Nintendo's Switch 2 finally arrives with big hype and new features — but a higher cost
Nintendo fans lined up for hours to be the first to get their hands on the latest Switch after 8-year wait
At the stroke of midnight Thursday, after hours of waiting, diehard Nintendo fans rushed into an EB Games store on Yonge Street in the heart of downtown Toronto to get their hands on the long-awaited Nintendo Switch 2.
They cheered as confetti rained down and staff cut a big red ribbon to mark the arrival of Nintendo's first game system launch in eight years. And with it comes the release of Mario Kart World, the latest iteration in the company's flagship game series.
The game system retails for $629, or $699 if you get it bundled with the new game.
Nintendo Canada general manager Susan Pennefather says there has been a "tremendous outpouring of love and appreciation" from Switch fans, who either signed up to pre-order the console or waited dutifully in lines across the country for the 12 a.m. ET release. Pennefather spoke with CBC News outside the EB Games store in Toronto.
The Japanese company, which has been producing home video game systems since 1985, will do its best to keep up with customer demand, she says.
For those who didn't pre-order, plenty of units have been shipped to Canadian retail stores, she said.
"Nintendo always looks at what the best consumer experience is going to be and they build their systems and their games around that."
Here's what's new with the Switch 2
The new console comes with a larger and higher resolution screen than its predecessor, with improved processing power, offering smoother and more vivid graphics.
Central to its updated system is a new "C" button on its controller, which will launch a "GameChat" feature that requires a subscription to Nintendo's Switch Online service. It allows players to communicate and share their game screen with others while playing.
A built-in microphone will also allow voice-chatting with other gamers. Nintendo has said it expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles for the fiscal year through March 2026.
The company has also promised to roll out attractive new titles for the Switch 2 later this year, including Donkey Kong Bananza, Metroid Prime 4, a Pokemon instalment and a Kirby game, as well as offerings from outside software companies.
Video game critic Victor Lucas says the upgrades justify the price.
"You do have to take into consideration that this is a very robust piece of hardware," he said. "We're going to see games running at [up to] 120 frames per second, and that's going to mean really smooth animations on screen."
Lucas, who is the host and creator of The Electric Playground YouTube channel, says the company did indeed listen to what its customers wanted and built on what they loved about the original Switch.
"The Switch 1 really just knocked our socks off with its hybrid functionality. You could take it out anywhere you wanted to go and play these massive AAA games like The Legend of Zelda on planes or trains or wherever," he said.
Aside from battery power, he says Nintendo also revamped the overall design so that the controller now attaches magnetically rather than having to slide into rails on the side of the device.
"It's a lot more refined," he said. "The Switch 2 is a much more premium-feeling, much more powerful new console from Nintendo."
Nintendo community comes out for Switch 2
Nintendo customers are a community of gamers and collectors who love the physical store experience, said Jim Tyo, president of GameStop Canada, which owns and operates 185 GameStop and EB Games stores across Canada.
It's been a long time since the company's stores have had midnight openings for a launch like this, he said. Of its locations, 133 opened after-hours for the Switch 2 release.
"The energy out there is unbelievable," he said at the Yonge Street store in Toronto Wednesday night.
That excitement was on display across Canada — and around the globe.
On the other side of the country in Vancouver, where there is a time zone advantage and the Switch 2 went on sale at 9 p.m. PT on Wednesday, lineups began as early as 7 a.m.
"The hype for it is just through the roof, honestly," said Isaac Stanowich, who was third in line outside a GameStop store when he spoke to CBC News that afternoon.
He says he's waited long enough for the new Switch that he doesn't mind paying the hefty price tag.
"A lot of people are waiting for that price to drop down in the future, which I don't think that's going to happen, so why not get it now and get it over with? And then I can start saving my money again," he said.
Switch fan Sasha Husband — who was holding a placard that day reading, "Everything sucks but at least we're getting a new Donkey Kong" — says the cost wasn't inhibiting him, either.
"I'm never going to be able to afford a house. A lot of people tell me this is a poor investment. It's too expensive," he said.
"[But] in the scope of what we can afford, I'm at least going to play my Mario game."
In Japan, the new consoles were sold through a competitive lottery system that Nintendo said got about 2.2 million applications. Outside the official draw, some retailers offered their own lotteries to pre-order the devices.
In the U.S., Nintendo is capitalizing on the launch with the opening of a store in San Francisco and a Super Nintendo World amusement facility in Orlando, Fla., both of which opened last month.
The Switch 2's U.S. rollout arrived at an uncertain time for much of the gaming industry due to new tariffs implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump.
U.S. pre-orders for the Switch 2 were delayed for several weeks so the company could assess the potential impact of tariffs.
Fortunately for gamers, the release date fell in the midst of a 90-day pause that Trump implemented last month.
The Switch 2 release was announced on April 2, the same day Trump imposed his blanket tariffs on all U.S. imports, including a 24 per cent penalty on products imported from Japan and 46 per cent on products from Vietnam, where a large portion of U.S.-bound Switch consoles are manufactured.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Amelia John and The Associated Press