The future is here! Nintendo Switch 2 has been finally launched, letting the untouched gaming harmony descend upon humankind. Some fortunate gamers are seemingly having a time in their pixelated paradise with pre-orders being delivered on time, while a very few others-i.e., me-just managed to throw chance out the window with an impromptu GameStop grab! Meanwhile, half of the gang is still in suspense, looking at tracking numbers and dreaming about the arrival of their next obsession.
Gone are the days of stolen glimpses. Gone are the scheduled controlled walk-throughs. The door has been kicked open. For the very first time, we are holding Nintendo’s $449 Switch successor, portable, powerful, and brimming with that day-one magic.
New kid on the Engadget block? Don’t hang around. Hurry to the YouTube livestream, where Sam Rutherford and Devindra Hardawar will do some Nutty Professor-style debating and dishing. These guys are hot into tech topics and are ready to take your questions live. Come join us in the fun!
The future is here! The Switch 2 legend persists. So, before releasing the beast, venture to the vault once again and relive the journey so far. Everything you need to know is waiting!
Nintendo Switch 2: Hands-On: Is This the Revolution We’ve Been Waiting For? Behind closed doors last month at Nintendo’s headquarters, we were treated to an exclusive sneak peek at the Switch 2. This isn’t a review, consider it your first glance-an unfiltered take after some serious playtime with the system.
Still in the front seat in the chase for that elusive Switch 2? Amazon’s the eternal ghost town but elsewhere flickers some bit of hope. The stock availability at Walmart, GameStop, and Target is under our watch. Hurry and click!
(Important: Seeing a listing doesn’t guarantee it’s in stock. Happy hunting!)
Forget everything regarding microSD cards. The Switch 2 requires a newer bunch of expandable storages. Tech guru Jeff Dunn ventures deep into the abyss, revealing the top microSD cards to power your nextgen gaming experience. Do not get stuck with lag; unlock the full potential of your Switch 2.
Follow our liveblog below for additional Switch 2 hands-on thoughts and some retail shopping experiences.
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Also speaking of cooking, I haven’t noticed the Switch 2 getting very hot all all.
The technical equivalent would be, “I went to the extreme limits of my system by downloading a heavy mountain of games. Still, the hottest point of the system-behind, dead-center-was a mere 95 degrees: a very lukewarm feeling under such a stinging onslaught of digits.”
The Switch 2 dock is not the ordinary dock; it truly defines a statement. Gone forever with the flimsy plastic, the environment now going for a reassuringly solid design. The beauty lies in the building itself: practically silent cooling thanks to the built-in fan, a cool perch even under the most demanding of gaming sessions. Not just upgrading the console: peace of mind.
While the USB port has been likened to an shedding snake, the refreshed dock only has three available, rather than the parent Switch’s previous four.
The Switch 2 doubles down on connectivity, ditching the lone wolf USB-C port for a dynamic duo.
There is a single power-hungry USB-C port that constitutes the dock’s first stumbling block. Want to connect Nintendo’s official new camera? Hope you still have that dusty USB-C to USB-A adapter. Because even though it’s 2024, the future has to be bridged with the dock’s stubbornly old-school USB-A ports. Backup adapter, please.
Or try envisioning directitude: your camera, paired straight with that open USB-C of Switch. Hmm. Undocking becomes an unplugging ritual, only a slight price to pay for seamless in-game capture.
What a gift from Billy! A trusted relative whispered that Asheboro GameStop was still swimming in Switch 2s. Makes sense, I figure-the bigger city stores get blitzed first. So, if your local shelves are empty, consider traveling to smaller towns. You might just snag that elusive Switch 2 and become the envy of every last soul you know.
