Now that most of us have managed to acquire our Switch 2, it’s time to get playing. I mean, testing. The Nintendo Switch 2 became available in stores yesterday and started shipping out to those who got their pre-orders in. Those who pre-ordered via Walmart appeared to have been the luckiest, not only receiving their units first thing in the morning but also getting bonus snacks and drinks. Many of us who didn’t get to pre-order one in April were pleasantly surprised that we were able to pick up the product in physical retail stores.
While we’ve already gotten a couple of detailed hands-on opportunities for the Switch 2, this being day 2 means we now have unfettered access to the new $449 Nintendo portable console with its latest release software installed. The liveblog below is a reverse chronological collection of our thoughts, but here’s a quick summary of where we left things yesterday:
“We’re nearing the end of the day, and here’s a quick breakdown of where things stand and what we’ve covered in this liveblog. For those looking to acquire a Switch 2 on launch day, it seems like most people making trips to retail stores were largely successful, and stock seems to be plentiful, even without pre-orders. Those who are looking for supply online are having a tougher time, while members of our team who pre-ordered have had to wait a lot longer for their devices to show up. Our Aaron Souppouris has received his pre-ordered… controller. But his Switch 2 remains en route and has yet to show up at his doorstep.
As for our review impressions so far — our senior reviewer Sam Rutherford is hard at work putting our official full review together, but he’s been updating this liveblog with his evaluations today. He noted that, based on his lightmeter’s readings, the Switch 2’s display goes up to 450 nits with ambient brightness enabled, and tops out at 400 nits without. It’s comparatively dim for a device with HDR, but the numbers can get higher depending on the game.
Sam also hasn’t found the device to run too hot so far and that’s not just because of the new dock’s built-in fan. To him the dock is sleeker and feels a bit more substantial than before. He found it odd that the dock has just three USB ports instead of four on the original Switch’s dock, but the new console has one more socket, which sort of balances things out.
Sam pointed out that the dock only has a single USB-C port, though, and that’s reserved for power. With the remaining two ports on the dock being USB-A, you may need adapters to plug in your USB-C accessories, like the official Switch 2 camera, for instance. You could plug it directly into the Switch 2, but that’s not ideal for people who frequently dock and undock their systems.”
If you prefer to catch up by watching a video, check out our Engadget Podcast livestream on YouTube, where Sam Rutherford and Devindra Hardawar shared their impressions and took questions from our live audience.
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We’ve already written plenty about the Switch 2, and you can check out our earlier coverage to catch up on all the relevant details so far:
And now — our liveblog of our second day with the Switch 2.
Live22 updates
Another little quirk of the Switch 2 is that you can actually detach the Joy-Con and put them on the wrong side of the system if you flip them upside down. The controls still work in this arrangement, though obviously inputs will be “flipped.”
One question I have Switch 2’s engineers though is why they moved away from the mismatched Joy-Con colors. When attached, the only difference is the accent color underneath the analog sticks.
Things are a bit more obvious when the Joy-Con aren’t attached, which lets you see the red and blue scheme much easier.
Do people prefer a more unified paint job or is simply making room for more Joy-Con color options down the line
One really minor design change I haven’t seen a lot of people talk about is how the Switch 2’s power/lock button is a touch smaller and more recessed compared to the original. It’s not a bad thing, because on one hand I like that it’s harder to accidentally put the Switch 2 to sleep. But it is a bit more difficult to find by feel alone, but I’m sure that will change over time.
FWIW, Split Fiction didn’t seem nearly as divisive from what I’ve seen, its more of a sci-fi game.
We don’t have concrete release dates for everything just yet, but the big ones are Donkey Kong Bananza (July 17) and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (sometime in 2025).
Sam, I am indeed on the lookout for nice co-op games but I’ve been seeing posts on Reddit about how It Takes Two has torn some relationships apart so I’m not sure if I’d like to continue down that path. I do really love the vibe of Inside by Playdead, so I am open to getting new recommendations there. Also — does anyone here have a recap of all the Switch 2 games that were announced at Direct? My cousin asked me and I was embarrassed to not remember more than Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza and… Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.
A brief aside for the handful of folks who (like me) ordered through Nintendo’s online store after receiving an invite: The company’s shipping details may be incorrect — in a good way! I wound up receiving my Switch 2 and GameCube controller yesterday evening despite the order page on my Nintendo account saying they’re still “preparing to ship.” In fact, it still does say that as of 11am this morning. Obviously we can’t guarantee this will happen for everyone, but there may be some lag there.
Yea fair. The new Joy-Con are a tiny bit bigger, but for extended play, the Pro Controller is still the way to go.
Also, Cherlynn didn’t you say you were looking for co-op games to play?
I’ve enjoyed my time with Split Fiction so far, but I must admit that it doesn’t look as good on the Switch 2 compared to other platforms. There’s a lot of aliasing and jagged lines.
Trying to be somewhat professional so I will say I chortled instead of “lmao” but yes my priorities are pretty well-documented. I bought the Switch 2 to make content for Engadget, really. And my own social media. And maybe to see if I can now better control my little chefs in Overcooked or jump from tree to tree with more precision in Limbo. The old Joy-Con were terrible for me. Totally their fault that I was so bad at games.
I still can’t believe Cherlynn bought the Switch 2 camera but NOT Mario Kart World.
There’s only one real new launch game from Nintendo and it’s excellent. It’s the perfect multiplayer too.
Luckily, there’s always the eShop.
The bad news is that because there hasn’t really been a mainstream gadget up until now that required the microSD Express format, there’s a short of compatible cards on sale right now.
I went to two Best Buys and two GameStops and all of them were sold out of 1TB cards. 256GB models are a bit easier to find, but personally, I would skip those because I would prefer to have a single, larger card, even if there’s a price premium for one.
