The Ultimate Nintendo Switch 2 Q&A: We answer more than 90 of your Switch 2 questions

Nintendo Switch 2 is nearly here, but as with all unreleased gaming hardware, there are plenty of questions still to be answered.

Now that we’ve gone hands-on with the Switch 2 hardware and many of its launch window games, we feel we’re in a position to give our answers to at least some of these questions.

That’s why, last week, we took to social media and the VGC Discord server, asking readers and Patrons to ask us any questions they have about Switch 2 and its software.

Below are the answers to more than 90 of these questions, spanning a healthy 8,000 words or so. You’ll need a warm drink and a blanket for this one.

Some brief housekeeping here: we’ve tried to gather questions into categories to make it easier to navigate. To avoid repetition, we’ve gathered similar questions together and answered them as a group. Also, if you asked us a question but it’s not listed here, it’s only because it can’t be answered at this stage. Literally every question we were asked that we could give an answer to can be found below.

That said, let’s get going.

Switch 2 Q&A: Mario Kart World

Does the ‘free-roam’ part of Mario Kart really add anything or will everyone just skip it?
Scott Dickinson via X

It’s too early to tell, because the only chance we had to try free-roam at the demo event was when waiting to start a Knockout Tour (the big online battle royale elimination race), so I must have had about two minutes in total with it.

It’s going to live or die by what there is to see, do and (maybe) unlock while free-roaming, because if it’s just driving around aimlessly with no purpose then that’s only going to appeal to young players. Thankfully, the new Mario Kart World Direct shows there are at least P Switch missions and hidden coins in Free Roam mode, so I’d imagine Nintendo has something substantial here, because something this disruptive for the series won’t have been half-baked.

Mario Kart – We’ve seen around 50ish characters but know the number is 84 – which characters are in that weren’t shown in the trailer?
Hamzah Abbas via X

To be honest, at the time of writing nobody knows the full character count. We’ve seen around 50 separate characters but in the demo – which had 60 slots – separate outfits had their own slot. It feels like the sort of situation where there are a lot of hidden characters and outfits to discover in this one so I’d be surprised if we got a definitive number before the game’s release. Indeed, the character select screen in the Mario Kart World Direct had 13 pages, with 12 slots in each, so that’s more than 150 slots.

How distinct did Mario Kart World feel from Mario Kart 8? Does the open-world aspect feel like a cool new addition or just bloat?
tomat via X

Actually, it was the Knockout Tour mode that made it feel different from Mario Kart 8. Like I said above, I didn’t get to try the open world element for too long, but doing a Knockout Tour with 24 racers is a level of carnage I haven’t seen in a Mario Kart game before, and genuinely made it feel like this isn’t just the same old Mario Kart but with new tracks.

Who would win in a fight: the Cow from Mario Kart World or the mini character from Welcome Tour?
Christopher Dring via X

Cow wins every time.

Switch 2 Q&A: Welcome Tour

Is Welcome Tour worth spending money on? And if so, how much do you think is reasonable?
Chewy Bitems via Bluesky

How extensive is Welcome Tour and do you see it as a title that people would play after using it to explore the features of the Switch 2?
NookGaming via X

From what little you played, does Welcome Tour feel like a “robust piece of software” to you? Does it strike you as something worth paying money for or does it come off as a glorified tech demo?
Ersatz via Discord

Are the Welcome Tour interactive bits as surface level as they seem? They seem closer to the Labo tech demos than a game
Jordan Weatherby via Bluesky

Is Welcome Tour worth $10?
Grail via X

It’s been done to death but is there enough content in Welcome Tour that you could see it selling or will it end up just being a forgotten launch title like 1-2 Switch?
HisNameIsGeo via Discord

Would you play anything in Welcome Tour more than once?
Scott Dickinson via X

Understandably, Welcome Tour is the game that received the most questions, probably because it was the most controversial of the titles revealed by Nintendo during its Direct.

As with the other games on display at the hands-on event, it’s too early to tell whether Welcome Tour is going to be value for money – that’s what the full review will be for.

What I will say is that I enjoyed what I played of it, because it absolutely has the charm you would expect from a Nintendo game. From the silly Super Mario Bros 4K mini-game to the fact that your character slips and lands on their backside when they try to skate over the surface of the Switch 2 screen, there’s plenty of character here.

There’s some replay value to be had here, in that some of the mini-games have high scores and others have harder variations which can be unlocked.

The jury’s out for now, then, but it’s clear that this isn’t just a half-hearted tutorial and there’s been a real attempt to make it entertaining. No doubt there will be some people who will outright refuse to buy it on principle, no matter what, but hopefully those who are open-minded about it will get enough here to get their $10 worth. We’ll soon see.

