Nintendo Switch 2 Launches on June 5th Worldwide; 1080p Screen With 120 FPS and HDR Support, Docked Mode 4K Resolution Support Confirmed
Nintendo Switch 2 Launches on June 5th Worldwide; 1080p Screen With 120 FPS and HDR Support, Docked Mode 4K Resolution Support Confirmed
Something I've seen far less reaction to than I expected? While the Switch 2 looks like it takes standard MicroSD cards, it DOESN'T. It takes the fairly obscure MicroSD Express standard! I can't even BUY an SD Express card locally right now! It seems likely, at launch, that Nintendo's branded cards will be the only ones people can get that will work with it!
The Switch 2 has 256GB of onboard storage, much more than the Switch, it is true. But it's also backwards compatible with the Switch, and lets users bring their old digital library over with them. I have a 256GB card in my Switch, it's nearly full, and it doesn't have my whole library on it! If I got a Switch 2, I'd have it filled up on day 1!
And the MicroSD card issue won't be obvious to most buyers. Parents will get their kids Switch 2s, and wonder why their old card won't work with it. It'll look to them like the Switch 2 or the card is broken, unless they implement a physical lock against incompatible cards, and I don't know if SD cards even support those. Also, SD Express cards are more expensive than standard ones.
This could end up being a debacle almost on the scale of the price (which, as others have noted, isn't even Nintendo's fault entirely).
the size of the framebuffer has nothing to do with how much power the device has to fill it up.
Even the crappiest integrated gpu is "4k" capable
4k? My 3070 can't even get close to 60fps 4k on most games
Man I've just forgotten about Nintendo at this point. Microsoft and Sony get that exclusives aren't working when people don't have enough money to buy every system anymore. I see Nintendo as a niche console with a handful of games. There's just not enough to justify buying one, and I grew up on Zelda and Metroid. I love them, but it's not worth buying another console for a few high priced games with questionable performance.
The Switch has sold more than the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S combined. Very "niche"
Cool. And Sony can sell to PS and PC, same with Xbox. They have two markets, one that they don't have to support with hardware. They can also make games that look nice and run nice because they have much better hardware. Plus they actually do cross play with each other, making bigger player pools for match making and such.
But sure, Mario Party is fun every so often.
What exactly do you consider high priced? $60 for a game that you end up playing for 10 hours is only $6 an hour. Compared to the price of a movie ticket, that's pretty cheap entertainment.
You can try to rationalize it all you want, bottom line is people don't have money to buy $80 games these days. Those pros aren't going to the movies either.
I bought a rug that I've gotten years of value out of, should it have been thousands of dollars then? The idea that time used is how you measure value is flawed.
As far as games go, it’s still a lot. I’ve played some $20 games for hundreds of hours. Not a dealbreaker, and I’ll gladly buy the game if it looks fun. On the other hand, the games generally being expensive is not a selling point for the console.
The GPU has less than 10% the CUDA cores of a 4090, a GPU that can't hit 120 FPS in most modern games @4K without DLSS. No way in hell will the Switch 2 hit 120 FPS @1080p, not without some extreme DLSS upscaling and some serious graphical compromises... Proper RT is completely out of the question.
This thing won't even be able to keep up with the PS5, a 5 year old console. It will compete with the Steam Deck, however.
That said, I miss the days when Nintendo cared about graphics. But at this point it's been over 25 years since those days. That's almost as long as it's been since I last enjoyed a Mario or Zelda game. Between all this and the fact that they sue their fans, I am so done with Nintendo. I feel like I've outgrown them anyway.
the PS5, a 5 year old console
Can we out spoiler tags on things that make me, someone who isn't 30 yet, feel downright ancient please? It's too early to be facing my mortality like that
Hello, is this your first time finding out consoles blatantly lie about 4k since console gamers have no understanding how 4k is impossible to run with the best hardware.
Brought to you by the losers of the lawsuits... Losers like you and me.
Are they legit charging money for the tech demo game?
