Topic: Nintendo Switch 2

@JaxonH wow, haven't seen that posted anywhere, but 100% will pay the $10 day one. I hope this helps set the standard for all upgraded games. Thanks for sharing!

Well - just went to the Nintendo site, $10 upgrade for me. Preordering immediately!

Managed to secure a base console pre order today, delighted I held off buying one of those super expensive “packages” with a load of junk I’m not interested in such as steering wheels, camera, hitman etc

Has Nintendo confirmed whether the wired GameCube controllers will work with GameCube NSO? And by work I mean full compatibility, rather than simply being recognized as a USB pro controller.

Not yet, still waiting.

Edit: wow just as I said that I got through. Yeah it's up for order now.

@Quantumz00
I was able to buy one as well. It had me in a waiting page for a few minutes then allowed me to add to cart.

@pikachupikachup @Lazz
The official Nintendo eShop has the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade for $9.99 listed, and a Deluxe upgrade for $14.99 that includes all the content from the Dark Arts DLC Pack (MSRP $19.99 on its own, so an extra $5 for it is a steal).

@JaxonH What the point of the Deluxe edition, doesn't it only give some extra cosmetics and a mount that is not even better than the broom?

Digital Foundry just did their own deep dive into Switch 2 features. Basically all the leaks for years and years around this thing have been true, with two mysteries/oddities revealing themselves:

💥 CPU clocks are higher in mobile mode than performance (docked) mode. Why this is remains a mystery, by DF speculates here:

"So, the original Switch's Tegra X1 featured ARM Cortex A57 cores - four of them, with one reserved for OS features, leaving three free for developers. There's a similar ratio in Switch 2, with six cores available to developers and two reserved by Nintendo for running the operating system. CPU clocks are confirmed but still a bit of a mystery: in mobile mode, the CPU runs at 1100MHz, dropping down to 998MHz in its performance mode, typically used when running docked (a distinction we make because there's nothing stopping developers running Switch 1 or Switch 2 in mobile mode when docked). We still don't have an explanation on why mobile mode CPU clocks are higher than the performance mode, but memory bandwidth drops in mobile mode which would likely have an impact on CPU performance - that's just a theory on our part."

• Digital Foundry Analysis

💥 3GB out of 12GB of RAM is reserved for the OS, a massive chunk. This is almost certainly to ensure a smoother experience for gamechat overhead.

"Game Chat is clearly an important part of the Switch 2 package - but it does have a significant impact on system resources to the point where Nintendo actually provides developers with a Game Chat testing tool - this simulates API latency and L3 cache misses that the real world Game Chat system incurs on the system, meaning developers can test this without needing active Game Chat sessions running. We'll be interested to see how Game Chat may (or may not) impact game performance as this does seem to be an area of developer concern."

• Digital Foundry analysis

Interesting video, watch it here:

@Quantumz00 my opinion is there is a lot more than these base specs entail. The hardware has features that helps in a lot of ways with game development. My only hope is that for more demanding games Nintendo allow developers to use more of the Ram and run the console at higher clock speeds. I really hope they took that into consideration. I would prefer for example a game like GTA 6 they decide no game chat use more ram and up the clocks (if needed) to give an even better experience.

That's a smart idea, certain games should be able to opt out of gamechat functionality in order to ensure they run right. Maybe include a "gamechat does not work with this product" sticker on the box or something if they're worried about confusing consumers I dunno...

Still, as of now I'll just wait and see how the games end up, because I've got the Switch 2 pre-ordered either way and most of the titles look really nice considering the specs. DLSS punching up.

Dumb question, but I have not seen a clear answer on this through Nintendo or otherwise and it's an important feature to me:

Is plain old text chat included in the GameChat functionality? Like no video/audio, just using keyboard text to send messages to others natively on Switch 2 OS?

I dont know, honestly. I know there's a way to see a chat box fill out the right side of the gamechat screen, but not if you can isolate that element and just use text chat. Hopefully if not there day 1, Nintendo will start to add such functionality in the system updates.