Suffice to say, it might be a bit tricky to find a big 1TB microSD Express card in the short term.
This sort of brings me to the Switch 2’s expandable storage, which revolves around microSD Express cards.
At this point, it’s really important to mention that older microSD cards are not the same as microSD Express, so if you’re trying to use the same card you used in your OG Switch it won’t work. You need to find a card that has EX or EXPRESS printed on it.
One thing that struck me recently is that it’s easy to forget that the original Switch only came with 32GB of onboard storage, so the upgrade to 256GB on the Switch 2 is much appreciated. However, even with that extra room, as I’m testing things, I’m installing everything I can get my hands on and I’m already running out of room.
The biggest storage hogs so far are Split Fiction with a file size of 69.2GB, followed by Street Fighter 6 (48.2GB) and Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut (45.3).
Mario Kart World is somewhat large at 21.9, but like many first-party Nintendo games, it’s still noticeably smaller than AAA third-party titles.
I also think it’s telling that I’ve seen a number of posts staying that their local store still has Switch 2s in stock.
If you are really desperate for a system, I would highly recommending looking for them in person.
Heck, Cherlynn picked up one at the GameStop in our nearby mall yesterday without having a pre-order.
We’ve talked quite a bit about Switch 2 availability and how to buy one. Several members of the Engadget team have been able to snag the system without a pre-order, just by turning up to a store and buying it. What a concept!
There’s another decent indicator that Nintendo has perhaps made more or less enough Switch 2 units to satisfy early interest: eBay listings. When the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X arrived in 2020, they were going for pretty ridiculous markups. It rare to see one selling on eBay for under $900 or so. Some units were going for as much as $2,000 — four times the list price.
There are, inevitably, some grifters trying to sell the Switch 2 on eBay for four figures. One is offering the Mario Kart World bundle for $2,495. Good luck with that, pal. But plenty of eBay sellers are offering it for $700 or less.
I’m not, by any stretch, recommending that you buy a Switch 2 for that kind of price. It’s just interesting to look at what sellers are pricing it at on eBay as we try to figure out whether Nintendo has been able to meet demand.
Good call Kris. The Switch 2, even though it’s bigger than the original, is still very portable. That said, it’s not really small enough to fit in a pocket unless you have some like circa 1998 JNCO jeans. I also wouldn’t chuck it in a bag by itself because that’s asking for unnecessary wear and tear and stress on components like the analog sticks.
Belkin’s new line of Switch 2 accessories caught my eye because the company made a case with a cutout for an included battery pack, so you can still charge the Switch 2 while its safely stashed inside. It’s not the most elegant solution, but it is really practical, which I appreciate.
I’m still waiting for my Switch 2 case and screen protector to ship, but I might cancel that to save a few bucks. The Switch 2 fits well enough inside the Steam Deck case. That chances that I’ll have both the Switch 2 and the Steam Deck with me when I’m on the go seem pretty slim.
The Steam Deck is bigger than the Switch 2, of course, so the latter doesn’t fit perfectly in the case. Although it doesn’t seem to shift around in in the case while I’m walking, adding some padding will give me some piece of mind. Either way, a good Switch 2 screen protector is a must.
Switch 2 Pro Controller (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)
I have so many thoughts Cherlynn, but mostly I’m thinking about the controllers. I’ll have something longer coming up about the satisfying Joy-Con 2 “thunk” sound, but also I show some love to the new Switch 2 Pro controller. I honestly hated the original Switch’s Pro gamepad, it just felt flimsy and plasticky in a way that was very un-Nintendo. This new model, on the other hand, feels like Nintendo took a few cues from the premium Xbox Elite Controller and PlayStation Dual Sense Edge.
The Switch 2 Pro controller isn’t nearly as customizable as that competition, but there are two rear buttons you can configure to your liking. It also feels far more like a high-end product this time around, with a smooth plastic case, comfortable and responsive joysticks and face buttons that feel far sturdier than before. I honestly love this thing. Tune in next week for a full review after I get a weekend of playtime with it.
Will second what Devindra said. I didn’t hate the old Switch 2 Pro Controller, but it does feel like a generally more premium product. The rear buttons are a nice addition.
However, one nice thing about the Switch 2 is that on top of being backwards compatible for games, it’s also compatible with Switch 1 accessories like the OG Pro Controller. This is nice for anyone who doesn’t want to buy four brand new gamepads for the whole family. It also has implications for older titles like Ring Fit Adventures, because while the new Joy-Con don’t fit into the straps for Ring Fit’s accessories, you can pair OG Joy-Con with the Switch 2, so you can still play the game normally.
I also want to mention I tried recharging the Switch 2 using a portable battery pack and it worked just fine. This is expected but also kind of a relief because the original Switch used a non-standard implementation of USB-C, so it didn’t always play nicely with universal chargers or battery packs.
You can use an iPhone as a camera for your Switch 2
We’ve learned quite a lot in the almost 48 hours since the first Switch 2 units reached the public. People have been tearing apart their brand new units to find out whether controllers are meaningfully upgraded, for example. One thing we knew was that multiple types of USB-C cameras are supported, but with the right configuration of cables, you can also use your iPhone’s camera!
More on that from Kris Holt:
“YouTube channel Will It Work? has demonstrated how to use an iPhone as a camera for the console.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as opening the iPhone’s Camera app, plugging a USB-C cable into both devices and setting up the phone (perhaps on a MagSafe charger) so it points at your mug. I tried that, and nope, no dice. Instead, if you plug the cable into a USB-C to HDMI adapter, and that into an HDMI capture cable and hook the daisy chain into your Switch 2, your new console should recognize your phone as a camera. This process may work for Android devices too.”
Read more: You can use an iPhone as a Nintendo Switch 2 camera
