Nintendo Switch 2 Approaches: What We Know

Mario transforms. The Nintendo Switchwhich will celebrate its eighth birthday in March, is about to get a sequel. Nintendo has already confirmed an all new console and it should be unveiled before the next Nintendo Super Nintendo World theme park opens at Universal Studios Florida this May.

The countdown is officially underway, and Nintendo could announce official news anytime between now and the end of March.

Watch this: Switch 2 Rumors: Don’t Buy a Switch Just Yet

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If you already own a Switch or are thinking about getting one, here’s what you need to know. And this is what we do i think we know based on reports and hearsay. None of this is a huge surprise yet, but the signs point to a big jump in gaming power – just don’t expect anything on the order of PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. However, you should expect a console that can finally play higher-end games at higher resolutions, and something that also has improved controllers.

While recent reactions online seem a bit disappointed that the Switch 2 might not be a hardware powerhouse, keep in mind the relative landscape, and also Nintendo itself. Portable gaming systems need to split performance and power efficiency differences in ways that included megaconsoles don’t: consider Valve’s Steam Deck as a template. But Nintendo also likes to keep its hardware affordable. Many Nintendo consoles worked magic with older graphics chipsets. As for my own expectations for hardware performance on the Switch, I’d think it would feel as good as, or slightly better than, what the current Steam Deck can achieve.

It will be backwards compatible with the Switch

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa has confirmed that Nintendo’s next console – which still doesn’t have an official name – will be backwards compatible with both Nintendo Switch games and Nintendo Switch Online. The short post by X made it abundantly clear in early November that Switch games would be playable on whatever console came next.

Backwards compatibility for Nintendo game consoles is nothing new. Many Nintendo consoles and portable computers connected to a TV can play games from the last generation before it: Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, for example.

This means you should be completely safe if you treat Nintendo’s next console as a replacement for the Switch. It won’t be surprising if it’s called Switch 2 or Super Nintendo Switch, but Nintendo can be unpredictable.

It should look similar to the Switch, with a few changes, maybe glasses support

Reported images of Nintendo’s next-gen console surfaced on Reddit in September, as seen on a Chinese social media site. The images show a console that looks a lot like the current Switch, at least in general design. This is another widescreen handheld with removable controllers on the side that have a familiar button layout.

According to the report, the console will have an 8-inch screen compared to the 7-inch Switch OLED, and USB-C ports on the top and bottom of the console this time around. The handheld will dock just like the Switch, but that extra USB-C port suggests something else: perhaps accessories and, who knows, support for secondary displays like glasses.

In December last year, an accessory manufacturer showed a a nod to the Switch 2 design via photos of a compatible case. The Switch 2, if it looks like it, looks remarkably similar to the Switch — but it might be bigger than Switch the OLEDperhaps approaching the size of Steam Deck.

The Steam Deck, laptops and most phones now support video output modes that work with display glasses like these made by Xreal and others. It would be a great bonus if this worked on a new Nintendo Switch 2, and it might even hint that Nintendo will make some sort of glasses-like accessory of its own. This is speculation on my part, but considering Nintendo had their own cardboard VR kit for Switch and an AR remote control racing car, it’s not impossible.

Joy-Cons Updates: Magnetic, But What Else Can It Unlock?

Reports have largely suggested that the Switch successor will have modular Joy-Con controllers like the Switch, but ones that have been redesigned and connect with a new magnetic system. A report from game controller maker Mobapad goes into detail of the magnetic system, as well as additional buttons on the controllers.

Will this also allow for new accessories? I’m curious how modular the next successor to the Switch might be. The current Switch doesn’t have any other accessories that slot into the side rails to replace the Joy-Cons, but could there be peripheral surprises with the next version? We’ll see.

The graphics should get a big boost to play more current-gen games

Reports return to 2023 and earlier have defined the next Switch as having upgraded graphics capable of handling current-gen console games that the current Switch can’t. Think games like Death Stranding or Elden Ring or Madden NFL. Nintendo’s next console still needs to be a combo console with handheld and TV docking modes, especially since that model is the model the rest of the industry is slowly moving towards (see Steam Deck and wave of handheld PC games).

How high-end will the docked graphics feel on the TV compared to handheld mode? It’s possible for the TV dock to flexibly play 4K games, but manual modes can reduce frame rates and be limited to what’s reported to be a 1080p LCD screen. This makes sense: the Steam Deck, by comparison, still only has a 1200×800 pixel display, and it looks fine for most games.

According to Digital Foundry and others, the Nvidia T239 processor appears to be the likely chip in the next console. Notable features of this chipset include ray tracing and PlayStation 4-level graphics or better, along with faster load times, added AI capability, and the ability to upscale to 4K or downscale if is needed for more efficient manual game modes.

More recent reports from what it can show, leaked Switch 2 motherboard internals suggest even more details: 12GB of RAM, 256GB of built-in storage, and the ability to automatically upscale games to higher 4K resolutions on a TV using AI.

Price: Could it be $400 or more?

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the new console costs at least $400, as the perennial Switch debuted at $300. Inflation alone would merit a price increase of nearly $90. Can it reach $500, though? Or could Nintendo sell different configurations, similar to what Microsoft and Sony already do? Reports also suggest higher prices for the games themselves, possibly around $70 for major first-party games.

Expect surprises

One thing I feel personally confident in knowing Nintendo is to expect the unexpected. Nintendo loves a good, quirky surprise. No matter how seemingly normal the reported Switch 2 design leaks seem, history says that Nintendo is going to throw some curveballs.

This fall has already prepared us: a surprise Nintendo alarm clock (!) and a Nintendo’s music streaming service. In the past who could have predicted Nintendo Labo or Mario Kart Live or, going further back, the weird controller design of the Wii, or the dual-screen design of the Nintendo DS, or even the glasses-free 3D of the Nintendo 3DS? Whimsy is Nintendo’s calling card.

Doug Bowser, President of Nintendo of America, said this in an interview with AP in 2023: “One of the things we always look at is how we can surprise and delight. How we can introduce new, unique ways to play. That’s always at the front of our minds.”

The current generation Switch had its own surprises, such as its infrared camera on one of the Joy-Cons, which can measure heart rate and track finger movement. Will the Switch 2 have a new landmark feature that’s equal parts quirky and surprising? I’d be surprised if it wasn’t.

It will probably arrive this spring

Nintendo has already confirmed that a new console will be announced by the end of the fiscal year, which is March 2025. It’s only been a few months. The first Switch debuted in March 2017. and Nintendo seems to like this window; The Nintendo 3DS also came out in the spring.

As for when it will be teased with an official trailer? Who knows. But expect news about him soon, maybe much earlier than March.

What you should do now, though: Definitely hold off on Switch hardware purchases, though Switch games should be safe to buy if you already own a Switch and are waiting for the next system. It looks a lot like an iterative improvement on the Switch we already know, but with bigger changes than we’ve seen in a long time.