Because the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Swap is over seven years previous, so it wants a refresh. Rumors of a Nintendo Swap 2 have been circulating for years, however now we now have some indicators of life. The corporate formally revealed the sequel to its most profitable house console ever in a brief trailer on January 16.
The Swap 2 seems functionally similar to the unique system, albeit with a bigger display, magnetic Pleasure-Cons and a sleeker design. The corporate additionally reaffirmed that the upcoming console shall be appropriate with Swap video games.
Whereas the reveal confirmed just a few rumors and had some fascinating particulars for these paying consideration, Nintendo remains to be largely retaining its playing cards near its chest. We’ll have to attend till a particular Nintendo Direct on April 2nd for all of the juicy info. Annoyingly, that date is a Wednesday and never a fortnight.
The Nintendo Swap 2 was introduced on January sixteenth
Rumors had closely prompt that Nintendo would pull again the curtain on the Swap 2 on January sixteenth, and that turned out to be the case.
The corporate hasn’t modified the fundamental kind issue. It is a moveable console with removable Pleasure-Cons. The Swap 2 may be docked for big-screen gaming. Nonetheless, there are some essential variations from the unique keyboard.
Most notably, the subsequent era Pleasure-Cons will not slide into place mechanically. As an alternative, they are going to connect to the primary unit magnetically. There’s a small connector that can probably be used to cost the controllers and presumably take away the necessity to join them through Bluetooth. It is unclear at this level if the Pleasure-Cons from the unique system shall be appropriate with the Swap 2.
One other massive (and really welcome) change is the addition of a second USB-C port on the highest of the system. This could make it a lot simpler to plug in equipment whereas the Swap 2 is docked. It is nice to see that Nintendo has saved the headphone jack as properly. Let’s hope Bluetooth headset help is straight from the leap this time and Nintendo would not preserve everybody ready 4 years for that function.
The stands are additionally getting higher. As with the Swap OLED, it spans the size of the keyboard. However based on the trailer, this seems totally adjustable, so you’ll be able to change the viewing angle to what works for you.
Nonetheless, there are nonetheless many unknowns in regards to the upcoming console. We do not know the specs but, or what sort of display it makes use of. We additionally do not know something about battery life, consumer interface, or launch video games. We are going to certainly study so much on April 2nd.
Once you need Nintendo Swap 2 out?
2025. That is all we all know for positive at this level.
It is extremely unlikely that Nintendo will launch the console earlier than the Direct on April 2nd, and never simply because that is initially of Nintendo’s subsequent monetary yr. Nonetheless, accent maker Genki, which has been a serious supply of leaks in current months, claims the console shall be launched in April.
In any case, we must always study the discharge date in the course of the April 2nd Direct if we’ve not already by then.
When can I attempt the Nintendo Swap 2?
Nintendo is planning a worldwide present to let avid gamers use the console. These occasions start in New York and Paris on April 3-6, with others going down over the subsequent two months. This lends credence to some strategies that Nintendo will launch the Swap 2 in June.
Ticket registration for the Swap 2 Expertise occasions within the US (in New York, Los Angeles and Paris) begins on January seventeenth at 3pm ET and can stay open till January twenty sixth. A Nintendo Account is required to enroll. Nintendo will randomly choose the recipients of the free tickets.
The complete listing of Nintendo Swap 2 Expertise occasions is as follows:
North America:
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New York, April 4-6, 2025
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Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025
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Dallas, April 25-27, 2025
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Toronto, April 25-27, 2025
Europe:
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Paris, April 4-6, 2025
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London, 11-13 April 2025
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Milan, April 25-27, 2025
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Berlin, 25-27 April 2025
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Madrid, September 11 Could 2025
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Amsterdam, September 11 Could 2025
Ocean:
Asia:
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Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025
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Seoul, Could 31 – June 1, 2025
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Hong Kong, to be introduced
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Taipei, to be introduced
Will the Nintendo Swap 2 have some bizarre ones?
Every thing we have seen to date about this keyboard has been fairly, properly, conventional. It seems like the unique Swap, however higher. That is nice, however will it have any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Perhaps! There are two bizarre additions that individuals cannot disguise, and neither can hair.
Genki, the accent producer, simply launched a touchdown web page for his or her Nintendo Swap 2 equipment. This touchdown web page includes a video that features a very detailed have a look at a Swap 2 mannequin. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ
— Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025
Eager eyes could have observed a brand new button on the underside of the fitting Pleasure-Con. It’s not but clear what this does. Can it provoke voice chat whereas taking part in? Can it calibrate controllers? Can it create a room-sized Bowser hologram in your front room? We must wait and see.
Now to the up to date Pleasure-Cons. There seems to be a brand new sensor on the connector facet of every controller. It seems so much like an optical sensor, which is what a pc mouse makes use of. This has led to hypothesis that gamers will have the ability to flip the Pleasure-Con round and use it as a mouse. Value noting: the trailer exhibits the Pleasure-Cons shifting alongside a flat floor, connector facet down, and looking out suspiciously like a mouse.
However why would anybody need that? I can consider three phrases. New Mario Paint.
it is Nintendo Swap 2 backward appropriate?
