The Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed recently in a short video that also gave us our first glimpse at Mario Kart 9—or whatever the new Mario Kart game is titled.
It’s a good-looking gaming system, with a few key highlights:
1. It’s bigger than the Nintendo Switch (or Nintendo Switch 1, I guess?) which not only means more screen real-estate, but larger Joy-Con controllers. This is great news for people with normal-sized hands. I always struggled to feel comfortable playing on Joy-Cons and vastly prefer to play on a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. All told, the Switch 2 is roughly 31% larger than the original Switch.
2. The thumbsticks have been overhauled. According to leaks, the new thumbsticks will feature a Hall Effect setup. This utilizes an electromagnetic field rather, making it a contact-free solution that should make the new thumbsticks free from the dread stick-drift that impacts virtually every Nintendo Switch Joy-Con once it’s even slightly worn out. This leak is backed up by the fact that Nintendo secured a patent for intendo secured a patent for magnet-based thumbsticks back in 2023.magnet-based thumbsticks back in 2023. The controllers themself will use magnets to connect to the Switch proper, replacing the original system’s rail system.
3. There are plenty of I/O options, including a USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. So many modern gadgets (though not typically gaming gadgets) have abandoned this quaint but useful technology, opting instead for USB or Bluetooth solutions only. And while those are fine solutions, having the option to use a traditional 3.5mm jack is really nice, especially for the many people who still have old headsets and don’t particularly care to buy new ones. Options are good! Hopefully the new Pro Controller also gets a headphone jack (even if you still end up using Bluetooth to connect the controller to the console).
4. This is another leak, but seems likely: In docked mode, the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to output at 4K / 3o frames-per-second. This is a huge upgrade over its predecessor, though as always Nintendo is behind the curve when it comes to graphics, which have never been a priority for the Japanese game-maker. Still, even though we don’t play Nintendo games for the graphics, it will be nice to output at the native resolution of many modern gamers’ TV sets.
5. The Switch 2 Joy-Con will reportedly double as a mouse according to leaks and rumors. This could be really cool or really gimmicky and the main problem with this feature that I can think of is that it will only be utilized in a handful of first-party games. Still, as a mouse-and-keyboard gamer, I love the idea of being able to use the Joy-Con this way, gimmick or no.
Are you excited for the Nintendo Switch 2? What are you most looking forward to about the new system? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
