The Nintendo Switch 2 So Far - is it Worth it?

What do we know about the Nintendo Switch 2? Not much. Not much officially anyway. President of Nintendo Shuntaro Furukawa has successfully kept his and the company's lips tightly sealed. However, leakers and various other trusted sources have painted a colourful picture of what we can expect from the new console.

First off, design. As expected, the Switch 2 does not appear too dissimilar to the original model. A leaked Chinese video revealed a side-by-side comparison between the next-gen model and the Switch OLED, and besides the 8-inch display (a relatively minor upgrade from current the 7-inch), there doesn’t appear to be many differences. The video did reveal new magnetic joy-cons, 2 USB-C ports, and seems to confirm that the cartridge slot remains, implying backwards compatibility with existing Switch games (yay).

Whilst the console doesn’t appear much different on the exterior, inside some massive improvements seem to have been made. Leaks suggest that the new model will make use of the Nvidia T239 Processor, with 256GB of internal storage up from 64GB (finally) and 12GB RAM up from 4GB. All this would amount to similar specs to the existing XBOX Series S and Steam Deck. These are some much-needed promising improvements, that seem to align with rumours that late-2025 release Pokémon Legends: Z-A will be a high-spec Switch 2 exclusive.

Now what do we know about the release date? And more importantly how many kidneys do you need to sell to get your hands on one? A few. Rumoured release dates have come forward and back over the years, seemingly now the leading theory is a second-quarter 2025 release, based on new reports from a Tokyo Securities Analyst – April earliest, June latest. This remains subject to change, and probably will. Now, price. For the modest price of £285, you can get your hands on an existing OLED switch, this is speculated to rise to between $399 - $499 for a Nintendo Switch 2. Ouch!

So, with all of this in mind, will the Nintendo Switch 2 be worth it? It appears to be a very considerable quality jump from the existing models, that being said, for the price of one I could get 100 Frozen Margs from the Cog & Wheel, and that is worth considering. Honestly though, if they can guarantee an end to joy-con drift and finally update Stardew Valley, I’ll consider counting my pennies.