As things stand, the specs are only going to create more misinformation about the Switch 2 being weak and overly priced, which is something various gaming sites will push further for clicks and because this ain’t PlayStation. On the other hand, I also don’t think Mario Kart World is really that wow factor Nintendo needs for a launch game. Even the 15 minute Direct basically addressed mostly what was already known which suggests there’s very little to do outside the races.

Right now I’m interested in how third party developers are going to push the console. Already have Cyberpunk and Hitman on order and I’m hoping Project 007 turns out to be real good. But for Nintendo, I’m not bowled over by what they have shown me. It’s really underwhelming which is a concern to me personally. It’s good others are more positive about first party releases but to me, I’m hoping they have something to show that makes me really excited.

I respectfully disagree with you. Mario Kart World looks amazing and especially for those that have played it in person everyone has spoken to the beautiful visuals and overall gameplay. It is a system seller and will probably end up being the best selling game in the system. The third party games shown have been phenomenal for a Nintendo gamer. We’ve seen games that have better overall visual and textures than the Series S version. We have multiple games announced and in development that couldn’t run on PS4 and PS4 pro. We’ve heard nothing but praise from developers on the technical/hardware side, and you can look up the videos of FF7 comparison with the PS5 version and see S2 is far and ahead of any console Nintendo has released in the past 20 years compared to the competition. I’m going to get the console, play games, and enjoy the experiences. These numbers are nothing but console war agitators and trolls looking for a reason to be negative. The proof has already been shown.

I agree. Hopefully Nintendo give developers the right and encourage them to disable game chat for their specific game if more performance is needed. A sticker on the box or message in shop would be ideal. Yes, DLSS in a closed hardware configuration like the switch 2 will be magic for developers. Long story short, gone are the days of blurry visuals and inconsistent frame rates for ports. The DLSS and VRR for the system are game changers and semi future proof it. I expect this system to be competent for at least 5 years. We will see if they release a pro version or if Switch 3 comes sooner that S2 did.

I think as you say, those things allow it to reach a bit beyond where the specs say it should be, which is slightly stronger than ps4 pro without it. With DLSS though it'll allow us to get competent ports until late into next generation. Id wager something like 80%+ of next generation games will be possible on Switch 2 provided they are not overly cpu bound.

Honestly this alone is such a huge turn around from the last few Nintendo generations that I think most Nintendo fans will be pleasantly surprised by what's on offer.

Personally don't care at all if the Switch 2 is underpowered or whatever. As long as its reasonably affordable for myself, and gets good games over its life time.

The DS, 3DS and even Switch weren't exactly powerhouses and many people argued for years over them being underpowered but like in the end the only thing that mattered to me is that they got some awesome games

New wave of Switch 2 preorders going out from Nintendo store today, check your promotional/spam and regular inbox or go to Nintendo store and check if your switch 2 still says "invite required" or "invite requested." Invite requested = you got in. Invite required = you did not yet.

Happy hunting!

I agree that on the surface Mario Kart World isn't really the best game to show off what the console can actually do. The graphics are improved from 8, but not by much- which makes sense, given that Nintendo seems to be going for larger scopes rather than intensely better graphics.

We see this with Donkey Kong for instance- where every level in the game is made up of destructible terrain that the game actually remembers. Mario Kart World is open world, which for the graphics quality that they're showing is a pretty big deal. Especially given how Open World Zelda takes a pretty large graphical hit, with the stylization being what saves it.

I think what counts as a graphics showcase will differ for people. True, you watch a trailer and one doesn't immediately think massive leap in Mario kart world.

But then you factor in the open world, with that silky smooth framerate, with vrr on the handheld screen and hdr too, 1440p/60fps (1080p handheld) and 24 karts now flying everywhere at these speeds, and also youre gamechatting and watching three other screens...

...I don't know, but i think it all adds up to a different kind of "that's impressive", at least for those who never owned a steam deck or rog ally.