The internet has just gone into absolute meltdown as the inevitable has finally happened: Nintendo has finally, officially, announced the Nintendo Switch 2.
First off, yes, that’s the official name. But you have to wait to the end of the official trailer to get to that bit. Before then, we see the original Switch transform into its successor.
It’s a very snazzy trailer that’s light on information. We see that there’s a considerably size difference, with both the Joy-Cons and screen stretching into shape.
We then see the new magnetic attachment feature for the Joy-Cons 2.0. It’s just a trailer, so it’s difficult to say for sure how firm they’ll attach, but the mechanism looks fun.
The new kickstand gets a look in, and it does look considerably better than the original. It’s much bigger, and hooks around the entire unit to provide more stability.
And we all know Nintendo loves stability.
Finally, in terms of hardware at least, Nintendo teases at the new functionality for the Switch 2 Joy-Cons. We see them gliding, mouse-like, across a table like little Tron bikes.
Is That a New Mario Kart?
While it isn’t confirmed, the only footage we see during the trailer is Mario Kart. It looks very similar to 8, which is far from a bad thing, but the map looks entirely new.
It’s basically a desert motorway with pitstops and other vehicles on the road alongside various characters we know and love from Mario Kart.
As the trailer wraps up, we get a look at the new Joy-Con grip, which looks very similar to the original, and the Dock. That one looks quite different, with a more curved top that displays more of the screen.
Oh, and it’s confirmed that original Switch cartridges will work on the new system. That’s backwards compatibility sorted then. Hopefully it extends to digital purchases.
The downside is that there’s a bit of a wait until we get to learn more. Nintendo has announced that full details will drop in a Nintendo Direct on April 2.
There are still a ton of unanswered questions, but it’s great that Nintendo has finally, finally, acknowledged the existence of the Switch successor. While it’s very much in line with the leaks we’ve seen so far, it’s very exciting indeed.
