By: Nick Gambino
We have an official release date for the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2. The second-gen gaming device is dropping on June 5th.
We got our first look at the Switch 2 in early April at the Nintendo Direct event. Now it doesn’t reinvent the console-handheld hybrid completely, but it does bring some nice upgrades that are welcome after nearly a decade since the original took the world by storm.
The Switch 2 sports a bigger design all around. That includes a larger screen, larger body and larger Joy-Cons. Unlike its predecessor, the Joy-Cons will magnetically connect to the sides instead of sliding in on a rail. Again, everything is bigger on this sequel and that includes the buttons on the controllers.
The Joy-Cons were a big selling point for the Switch when it came out. Nobody was doing anything else like that, but with time, it’s clear that they were a little smaller than they needed to be. Now that we have diehard Switch players who get what the console is, they can stand to make them bigger.
Sticking with the Joy-Cons for a moment, Nintendo has added another function to the controllers. You can now use each one as a mouse as you game. What this does is effectively take a system that was equal parts handheld and console and add in a PC gaming element to it. That’s just genius.
Unfortunately we don’t yet have all of the specs for the Switch 2. For example, we don’t know what kind of processor chip it’s rocking other than it’s a custom chip made by NVIDIA. Apparently, they’ve also fitted it with a custom GPU, 10Xing the graphics power. The device is launching with certain AI features, so it’s not surprising they’d want a CPU that can handle that.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the launch is the price. While the original Nintendo Switch sold for a mere $300, the Switch 2 is selling for $450. That’s a pretty big hike.
If you can stomach that price, you’ll be able to pre-order starting soon. Nintendo slated pre-orders to start on April 9th, but delayed that to assess Trump’s new tariffs and how that might affect the launch. They should announce a new date soon, but as of now this doesn’t affect the Switch 2 hitting shelves June 5th.