Switch 2 Q&A: Metroid Prime 4

Does Prime 4 feel like a significant step up in terms of visual quality for the series? It’s not an ideal reference point but does it look noticeably different to the Prime remaster?
Matthew Williams via Bluesky

Is there a noticeable drop in visuals when choosing the 120fps version of Metroid?
CliffjUK via Bluesky

It definitely looks better than Metroid Prime Remastered. I was only able to play the performance mode (which is 1080p and 120ps) but it looked fantastic. There’s also the option for a quality mode which runs at 4K and 60fps but I wasn’t given that option during the demo. Regardless, if you put Prime Remastered and Prime 4 side-by-side there’s a clear jump in fidelity.

Is there a “Here’s the story so far” blurb or cutscene at the start in Metroid Prime 4 to catch you up on the events of 1-3? Or did the demo just drop you straight you in?
JamieH1224 via Discord

The demo did open with a cutscene. It has a bit of text explaining that Sylux and his Space Pirates have attacked Federation facilities, and that Samus has been sent to the planet Tanamaar to defend one of these facilities. It’s not clear if this is the same opening cutscene from the full game or just one made up for the purposes of the demo but either way, rest assured that you’ll get some sort of “here’s what’s going on” briefing when you start the main game.

How do the mouse controls feel when playing Metroid Prime 4?
Valkian via Bluesky

Of the four mouse-supported games I’ve played on Switch 2, Metroid Prime 4 is easily the most complex because it still requires you to press some of the face buttons on the right Joy-Con 2 to do things like enter Morph Ball mode. That means I’m going to need a bit more time with it before I can find a hand position that lets me play it comfortably.

Here’s yer man using the mouse controls in Metroid Prime 4 pic.twitter.com/atRxG0PA3f

— Chris Scullion (@scully1888) April 11, 2025

How easy is it to naturally switch into Mouse Mode for games like Metroid Prime 4 and do you view it as something that more than a handful of developers will want to utilize in their games based on the comfort level of doing so?
Shae via Discord

In Metroid Prime 4 was there a moment of misunderstanding motion controls when you switched to mouse or did it know that’s what you were doing right away?
mattzere via X

The switch (ahem) from twin-stick to mouse controls is so seamless it’s ridiculous. If you’re holding the right Joy-Con 2 in your hand, using twin-stick controls, you simply turn it and sit it on the desk (or your leg) and you’re controlling it like a mouse instantly. There’s no pause while the optical sensor kicks in, and no need to hit a button or enter a pause menu to switch to mouse controls. As soon as you sit it down, it’s working. It’s really impressive.

Will Metroid Prime 4 have a stick + gyro setting available, like Prime Remastered (i.e. without the mouse)?
‪Kévиɴ via Bluesky

Yup. I mainly played the demo in mouse mode but I did try the gyro aiming for a second. I believe (but don’t quote me on this) that it’s twin-stick controls, but then you hold one of the shoulder buttons (maybe L) and it switches to gyro aiming.

Switch 2 Q&A: Donkey Kong Bananza

In Donkey Kong Bananaza, what do you actually do in the game?
Hamzah Abbas via X

Bananza’s an interesting one, and it’s going to require a longer playthrough before it fully shows its hand. It’s still not clear whether it’s being developed by the main Super Mario Odyssey team but the engine certainly feels like Odyssey, especially because there are lots of big glowing bananas hidden around the stage I played, which are collected in a similar way to the Moons in Odyssey.

Whereas the Moons were collected by performing a bunch of tasks, however, so far it looks like these bananas are just hidden in the stage and you have to smash through the walls and floors to find them. Again, though, that could just be the section I played, and things could get more varied later.

This has happened to me before with a big first-party Nintendo game. When I first played the demos of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D World, I remember thinking they were fairly straightforward, and it wasn’t until I reviewed the full game that the true scope of the creativity was revealed. I hope that’s the case here, so the jury’s out for now.

In the DK Bananza reveal, it showed DK punching an enemy, then kicking him towards another. Does it have much scope for combos?
Grail via X

I didn’t encounter a lot of combat in the demo, and what I did encounter was often resolved by grabbing a big boulder from the ground and throwing it at my enemies (because that was what the tutorial was teaching me). DK does have a punching combo, which I saw as he was punching through the walls, but for now it’s not clear how varied the combat gets.

Does Donkey Kong Bananza look visually like a next generation game? Or does it look like an enhanced Switch 1 title?
TurtleDuck via Bluesky

It definitely looks like a game that would be impossible on the original Switch. Putting aside how sharp it looks and how smooth it moves, there are things in here that some people might take for granted but would probably be too processor-intensive for the Switch, such as the entirely destructible environment and all the particles that fly around when things are destroyed. It just looks altogether more polished than your typical Switch game.

Switch 2 Q&A: Drag x Drive

What do you think of Drag X Drive? Is it right or is it just a novelty?
‪cyberrb25 #7291 via Bluesky

Based on your short preview, can you see Drag x Drive getting the same passionate following Arms had? Or is this game more a glorified demo of the mouse controls?
j.dbuta via Discord

Potential for Drag X Drive? Because this is the most publicity wheelchair basketball got in mainstream.
MegaApple via X

Is Drag X Drive as intuitive as it looks?
Grail via X

Drag x Drive is another game that seems to have gathered some interest, which is probably no surprise given that it’s the only entirely new IP that Nintendo introduced for Switch 2 – it’s the new equivalent of Arms, essentially.

