Nintendo Switch 2 Thoughts
My thoughts on the Nintendo Switch Successor
It’s been over a month since the monumental release of the Nintendo Switch 2, so here are my thoughts and experiences about it.
Back in 2016 when the WiiU was failing and rumors about the “Nintendo NX” were floating around, many of us were wondering what Nintendo’s next console was going to be.
I actually really enjoyed the WiiU, but there was a ton of confusion among casual people on whether it was a new console or an add-on to the original best selling Wii. One of my friends who worked at Best Buy was literally asked every day by customers if the WiiU was an add-on which validates all of the truths saying the WiiU was confusing to market.
The PlayStation 4 was my dominant console for the 8th Generation, but I did enjoy Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, New Super Mario Bros U, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros, Nintendo Land, and many other WiiU games. I also liked the fact that you could play on the gamepad portable, but you couldn’t take it very far away from the WiiU console. This would eventually be the precursor to the Switch.
In the fall of 2016, my crew and I were blown away seeing the original reveal of the Nintendo Switch. Back at E3 2016, I got to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the WiiU, but decided on getting the Switch version when it was released.
Me singing the Zelda Rap at E3 2016 after playing Breath of the Wild.
I was able to secure a pre-order at Best Buy on my phone and went to the midnight launch at Best Buy in 2017 to pick up my Switch and my Zelda Breath of the Wild Collector’s Edition.
Even though the PlayStation 4 was my go-to console for the 8th Generation, I vastly enjoyed the Nintendo Switch, especially taking it to work to play Zelda and Stardew Valley on breaks. The Switch also served me very well for my various trips to E3 and other conventions where I was waiting in line or at my hotel room. The Switch was an absolute success not only for it being a true hybrid portable console, but for it’s Triple AAA 3rd party support that was severely lacking on the WiiU.
However, as the years went by, I began to notice that ports of certain games were not up to par on the Nintendo Switch. The Switch was basically equivalent in technical specs to 2015 smartphones which caused alot of games to have massive loading times and lag like The Witcher 3 and Animal Crossing. I was given a code for Contra Operation Galuga by Konami a while back and the Switch Port was abysmal to play. Luckily Konami was able to offer me a PS5 code instead.
I played through the entirety of Princess Peach Showtime on my Switch OLED and it was plagued by a ton of slowdown and lag, obviously showing the age of the Switch hardware. My own game Popcorn Rocket also suffered from lag, requiring me to remove the particle explosions and add in more optimization than the other ports. I would honestly say that the Switch port of Popcorn Rocket is the worst performing out of all the platforms.
Aside from a few indie titles and Nintendo’s first party games, I mostly decided to get 3rd party Triple AAA titles on the other platforms as they would perform better. It was very obvious by 2021, we needed a more powerful Switch.
Name Speculation
Around 2021-2024, rumors were coming out about the Switch successor after the Switch OLED came out, debunking rumors about a supposed “Switch Pro”. Most people were thinking it would be called the “Super Nintendo Switch” which would have been a fitting tribute from the NES to the SNES.
At the beginning of 2025, we got the leaks from NateTheHate and other sources that the next console was going to be called the “Nintendo Switch 2”. Most of us were speculative as Nintendo had never added a sequel number to any of their consoles. The closest was the “Nintendo 64” after the SNES, but we would never expect Nintendo to follow in Sony’s steps calling their consoles the PlayStation to the PlayStation 2 and so on.
Well, we were all kinda flabbergasted as Nintendo broke tradition and just simply called the console: Nintendo Switch 2.
I honestly would have preferred the “Super Nintendo Switch”, but after the WiiU debacle….. Switch 2 just…. works.
No fancy gimmicks. No mid gen refresh “pro” edition.
Just “Nintendo Switch 2”. Indicating that it’s a clear successor like the PlayStation 2 was to the PlayStation.
Pre-Order Chaos
When the preorders went up in April 2025, I was stationed at my computer ready to go with my browser tabs open at Target, Best Buy, Gamestop, and Walmart.
