I’ve played the Switch 2

Hi, Chris here — fresh back from some hands-on time with the Switch 2 at an event down in London. That's me there ^ holding a Switch 2 before jumping into some Mario Kart World. More on that in a bit!

So, last week I opened the newsletter with some thoughts on the pricing situation for the Nintendo Switch 2 and the pre-order woes for those in the U.S. specifically. Well, a lot of that confusion has sadly not gone away, and there's been plenty of other developments that make things a tad muddier too. More on that, and where things now stand, in the issue below.

Moving on to more fun things beyond politics and tariffs — I've played the Switch 2! I got some hands-on time yesterday, so it's still all pretty fresh — join us over on the Switch Weekly Discord if you've got any questions (or you can just hit reply to this email). For now, here's my immediate takeaways:

This is a good, solid, iterative upgrade. It's what most of us wanted. Sure, it's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it keeps the Switch train running and I'm in no rush to get off — and I'm just glad Nintendo aren't either. Oh, and despite it being broadly a 'safe' follow-up, this is gonna be such a superb upgrade for those coming from the original Switch from 2017.

As for software, it's clear Nintendo have a winner with the new Mario Kart — they've had so very long to cook here, and boy does it show (remember the last console Mario Kart game first came out in 2014). The game truly is delightful, and I can't wait to get lost in the open world with some buddies. Beyond Mario Kart though, the launch day line-up is missing a chunky single player experience from Nintendo themselves. As for DK Bananza, I think I need more time with it, as I didn't really gel with it during my brief demo. Metroid looks great, and the mouse mode is an effective addition here — however, because of the size of the Joy-Con I found myself gliding the mouse over a wide area, as opposed to the usual 'pick up, drag, repeat' action that's usual of larger PC mice. The ergonomics are a concern — so ten points up for grabs to the first Etsy seller with a 3D printer to sell me a more comfortable housing for mouse-mode play.

Anyway, more thoughts in my video, please do give it a watch.

Ok, before moving on I have to mention the State of Switch survey, over 800 of you have filled it out so far. Here are some early tidbits: Just over half of respondents stated that the cost of Switch 2 is higher than they expected, however roughly half has also either pre-ordered already or plan to grab one at launch. More stats to come, but the survey will be closing soon, so please take part and spread the word!

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eShop list of upcoming games can be found below. There's around 30 games arriving over the next week, including Monument Valley 1 & 2.

Alright, phew, that's a wrap from me — long weekend! If you're enjoying the newsletter, you can always buy me a coffee as a thanks. Right, catch you next week — when we'll know much more about Mario Kart World thanks to the upcoming Direct!