LectureMaster
Gold Member
30 Details From the Nintendo Switch 2 Announcement Trailer - IGN
30 brand new Nintendo Switch 2 details, as revealed by the console's long-awaited reveal trailer.
01 - The Switch 2’s form factor is much the same as its predecessor, just a little bigger. The main unit of the console has grown in size and the now Joy-Con are taller. We estimate the entire console is around 15% bigger than the original Switch.
02 - Gone are the brightly coloured Joy-Con of the last generation. Nintendo has opted for a uniform dark grey across the entire console, which gives the entire device something of a sleeker, Steam Deck-like appearance.
03 - That’s not to say the console is devoid of colour entirely. It pays homage back to the original Switch’s bright red and blue controllers with a ring of colour around each analogue stick. This extends to the inner-edges of both the console unit and each Joy-Con, which not only looks slick but acts as a colour coding system - red slots into red, and blue slots into blue.
04 - Talking of slots, the Joy-Con no longer slide into place on rails. Instead they now directly slot into the device, with a protruding connector on the main unit plugging into a port on the inner-edge of the Joy-Con. While unconfirmed by this trailer, rumours have suggested that each Joy-Con is held in place using magnets, similar to Apple’s Magsafe laptop charging cables.
05 - The rear of each Joy-Con features a newly-designed trigger system that releases the controller from the main unit. As you can briefly see in the demonstration video published on Nintendo.com, squeezing the trigger causes a piston-like component inside the Joy-Con to push the controller away from the console.
06 - On the front of the Joy-Cons we can see that the classic control layout has been preserved. The analogue sticks remain off-set, with the left stick sat above the four direction buttons, and the right stick below the A, B, X, and Y face buttons. Towards the tops of the controllers are the Plus and Minus buttons, and at the bottom is the square capture button on the left and circle Home button on the right.
07 - Below the Home button is a new, unlabelled button. What it does is currently a mystery to anyone but Nintendo.
08 - The L and R shoulder buttons are exactly where you’d expect them to be, and sitting beneath them are the ZL and ZR triggers. These appear to be deeper and more rounded than those on the Switch, and so will hopefully be more comfortable to use and easier to operate.
09 - The analogue sticks still use a low-profile design, but their faces have a notably smaller inside ring radius and thicker, taller rims. This likely is to provide better thumb grip and support.
10 - There’s no sign of the NFC Amiibo interface on the right-hand Joy-Con, but that’s not to say it won’t be there. After all, the feature was invisible on the original Switch. What does seem to be missing, though, is the IR sensor that was on the bottom edge of the original right Joy-Con. Considering barely any Switch games used it, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see it cut from the Switch 2.
11 - Once again the internal edges of each Joy-Con controller have SL and SR buttons, indicating that the Switch 2 will still allow players to use each individual Joy-Con as its own controller. The big improvement here, though, is that the SL and SR buttons are significantly larger - potentially up to four times the length of those on the original Switch. They will almost certainly be easier to use.
12 - The strip of four green LEDs that indicate which player each Joy-Con is assigned to has returned, although this time it’s on the forward-facing edge of the connector strip rather than the inward-facing one.
13 - Between the SL and SR buttons is the connector port that links each Joy-Con to the main console unit, but also another couple of interesting components. Mirroring the original Switch, we can see the Sync button below the connector, which will pair a Joy-Con with the console.
14 - It’s the component above the connector that proves most intriguing, though. This small, clear lens could well be a laser sensor similar to what’s in a computer mouse. If so, it would mean the Joy-Con can be used like a mouse. The trailer even suggests this when the Joy-Con skate around with their wrist-strap accessories attached – they literally look like scurrying mice with tails.
15 - Talking of the wrist-straps, they’re back in a newly-designed form, with red and blue colours to match the internal colour splash on each Joy-Con.