The Great Switch 2 Drought continues…at Engadget headquarters! The whole world is out there clamoring for the latest from Nintendo, when a weird thing has seized our team: quite a number are still Switch 2-less. Fear not, dear reader, for this is no corporate conspiracy! It’s all a matter of choice. Case in point is our brave senior reviewer Billy Steele. Rumor has it he’s hot on the trail of a Switch 2 hoard at a Target oasis, somewhere just outside Greensboro, NC. We’re talking High Point, people! Will Billy come out victorious, a console in hand? Stay tuned as we track the journey that is his quest for the mythical Switch 2. The Switch 2-less fate of Engadget hangs in the balance!
“Are the carts for Nintendo Switch 2? Sam brave the ultimate sacrifice of taste-testing them. The verdict? Still a full pop of palate truly punched into pure, unadulterated bitterness. “Awful,” he grimaced.”
Kotaku understands. Their “Ode to Delayed Switch 2s” is a song we at Engadget have been singing along with. The pain! The anticipation! Aaron, poor soul, clutching his new controller, the cruel reminder of a hollow absence in his life. And the wait goes on…
Before the Engadget team began with some “serious” gaming (read: perks of the job), allow me to put into your hands the ultimate life-saver-that-is-our-latest-Nintendo-guide series. I speak out of experience. Picture this: My sister and I wrestled with Nintendo’s digital game cards, trying to load our legitimately purchased games onto her friend’s Switch. The frustration! I was inches away from rage-quitting life. Fortunately enough, Kris-Holt’s guide on how to navigate and untangle Nintendo’s digital game card system was released just in time. It was the digital map I so much desperately needed to help me steer through the madness.
Still fighting that urge to go and buy the console of their dreams? Not so fast; all hope is not lost! Maybe that stop in at GameStop is your lucky break, pre-order or not. You spot a line for Unit! Check if there’s a number of units listed and confirm by doing a headcount of actual units. Your dream of getting the console could still be within reach!
Are you? Give up on refreshing retailer pages? Today was wild because I finally snagged a Switch 2. I’m funneling everything into our “How to Buy a Switch 2” guide (real-time stock updates, y’know!), but if you’re short on time and just want the inside track onmyside of the story, read on.
Teso Life intended to be hit with errand this morning but noon opening put a stop to it. Truck went to GameStop for a rescue. It was rumored to be Switch 2 day and who could resist the call of potential gaming glory? At 9:20, the queue looked awfully nice and tidy, made up only of four hopefuls and their plus-ones. A quick message for the boss gave the go-ahead: Operation Switch 2 Line Immersion was a go. Time to report from the front lines of gaming anticipation!
The line had wrapped around the building, and that was a testament to what the Switch was for: An attraction. By those same 11 AM hours, a crazed mob of fifty or so gamers was buzzing with anticipation. The store manager had come out, the only organized figure amidst the controlled chaos, and with blistering speed, sliced the mass of people right down the middle: pre-orders to the left, walk-ins to the right-my line. On the glass was taped a crudely handwritten sign left by giving a glimmer of hope: “Mario Kart World Bundle: 53 Available. Basic Package: 25 Available.” I snatched the manager and dared to ask, “Any chance you have the camera accessory?” He winced. “Limited quantities for non-pre-orders, unfortunately.” The hunt was on.
I’m back to drop some early screen testing numbers in here.
With the maximum brightness in effect, the display has a level of nearly 400 nits imparted in the reading of our lightmeter for the Switch 2, a level that is very respectable but only attainable when the ambient brightness feature is disabled.
Bring out the best from your display! Turn on the boost, and brightness will jump substantially to 450 nits. That’s not it. Enter the arena of HDR games, and prepare to be blown away. I’ve seen peaks going beyond this, which means a display flirting with an almost 500 nits brightness, ready to pop with stunning imagery!
“Expectedly, given the price point for Switch 2, its HDR flock would rather whisper than shout – resting at the bottom rungs of the HDR ladder lest it would make a hell of a shock.”
The snag? My gear sings when fed a strict diet of preset test patterns, think opening a web browser. Without that perfect meal, my readings are… well, let’s just say they’re flirting with accuracy, not married to it.