Also did they mention how much the "upgrades" will be?
Seems like I'm staying on Steam Deck until that thing wears down into a pile of dust huh.
Hold on they are suing a grandma right now. They'll get back to you soon.
Also did they mention how much the “upgrades” will be?
My understanding is it's $10 for upgrades that just run better with no new content, and $20 for ones that also have new content of come sort. Nintendo's gonna be the most expensive console to buy games for now. Remember the Switch tax? Get ready for the Switch tariff!
From what i am reading only mario party jamboree and kirby upgrades will cost money, the zelda ones are free if you pay for switch online and metroid and pokemon dont appear to have any proce attached to their upgrades.
The running theory is thst most games wont cost to upgrade unless they offer expanded content. But expansions costing money is nothing new.
For me, its not the console price thats the problem. £395.99 in the UK but if we consider inflation, the switch 1 would be around £360-365 today. An extra £30ish for a bigger screen and more power is not too unreasonable. Plus ending in 95.99 rather than 99.99 suggests Nintendo have tried to trim the headline price down.
The real problem is the accessories and games. £75 for new pro controller, £50 for new microSD Express (only ones compatible) £50 for webcam and £67-75 for physical games, £59-£67 for digital.
Ouch.
It seems like there's nothing special about the camera, hopefully you could use others.
The SD Express makes sense, they're not just upcharging (you can use any manufacturer's cards), it's how they guarantee the storage is reliably fast enough for all games to prevent lag in loading speeds
But for the other accessories, sure. And charging for switch 2 edition upgrades is annoying.
In the nintendo direct, when they were talking about the extra usb-c port, they've mentioned it could be used to connect a usb-c camera. Their camera announcement came way later.
Maybe there is hope?
I think I'm going to hack my switch 1 now, and put some custom mario kart tracks on it
I thought the same thing
Fuck nintendo and those prices.
7 seas for me.
$80 lmao and $90 they are insane
Guess GTA 6 is truly gonna be $100
It's 70 and 80 tho?
And as an old, even with this price increase games are cheap, especially with how much time you get out of them.
I remember when Mario 3 was 50$ in 1990.
That's a 120$ today I think.
Mario 3 was way easier to make.
What a shit excuse of an argument.
Nintendo has BILLIONS all these corpos have billions they can keep the $60 price tag.
But they don't cause they want MORE while still paying workers shit.
Maybe YOUR paycheck has keep up with inflation but mine and millions of others sure as fuck hasn't.
Either way shits getting modded so I'll play for free. The switch 1 is the final console for me.
At least this game may be worth it if it's $/h.
Nintendos game might be <40hours long of pure campaign (excluding open world games like pokemon)
That's encouraging prices to sky rocket.
Holy shit yall truly boot lick so hard.
10000% GTA6 will be $100 if Rockstar reads any of these posts.
Setting a bad precedent.
Well, I will just stick to PC and Steam Deck even if I consider price/hour money.
I don't want that kind of pricing to be encouraging because if we're paying per hour of campaign then Civ would be $6K and even something like Kingdom Come Deliverance would be $400
I don't have that kind of money.
I wanna see what the price is and what reviewers think of the screen and I might get one and sell my Switch OLED.
However, with these game prices I sure as hell am not getting any games, I‘ll play through my backlog games which I‘ll also check whether and which will get updates. It‘d be really nice if the games I have that play at 30 fps would play at 60 and at 1080p native. Maybe I’ll get physical copies of Switch 2 games heavily discounted later on.
At $80-$90 for physical editions, I wouldn't count on the used market helping that much.
Maybe I’ll get physical copies of Switch 2 games heavily discounted later on.
Later on, as in, in like 30 years? Assuming physical Switch 2 games don't become prized collector's items like every other Nintendo consoles' physical games
cough amiibo cough
seriously though, Nintendo knows what they're doing with their new limited scarcity tactics with trying to stay relevant. I think you'll be able to find physical SNES games easier than switch 2 games in 30 years.