As soon as the preorders went live, every site crashed on me and Gamestop didn’t even list the Switch 2 right away. The closest I got was Target, but it crashed while trying to finalize my order and charged my credit card about 4 times. I was hoping to get a preorder from Best Buy like the original Switch so I could go to the midnight launch as Best Buy was much closer to me this time around. Sadly, I was stuck in the Best Buy queue and never got through.
I was also stuck in the Walmart queue for around an hour or 2 constantly refreshing my status in line. After much frustration, I was almost about to give up and just wait for the Nintendo invite, but I was lucky to actually get a preorder through to Walmart, or so I thought. My credit card was still getting declined, mostly due to Target’s previous attempts to charge it, but Walmart was still able to keep me in the line queue as I was trying to sort out my payment. I decided to use my Affirm payment plan instead and preordered the Switch 2 at last!
Sadly, I wasn’t invited to any of of the Switch 2 hands on events in Los Angeles as they were picked by a lottery. It would have been really nice to go. I also signed up to get an invite from Nintendo to pre-order the Switch 2 directly from them, but I didn’t get my actual invite until June 9 or 10, days after I actually got my Switch 2.
Release Week
The Switch 2 was scheduled to be released on June 5th, 2025 which was a Thursday. As someone who preordered from Walmart, there were going to be 2 ways my Switch 2 was going to be delivered from them:
From one of their stores who got direct shipments for Day 1 delivery.
From one of their distribution centers for sometime after Day 1.
Unfortunately, I got 2.
My Switch 2 from Walmart was set to be delivered on Friday, June 6th, 2025. Unfortunately, I was going to Summer Game Fest 2025 that day. While I live in a safe area in Orange County, California, my apartment complex has been notorious for mail theft lately as in 2022, one person literally stole a cheese grater I ordered. The problem at my apartment complex is that there’s a limited amount of parcel lockers and when they all get full, the mail services have a bad habit of just leaving packages on the ground. Back in 2024, my copy of Dragon Ball Sparking Zero was stolen as the Amazon driver just left it on the floor instead of my mailbox or parcel locker. Luckily, Amazon replaced my cheese grater and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero free of charge.
I had some hope because back in 2020, Walmart delivered my Xbox Series X in a parcel locker, so I hope they were going to do the same with my Switch 2. I checked out other people’s Switch 2’s from Walmart being delivered on social media and Day 1 deliveries got a Walmart bag and pringle chips!
After getting my haircut on June 4, I saw a whole bunch of people waiting in line already for the Switch 2 midnight release. It reminded me of the time back in 2017 when I waited in line for the original Switch. During the late hours at night, my cousin texted me she and her husband simply walked into their local Walmart and bought the Switch 2 right off the shelf.
On Friday, June 6, 2025, I just got an email saying my Nintendo Switch 2 was going to be delayed until Saturday June 7th. While most people would feel angry that something big like the Switch 2 was going to be delayed, I was incredibly relieved as I would be able to go to Summer Game Fest without worrying about it getting stolen.
After going to Summer Game Fest and on the next day, July 7th, I got notification from FedEx that my Nintendo Switch 2 arrived in a parcel locker. I’m glad Walmart used FedEx to deliver the Switch 2 safely like my Xbox Series X before. Sadly, I did not get a Walmart bag or pringle chips as all I got was a small Walmart box.
I confess I didn’t open my Switch 2 right away and quickly filmed this short skit with my toys about Lord Freeza and his minions getting the Switch 2. The Switch 2 was still unopened and inside the box when I dropped it on Freeza and his minions.
After that, I opened it up and noticed how much larger it was in comparison to my original Switch and OLED. I got the Switch 2 completely unpacked and started the data transfer from my OLED which was where my main account was registered to my Switch 2.
The data transfer was incredibly quick, but the Switch 2 still had to download all of my digital games, so I decided to claim the Mario Kart World voucher and did some game development while waiting. However, as the afternoon progressed, I got impatient and decided to finally play Mario Kart World and was impressed!
