazyT]

Cool, I'll buy it, day one, like the first one.
Not a great hardware, but great games, hope the Switch 2 continue this trend !

 

[Daven]

The switch is not competing with the PC handhelds though. Those are completely different markets.

Nintendo is it's own thing. That's why they are still around.

The Switch is in the handheld joycon enabled category of which it pioneered. The competition is now fierce and Nintendo’s game library keeps the Switch competitive not placing it alone in a different market.

A game is a game is a game. The game developer doesn’t change that.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

The Switch is in the handheld joycon enabled category of which it pioneered. The competition is now fierce and Nintendo’s game library keeps the Switch competitive not placing it alone in a different market.

A game is a game is a game. The game developer doesn’t change that.

Nintendo's games are only as good as they are because they only do it for one set of hardware. The moment that stops is the moment Zelda never exists again. I know MY GAMING PC!!!!! crowd would rather kill Zelda forever just to get one on the PC than still have Zelda but most people are not shit humans like PC gamers are.