Nintendo Switch 2 Finally Announced (For Real)

Author

Stephanie Liu
January 17, 2025

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Welcome to “Siliconera Speaks Up,” our newsletter for the site! This’ll be a summary of the past week’s anime or gaming news, a little reminder of things to come, and our insight on what games you should pick up next. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

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Speak Up Sesh

As a reminder, we have a giveaway for a Nintendo Switch OLED! Signing up for the newsletter automatically places your name into the giveaway and if you’re receiving this, then, congratulations! This giveaway is open to all subscribers in all regions. However, something you might not have known is that you can also receive three extra entries if you refer your friends to this newsletter. Here’s how to participate:

  1. Head to the giveaway page.

  2. Finish your registration if you haven’t already. You might need to pop in your e-mail again.

  3. Click on “Refer Friends For Extra Entries.” There’s a little heart icon next to it if you’re having trouble finding the box.

  4. A drop-down will appear with a link unique to you.

  5. Copy it and share with friends or other social media communities.

For every person who clicks your link and enters the giveaway, you’ll receive three extra entries. So if you refer it to, say, 5 people, that’s 15 extra entries. 100 people is 300 entries. This giveaway will end on January 31, 2025.

Well, Nintendo has finally announced it: the Switch 2. More information on what games to expect from it, as well as the console’s specs compared to its predecessor, will likely come out on the April 2, 2025 Nintendo Direct.

Let’s summarize what we know so far about the console. There’ll be backwards compatibility for both games and Joy-Cons. Nintendo does warn that not every single Switch game might be able to work on the Switch 2, but studios may release patches to fix that. We also know that a Mario Kart might be one of the launch games, considering its appearance in the reveal trailer for the Switch. Nintendo already announced that Nintendo Switch Online accounts will be carried over, which means you won’t have to re-friend people or anything like that.

As for the actual console itself, the Switch 2 looks very similar to the original Switch. The screen is wider, though, and the Joy-Cons use magnets to connect to the display. Here’s hoping that drift won’t be an issue on these newer ones. Speaking of the Joy-Cons, the buttons and analog buttons will be a lot bigger.

Personally, I kind of hoped that the Switch 2 would be more compact, mostly because that would make it easier to take outside with you. It’s less that I want to game outside, and more that I miss functions like SpotPass, StreetPass, and Mii Plaza. Considering the number of PS5 or PC games that can also run on the Switch (with varying results), it’s impressive how powerful this portable console is. But that doesn’t mean I can’t miss the whimsical community aspects of the older handhelds from the company.

Speaking of PS5 and PC games that the Switch can run, rumors are flying around the Internet as to what launch games we might expect on the Switch 2. The huge Game Freak data leak back in October 2024 already hinted at Generation 10 Pokemon games. However, with Game Freak’s radio silence in 2024, it’s impossible to tell if it plans on releasing that later on in the Switch 2’s lifetime or not. We can also expect other first-party Nintendo franchises like Splatoon, Kirby, and The Legend of Zelda. As for any other titles that came up in these rumors…well, in any case, they’re nothing more than rumors so there’s no real reason to get hopes up.

For those in cities like New York, Paris, Tokyo, or Melbourne, you can actually go check out the Nintendo Switch 2 before it comes out. Presumably before it comes out, anyway. If Nintendo plans to demo the console before it officially comes out, then at the earliest, we should expect it in the summer. This is because the Seoul event runs until June 1.

In any case, we should get some more answers to our questions on April 2, 2025. So save the date!

Top 10 Stories From the Past Week

  1. Razer Kuromi Collection is On Its Way - That headset and keyboard…

  2. Monster Hunter Captured Monsters Become Gashapon Figures - Them being asleep like this makes them so cute.

  3. 4 Gundam Card Game Starter Decks Will Be Sold at Launch - I wonder if people will pick based on what they think is meta, or which Gundam series was their favorite.

  4. First Desktop Mate Mascot DLC is Hatsune Miku - The year just started, and it already feels like Miku is Miku Miku-ing us.

  5. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 Culling Game Arc Will Be the Best Season - The anime format for it will likely fix some of the pacing issues, like Cody said here.

  6. Build-a-Bear Valentine’s Day Kuromi Is All Pink - How does it feel to dress in the colors of your enemy, Kuromi…?

  7. Bayonetta 15th Anniversary Site and Merchandise Shared - A cool limited-edition 15th anniversary music box is also available for purchase!

  8. HoYoVerse Explains Lack of Ether Agents in Zenless Zone Zero - I have to say that if they’re going to limit the number of Ether agents in the game, then Nicole (whom you get for free) shouldn’t have gotten nerfed. Playing her in the actual game compared to the beta feels like I’m handling a different character. It’s especially egregious right now because the only other Ether characters are Zhu Yuan and Astra, who are both limited 5-stars.

  9. Kingdom Hearts Heartless Dolls to Appear in Crane Games - They cooked with the Shadow design.

  10. All HIDIVE Anime in the Winter 2025 Season - Only five!

Upcoming Game Releases

  • Dynasty Warriors Origins - PS5, PC, Xbox Series X (January 17)

  • Tales of Graces f Remastered - PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Switch, PC (January 17)

  • Guilty Gear Strive - Switch (January 23)

  • Ender Magnolia - PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch PC (January 23)

  • Synduality: Echoes of Ada - PS5, Xbox Series X, PC (January 24)