Some big news in the gaming world as Xbox releases themes and other fun stuff for Microsoft’s 50th anniversary. Big day for Solitaire enjoyers.
Oh and I guess Nintendo announced the Switch 2, following up what is nearly their most successful console of all time with exactly what we needed: a better Switch. We also got a look at some games and other things, and I have thoughts. Let’s get into it.
The Hardware
Now Nintendo didn’t reveal certain architectural details or get as detailed with the specs the way Xbox and especially Sony did in their presentations all those years ago, but we’re seeing plenty of good things. I imagine we’ll get deeper dives into this after release that will figure out the CPU and GPU details, like whether DLSS is supported or being used in any way. Let’s talk about what we do know.
A larger 1080p display with support for up to 120 fps and HDR is sweet and a significant upgrade to the OG Switch, although the lack of OLED is a bit disappointing. We’ll have to see how it compares visually, but looking at docked mode the support for 4K is a much appreciated addition. Yes, it’s not 120 fps but both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have kind of failed to deliver on their 4K at high-refresh rate promises so let’s not pretend this is commonplace.
The larger form factor also leads to bigger Joy-Cons that are hopefully a lot more comfortable to hold, leading to a more pleasant handheld experience as well as when disconnecting them. The magnetic attachment is cool and if it’s anything like what Apple has done with the iPad in recent years I have no concerns about it not being strong enough. The Joy-Con 2s add mouse mode, which will be interesting to see how much it gets used but could certainly help in bringing over certain titles and providing a better way to play RTS and FPS games. One thing missing is the IR camera, which I didn’t see get much use but might affect certain games like WarioWare Move It. We also didn’t hear anything about Joy-Con drift, which I didn’t expect them to call out directly but I was hoping to hear “Hall Effect joysticks for more responsive input” or something like that as a soft confirm.
Looking over the rest, we get a microphone for chatting, a extra USB-C port for charging and some accessories, and a new kickstand that allows for more angles rather than just it’s out or it’s not. We also learned the mysterious C button was indeed for chat.
GameChat
I don’t have too many thoughts here. Built-in chat is nice, though I’m not sure whether it will work well enough to replace Discord, though since you can’t really easily have audio from both Discord and the game there could be a convenience factor that helps it win out. The game streaming performance looked rough, if that is representative of what to expect I don’t see it being used too much, although without separate hardware it’s not like there’s a lot of options.
The camera is neat for its background removal support, allowing easy overlay onto games. Its integration with games might be the cooler part, especially for streamers. I feel like they missed out by not bringing Miis back in a bigger way to have a digital avatar available so that you have some presence even if you don’t want to show yourself. One detail is that the fine print said compatible USB camera required, so there is a chance for existing webcams to work out of the box, but only time will tell.
Switch 2 Edition Games
We got more enhanced versions of pre-existing games than expected, with some not even being covered in the Direct. I do hope that the announcement of these specific games doesn’t exclude games in general from running better and that these are just more targeted updates that required more work, such as HDR support and mouse mode support. Looking at pricing currently being put out by retailers it seems these are being treated $10 upgrades, which we saw over on the Sony and Microsoft consoles as well for some games. Some games are also getting effectively DLC for an additional $10, with Super Mario Party Jamboree is the big winner here at first glance. Since it seems pretty reliant on the camera accessory that will drive the cost up further.
Overall I don’t have too many more thoughts here, pricing doesn’t seem too bad though given the small selection it would also have been nice to make these free as a selling point for Switch 1 owners to upgrade. Especially with the small launch lineup.
Games & Pricing
Nintendo’s “Blue Ocean” strategy has clearly paid off at this point. Yes, there was a bit of a stumble with the Wii U but overall they stopped just going for pure performance and did some great stuff. However, with the Switch being a handheld that can dock its performance was severely hampered, leading to many games skipping the console or just bringing cloud versions. Now having added some horsepower, the lineup revealed for the Switch 2 will include some more recent games, but really it’s just playing catch up. To be fair, that’s perhaps all the Switch needed to stay relevant. And priced at $450, the Switch 2 costs as much as a PS5 Slim, so in my opinion unlike the Switch 1 it’s less likely to be an addition to someone’s gaming setup and become their main system instead. However, the PS5 bundles in literal GOTY while Nintendo is charging for a digital only tech demo.
This is where things start to fall apart. On the one hand, between inflation and better specs the console price can be written off a bit. I was hoping for $400, but $450 isn’t going to deter me. At the end of the day, there’s no bad product, only a bad price, but the math here is going to get very tricky. Let’s take it back to what I just said about the PS5, which already shipped with Astro’s Playroom for free, which for what was meant as a tech demo is a damn good time and more fun than a lot of games I’ve played. At time of writing they are also bundling in Astro Bot, a $60 game, for no additional cost, and again that won Game of the Year.
Now let’s look to the Nintendo Switch 2 and their launch lineup and approach to games pricing. We’re actually still waiting on some details as prices around the globe seem to tell different stories, so I’ll just be looking at what I can find for US retailers and Nintendo’s official site. Now the console itself is $450, but nothing included even though they showed a very much tech demo “game” during the presentation. There’s a $500 bundle that includes Mario Kart World with it. Sweet, a discount on a full-fledged game when you buy the bundle. However, we’ve moved beyond $60 pricing. We even seem to have moved beyond the more common $70 pricing, because if bought on its own Nintendo expects you to pay $80 for the new Mario Kart. I really can’t justify it, but maybe some Nintendo diehards want to explain to me how this makes sense.
Now this pricing does make the bundle a really attractive option in price, but that’s a digital only copy, which for game preservation (a topic for another day) is bad. I wasn’t thrilled about games moving to $70 and was certainly going to wait for sales, but the prospect of $80 becoming normalized is going to really change my relationship with gaming. The other big 1st party title announcement, Donkey Kong Bananza, seems like it’ll deliver something akin to Mario Odyssey for $70, which is a game I’ll probably split the cost of with friends anyways. And that’s it, nothing else big coming within the first month.
Is the console worth $450 with only two exclusives? Even if you get the bundle for Mario Kart it’s a pretty hefty amount of money with not a lot to show for it, unless some of the ports from other systems are things you’ve missed out on due to only owning a Switch. If that’s you, then this console is great. But for everyone else, including myself, the math might just not add up right now. If rumors are true and Nintendo’s been holding back to give the Switch 2 a strong launch then I hope they have a lot to show for their fall and holiday lineup, because otherwise the point of a new console is up for the debate and the continued success of the Switch name might be in trouble.