Nintendo Switch 2

The Nintendo Switch 2 launched worldwide on June 5, 2025, and by mid-2026 it had sold over 23 million units, making it Nintendo's fastest-selling console in history. That adoption rate reflects a genuine hardware upgrade: this is not the minor refinement the Switch OLED represented, but a substantive generational step forward that Digital Foundry and other hardware analysts have described as enabling capabilities simply impossible on the original platform. The most visible improvement is the 7.9-inch full-HD LCD display — larger than the Switch OLED's 7-inch screen and running at up to 120Hz with HDR10 and variable refresh rate support. In handheld mode, games like Mario Kart World look sharper and smoother than anything the previous hardware could produce. The display is LCD rather than OLED, meaning it lacks the per-pixel contrast and true-black capability of the older model, but for sheer resolution and refresh rate it is a clear upgrade. Under the hood, a custom Nvidia Tegra T239 chip with an Ampere GPU architecture and 12GB of RAM delivers a performance level that makes ports once considered impossible — including demanding open-world titles and games requiring real-time DLSS upscaling — viable on a handheld device. When docked, the system outputs up to 4K at 60fps in supported titles or 1440p/1080p at up to 120fps. Internal storage jumps to 256GB (compared to 32GB on the original Switch), a long-overdue improvement, though buyers planning heavy use will still want a microSD Express card for additional space. The Joy-Con 2 controllers move to a magnetic attachment mechanism, eliminating the slide-rail system and addressing the connection concerns that plagued earlier models. They also include a new mouse-control mode that some first-party games, including Mario Kart World's table mode, use for novel gameplay input. GameChat — Nintendo's built-in voice and video communication system — works directly through the console with a compatible USB-C camera (sold separately), removing the dependency on smartphones that made online communication cumbersome on earlier hardware. Backward compatibility is broad and well-handled: the overwhelming majority of the original Nintendo Switch's physical and digital library runs on Switch 2, with many games receiving free or paid enhancement patches for improved resolution, frame rates, or new features. By August 2026, the software catalog has expanded to include Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Kirby Air Riders, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, and ports of major third-party titles previously unavailable on Nintendo hardware. On the downside, accessories are expensive: Joy-Con 2 pairs cost $94.99, the Pro Controller $84.99, and the dock set alone $119.99. Game prices rose to $70–$80 for major Nintendo first-party releases, a meaningful step up from the previous generation. Battery life during demanding games can fall to as little as 2 hours. The console itself increased from its $449.99 launch price to $499.99 on September 1, 2026, in line with the wider industry pricing environment driven by DRAM shortages. Even with these caveats, the Nintendo Switch 2 is the most compelling Nintendo console in years and an easy recommendation for families, Nintendo fans, and anyone who values portable gaming combined with TV play.