I’ll have a full write-up giving my impressions of Drag x Drive soon, but the short version is that the mouse controls work really well, and are another good example of the ability to switch from mouse to another control system instantly.

The fact that you can roll around with two mice then shoot the ball by lifting a Joy-Con 2 and making a throwing motion, and that the game instantly acknowledges when you’re switching from an optical mouse to gyro controls, is really intuitive.

The main thing that remains to be seen is how much depth the game’s going to have, and whether there’s going to be any single-player modes. I enjoyed my time with it but the game relies a lot on passing, and if nobody on your team passes (as was the case when I played), there’s a lot of rolling around and doing nothing. If you can get two good teams to play it, it could be a blast.

How do the controls of Drag x Drive feel? is the ‘pulling’ motion of the joy-con tiring?
Sloan / Sig via Bluesky

The controls are great. Using both mice to control the wheelchair feels really accurate, and while it obviously takes a little while to get used to the idea of turning by moving one mouse forward and the other back, once you get that nailed you have a great degree of control. I managed to fool an opponent at one point by steaming forward with the ball then slamming on the brakes, making them rush past me and giving me an open shot at the net.

Yes, though, I did feel a wee bit tired by the end of my session, but that may be due to the fact that the hall was very hot and I was wearing a jumper! It’s certainly the most active of the games that were on display at the event, however.

Drag x Drive – were there multiple arenas to play in? (like how Rocket League would re-skin the basic pitch)
BradfordSweater via Bluesky

So far there’s no way of knowing. The demo only had the arena you saw during the Switch 2 Direct presentation. I really hope so, though, because it certainly needs some sort of variety to keep it engaging.

Switch 2 Q&A: Switch 2 Edition Software

In the Zelda games, is the increase in frame rate and resolution something that’s immediately apparent?
CM30 via Bluesky

Yes. Anyone who’s played Breath of the Wild knows that the game really struggled at times, but as soon as you play a Switch 2 Edition and see how smooth it runs, it’s immediately clear that those issues have been resolved.

Is Tears of the Kingdom less blurry?
haughty via Bluesky

Yes. It’s noticeably sharper.

Will Switch 2 Edition cartridges work on Switch 1, letting us play the Switch 1 version on the old system? (since these cartridges contain the Switch 1 versions of those games)
Grasp of the Situation via X

This wasn’t confirmed either way to me at the event: all Nintendo has said is that Switch 2 Editions “will include the original Nintendo Switch game and its upgrade pack all on the same game card (i.e. they are exclusively Nintendo Switch 2 game cards, with no download code)”.

That said, just today Marvelous said its upcoming Switch 2 version of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is essentially a Switch 2 Edition game, and will work on the original Switch as well.

“The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a red 64GB game card that includes, in full, the Nintendo Switch game and the Upgrade Pack,” it said. “There’s no need to download the full game: simply insert the card into either a Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2 console, and the correct version will launch automatically.”

Do we know the definition in which Kirby and The Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World is playing ? Example: 4K 60 in Docked or 1440p 60 or 1080p 120 in portable.
Raph via X

As I understand it, it’s 1080p 60fps handheld and 1440p 60fps docked. Given that the Switch version runs at 30fps, that jump to 60 makes a huge difference. I played the Switch version on the train on my way to the event, so it was fresh in my mind, and the difference was night and day.

Framerate aside, do the Switch 2 editions actually feel or look any different to their original counterparts in any significant way?
HisNameIsGeo via Discord

It’s obviously a case-by-case basis, so it’ll be up to Nintendo (or whoever makes the Switch 2 Edition) whether they want to just boost the frame rate, boost the resolution, improve the textures / character models, add new features or a combination of these.

Will Switch 1 versions of Zelda games perform better on Switch 2, even without the paid upgrade?
Scott via Bluesky

This hasn’t been confirmed yet, and will have to be tested. That said, given that they had a frame rate cap of 30fps but sometimes struggled to hit this (especially on Breath of the Wild) because the hardware couldn’t manage it, my educated guess is that they won’t look any sharper but may hit 30fps far more frequently, if not all the time.

Will the Switch 2 upgrades only be games with these Switch 2 Edition upgrades, or will there be general upscaling capabilities with Switch 1 games? Will they all be paid updates? I only really want to know how the Xenoblade games will play and look on the Switch 2.
Poopy Face Plum Nose via Bluesky

Do non-enhanced Switch 1 games have any native benefits?
dyergram via X

Again, like the Zelda question above, I don’t know about upscaling but I’m at least hoping for a general improvement in Switch games with an unlocked frame rate and/or dynamic resolution. Something like Wolfenstein: The New Colossus on Switch, for example, can drop to as low as 360p when it’s struggling, making it look far too blurry, so I hope that’ll naturally just become less of an issue with the bottleneck removed. Time will tell.