Nintendo gets greedy again.
They're thrusting themselves back into directly competing with Sony and MS with those prices. Bold move in this economy, but they'll probably do fine. I don't expect nearly as many Switch 2s sold compared to the original, though.
The prices plus the fact the "physical" games are just download codes (cartridges are not preloaded) really killed the hype for me. I was excited for the new Mario Kart. But $90 for a physical download code after the lackluster, unfinished feeling main titles (Animal Crossing especially) on the Switch has me kind of disgusted. The game "upgrades" also are a bummer. Mario Party Jamboree, while fun, also feels unfinished. A lot of Nintendo's newer games do, save for Zelda.
I just hope Tomodachii 2 is available on Switch 1. If it's not I'm just going to have to wait for a rip.
That takes away much of the appeal of physical copies since Nintendo can still still control how it’s used after it is sold and will eventually no longer offer it for download while their DRM will make it difficult to make and use a backup copy. Buying would not be owning in that case, so what’s the point?
I just hope Tomodachii 2 is available on Switch 1
It is, it was announced for the OG Switch.
thank goodness!!!
Only some games are like that, and the ones that are, are cheaper.
I don't know how you think Mario Party Jamboree is unfinished tho. It's felt like the most polished one on years - probably since the first one on the Wii, except it has even more stuff than that.
Wait so all physical games are like that? Not just some of them?
I don't think all games are like that, only some. Probably the ones that got larger file sizes. I hope they don't cheap out and put smaller games also on licence-only cartridges.
Guessing there's a lot of DLSS going into those resolution and framerate specs...
Judging by the bit of Prime 4 they showed, I think their first party titles will just skip ray tracing and use relatively low-poly models.
Best switch console is still the steam deck I'm sure :3
Given the switch2 is going to cost more, definitely.
Also games are going to be $80 apparently :(
Either that, or the powerful gaming PC you put the Switch 2 money towards that will eventually emulate the Switch 2. Seems like a better investment than buying a locked down console with a GPU less powerful than a RTX 3050 that can only play $80 games.
Given Nintendos never on sale pricing I cannot commit to this console. God 90 for a game is ridiculous.
Not to mention their awful peripherals pricing and chatoic lineup.
I don't actually think that $90 for a game is ridiculous nowadays, if the game has tons of content.
But a company of Nintendo's size, with their sales volume, selling a game for $90 when it only has a few hours of content? Fuck off
They're like the exact opposite of the spectrum from Minecraft
One thing I can believe is that AAA games have gotten really expensive to make, so it’s not surprising that companies have broken that sort of soft $60 limit that we had for a while. I’m not even against paying more for a good game. When an indie game for $20 can provide over 100 hours of enjoyment, it’s just getting to be a tough sell.
Look at this bootlicking 🤡
120 and 4K are often claimed on console specs but are rarely achieved within games. At best it will be capable of that when playing Netflix or streaming.
They announced Metroid Prime 4 will be able to run at 1080p 120fps or 4K 60fps when docked. It doesn't have the most impressive graphics or anything, but it sounds like they're actually going to try doing it for a few games.
The real advantage of a 120 Hz screen is that you get a much more graceful degradation if you dip below your fps target for a bit. If you're targeting 30 fps but drop to 25, it still feels pretty smooth on a high-refresh screen, whereas that's appallingly clunky on a low-refresh one. A "poor man's gsync", if you will.
To the gsync comment, the Switch 2's screen also has VRR
This is what a lot of people don’t understand. Higher refresh rate even with lower fps makes games feel more responsive. I can play 30 fps games much easier on a refresh rate higher than 60hz.
There was fine print at one point during the stream that specified that 4K will be limited to 60 FPS.
Well spotted!
I missed that while i was reading the supported resolutions on the screen.
So it's $650 CAD $700 AUD for the Switch 2 and it's $120 CAD $150 AUD for Mario Kart.
LMAO
Where did you get $150 AUD from?
