Nintendo Switch 2 Hands-On: 3 Things to Make It a Necessary

One of the main reactions directly to the Nintendo Switch 2 on Wednesday was that it would be too expensive for many to adopt it right away.

I totally understand. The Nintendo console starts at $450, not to mention the follow-up to the system launched at $300 eight years ago, which is a shocking thing. You can blame it on tariffs (you might be right), but that doesn’t stop the Switch 2 from being expensive.

That means…I still real Want one. That’s because I had to spend hours playing the Switch 2 game on Wednesday’s news demonstration, and behind all the price discourse and hardware gi headers it felt like a huge step in almost every way to its predecessor. I still think the Switch 2 is three reasons you have to buy, even if you have to wait a while to get one.

3 reasons why you must buy Nintendo Switch 2

Again, I know. This is a lot of money. Just endure me.

1. The horsepower bump on switch 2 is real 2

One big reason people have been clamoring for the Switch 2 for a long time is that the original switch no longer cuts it. Even a first-party game that should theoretically run well on the switch is also struggling in the recent past. That’s not a good sign.

I will wait for the experts to tell us exactly how powerful the switch 2 is compared to the competitors, but based on my hands-on time, it’s a very powerful machine. It starts with the port of the old game The Legend of Zelda: Breathing in the WildNintendo runs in the event in the “Nintendo Switch 2 Edition” format. Even at a glance, seeing this game run at gorgeous resolution and incredibly clear frame speed is a real “oh, that’s the real” moment for me. Yes, it’s an eight-year-old game originally designed for the Wii U, but the point is that even the original switches can sometimes be hard to run. Switch 2 makes it look completely sweat-free.

However, the updated Switch 2 dictatorial game is even more impressive. Mario Karting World Looks beautiful, full of personality and challenges, an open world that is completely seamless. Donkey: Bannanza It provides everyone’s favorite swamp ape with a super expressive new design, and almost the entire game world can be dynamically destroyed by players at any time. Anyway, these are simply impossible to do with the original switch, and can’t be at high resolution or smooth frame rates anyway.

2. The new Switch 2 monitor will make handheld playback better

The non-fiber switch display is a trivial 6.2-inch with a resolution of 720p. Of course, this is acceptable in 2017 and a few years later, but now, it seems a bit dirty. Some games, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 2unable to even reach 720p in handheld mode, making them blurry and almost impossible to play. Combine it with vicious stick drifts and you can choose the promise of the Nintendo console slightly absolute.

The new Joy-Con controller feels much better.
Credits: Alex Perry/Mashable

Whether Nintendo solves the rod drift problem remains to be seen, but the aforementioned horsepower boost combines a 120Hz refresh rate with the new 7.9-inch 1080p LCD display. More importantly, some games, like Metroid Prime 4In fact, my time runs stably at 120 frames per second in my time. The new display also supports HDR as an additional bonus.

Between all of this and the new Joy-Con controller, it feels much better in adult-sized hands, and I might actually pull the Switch 2 out of the dock every now and then. Well, we just need to know battery life.

3. Is the Switch 2 actually performing well on the internet? perhaps?

OK, I admit, given that Nintendo’s history is a stretch, given the history of everything that’s about the internet. I’ve been trying to play Nintendo games online with friends for nearly 20 years. It’s slightly different in the switch era, but the complete lack of social functionality on the Switch is a clear bug in the console for eight years.

The new “C” button on the correct Joy-Con opens up the new live chat option GameChat, which basically seems dissonant, but comes from Nintendo. You can chat with friends who are all playing different games or even sharing your screen…it looks incredibly volatile. I’m glad Nintendo is honest about it at least in its marketing materials. If nothing else, Nintendo is try. Maybe this effort is actually worth it.

On top of that, the Switch 2 Dock comes with a built-in Ethernet port. You’re going to meet up, guys. It’s better for everyone involved.

Nintendo Switch 2 reservations will begin on April 9.