I can see how TOTK might look/feel better on more powerful hardware, but is BOTW a big enough upgrade to justify playing it on Switch 2?
MD via Discord

Do you feel/see a significant upgrade in the Zelda titles? Think it’s worth the punt?
Rossko via X

Do the Switch 2 Upgraded games justify the cost?
Dag via Bluesky

Are the Zelda upgrades worth it?
Scott Dickinson via X

This is obviously subjective, and I’d need to wait for final review versions to see how well Zelda Notes works etc, but if you haven’t played either game yet it seems clear to me that the Switch 2 Edition will be the definitive way to do so. Whether it’s worth buying the upgrades if you’ve already beaten both games will obviously come down to how keen you are to play through those adventures again.

Would you say the extra content for Jamboree is worthwhile?
James via X

Again, that’s subjective, but I enjoyed what I played of the mouse-based mini-games. I didn’t get a chance to check out the camera-based games, but they looked a bit EyeToy on the Switch 2 Direct, so if that’s your kind of thing then it’ll probably be worth the upgrade.

Switch 2 Q&A: Mouse Controls

Does the mouse functionality feel like using one on PC?
Shodan via Discord

Really would love to know about the mouse controls specifically, and how the Joy-Con feels to be used that way.
Nerdy Jay via Bluesky

How does the mouse mode really feel – gimmick or genuinely good way to play?
Scott Dickinson via X

I’ve written a lengthy opinion piece on the mouse controls already, but the short version is that mouse functionality works brilliantly. The optical sensor on the side of the Joy-Con 2 controllers isn’t a cheapo one that does a half-hearted job, it’s just as accurate as a PC mouse, as demonstrated by the likes of Welcome Tour and Metroid Prime 4, which require really sensitive movements.

As long as you can find a comfortable position to play, mouse controls on Switch 2 are the real deal. Speaking of which…

How’s the hand cramp after playing with that mouse?
Bobby Lashley via Discord

How was the experience of using the Joy-Con in mouse mode, e.g. with Metroid? I think it sounds great (although I question how useful it is in TV mode, who has a table in front of them?) but had heard it was a bit uncomfortable for bigger hands.
Ross via Bluesky

A lot of people have been worried that Switch 2’s mouse controls are uncomfortable and while those worries aren’t entirely unfounded, I think it’s one of those situations where your mileage may vary.

For me personally, when I tried games that require mouse movement and no more than a single button – which from the games I played means Welcome Tour, Drag x Drive and Super Mario Party Jamboree – I had no issue with comfort.

Remember the Joy-Con 2 is a little bigger than the original, and is shaped differently to make the triggers feel a little more like mouse buttons, so if you’re picturing turning your existing Joy-Con on its side, it’s not quite as extreme as that.

That said, as mentioned above, Metroid Prime 4’s controls are a little more complex, and it’s when trying to press the right Joy-Con 2’s face buttons for things like Morph Ball mode that you can get a little bit of a claw hand. Again, this might just require a bit of time finding a position that’s most comfortable.

Any word on whether or not there will be third party mouse peripherals? Metroid looks like it would be great with a proper mouse with buttons in the right places!
Paramedic Papa via Bluesky

That’s what I’m hoping for, as per my opinion piece about it. It certainly does what’s needed of it in terms of accuracy as it currently stands, but I’d definitely welcome a standalone mouse aimed at those who want to play mouse-based games for longer, even if that means losing some functionality (like being able to pick it up and instantly swap to twin-stick controls).

I can imagine something like Civilization 7 becoming uncomfortable over a lengthy play session, though once again this comes with that caveat that I haven’t used it long enough to definitively make that claim.

How was mouse sensitivity options? Do you have your mouse normally super sensitive, relaxed or just default? How does the Switch mouse sensitivity compare?
shiva – shynra via X

I don’t usually mess around with my PC’s mouse settings too much, I tend to have it a little more sensitive than the Windows default. We weren’t given access to Switch 2’s settings menu, but I’d be stunned if it didn’t have a sensitivity setting for the mouse given that, to all intents and purposes, it absolutely is a fully-functioning mouse.

Switch 2 Q&A: GameCube Games

I was able to play four GameCube games during my session – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, F-Zero GX, SoulCalibur 2 and Mario Smash Football (aka Super Mario Strikers).

Is the GameCube emulation good? Or is it problematic like Nintendo 64 was on Switch Online?
Brandon via X

What’s the GameCube emulation like on the Switch 2?
BacontheWizard via X

Are the GameCube games enhanced in any way and is Soul Calibur II as awesome as I remember?
Shae via Discord

If you’ve previously used an emulator for a console that handles polygonal games you can probably guess what to expect here for the most part. All the polygonal 3D elements have been upscaled so they look razor-sharp, but any 2D pixel elements (such as the HUD, menus, developer logos etc) look comparatively blurrier as a result. Short of completely recreating every sprite, however, this is the best it could look in terms of fidelity.