The corporate confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Swap 2 shall be backwards appropriate. There will even be entry to Nintendo On-line, so customers will have the ability to play all these previous retro titles.
Within the preliminary Nintendo Swap 2 press launch, Nintendo reiterated that each bodily and digital Swap video games will work on the brand new system. Nonetheless, he famous that “some Nintendo Swap video games is probably not supported or totally appropriate with Nintendo Swap 2.” Extra particulars on which video games they’re shall be revealed later.
What in regards to the specs?
Rumors in regards to the specs are all over, so it is onerous to pin down. We all know one factor for positive: it is going to be extra highly effective than the traditional Swap system, which was already out of date in 2017. An analyst is claimed to have obtained a spec sheet from United Korea Each day Information that mentioned the Swap 2 will boast an octa-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM and 64GB of inside eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are nearly as weak in 2024 as the unique Swap was in 2017. Nonetheless, some studies point out that the console will embrace 12GB of RAM.
One other supply means that the octa-core CPU shall be packaged inside an NVIDIA-made Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Provided that the present Swap runs on an NVIDIA chip, this makes lots of sense. The CPU shall be extra highly effective, nevertheless it’s the Swap 2’s new GPU that shall be a key differentiator. The Swap 2 has been confirmed to help DLSS, NVIDIA’s “deep studying supersampling” upscaling expertise, which can enable the console to show video games at a low decision internally whereas outputting a high-resolution picture . (Enjoyable truth: We really wrote about how excellent DLSS was for the Nintendo Swap 2 when the expertise was introduced alongside the RTX 20 collection in 2018.)
There are nonetheless questions on Swap 2 and DLSS: Will the system help newer DLSS options like body era? Will present video games be auto-adjusted by NVIDIA’s algorithm? Whatever the actual implementation, scaling up DLSS shall be an enormous leap over the rudimentary methods obtainable to Nintendo Swap builders.
As for the show, there are lots of conflicting rumors. Early studies from stable sources prompt that the Swap 2 would have an 8-inch LCD show. The Swap 2’s display definitely seems greater than the unique Swap’s in a side-by-side comparability within the reveal trailer.
Some analysts have prompt that this shall be an OLED display, whereas others have mentioned that it is going to be a mini-LED display. A mini-LED display is mainly an LCD display that has a backlight made from mini-LEDs (surprisingly!) quite than edge lighting. This enables for native dimming, making blacks blacker. I am hedging my bets right here. I feel it is going to be a regular LCD, to maintain prices down, with an OLED or Mini-LED mannequin coming later. Nonetheless, mini-LED screens are barely cheaper than OLED screens, so that is definitely a chance from the beginning.
As for decision, current studies recommend the console will output 1080p handheld and 4K when docked. That is approach higher than the OG Swap. In the meantime, it is not but clear whether or not the Swap 2 will provide efficiency or visible enhancements to the unique Swap video games.
How a lot will the Nintendo Swap 2 price?
We do not have a lot details about the value, however we now have lots of historical past to work with. The unique Nintendo Swap launched at $300, which is just about the “magic quantity” in relation to Nintendo console releases lately. The Wii U additionally got here in at $300.
Nonetheless, there are lots of rumors floating round that Nintendo could elevate the asking value for the Swap 2. Many shops have reported that it is going to be $400, or doubtlessly much more costly. Nonetheless, the identical analysts who say the console will price $400 have been additionally fairly positive it could come out in late 2024 and, properly, it did not.
Delving into historical past, there’s some upside to a value hike. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Swap went as much as $300 and, properly, the numbers wish to go up. A $400 price ticket would make it nearly as costly as a PS5 and Xbox Sequence X. That might additionally put it in the identical value vary because the 256GB Steam LCD Deck.
Once more, we must always get value affirmation in the course of the April 2nd Nintendo Direct.
Do we all know of any launch video games?
Not a lot. The reveal trailer provided a have a look at a brand new Mario Kart recreation. Nintendo was launched Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U greater than a decade in the past and has been milking that money cow ever since, having offered greater than 64 million copies of the sport on that console and Swap. It is positively time for a brand new entry!
In fact it has been some time since we have gotten a correct 3D Mario journey too, so a brand new one might be a launch title. This could be a system vendor. Apart from, your guess is pretty much as good as mine. The previous as a prologue, we are able to anticipate one thing from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Key.
If there’s any gimmicks or keyboard hits, we’ll additionally get a recreation that takes benefit of that. A double launch of Metroid Prime 4similar to Wild spirit AND Twilight Princess earlier than that, additionally it is a chance.
It is all however sure that we’ll study much more in regards to the Swap 2’s launch lineup in the course of the Nintendo Direct on April 2nd. You will positively wish to set your Alarm for that.
That is all we all know in regards to the Nintendo Swap 2 at this time. We are going to replace this text with the rumors we imagine and knowledge we collect immediately from sources. Any adjustments made to the article after its preliminary publication shall be listed beneath.
Replace, January 15, 2025, 12:10 PM ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate rumors of a potential console announcement this week.
Replace, January 16, 2025, 10:33 ET: This story has been up to date to incorporate official particulars in regards to the Nintendo Swap 2 from the reveal trailer and press launch.
