It’s finally here. The Nintendo Switch 2 has been revealed in a trailer released on the official Nintendo YouTube channel. With few surprises left for those of you following the leaks, here is what the trailer revealed.
Nintendo Switch 2 Design
Overall the design is familiar but bears some nice innovations.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is bigger than its predecessor. With a taller screen and taller controllers to boot. For me, the Switch 2 leaves some of the playfulness of the Switch behind. Black is the much more dominant colour on this new handheld with the Neon Red and Neon Blue relegated from the whole controller to just the directional pads.
The result is that the Switch 2 nods to the OG Switch but falls more into the aesthetic of the wider world of handheld gaming consoles. It’s hard to deny that this looks much more like a Steam Deck, so perhaps Nintendo is trying to close that design gap a little.
There is one new button that features too with many speculating what this will be for. The leading theory right now is that the trailer also suggests the, now magnetic, Joy-Con controller will double as a mouse and that perhaps the button will be used to browse the internet.
Again, with the design moving towards Steam Deck, it’s possible Nintendo wants you to achieve more than just gaming with your new Switch 2. It will also feature two USB-C ports this time around. The inclusion of a USB-C port alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack on the Nintendo Switch 2 signals a thoughtful approach to modern connectivity, catering to a wide range of users and use cases. While the original Switch already embraced USB-C for charging and dock connections, this new layout hints at enhanced functionality and convenience.
New Games and Old on Switch 2
As this is a teaser trailer, we really didn’t learn much in the way of games. But we did get to see an apparent teaser for a new Mario Kart.
With any new console comes massive conversation about backwards compatibility. The OG Switch launched 7 years ago and people have spent small fortunes on games to date. The good news is that Nintendo has made an effort to ensure at least some of this content will work on the Switch 2.
In a great example of “always read the fine print”, Nintendo says the new Switch 2 will play OG Switch games, including both digital and physical games. However, Nintendo also caveats that “certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2”.
That’s all we know for now and I gotta say it’s pretty vague. I’m hopefully it’s a minority of games don’t make the cut and that this is just Nintendo covering themselves as they can’t test every single game on Switch 2. Time will tell on this front, I guess.
The Name
The chatter was starting on the Goosed Signal group shortly after the trailer dropped. Alex, the resident Switch-head, pointed out the rather large departure from tradition Nintendo has taken with the name. He pointed out that this is the “first time Nintendo’s ever officially sequelised a console”.
When I say “departed from tradition” I mean Nintendo has avoided the confusion they caused with the Wii U.
The Wii U’s naming was criticised because it didn’t make clear that it was a new console, distinct from the original Wii. The naming back then left some thinking the Wii U was an accessory or minor upgrade for the Wii, rather than a completely new system.
By properly and simply naming this the Switch 2, Nintendo confirms they have learned from their past failures.
When Will Switch 2 Launch in Ireland?
The Nintendo Switch 2 trailer doesn’t give us an official timeline for launch, nor does it call out Ireland specifically.
Nintendo does commit to the Switch 2 launching in 2025. So that much we do know, and we also know that Nintendo Direct will take place on 2nd April 2025. The trailer also tells us there will be Switch 2 Experiences.
These are ticketed lotteries opening from 17th January where people can try and win exclusive access to try the Switch 2. But rather upsettingly Ireland is completely omitted from this with London being the nearest event, taking place April 11th to 13th. Unlike the U.S. events which are only open to U.S. citizens, the London event is open to residents of the EU, EEA, or UK.
Naturally, with such little information emerging from the teaser trailer, we don’t know a price yet. But give Goosed.ie a follow on social, and we’ll be sure to keep you up to date when the latest official news lands!
