Nintendo Switch 2 - First Impressions

Earlier this month, I was lucky to get my hands on a new gaming console on launch day proper. Unlike the PS5, which launched in the heart of a pandemic forbidding folks from entering in stores to pick up a console, I was able to enter a store and purchase the Nintendo Switch 2, even without a pre-order. Now naturally, it's too early in this console's lifespan to see if it's a worthy generational leap forward from the original Nintendo Switch. But I can at least give my thoughts on the console and my experience with it thus far.

Without hesitation, the best improvement with this console over its predecessor is the transfer process of the Joy-Con controllers themselves. The original Switch was no doubt a revolutionary piece of hardware with what it was capable of doing. However, putting the Joy-Cons back on the portable tablet was always a rigged one-way process with an easy chance for screw-ups. When I first saw the magnetized Joy-Cons in the Nintendo Direct back in April, I could tell it would be a huge upgrade. As expected, the new Joy-Cons are just as good as I thought.

This makes transitioning from tablet to TV much easier and more durable. You've also got increased storage from roughly 20 GB on the Switch 1 to 250 GB on the Switch 2. The interface on the menus is largely unchanged from the Switch 1. I tested out each game from my Switch 1 library and they all worked fine. I'll admit the save transfer process didn't work like I thought it would. But rather than spend more money on a memory card I'm not sure I'll need yet, I decided to start fresh on all my games, including "Roller Coaster Tycoon Classic".

So if you get the Switch 2 and want to transfer your Switch 1 data over to that console, prepare for the process to be more difficult than you might be led to believe. I'll admit that during its lifespan, I haven't used the Switch 1 as much as I did the PS4 or PS5, because I largely didn't have as many obligations as I do now with the pets at my house. As my downtime is more restricted on account of giving Peanut attention and making sure he and Oreo get along, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Switch 2 is easily going to be put to more use.

If for nothing else, the Switch 2 is mostly backwards compatible with the Switch 1 library, which is quite extensive. There are games that have been reported to not work on the system or aren't working as properly. "Rocket League" was the most notable culprit on the lists Nintendo released for said games and it's a shame. I hope Nintendo works on getting some games like that patched and optimized for their new console. Then there's the game key card controversy or lack of cartridges in some "physical" Switch 2 games.

I wanted to play "Split Fiction" and "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4" on the Switch 2. But when I learned they're not coming in a physical cartridge like I've been led to believe, there goes any incentive to play said games on this console. I think that's my biggest concern about the Switch 2 at the moment. It's less with the console itself and more with the business practices, granted. It's a legitimate quip though as this reliance on online codes is far from ideal. Especially when you consider that the codes and thus the games require internet connection.

A few weeks after the console's launch, I brought my Switch 2 with me on my week long camping trip to test out what it's capable of. Needless to say, it performed better than I expected with the two games I brought on the trip. But both games were of course physical cartridges, not online downloads. And since I practically got little to no reception up in the mountains, I have a horrible feeling those digital games won't be able to work on such excursions. The Switch 2 is a triumph in what it's intended to be: the next iteration of the Switch.

It improves on many technical aspects and gives quality of life improvements that go a long way in justifying lenghty playtime. The main question that will be on everyone's mind, especially me, is this. Can Nintendo give the majority of its players what they want to justify the retail price at launch? Or will the concerns I've outlined in this article interfere with the success of the Switch 2? Hopefully, my first impressions will be enough for Nintendo to see to reason on that front. Meanwhile, I'll be multitasking between petsitting and...well, playtime.