April 2’s big Nintendo Switch Direct, and the following Nintendo Treehouse show held the day after, shed a lot of light on the Nintendo Switch 2. Then Gaming Hardware Editor Rhys Wood’s Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on preview gave us more insight into the next-generation hybrid console.
However, there are still things we don’t know about the Switch 2 or questions that we feel Nintendo has yet to address.
I don’t think these are enough to stop you hunting down a Switch 2 pre-order on April 9, but for those on the fence about upgrading from the original Nintendo Switch, these unanswered questions could be a sticking point.
So read on for five things we still don’t know about the Nintendo Switch 2. And one that’s especially for our US readers and Nintendo fans; let’s start with that.
When will US shoppers actually be able to buy the Nintendo Switch 2?
Thanks to the Trump Administration’s raft of new tariffs imposed on much of the world’s markets, Nintendo has announced it will delay pre-orders of the Switch 2 as it assesses the impact of the tariffs.
“Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the U.S. will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” said Nintendo. “Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.”
So the question remains about when US Nintendo fans will be able to order the Switch 2. Whatever your political leanings might be, this is likely frustrating for super-keen Switch lovers.
Has Joy-Con drift been fixed?
Owners of the original Nintendo Switch are sure to remember the whole issue of Joy-Con drift, where debris and dust that got into the controller’s joysticks could lead to movement inputs being registered even when a player didn’t have their fingers on the sticks. In my case one Joy-Con stopped working correctly and registering inputs.
While the Switch 2’s Joy-Con controllers have been designed from the ground up, they still resemble the original controllers, so there’s speculation as to whether they could fall foul of Joy-Con drifting.
Nintendo hasn’t discussed this yet, at least in no official materials I have seen. So it remains an unanswered question and potentially a concern that could stop some people from pre-ordering or buying the console when it gets released on June 5.
What are the actual processor and graphics card specs?
Maybe large swathes of Nintendo’s audience couldn’t give a wooden nickel about the specs and performance of the custom Nvidia chipset at the heart of the Switch 2. But this is TechRadar, and we care about the nerdy, techie details.
I want to know what type of Nvidia hardware Nintendo has used and what form of graphics processor will be used to pump the pixels of the 1080p display.
I’d also like to know what frame rates we can expect in a slew of games; the Switch 2 has a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and support for a variable refresh rate, so I’m hoping we’ll see some games run above 60 frames per second.
There’s no word on power of the central processing unit and how much RAM the Switch 2 has to tap into. While developers will surely get the most out of the silicon, I’d like to know more to get an idea of how long the Switch 2’s lifespan could be, especially in the face of handheld gaming PCs gaining power and popularity.
How will DLSS and ray tracing be used and in what games?
Speaking of Nvidia, the graphics giant’s deep learning super-sampling (DLSS) tech and ray-tracing rendering is set to play a part in the Switch 2.
But Nintendo hasn’t said what games will use ray tracing, which can be a graphically demanding feature and might be overkill if used in the likes of Donkey Kong Bananza given it has a cartoon-like aesthetic.
DLSS would make sense for the Switch 2 when used in its docked mode and plugged into a 4K TV, as the AI-centric tech could take a lower-resolution image and upmix it to 4K without needing the hefty graphics power required to render a native 4K image in modern games.
But this is just educated speculation on my part, as Nintendo hasn’t spilled the details on how DLSS will be used.
How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour tutorial cost?
One of the things that hasn’t impressed us with the Switch 2’s deep dive is how Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which is basically an interactive tutorial for the console, won’t be bundled in for free and will instead be a paid-for title.
And with this rather surprising move comes a lack of pricing from Nintendo, as we don’t know how much Welcome Tour will cost in the West; we’ve speculated that it could be between $10 and $20 in the US.
My hope is Nintendo listens to the negative backlash to this and makes the Welcome Tour a free bit of software included in the Switch 2. I appreciate making hardware and games is more expensive these days, but I’m sure Nintendo has deep enough corporate pockets to not have to charge for an interactive demo.
How much will the next-gen upgrades cost?
On the topics of software costs, Nintendo has yet to spill the beans on how much it’ll charge for the ‘Nintendo Switch 2 Editions’ of existing Switch games, which will be enhanced and upgraded for the new console.
With the PS5 and Xbox Series X we saw enhanced editions of last-generation games get offered for free if you own the base game; that slightly changed with the PS5 Pro, where an enhanced version of Horizon Zero Dawn was a paid upgrade.
But then the so-called ‘Nintendo tax’ is a thing, where its games tend to be more pricey than those of other consoles, and don’t go on sales as much. So paying for next-gen upgrades is arguably expected of Nintendo.
Some game upgrades will be free, while others will be included as part of the Nintendo Switch Online – Expansion Pack service.
My hope is the upgrades will cost up to $10, as much more could feel a bit miserly from Nintendo. But with no pricing mentioned, it’s all speculation for now.
Some final thoughts…
I expect we’ll hear more as we get closer to the release of the Nintendo Switch 2. And with a whole a host of Nintendo Switch 2 launch games and some rather compelling Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games expected this year and next, there’s a lot to like with the new console even though we have lingering questions.
Sure, the Switch 2 isn’t cheap and there’s some logic to that. But I still feel it’s shaping up to be an attractive console… or I’m just really looking forward to The Duskbloods.
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