This is not the same technique used as the Super Mario 3D All-Stars version of Super Mario Sunshine, where all the sprites and HUD elements actually were recreated at a higher resolution. While some may consider this disappointing, it does also mean we’re likely to get new games faster if there’s no asset rework going on at Nintendo’s end.

The only thing I saw that gave me some concern is that I’m not certain F-Zero GX was running at a smooth 60 frames per second. It was certainly running a little choppier than I remembered.

Now, there are a number of possible reasons for this, not least the fact that we’re dealing with software that’s still months away from release, but I hope we’re not heading for a situation where PAL players only get the 50Hz versions of games.

What gives me hope is that Nintendo’s own GameCube Switch 2 trailer shows F-Zero GX running silky smooth, but I’m also concerned that the UK version of this trailer shows the PAL box art for the game. I have no doubt this will all be resolved by launch and we’ll all be plummeting off the side of the track in glorious 60fps, but once I get my hands on the finished app I’ll be heading straight for F-Zero GX to see what’s what.

How do the GameCube games play on Switch 2? Particularly N64 games were, to be honest, a bit janky controller-wise (mainly the C buttons). Are there any noticeable compromises?
Jim F via Bluesky

I was only able to play these with the official Switch 2 GameCube controller, so I can’t speak for how it will feel with standard Switch 2 controls. That said, the GameCube layout is far more similar to a modern controller than the N64 layout was so I see no issues at all, other than the handful of games which made use of the GameCube’s analogue triggers.

I’m not sure what the solution will be for this yet – when Super Mario Sunshine was re-released on Switch as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, they made it that the R and ZR buttons worked as light press and heavy press, so it might just be a game-by-game basis.

Speaking of the GameCube controller, by the way, it feels identical to the original, with the obvious difference being the lack of wire. It’s an odd (but nice) feeling to have the freedom of the WaveBird controller, but without the added weight.

Are the GameCube classics titles still streamed, or are they locally hosted on the console? And if it’s the former are there any worries with latency for inputs etc? I dread to think what F-Zero GX would be like with noticeable input lag.
Matt via X

Does GX lag?
General Greninja via X

This appears to refer to the Chinese version of the Nvidia Shield, which a number of years ago saw Nintendo doing a deal with Nvidia to make a number of GameCube and Wii games available to Chinese players, albeit streaming through the GeForce Now service.

All the games on the GameCube app on Switch 2 are downloaded and stored locally on the console, so there’s no streaming or any of that. There was no noticeable lag that I could see – that’s obviously not saying there isn’t any, as I’m sure once it’s out you’ll get the frame-counters on YouTube saying “hold on, there’s 5ms” or something like that, but what I’m saying is I could see no noticeable delay, with my human eyes, between me pressing the button and something happening on screen.

Does the GCN app allow for GBA cable connection? Like Wind Waker’s Tingle Tuner?
SuperJoshXD001 via X

There’s no sign of that yet and I’d seriously doubt it. The best you could probably hope for is that one day the GameCube app might get a feature that emulates the GBA in the corner of the screen.

Which GameCube games supported widescreen?
mattzere via X

I didn’t get to mess around with this too much but I was told that if a game supported widescreen back in the day, it’ll support widescreen again here.

How was Mario Strikers? Seems to be absent from any footage I’ve seen and wasn’t mentioned as a launch title but has been on the treehouse and events etc.
Tom R via X

Mario Strikers performed perfectly well. Because it makes heavy use of sprites in its presentation the disparity between sharp polygonal characters / arenas and blurry HUD is probably the most noticeable here out of the four games I played, but the gameplay is where it matters and I’ve always had a soft spot for this one. Had a great time playing it again.

Do we know yet if the GameCube games start with everything unlocked or is that just a build used for demonstration purposes?
Jake via Bluesky

All the GameCube games start like they would on a normal system. If you saw a demo online that skipped part of the game, that would have been for time purposes. The demo at the event allowed you to play for 10 minutes, and obviously Wind Waker’s intro alone would have killed most of that, so they had a save ready for that which starts you on the island right away, but that was more for our convenience on the day. When you get it on your own Switch 2, it should start up clean with no saves already on there.

How does F-Zero GX feel with digital triggers?
Scott Russell via Bluesky

Again, I was using the GameCube controller so I can’t tell you, but F-Zero GX uses A to accelerate anyway so it won’t affect the game too much. The triggers are used for sharper turns, but unless you’re the best of the best and you take notes of your best lap times I don’t imagine you’ll miss the lack of analogue triggers in this particular game.

Switch 2 Q&A: The hardware

How does the new Pro Controller feel? Do the grips feel any different? Because they look separated from the controller interface
WeirdWitcher via X

The Switch 2 Pro Controller is outstanding, and all I heard throughout the day from other people was “have you tried the Pro Controller yet? It’s brilliant, eh?” I really want to spend more time with it but it was so comfortable. The triggers are nice and clicky, the sticks felt great, it’ll almost certainly be my main method of play at home.

