Topic: Is The Switch 2 Worth It???

@FishyS
If you're specifically weighing the pros, I'll say this. If you hated Switch 1, I doubt Switch 2 will change your mind.

If, however, you loved Switch 1, then NS2 will feel like Christmas morning for you. Imagine 3rd party games that actually run without massive framerate issues and in 1080p on a giant 8" screen, with 3D audio even from the built in speakers, with joycon that are larger and more ergonomic with larger analogs that use non-rim-contact glide tech (and thus prevent drift since it's well established that friction caused micro shavings of plastic to fall into the housing), which magnetically snap on and off the system and grip.

Imagine an eShop that isn't constantly stuttering and loading. In-game load speeds drastically improved. Actual 1440p and 4k docked resolution for many games, and 60fps far more prevalent.

Then imagine every Switch 1 game that had framerate issues maxing out their potential target and no more dynamic resolution drops. Games like Trials Rising finally playing smoothly in handheld mode and not dropping resolution to sub-720p. Games like Monster Hunter Stories 2 and Dragon Quest Builders 2 holding a locked 60.

Now imagine better rumble, rear mappable grip buttons on the back of the pro controller and charge grip, an audio jack on the pro controller, and the ability to instantly start a chat with any friend, and share your screen, and even show video if you connect a camera. The system somehow uses advanced machine learning and AI to filter out the game audio so the person on the other end only hears your voice, and clearly, even when the system is docked across the room.

Imagine being able to play 2p with friends online or locally who don't even own a copy of the game, even with a Switch 1. Not every game offers that feature but many do- Split Fiction, Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity, DK Bonanza, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Super Mario 3D World, etc. And it feels native! If you owned a Wii U, it's like that gamepad technology but perfected.

And Imagine the ability to play with a pro controller, or joycon-in-grip pro controller, or split joycon, or any of the above with gyro aiming, or using mouse mode. And Imagine you buy a $10 firm mousepad that's 8" x 10" (200mm x 250mm) with one of these accessories and you dive into games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Metroid Prime 4 with that precision mouse aiming.

If you imagine all that and think eh, not inspiring me... then don't buy a Switch 2. But if you imagine all that and think wow, actually sounds really cool! Then you should have bought one yesterday.

@JaxonH Damn I didnt realize the Joycons were that much better. My biggest problem with the original and even the OLED Switch was how cheap the joycons felt. The sticks felt like they could snap at any moment and of course the stick drift made me very wary of using them much. Instead I just opted for a third party pro controller (which I love) to play my Switch.

After hearing your praise about the joycons I just might have to rethink about getting a Switch 2

It's wild to me that people keep trying to push this comparison as if there's some victor to declare. They're both great devices with different use cases. Switch 2 is more integrated, modern, sleek and power efficient and Deck is a PC with a significantly larger battery and with a better display

It's like asking what's better, a smartphone or a laptop? And it's like.... what even is that question? They're different kinds of devices. It depends

I totally accept what you are saying but the level of processing can go from light to heavy and just simple anti-aliasing can help. You can have 2D games that just look a little cleaner and smoother at 8K but still clearly much the same as the original graphics. I remember using consoles on CRT screens with composite connections so they looked pretty grim and all the time you were getting radiation fired at your eyes. Screens are amazing nowadays and so ridiculously cheap. When you have a 8K screen (I don't) you have something that can adapt cleanly to any previous resolution as there are so many pixels. It's not a like a Switch 2 showing a 720p image on a 1080p screen and losing image quality because pixels aren't matched 1:1. You lose some detail as 1920 is not 1280 and 1080 is not 720. When you have 8192, 1280 goes into it more cleanly same as 720 into 4320. It displays older resolutions better where its difficult to adjust the native resolution i.e. 2D sprite games. My television is rather old now being a 3D TV and I think the highest refresh resolution it supports is 72Hz at maybe 1080p or 1440p but its good to know that the Steam Deck can support 8k 60 or 4K 120Hz.

@Tasuki
It's actually kinda crazy how just a few minor improvements can make such a difference with the new Joycon.

The analog sticks are like 50% larger in diameter, which is like 225% surface area (since area of circle is pi*r^2). I know it's technically a partial spherical surface but it's such a small arc that we can simplify things for rough estimates. That makes a huge difference, and by not making rim contact it feels buttery smooth to rotate around in a circular motion.

Then the fact they're longer, and wider (the side of the Joycon protrudes which inserts into the side of the console) which makes it feel more comfortable to grip.

The ZL/ZR triggers are larger which feels better. The face buttons are also larger which feels better. The SL/SR buttons are waaaay larger than before which makes sideways Joycon feel, not "ideal" but definitely usable, whereas with NS1 it was borderline not the case. And the rumble is a noticeable step up from NS1. Not to mention, they can be used as a mouse, and the way they Just magnetically snap in and out is more satisfying than it has any right to be. Sometimes I just snap them in and out for fun. It's oddly fulfilling 😀

@JaxonH Well controller is an important factor for me when it comes to choosing a console. One of the main reasons I passed on the OG Xbox back in the day was because of the Duke controller that they originally had.

Mostly because of the Joycons is why I dont use my Switch especially in hand held. Even when I cant use the TV I just use the pro type controller I got and just set the Switch up on a table. If and that's a big if I do use the joycons its with the grip accessory and even then I am afraid of snapping off the sticks. My joycons are basic the other player controller when I play 2 player games like MK 8.