16 - Moving onto the main console unit itself, the key improvement is a bigger screen. It’s not quite the near edge-to-edge panel that the Switch OLED boasted, but it takes up significantly more of the unit than the original Switch’s display. What display technology it uses is currently unclear – while we’d love to see a bright OLED screen, this base model could well use a more traditional LED panel.
17 - The top edge of the device is largely unchanged. It features a slightly redesigned power and volume buttons, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a ventilation grill that appears to be of a roughly similar size to that on the original Switch, just split into three vents rather than five.
18 - The Game Card slot also remains on the top edge of the console. It’s also the only visible slot on the device. Considering the machine is backwards compatible, that means the Switch 2’s game cartridges will almost certainly be the same form factor as those used in the original Switch.
19 - There is one new curious addition to the top edge to speculate about, though. Next to the headphone jack we can see a USB C port. What this is for we’re uncertain, as the Switch 2 also has the same bottom-mounted USB C port as its predecessor for docking and charging. Perhaps there are a range of USB-based peripherals in the works that make more sense mounted to the top of the console? Or perhaps the next Pokemon will go fully old-school and use a link cable to trade monsters? We’re perhaps too excited than we should be to find out what a mystery USB slot does.
20 - Alongside the bottom-facing USB C port are new, downward-firing speakers that replace the original Switch’s rear-facing speakers. This new position will hopefully ensure better sound quality.
21 - The rear of the console sports a brand new kickstand system, which runs the entire length of the device. It does admittedly look a little flimsy, but the rubber feet on the edges of the console unit itself may be there to help support the kickstand and keep the entire device steady. The kickstand also seems to be able to lock into multiple angles – at the very least it will have an upright position and one that lies it at a much shallower angle that’s almost lying flat.
22 - As you’d expect, the Switch can be plugged into a dock and connected to a TV. The dock appears nearly identical to the original Switch’s, but the corners have been rounded off to match the radius of the Joy-Cons. Oh, and there’s a massive Switch 2 logo on the front of it, too.
23 - Also mirroring the original Switch is the inclusion of a controller peripheral that the Joy-Cons slot into. It looks just as uncomfortable as the original version, but hopefully hands-on time will reveal that some improvements have been made.
24 - You can’t have a console reveal trailer without a game, and this Switch 2 reveal gives us a sneak peek at what looks like a brand new Mario Kart game. It appears this will be a bigger, more chaotic version of Nintendo’s beloved racer as the starting line has space for 24 racers. Mario Kart 8 was limited to just 12 racers.
25 - Arching over that starting line is a sign that reads “Mario Kart - Mario Bros. Circuit”. It appears to be a whole new, seemingly American-flavoured track for Mario Kart – one that appears to make use of more open space and off-road sections.
26 - The clip confirms ten characters for the roster: Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, Donkey Kong, Daisy, Rosalina, and finally Wario, who can be spotted for just a split second as the screen flips.
27 - While brand new games such as new Mario Kart were obviously on the cards, it’s good to see that old Switch games will be supported through backwards compatibility. However, the reveal trailer does warn that “certain games may not be supported.” We suspect that this may refer to games that used peripherals that directly connected to the Switch 1’s Joy-Cons. Ring Fit Adventure, for instance, required the Joy-Con to be slotted into the ring, and the new Joy-Con design will presumably be incompatible with the old rail system.
28 - But when can we get finally own this brand new Nintendo console? 2025 is the only date we’re given, so sometime within the next 12 months (but likely not before June).
29 - We’ll learn much more, including hopefully a release date, in just a few short months. A Nintendo Direct is scheduled for April 2nd.
30 - Following the direct, you’ll be able to get hands-on with the console yourself as part of the Nintendo Switch 2 Experience, a worldwide tour taking place between April and June. Starting on April 4th in New York and Paris, and then going on to visit cities such as London, Berlin, Melbourne, Tokyo, and Seoul, it is open to all Nintendo Account holders… provided you win a ticket via the free-to-enter ballot. Registration for the ticket raffle opens on January 17th.