Comfort-wise how does it feel?
Mr Dave via Discord

Compared to the Switch 1, how comfortable is the Switch 2 for handling in handheld?
RobbieTheBoo via X

Did you play the system in handheld mode and if so did it feel more comfortable than the original system? Or is the right stick placement still an issue?
Jason Milner via X

I’ve never had an issue with the right stick placement so I might not be the best person to ask, but it does feel more comfortable than the original Switch to hold in handheld. I don’t think you should be expecting an absolute night and day difference – it’s still a big slab with a screen in the middle, at the end of the day – but the fact that it’s larger but (crucially) not thicker meant it feels solid in the hand without hitting Steam Deck bulk levels.

Will existing docks stay compatible?
Keku_GameAccessory via X

Nope.

What are the speakers for the Switch 2 like compared to the OLED model?
Matthew via X

It was hard to tell at a show where there were hundreds of Switch 2 consoles and TVs all blaring out their own games, so I wouldn’t want to say at this stage. I could certainly hear the one I was playing over all the other noise though, so it seems it’ll be loud enough, but it was impossible to compare the sound quality of Switch 2 and OLED side-by-side in that environment.

Question might be redundant given the event setup but how was the performance disparity between docked and handheld compared to Switch 1, where some games could be maybe less palatable depending on which mode you played it in?
Alex_Freya via Discord

You’re right that it was hard to tell definitively at this stage but from what I played, I think the fact the handheld now outputs at 1080p with up to 120fps and HDR means there’s less of a disparity between handheld and TV play.

Other tech-heads may disagree but unless you have an 80-inch TV I’d say the difference between 720p handheld and 1080p TV is more noticeable than the difference between 1080p handheld and 4K TV, especially when I’d imagine not every Switch 2 game will be hitting 4K on TV, with many likely outputting at a lower resolution and using DLSS to upscale.

The extra power here will give developers more freedom to decide whether to prioritise frame rate or resolution, when the original Switch sometimes didn’t really allow them either (see the Doom, Wolfenstein and Mortal Kombat ports). Because the flaws will be less apparent, I’m predicting this means handheld and TV play will look a bit closer this time.

Indeed, if your TV doesn’t support HDR, 120fps or VRR then you’ll almost certainly find yourself in situations at times where it looks better on handheld than on TV.

How does the D-Pad feel on the Joy-Cons?
Kyle via Discord

Was the D-Pad on the new pro controller good enough for SF6?
Ryunato via X

As with the original Switch it’s still not technically a D-Pad, because it still needs to be four buttons for when it’s turned on its side and used as a standalone controller.

Again, I may not be the best person to ask this because I’ve never had issues playing games with this non-D-pad, but everything still feels perfectly fine to me. The buttons feel a tiny bit more comfortable but this might have been ‘shiny new thing syndrome’ and I’d need to have them both side-by-side at home to definitively decide.

But yes, I was throwing fireballs like a champ when playing Street Fighter 6 in handheld, so I had no issues there.

Are the triggers analog or still nope? Racing games on switch were literally useless.
Origo via Bluesky

Triggers are still digital.

How fast is loading? Some games on Switch 1 took quite a while to load new areas.
Chicobo via Bluesky

Loading is a lot faster, thanks to the faster storage. Obviously because you’re dealing with more graphically detailed games you might still be in for a wait for some of the more advanced titles in the future, but Mario Kart loaded courses relatively quickly, for example.

The most obvious example was when I tried the Switch 2 version of Breath of the Wild. The demo started from the main menu and I had to load the game save, which was almost certainly designed to show off how much quicker it loads. It’s so much faster, which was wonderful to see.

I think the Breath of the Wild loading time was the main thing that made me go ‘wow’ overall at the Switch 2 event I attended, though bear in mind that’s because I was already prepared to be wowed by Mario Kart World and the like. There hasn’t been a lot of chat about the faster storage but depending on how backwards compatibility is implemented it could hopefully lead to much faster loading in other original Switch games. Fingers crossed.

How did the screen seem after coming from the original Switch? Was it a notable difference in size/quality?
Mike Wakely via X

Have you gone back to your Switch after playing S2? Did it make the old tech feel its age? Would love to know your thoughts on the new screen compared to the OLED.
ciaran3012 via Discord

I usually use an OLED so I suppose the best thing I can say about it is that it certainly didn’t look worse, and when I went back to playing my OLED on the train home it didn’t feel like I had switched back to a superior display. The improved resolution certainly helps, and the addition of HDR goes a long way to helping too. I honestly don’t think anyone is going to pick this up and say they’re genuinely disappointed with the display.

Do the Joy-Con still feel good for those with small hands?
Nora Brooks via Bluesky

I didn’t have any small hands nearby but I think you’ll be fine. The Joy-Con 2 controllers are bigger but they’re not an enormous leap in size, it’s more subtle.