I just cant believe someone at Nintendo when asked to quality control the Joycons said yep that's good. Nintendo has long been known for the great quality of their controllers I have NES controllers from the late 80s early 90s and they still work great. The Switch was the only Nintendo console that I opted for third party controllers ( Well the Gamecube I opted for Wavebirds instead of Nintendo's own controllers but those were so awesome back in the day). I mean what was the QA department on vacation when the Joycons were presented?

Still its good to hear that the Switch 2 greatly improves the Joycons.

@Tasuki
Here's a comparison. Also note the Pro controller and charge grip have rear mappable GL/GR grib buttons, mappable from Quick Access Menu and automatically saved on a per game basis. Highly recommended.

Nice. Definitely can see the difference. Will have to start saving up for one now. Definitely moved up on my list of game stuff I need to get in 2026. Thanks for all the info.

One thing that you can't see in the pics is how much less waggle there is when the Joy-Cons are attached to the console. The magnetic connection is a massive improvement over the rails that the Switch 1 used.

Random tangent. So I had my family Christmas do on the weekend, well the main one, and as is tradition at this point we played some games on the newest gaming gadget. Last year I got out the Steam Deck, this year it was the Switch 2. Notably for both the convenience of transporting and setting up a hybrid console is very nice

So after lunch was had and we were winding down I turned it on. Asked what game people wanted to play. Mario Kart World, unanimously. Passed around controllers to interested parties. Much fun was had and at the end of it people were saying they should pick up a Switch 2. And specifically at one point in one of the knockout vs races with chaotic custom items it was said that "this Mario Karts more than 8"

I think sometimes people are so siloed into specific narratives that they kinda forget that the average user is not even remotely concerned about the latest dramas. And to be clear, I'm not and have never said that all criticism is invalid. But more often than not the stuff that seems to exist only to fill the gaps in news feels pretty..... vapid

It was certainly refreshing to see a clean, unfiltered perspective on both the Switch 2 and Mario Kart World. Especially given that generally it ended up largely aligning with my own conclusions

@skywake good points…people seem to forget about having fun. Mario Kart is a blast, great to hear your family/friends enjoying it for what it is.

@Tasuki
You missed the sale of MKW bundle for $450 but, there's still a hack to get one for $409 base system or $454 for MKW bundle.

Load up on eShop credit from gcx.raise website that gives 10% back on $50 eShop cards (It's 10% of your discounted price though so it ends up being like 9.1% after first purchase). Then use that on the official Nintendo Store, bringing your cost down.

@skywake
I feel like I'm that average gamer, but just engaged. Cause almost none of the "controversies" I see people pitching fits about even registers on my "give a crap" radar. Not for Switch 2, not for Mario Kart, not for Metroid... I've been having an absolute blast thinking hey, whatever. Sucks to be you guys I guess.

And like you said, it's not that many criticisms arent valid, they just aren't something that bothers me much, if at all. I'm just in this for the fun. God help me if I spend 8 hrs a day upset and complaining over a hobby that's supposed to make me smile when I'm bored.

Also had one my colleagues ask me what Switch games were good. Walked over to their desk to suss it out, they never got a Switch and were looking at picking up a Switch 2 for them and their partner for a shared Christmas gift. Why now? They want a new console and were concerned about what RAM pricing will do next year

They were looking at Animal Crossing, for their partner, so were already getting that. I suggested they get the Switch version used and upgrade it to the Switch 2 edition rather than paying more for the Switch 2 edition. But they wanted to know what else was good and worth getting. I suggested Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition and Mario Kart World and was slightly jealous of the idea of experiencing BotW/TotK Zelda for the first time. I think he's going to have a pretty decent Christmas break.....

.... and I get the feeling there's going to be a fair amount of new Switch 2's sold this holiday period

Word is Switch 2 already crossed 15 mil. Unofficial, off the record of course. But it's looking like they're gonna hit 20m by the end of the fiscal year, which accounts for just 9 months.

Is there any actual evidence at this point suggesting Switch 2 won't match the success of the original Switch? I know that's a tall order, but every indicator is due north.

Yea, I mean, I've been saying it since launch: MK World is a fantastic game. The gameplay is way better than 8 Deluxe. I don't know what is wrong with the internet.

@rallydefault That's a fine opinion to have. I disagree. 24 racers and all the accommodations made to make that work makes for a vastly inferior Mario Kart game. And that's even compared with the original MK8 release.

A divisive game for sure. I think that's overall good, even if I dislike it; at least it's not just more of exactly the same.

@OmnitronVariant
When you really get to know and work with the new mechanics (the charge jump, grinding, and wall riding), you start to see 8 Deluxe as way too limited and “linear,” if that makes sense. Going back and playing Deluxe is way simpler, which can sometimes be nice, but it also feels like you’re anchored to the road.

The more I play it, the more I see how the moniker “World” doesn’t just apply to the free roam world literally, but how they’ve opened up the possibilities in the gameplay. Shortcuts and general traversal are almost intimidatingly open to experimentation.

@rallydefault I played it enough to explore all the mechanics, and I won a majority of online races, but overall, more options does not mean less limited. The skill ceiling in MK8 is higher, because the tracks are narrower, the item spam more restricted, and the track designs a lot more conducive of competitive racing.

@OmnitronVariant
Sorry, hard disagree. From your posts, the last time you played the game was… launch?

If you played online now, you would not be winning your races, guaranteed.

The mechanics are leading this game to evolve in ways Deluxe never did.

It's too early for long term evidence either way (all we know is the first year is going super well), but the huge sales bump and added momentum Switch 1 got in 2020 might not be reproducable.