I won’t be doing a full review, but I really enjoyed Mario Kart World, especially the Knockout Tour and Free Roam. I still prefer Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but Mario Kart World is a great time. I can easily just get lost for an hour or two exploring in Free Roam.
I also purchased “Welcome Tour” which is a massive tech demo showing off both the Switch 2’s hardware and gimmicks which I actually enjoyed more than most people. Although I think it should have been the default pack-in game.
Video of Popcorn Rocket running on the Switch 2!
After playing a bit of Mario Kart World and Welcome Tour, I downloaded my game “Popcorn Rocket”. Before the Switch 2 was released, I was constantly checking Nintendo’s website for their Switch 2 compatible games. Unfortunately, 2 developers I know were hit with incompatibility issues, but I was lucky to be spared.
I was very surprised that not only Popcorn Rocket worked, but it loaded up faster than the PC and the Xbox and PlayStation versions! I scheduled a 50% discount sale for Popcorn Rocket on the Switch beforehand which led me to a quite a few sales. I don’t have a Switch 2 dev kit at this moment, but I would love to do a better optimized and definitive version for the Switch 2 with mouse controls and something fun related to the camera.
If you want to check out Popcorn Rocket on the Switch 2, click here!
The next thing I did was check out the Nintendo GameCube classics on Nintendo Online. The 3 games on the Switch 2’s release were The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker, Soul Caliber 2, and F-Zero GX. I hadn’t played any of these for nearly 20+ years at this point since my college days, but it was pretty surreal playing them again and with save states!
I don’t have the GameCube controller yet, or any of the classic controllers, but the fact that you can re-assign the buttons makes the GameCube games so much easier to play, especially on the go. At the time of this writing, we just got Super Mario Strikers which I also haven’t played for 20+ years and I’m looking forward to more GameCube games as they’re getting super expensive to collect!
If there was one major gripe I have with the Switch 2 is the battery life in handheld mode. I was playing Mario Kart World for about 30 minutes and my full battery drained down to 70-80%. I usually mix up my Switch playing with both handheld and docked mode, but this will be tough to manage when I go travelling. Luckily I do have a USB compatible battery pack I can use for future trips.
Verdict
I really love the Switch 2 and it’s all we wanted from Nintendo: A more powerful Switch.
However, I would recommend waiting a bit for them to be more available in stores as there aren’t that many real exclusives out for it yet. Mario Kart World should keep you occupied for a while, but alot of the 3rd party games are just re-releases from other consoles and most are on the dreaded Game-Key cards which I refuse to get personally. Even though I finished the main campaign of Cyberpunk 2077 on the Xbox Series X, I plan to get the Switch 2 version to play on the go and do the Phantom Liberty DLC. I also plan to get Metroid Prime 4, Hitman, Drag x Drive, Donkey Kong Bananza, and many more to play on the go.
While I don’t see Switch 2 consoles on shelves regularly at the time of this post, Nintendo has been doing a good job of thwarting scalpers and meeting demand. I’m pretty sure this won’t be a a Wii or original Switch situation where the console isn’t available for months to even years after release.
Some people are a bit disappointed that Nintendo didn’t try another gimmick or being innovative like their previous consoles such as the DS and Wii. It felt like when smartphones were released in the late 2000’s, the touchpad and motion control gimmicks went out of style. We got a decent amount of motion control games on the Switch like Nintendo Switch Sports and Ring Fit, so I hope Drag x Drive will be fun and I’m looking forward to playing Metroid Prime 4 with the mouse controls. Who knows, maybe I’ll do a mouse control game for the Switch 2 if I ever get a dev kit.
Nintendo is playing it safe and taking some tips from Sony’s playbook by just adding a number sequel to the end of their console names. This makes me wonder if we will see a Switch 3, Switch 4, or if Nintendo will come up with something different for their next console.
Either way, I’ll always be there for the ride.
Bowser says: Take that Scalpers!