I’m most interested in how the sticks feel. I read they’re bigger than the original Joy-Con, do they feel bigger? FPS games were hard on Switch until I got Split Pad Pro, how’s Prime 4 with the new sticks?
‪Alex⁷⁹ via Bluesky

Do the analogue sticks have much deadzone? Or are they as lovely as the left stick on the Gamecube?
Grail via X

I didn’t get to do much deadzone testing but the sticks certainly do feel lovely. As with the increase in size, they do feel a little bigger but, again, it’s not an enormous difference to the extent that you’ll pick it up and go “wow, this changes everything”. They were perfectly comfortable and I didn’t have any issues with them during any of my play sessions.

Is it now realistic to play on TV just using Joy-Cons (now they are bigger and better suited to bigger hands) or in reality will we still need the Pro Controller?
CliffjUK via Bluesky

Now that the Joy-Con 2 are bigger, do they feel better to hold individually and with the included Joy-Con 2 Grip?
Iestyn Evans via Bluesky

I only used the Joy-Con 2 Grip once, and it was fine. To be honest, the Grip isn’t my set-up of choice with the original Switch (I’m a Pro Controller boy) but the new Grip certainly feels like a perfectly acceptable option when playing at home. I’ll definitely be going for the new Pro Controller, though.

That said, the one thing I do want to test when I get to try Switch 2 at home is whether the Joy-Con 2 have a stronger wireless signal. At home my dock is located behind my TV, and if I’m sitting on the couch the controllers often lose signal if the TV is in the way. With mouse controls meaning I’m going to actually be using the Joy-Con 2 controllers at home this time, I hope this won’t still be an issue.

Are peripherals from the Switch compatible with the Switch 2? Such as the Pro Controller?
Steve via Bluesky

Yes, but they obviously won’t support certain features like mouse controls. The C button obviously isn’t on the original Pro Controller either, but it appears that Game Chat can still be called up from the system menu so that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker.

How does the performance compare to other systems like PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?
LP CA via Bluesky

That’s going to have to wait for direct-feed footage of multi-format games, but the general consensus seems to be that it’s at roughly PS4 level, but with extra features like DLSS allowing for other tricks like 120fps.

The Cyberpunk 2077 demo was probably the most telling because that was the only one there that seemed to be struggling a little bit, but it was also set in the most heavily populated part of the game, Dogtown, which appeared in the Phantom Liberty DLC. Phantom Liberty wasn’t even released on PS4, so the fact that the Switch 2 is even delivering something playable bodes well for the future.

Has Nintendo confirmed whether the stick drift issue has been fixed in the new Joy-Cons?
Mark via Bluesky

The implication from spokespersons (spokespeople?) is that the issue has been addressed, but it’s also been confirmed that it’s not using Hall effect tech, which is the generally agreed solution to stick drift. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the only solution, so we’ll need to wait for a combination of hardware teardowns and good old-fashioned time for wear and tear to see if it has indeed been resolved.

Is the touchscreen not a feature anymore? I don’t see why adding in mouse functions is so important when you can kinda do the same thing with a touchscreen.
Poopy Face Plum Nose via Bluesky

The touchscreen is alive and well. Mouse functionality is best for playing at home, when the touchscreen can’t be accessed. Anyone who plays Super Mario Maker 2 on their TV will tell you how welcome mouse controls will be for a potential third entry.

How strong are those magnets for the joycons?
Poopy Face Plum Nose via Bluesky

I forgot to pull it hard to check but the thought that they might come loose didn’t enter my mind at any point during the whole day, so they’re certainly getting the job done at least.

Switch 2 Q&A: Miscellaneous questions

About Street Fighter 6, I heard people on the FGC praise it even over the PS5 version. Do you think it’s on that level or not?
‪cyberrb25 #7291 via Bluesky

I wouldn’t be bold enough to suggest anything like that after five minutes of play but the ability to play a really solid port of Street Fighter 6 on the move is a brilliant thing. It looks really good and seems to move at a stable 60fps, so I can see me absolutely rinsing that one on flights and trains when it comes out.

Is text-to-speech functionality for blind players available in any of the games you tried out?
Victor Dima via X

That’s presumably going to be handled on a game-by-game basis, and since most of the demos didn’t provide access to the settings screens for each game it was impossible for me to tell at this stage. I hope so, however. Also, I apologise if you were reading this article with a screen reader and had to get through 6,600 words before reaching this answer.

Is Cyberpunk 2077 graphically up to par with the next generation on Nintendo Switch 2, and is Hogwarts Legacy more similar to the PS5 version? If not, what are the biggest flaws of these two games?
Black Thin King via X

I’ve got no interest in Hogwarts Legacy so I didn’t play that, but Cyberpunk certainly isn’t on par with the current-gen versions. That’s nothing to criticise, it’s completely understandable given the size of the thing. Anyone expecting to compare Switch 2 games to PS5 and Xbox Series X and see Nintendo come out on top is setting themselves up for disappointment: the best they can hope for is identical performance in less intensive games. I would imagine that, for example, a Switch 2 version of a Nightdive Studios remaster would look on par with other formats.