“Yahi pratiksha, koi ummed wahi hai. Meri muse ki taaliya ab baj chuki hai!”
“So are we good to go on that California rendezvous if I do say yes? (I better warn you that I’m protective of my Switch, almost literally, like-their-first-console-that-I-bought-new-ever-since-now. It’s a January 2020 purchase from a friend and quickly becoming a relic of very simple times.)”
“But certainly about that job… And now that you’ve imbibed the wet spirit of in-line, I would be happy to take it off your hands. Consider it a passing moment of liberation. It is as deeply murderous as any existential angst inLimboon a pristine, stationary Switch, I can assure you.”
So why exactly did I brave the chaos of a launch day for a Switch 2 so devoid of pre-orders? Well, that’s a tangled story involving professional obligations (are you really going to believe it?), a pinch of FOMO, and a whole lot of curiosity about that rumored pant-mouse functionality. Scalpings, lines, hype, forget them all-I needed to see it in action myself! Think of me as your intrepid reporter, plunging down into the Nintendo wild frontier, with the definitive guide to helping you get your own Switch 2 under his belt. Oh, and the pants mouse thing too. Professionalism though, right? Yeah, definitely professionalism.
Nate, I am just going crazy for these retro games! I’m trapped in those dark Playdead worlds, endlessly looping inside that hauntingly beautiful game called Inside (Really; I am obsessed!) while soloing through shadowy terrors of Limbo (and quite hilariously impossible with someone’s pesky useless hints). So, Playdead, take this as a gentle shove: we’ve kept our minds ever so bent for the next masterpiece!
Who is this Cherlynn character anyway? She is buying herself a Switch just to let its initial game title collect cobwebs. SMH. I often ask myself, What is the point of next-gen just to not embrace whatever is trending today?
So brace yourselves: I committed a cardinal sin today. I went with thebasicSwitch bundle. Yes, you heard me correctly. This means that there will be no Mario Kart World on my console. But then again I decided to grab a Switch camera. Prepare for a bunch of horrendously awkward pixelated selfies flooding our Slack channel- You have been warned.
Aaron, you will NOT believe what I just did! My brand-spanking-new Switch 2 is burning a hole in my backpack, but its unboxing is officially DELAYED! Why? Because I’m liveblogging this ridiculously awesome (and slightly painful) Gamestop adventure. Picture this: I stroll up, expecting a ravenous mob, but BAM! A measly five people in line. Victory! My competitive spirit ignited, I joined the fray, back be damned. Seriously though, standing for hours… not my brightest moment. This one dude rolls up with a folding chair at 10:15 AM – pure genius! I’m regretting my life choices. Stay tuned; the unboxing will happen…eventually.
Rate my Switch 2 setup:
Aaron Souppouris for Engadget
The sun pried me awake, but my excitement had already dazed me into being conscious. There it had sat on the porch: a suspiciously ugly Walmart box, promising a new dawn for gaming. But the box could only give disappointment. An ugly cardboard jest: a single Pro Controller just managed to limp in there. My Switch 2, meant to be the headline act for this very morning, was nowhere to be seen. That cavalier delivery promise “by 9AM” from Walmart had metamorphosed into a dull and dreary “maybe by 9PM.” My hype? Fade to almost nothing.
And on the topic of unforgettable launches-Nintendo just nailed it. I’m still buzzing at the thought of seeing those life-sized mascots waltz about during the reveal of the Switch 2! Here are a few shots; pure Nintendo magic.
Mario and Luigi in real life!
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
I was really surprised by how good the Peach costume looked.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget) *
That said, if you weren’t able to snag one, I don’t think you have to feel that bad about it.
Want another reason to get your hands on that new Switch 2? EnterMario Kart World. Let go of the fleeting summer fling withDonkey Kong Bananza(out this July) and lay the far-awayMetroid Prime 4down through the season of fall and possibly that of winter. A real launch window for the next Nintendo console? Somewhere before New Year. Overall, if you miss that date, you miss therealreason to upgrade.