It was a rough estimate, it's "only" $114 AUD. That's still insanely expensive.
Holy fuck lol. I'll buy it used in a few years then. This'll motivate softmodders and emulation too.
Preorder for mk in AUD is $114, fortunately. 😅
...still fucking steep.
Also it's a "preorder"
That pricing is really putting Nintendo out of its core market. The reason the Switch was an absolute smash is because it was and remained accessibly priced. The fact they’re charging $450 is really putting them out of the “hey that’s not too bad” audience. This is a wildly bad move on their part.
The nickel and diming about every single thing they mentioned makes Sony and Microsoft seem generous by comparison.
Switch 2 announcement in one image:
The G stands for gamers' money!
Yes, it is a price increase, but the inflation has been wild. For context, the Switch in 2017 for $299 is equivalent to $389 in 2025 dollars. It's really been insane. The Nintendo 64 from 1996 was $199, or $404 in 2025 dollars.
Consumers also had more buying power back then, so converting the currency doesn't tell the whole story.
2017 for $299 is equivalent to $389
Yes, but it doesn't cost $389 but $450. For $389 I would've considered it, bot not $450. Also the bigger issue for me are the game and accessory prices.
While you’re not literally wrong adjusting for inflation, their “value proposition” is a bit out the window. It’s so close in price to comparable tech, it seems like a much more serious purchase. Nintendo hit it right with the Wii and the Switch by pricing competitively low. The Switch 2 should follow the same value quotient to be a runaway success. This is effectively what killed the Wii U. The Switch 2 could be destined to follow the same fate.
Even the mental trickery of “$399” would be more effective than “$449” for Nintendo in the long run. They have to question whether that $50 is worth losing marketshare. I think if they are keeping the game prices and (potentially) the cost of services like online higher than the entry point of buying the system should be lower.
Can’t wait to never buy one. My switch has tears and BOTW on it, and those are the last games I’ll buy from Nintendo so..
Bananaza looks pretty good.
Why are you guys mad at Nintendo now?
Nintendo has been pushing the limits of how far it can make things worse for their customers, and people are still locked in because of some of the first party franchises. (Zelda, Mario, Pokémon, etc.)
Frankly, I’m surprised that Nintendo fans aren’t more mad.
Because they are one of the most consumer hostile gaming companies. The only redeeming quality is their games are usually top notch. I personally refuse to give them any more money.
Because their only saving grace up until this point has been relatively cheap consoles.
Same reason the ps3 fumbled the announcement and failed at launch. They got too greedy
Their penchant for lawsuits
90€ for Mario Kart 🤡 I hope this console flops because of this alone.
I hope at the very least it forces them to drop it's price
You know it will not... The best I hope is that MK doesn't sell too well separately thus forcing a discount.
Depends on the customer really, we do not live in times where everyone can buy food or even think about raising another family member. Mind the release sales of the switch 1 were pre covid.
This might flop due to 2-class conflict, although Id love to see the switch 2 to succeed
The reporting I'm seeing puts it at 40 if you buy the console bundle. Which... I mean, why wouldn't you?
I'm not sure what the deal is with the physical version, I have to assume it's some collector's edition deal with an Amiibo or something. Can't imagine they straight up double the price if you want to buy the card in a box instead of bundled with the console. Waiting on official prices for all of it, in any case.
But you know that's not gonna be the only $80 game. The next Zelda and 3D Mario are guaranteed to be $80, too, because they know people will pay it. Just like TotK's $70 price point.
This is the price for the game on the official Nintendo store. DK is priced at 70€ digital and 80€ physical, it's not just a Mario Kart thing.
Until March 31st, 2026, the GameChat system will be available for free for all Switch 2 owners
Is this so they can lock it behind the subscription after this? Along with all the other new features, not worth it for me. Getting the steam deck once I can't get anymore physical games on the switch 1.
Just like how online play was originally free on the Switch 1.