A lot of comparisons online about Switch 2 being compared to PS4, PS4 Pro. With that, Elden Ring and Cyberpunk being ported, and as well as increased third-party support, how long do you envision Switch 2 having ports of current-gen games and keeping up with other platform releases? I realise not much is known currently about the specs.
cyanide1980 via Discord

I think as long as Xbox Series X/S keeps getting multi-format games, Switch 2 will continue to be a viable option for a port. That’s not to say it’s on a par with them – it’s certainly not anywhere near Series X – but the fact that developers already have to cater for Series S and know they have to scale their new releases accordingly to make sure both Xbox consoles can play the game means it’s only another step to reduce that further for Switch 2.

Obviously, game development is nowhere near as easy as moving a couple of sliders left a bit and hitting an “Export to Switch 2 Cartridge” button, but if a lower-spec version for Series S is already part of the workflow for a planned game, you would hope that Switch 2 could also be considered, especially given there are likely going to be far more Switch 2 systems sold than Series S consoles.

A few years from now when we start hitting next-gen and we’re looking at PS6 and whatever Xbox comes up with, that might be when you start getting fewer Switch 2 ports. That said, when you consider how much a next-gen console could cost in a few years’ time, there will be a lot of players happy to stick with this generation from now, and third-party developers will continue to make games for those consoles as long as there’s a userbase there. And even then, not every current-gen game has to push the console to its limits.

Long story short, I think Switch 2 will be powerful enough to keep it in consideration for ports for a long time to come.

Are the games worth the price?
Michael via X

That’s subjective. If you can afford it and you think you’ll get your money’s worth out of it, then they’re worth the price. Personally I think Mario Kart World is one of the few games where people who can afford it will likely agree they’ll still be playing it years from now. Your mileage may vary with other titles.

The last Nintendo I had was GameCube. As Switch 2 brings me back into the Nintendo-sphere, what’s the top 10 Switch 1 must-plays?
cyanide1980 via Discord

I’m working on such a very list right now (albeit a much larger one – in case you can’t tell, I have a thing for that) and it’ll be on the site before Switch 2 launches. For me, you can’t go wrong with a combination of Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Bros Wonder. I’d say Mario Kart 8 Deluxe too but I have the feeling Mario Kart World will have you busy enough.

Now that you’ve gone hands-on with the Switch 2, was there anything that caught you off-guard or surprised you, that others’ impressions didn’t prepare you for?
j.dbuta via Discord

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but the HD Rumble really adds a new dimension to mouse controls. It’s easy to say “big deal, it’s just mouse controls, PCs have been doing that for decades” but there aren’t many mice out there that have force feedback too.

One of the Super Mario Party Jamboree mini-games has you using the mouse to pull back a little toy car and letting it go, and feeling it go ‘click click click’ as you pull it back is genuinely something I haven’t experienced in a game. I know it’s hardly Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time but I’m looking forward to seeing how the rumble can make mouse-based games more immersive, such as feeling the recoil when you fire a gun in an FPS.

Did you see the Switch 2 game cases on display and do they differ in size to the current ones?
Steve via X

I did. They looked a tiny bit bigger but I’d need to see them stood next to each other to compare properly.

From what you’ve played of the brand new releases (Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Metroid) will they be of a Game of the Year quality when stacked against other big hitters across the rest of the industry?
Isaku via Bluesky

When you’ve got Grand Theft Auto 6 and who knows what else coming up, it would take an absolute maniac to predict 2025’s Game of the Year at this stage. At the very least, I’d be stunned if Mario Kart and Metroid didn’t have Metacritic lighting up greener than the Grinch. Donkey Kong is more of an unknown quantity at this point, but I certainly didn’t dislike what I played of it.

Did your hands-on time with the Nintendo Switch 2 leave you afterwards basking in a warm afterglow, or was it a more typical post-hype comedown feeling?
j.dbuta via Discord

A bit of both. I’m happy that it’s another solid piece of hardware from Nintendo and that the first batch of games all offered enough to make me eager to get my hands on the full versions. But you also can’t walk away from events like this and not feel a little disheartened that you now have to wait for the full release, even if it’s only a month and a half away now.

How do you feel generally about the console? Like will it elevate Nintendo or too early to tell?
Mr Dave via Discord

I don’t think Nintendo can be elevated any higher at this point but I certainly don’t think it has anything to worry about with Switch 2. The price point may see a slower uptake initially, but the DS, 3DS and Switch all started off (relatively) slowly and built momentum as each major IP arrived on the system.

From what I’ve played of it and the quality of the hardware, I think the future is very bright for Switch 2. It’s almost certainly going to be another enormous success for Nintendo, and I couldn’t be more excited for the final system to be released so we can really put it through its paces.