Nintendo Switch 2 launches June 5 with 4K, GameCube games on NSO, and new games price-tag
Nintendo has finally revealed all the details of its highly anticipated console, the Nintendo Switch 2, set to launch on June 5th for $449.99 USD. The new console boasts a 7.9-inch LCD screen with 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It comes with updated Joy-Con controllers featuring mouse-like functions, 256GB of storage, and supports 4K output when docked. Additionally, a new “C” button enhances GameChat functionality, compatible with a new camera accessory.
Nintendo Switch Online will receive major updates, including the previously mentioned GameChat feature free for non-members until March 2026. The Nintendo Classics library will now include GameCube titles like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. The Nintendo Switch Online app is rebranded as the Nintendo Switch app, offering voice chat without the app on the Switch 2. New services like Zelda Notes will support Zelda games on the Switch 2, and users can access their 100 most recent captures.
Exclusive game titles such as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Mario Kart World were announced. A notable and controversial industry change is the new standard pricing for games: the new Mario Kart costs $79.99 for the digital version and $89.99 for the physical version, with the latter using new “Key Cards” that act only as download verification keys rather than containing the full game—a substantial increase from the previous $60 standard that could likely set a precedent for other publishers and platforms to follow. It’s also worth noting that the cheaper Japanese version of the console will be region-locked.
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Related news
External links
- What’s new with Nintendo Switch Online on Nintendo Switch 2?Nintendo • Official source
- Nintendo Switch 2 Direct event: live updatesThe Verge
- Nintendo Switch 2 Price Officially Confirmed at $449.99Insider Gaming
- Nintendo Switch 2 price is $449.99 and launches June 5The Shortcut
Comments
Well, that deflated any interested I was building for the Switch 2... paid upgrades to old game, useless "physical" games, 4K, online service junk, needless new SD card standard, insane prices for first party games. As someone who's bought 4 Switch 1's for myself and other people I am thinking this is the Nintendo gen I skip unless the 3D Mario game is super amazing then I'll pick up 1 console and 1 game for the most expensive Mario experience of my life, then resell it as soon as I'm done.
I have to admit that what shocked me the most is the fact that the key cards do not contain the game on them (still unknown if this will be the case for all), especially considering the wide collection of physical games released for the NS1, at least so far.
One of the reasons I love the switch is I can buy physical games for my nephew for car trips. He's only ever had his switch online twice. He lives in a rural area that doesn't have good internet. Because of my nephew, I think I've bought close to 40 physical switch games. I bought him a digital game once, and it was a disastrous mess. Which space management... 256GB is not enough and a new SD standard... the cost just keeps compounding Nintendo games are unique, but they're not $800~1,000+ value experiences... I'd rather buy him a gaming laptop or the next steam deck or 3rd party steam deck clone console for that prices, since then I can give him dozens if not hundreads of games for the cost of a couple of Nintendo games. Really, after thinking about it the Switch 2 is just sounding more like a disappointment, then I'd thought at first blush. Only Nintendo console I've skipped thus far is the WiiU and honestly the Switch 2 is feeling like another WiiU where all it feels like is a whole lot of extra cost for a couple of potential games.
I would have expected the cost of the NS2 lower if games cost higher. Or vice versa.
With theses "Key Cards" that doesn't contain game data, region-locked consoles and Nintendo eliminating every possible Switch emulators, it will be very difficult to play theses new Nintendo games in 20 years without relying on Nintendo greed (like the new Switch's GameCube controller to play LoZWW).
Don't worry the Nintendo community always find a way to archive their games and Nintendo as a lawyer company can't put an end to piracy.