Ultras have been spotted wrapping around the NYC flagship store since last evening! Lines almost touched nearly an entire block, a testament to the ever-strong-willed force from the Mushroom Kingdom.
The above-given text sounds quite AI-ish and, hence, distinctly in need of humanization.
Line for the Switch 2 outside the Nintendo Store in NYC.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget) *
Searches for the Switch 2 became quite the obsession. Pre-ordering was not for just a few forays; I utterly cannonballed into it. At one point, I had four. That’s a digital dragon hoard of unreleased consoles. One, from the UK, promised to be delivered for less money than buying locally, alongside import fees. Well, sanity finally dawned on me. The number of pre-orders has now shrunk down to a sane two: one lustrous item for me to keep, and another to be given to a worthy friend.
It is here! Now, I may or may not have cracked a Scott Pilgrim and stood deliberately by the door in anticipation. Now, the true test of patience starts: bearing with the excruciatingly slow day-one update. In a few, very few moments, I’ll be ripping the tracks in Mario Kart World-just immediately after quitting time, of course.
Hurry up with the update!
(Kris Holt for Engadget)
* Target preorder sadness
Preorder pandemonium! Midnight madness turned into… nothing? We got the preorders, drawn in by the promise of June 11th delivery. Now? “Preparing to ship.” Have you got to be kidding me, Target? The item’s alreadyout. Did somebody drop the ball, or is this some sort of preorder purgatory? Some tea, please!
A sad Target thing.
(Lawrence Bonk for Engadget) * BREAKING NEWS: Cherlynn has acquired a Switch 2, after waiting in line at her local GameStop all morning.
Acquired.
(Cherlynn Low for Engadget)
I’ll leave it to her to provide the backstory soon. Devindra’s home studio hums with anticipation, completely set apart by the chaotic symphony of errors his night had witnessed as he raced against time to air his live YouTube podcast.
Devindra Hardawar (@devindra.bsky.social) June 4, 2025 at 10:12 PM Best Buy in Duluth was filled with expectations. here I was, a soldier in the Switch 2 launch day battle. Victory is clearly in sight – a new console. Maybe it is mine!
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* Switch 2 livestream starting soon
It’s ON!Tune in now!The dynamic duo, Sam and Devindra, are LIVE on YouTube, exposing the Nintendo Switch 2! Real-time reactions and first impressions of an entirely hands-on nature await you. Don’t miss out! (11 AM ET / 8 AM PT)
Early warning! The Switch 2 thoughts discussed by four on the Engadget Podcast shall be going on in a moment. Join the debate on YouTube live streaming, approximately 11 AM ET. Then, I’ll return soon with further exclusive insider info.
The president of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, full of enthusiasm, made a lively pre-launch speech, despite his illness causing him to lose his voice.
President of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget) *
I actually stopped by the flagship Nintendo Store in NYC last night for the launch.
The atmosphere was charged with the polarity of fame. Bowen Yang, the SNL comedic supernova, nonchalantly dropped pure nostalgia: a Nintendo DS tee. Could he HAVE been any cooler?
YouTube is a blur nowadays, a fast montage of faces. Scott the Woz did pop in. But really, I think tracking trending names is like trying to herd cats in a hurricane. I’m surely missing out on some new stars.
Yea, it was a real event between lines forming up outside of stores yesterday combined with the launch itself.
* Queuing in Canada
Steve Dent, giving us a ludicrous shot from a gaming frenzy at a GameStop in Vancouver, BC, just before the clock struck midnight. The setup? Tense, energetic anticipation; a crowd moving to grab the latest release-this is the worldwide midnight launch phenomenon. This was just one node in a network of celebrations starting worldwide.
The line right before midnight at a GameStop in Vancouver, BC.
(Steve Dent for Engadget)
Thanks for reading Nintendo Switch 2 launch: Live updates as the new console hits store shelves today
