Predicting the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct

Years and years of speculation are nearly over; we’re roughly 24 hours out from the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. I’ve been anticipating an upgrade to the Switch since the Switch Pro/OLED fiasco, so it’s about damn time! The upside of waiting so long is that I’ve saved the odd £20 here and there for the past 3 or 4 years.  I am ready.

Nintendo didn’t show its hand during the initial reveal, so I’m rehashing a few elements of my last prediction article. The Switch 2 first look was less a grand unveiling of the curtain and more Nintendo saying, “Yes, it’s real. Give us a few more months.” And wait a few more months, we did. Now it’s time for Nintendo to deliver. It has its work cut out for it; so many questions need answering, and an empty-looking 2025 needs to be rammed full of software.

The Promise of Summer

I remain hopeful for a Summer launch. Nintendo is following a similar pattern to the original Switch rollout, so launching the Switch 2 a few months after the reveal would put us in May/June/July territory.

As for price, I think £399/$399 is the sweet spot.  Nintendo recognises its hardware has to be affordable, but it also can’t afford to sell it at a loss. Perhaps it is more expensive than anticipated, but £399.99 will be the floor, considering the Switch OLED launched at £349.99.

Most of the console’s specs may have leaked, but the type of display remains unknown. I’d love an OLED, but realistically, an LCD screen will help keep costs down. It’s not the end of the world, especially since there won’t be a bezel as bad as the one on the original Switch.

I’m glad that black is the primary colour of Switch 2, but I’m still not keen on the salmon pink. It looks like a red joycon was left out in the sun for too long. I hope there’s a white-coloured system like the Switch OLED because that console is gorgeous.

Line ’em Up

Given a new Mario Kart is the only Switch 2 game we’ve seen so far, you’d imagine it’s a launch title. Nintendo has never been one to play it straight all of the time, though, so I could easily see a rug pull. Maybe Mario Kart is the holiday game, and the next 3D Mario arrives earlier than anticipated? Regardless of the release order, I expect strong showings of Mario Kart and a new 3D Mario in the Direct.

Metroid Prime 4 is a funny one. It’s coming to the original Switch, but the lack of a release date makes me think it could be a Switch 2 launch game. It’d be the perfect game to showcase the new console’s additional power and an antithesis to Mario Kart’s multiplayer-focused gameplay (again, assuming Mario Kart is a launch title).

Nintendo likely has some first-party software for showing off “Mouse Mode,” but the question is, what form does it take: a pack-in title, a full-blown game, or a painfully priced mini-game collection like 1,2 Switch? I reckon Mario Paint returns with a part tech demo/ part game experience. If Nintendo thinks I’ll spend sixty quid on 1,2,3 Switch, we may have a problem.

The third-party front is going to be one to watch. Nintendo and its publishing partners can consider an entire generation of ports for Switch 2. Heavy hitters like Metaphor Refantazio, Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake aren’t just possible—they’re likely. 

Not everyone will be interested in reliving games of the past five or so years, though, so I’m hopeful at least one or two big names will have new games to share, like Capcom showing off Ace Attorney 7 or Square Enix showing off a new Final Fantasy title. 

The idea of Hi-Fi Rush as a launch title still makes perfect sense to me. The game could blow up on Nintendo’s console and reassure publisher Krafton that it made the right choice saving Tango Gameworks from the abyss.

If Microsoft is serious about its arrangement with Nintendo, I’d expect Call of Duty to appear in some form. I’d love to see some of the franchise’s classics come to the system for Zombies-on-the-go, but Warzone is more likely the priority. 

If Nintendo wants to attract early adopters, it has to give them a reason to upgrade. The easiest way to do that is to have some killer first-party apps exclusive to the Switch 2. We need to be inundated with games.  Will that happen? I certainly hope so.

Cross Gen Questions

While we already know that Switch 2 can play Switch games, we don’t know the finer details. It isn’t clear how Nintendo plans to handle performance boosts for Switch games playing on the fancy new Switch 2 hardware. 

Nintendo has had plenty of time to study its competitors’ methods for moving game purchases between generations.  Xbox’s Smart Delivery is the most pro-consumer system, with one purchase delivering every available SKU.  PlayStation opts to repackage many of its classic PS4 games as PS5 titles, with an upgrade path available for owners of the PS4 version.     

While many of Nintendo’s past consoles have had backwards compatibility, repackaging older games at full retail price has always been a successful source of income. I can’t see that disappearing with Switch 2, but I’m optimistic common sense will prevail here.

I reckon Nintendo will move with the times and allow players who own the Switch 1 version of a title to upgrade to the Switch 2 version for a small upgrade fee (£10 or so).  Including these upgrades as part of the highest tier of Nintendo Switch Online (similarly to the Mario Kart 8 DLC) would lock in payers like me to NSO for the foreseeable future.

I’m hopeful third parties will follow suit and offer players an upgrade path in exchange for a small one-time fee. If it’s a game I’m interested in replaying, I’m happy to contribute a bit of change.

Nintendo Bingo

There’s plenty more I could cover, but I want to keep the speculation at a responsible level, so I’ll finish off with an old-fashioned Bingo card.  

The Nintendo Switch 2 will launch this year.  Please look forward to it.