I hope they at least allow gamechat to be used for free locally, and by that I specifically mean allowing the camera stuff to be active (like if you plug in a small USB C camera in portable mode, maybe even if you sit in wireless range but in different rooms)
Console price doesn't bother me so much, but these game prices really instantly killed my hype. Can't wait to not buy the Wii U 2
I have never purchased a game at $70 so for $80 they can be sure as shit I am hard noping out of this one. I was a day 1 3DS (ambassador club!) and Wii U buyer. Really hope this backfires, so incredibly stupid
What's the source for the $80 thing? If it's in the article I'm missing it.
Nintendo US website. Mario Kart has an MSRP of $79.99. Donkey Kong has an MSRP of $69.99.
https://www.nintendo.com/us/gaming-systems/switch-2/featured-games/mario-kart-world/
Scroll down a good amount, 79.99$ MSRP for Mario kart world. Thats not a guarantee they'll all be 80$. The new donkey Kong is 70$. No official word on other games, though.
I think I might buy a steamdeck instead and just hope that the fromsoft game is a temporary exclusive
Definitely getting a Steam Deck instead. I was waiting for confirmation of the ridiculously high price.
For $50 less, you get a similarly capable machine in terms of specs but more comfortable to hold, with an immensely larger library, and an operating system far more respectful of your authority to do what you want with the machine you bought.
"$450 is an insanely high price for a new console, so I'm going to buy a $400 2 year old console instead."
It's a 60Hz vs 120Hz screen, and it's got true 1080p resolution. It's certainly on-par with the Steam Deck in terms of performance and performance per dollar. The price isn't ridiculous by any stretch.
A temporary exclusive, just like Demon's Souls and Bloodborne...
I have a steam deck, and I just hope yuzu or ryujinx will be able to run Duskbloods :P
tbh the fact the fromsoft game seems to be mostly focused on multiplayer makes me not too hyped
and yeah, a steamdeck is a solid investment
I think I would wait for a Steam Deck 2 just for the sake of future proof.
The Steam Deck is getting long in the tooth. New triple A games don’t run very well on it or aren’t even playable. It’s fine if you wan tot run older games or indie games, but otherwise you might have to look for one of the competitors.
High refresh screen and 4K support is a surprise to me, that's very nice when it comes to Nintendo standards.
On the other hand, It's very weird that they didn't announce a price at the showcase... It sounds like this might be more expensive than what everybody's expecting it to be.
There's not going to be a single worthwhile game that will run natively at 4k. And i have my doubts about 1080@120 too. Maybe they can keep their polygons so low they can actually reach it, but then what's the point?
There’s a price on the UK official store: £395.99 for the system. £429.99 including digital copy of MKW.
Preorders open on 8th April.
Edit: Physical copy of Mario Kart on its own is £74.99. Woof.
Nothing yet on the US store. Tariffs threw a wrench in their plans, I reckon.
Edit: $449 apparently.
Preorders open on 8th April.
The US site lists May 8. Preorders also seem to be invite-only in the beginning?
From the US site:
Invitation emails will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis to registrants who have purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months of paid membership and a minimum of 50 total gameplay hours, as of April 2, 2025. Once invitation emails have been sent to all registrants meeting the priority criteria, invitations will be sent to remaining eligible registrants on a first-come, first-served basis.
The German site lists April 8, but requires you two have a Nintendo online subscription for the last two years.
I would have bet real money if you had asked me yesterday that it would have been limited to 1080p to reduce cost. I am very curious to know more about how it actually performs in each setting, how much of it is upscaling, etc. I imagine that most 4k games won’t have much in the way of better graphics than the Switch 1, the higher memory bandwidth could help with higher res textures though.
I'm personally very excited for Prime 4, DK Bananza, and Hyrule Warriors Imprisoning War, as well as F-Zero GX getting released from the vault. Maybe not hyped enough to pay day 1 prices though
Problem with Nintendo is that day 1 prices are the same as day 1000 prices :(
Not always the case as with the swift price drop for the 3DS. Depends on what sales look like for the Switch 2. Maybe we'll get an OLED version for $500 or something. But my gaming plate is pretty full, and I may just power through Prime 4 on Switch.
Same here, post-covid two-class society might not let this one pass sales wise, I fear
So this thing only takes microSD Express cards?
Are there any larger than 256GB on the market?
I have a 1TB card in my Switch 1 and I would rather not downgrade the capacity if there are any options.
Edit: all good, lexar is offering 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB cards.
https://americas.lexar.com/product/lexar-play-pro-microsdxc-express-card/
Yes, there are 2TB cards by SanDisk also
Looks like $629.99. Never sure if it's CAD or USD but my Nintendo account is Canadian.
That's CAD, it's $450 in the US.
You're looking at the en-ca page. You're in Canada. It's CAD.
How do you not know which country you're in?
The en-ca in the URL means nothing as I've bought from .ca websites and been charged in USD before. To be fair, it wasn't a large company like Nintendo but it still happened. Fastest cancel I've ever done. So, Unless it's explicitly called out next to the price or I've bought something from there before, I usually assume it's USD.
And you'll be sued by Nintendo into lifelong poverty if you use it wrong.
Fuck Nintendo.
When has Nintendo sued someone for using something wrong?
their legal action against emulators and DRM circumvention. they have the audacity of allowing people to play their games which were legally purchased on unapproved hardware.
No OLED, no sale.
Yeah that's driving me crazy too, it's 2025 and it's an obvious marketing gimmick to withhold the OLED at this point
Well, they can't release an OLED model later on (and make more sales) if they make it OLED from the start! Duh!
This is bothering me too... But there is a huge perk of being an early adopter though... 🏴☠️
Bet they priced it that high to get ahead of any tariffs that might affect them. Consumers really don’t like to see price hikes right around a launch. Plus they still want to milk the Switch 1 since they probably have a very healthy profit margin on that machine. This price makes the Switch 1 look very appealing for people who still haven’t bought one.
That asshole company nobody cares about?
I love Nintendo games and loathe their business practices.
That asshole company everyone cares about. My hatred of Nintendo runs deep. But I still watched the direct. I'm so excited for the innovative new features, and the new Mario Kart looks sick. I am disgusted that they will use the money to go after fans. I need help
Yup, new lawsuits, good hackers in jail just for helping retards like me to play a game when we feel like it...me, once a year maybe? Why would I buy a console if I only play once a year?
Hopefully they'll be releasing games for both Switch and Switch 2 for a while like what happened with PS4/PS5. I know the flagship games will be 2 only, but other 3rd party stuff.
It's at least through this year with Prime 4 and Legends Z-A. I bet the price will make adoption slow and we'll get major Switch 1 games through 2026.
I noticed that Tomodachii was announced for the Switch with a 2026 date. So there will at least be some games still made for it next year as well. A 150 million install base is nothing to sneeze at!
I won't lie, I'm only interested in the new Pro controller. My old one has slight stick drift which absolutely sucks of course but it's over 7 years old and feels so much better than anything else on the market. I also prefer the Nintendo button layout over Microsoft's so it's an easy purchase.
Have you looked into the hall effect controllers from 8BitDo? They're compatible with the Switch with a very comparable form factor
I have, but going by several reviews the Switch controller still faires the best for me and I hope the new one will do even better. There just isn't anything that can compete right now.
Can the launch model be rooted?
Do you think Nintendo would announce that?
Switch 2: Now with more exploits!
Nobody knows yet.
Only time will tell.
No way in hell Nintendo would come out and talk about exploits in their game console. Also if they knew about it they'd fix it first.
I don’t plan to buy one because proprietary, locked down hardware isn’t a great investment compared to PC hardware that can serve a lot of different purposes, but am eagerly awaiting the news of Nintendo’s well-earned pwnage.
...
I'd suggest finding out and being an early adopter.
I wouldn't expect a decent emulator for this thing any time soon.
