I've been following this launch with interest as I held off buying a Switch OLED late in its cycle. I couldn't be happier, a knew more powerful Switch with access to a back catalogue of thousands of games as well as future releases. My last Nintendo console was the original Wii that I recently sold on here.It will be a lunch purchase for me.

Currently have an OLED and partner has OG switch, this is definately a must purchase this year for me. I don't think I'll get it on release so I'm happy to hear about the hardware reviews and save some coin for later in the year.

One thing I'm interested in is the battery life and performance of switch 1 games, I have a huge catalog.

I'm expecting the microSD Express to be a must have, I don't think you find one in NZ yet though..

Starting to have doubts about the Switch 2 now. The more I look into it the more I think its going to be too big to be a true hybrid console. It's going to be pretty close to the Steam Deck in size. The perfect device would probably be the components of the Switch 2 stuffed inside the body of the current gen. Switch OLED.

If a local retailer put together a bundle like this one from Target AU on the current Switch OLED I would be very tempted.

Switch OLED Bundle

Any further thoughts on the Switch 2 after yesterday's announcement. Here are my inital thoughts.

• Hardware design and internals I think they've done well to make it a good incremental update to the original switch. The price is higher than most people were predicting but not surprisingly so. We seem to have done quite well compared to the US and European pricing which is unusual for a tech launch
• I think the real miss-step in pricing is on the software side.

   

  • $80 USD for a first gen launch game
  • Paid upgrades for Switch 2 enhanced games when most other consoles provided many free upgrades from previous gen
  • And probably the worst, a paid tutorial game! What were they thinking?

As someone who never bought into the original Switch system I'm still keen on it but I can understand why current Switch owners are feeling a little unloved.

I've got the original Switch and I won't be rushing out to buy the Switch 2 at launch. The bump in performance was what most people wanted and got, but I don't tend to play the sort of games that require great performance. In fact I don't play many Nintendo games at all (I think I own just the one), I'm mostly third-party and indie games. Sure the new Mario Kart looks very impressive, but it's all too manic for me, too much happening at once, how can anyone keep up with all that (mind you I'm edging close to 60 so that might be a factor).

The new chat system doesn't interest me, as I never play online against other people.

The new mouse system also doesn't interest me, as all of my gaming is done sitting on the sofa and I can't imagine using a mouse in this situation (sure you could get a lap table or something, but I'm usually lounging back when I play).

The backwards compatibility seems a bit iffy. Nintendo have said that for the Switch 2 they totally redesigned it from the ground up and it shares no common hardware with the Switch 1. So to run Switch 1 games they have some sort of hybrid system where some of it is done in hardware and some in software. It's not exactly emulation but something close to it. See here for some info on how it works. Nintendo have said that they're busy making a list of games that work fine, that start but then have issues, or that don't start at all. Games with start-up issues include Doom: Eternal, Fortnite, Plants vs Zombies, Wolfenstein II (I just picked a few of the more well known games). I find this very disappointing as I expected to be able to play all my old games.

I'll be waiting to see how things pan out in the first year. Maybe after that, if I can be sure that BC has improved and I can play my old favourite games, and if there's a few new Switch 2-only games that I'd like to play, then I might consider getting one.

No OLED no buy. So I'll be waiting on that revision. I'm pretty disappointed, the games don't look that much better than OG Switch ones either. 

I bought an OLED switch late last year so won't be rushing out to get the Switch 2, but will likely pick it up at some point. I do 99% of my gaming on the TV so no OLED is fine for me, 4K is what I am after. 

Interesting note on their website, if you have a Nintendo Online subscription (which I do), you will get the upgraded BOTW and TOTK for free if you already own those games. Wonder if it will cover any others. 

I'd really like a new Nintendo Switch Sports, as some of the best games on the Wii were Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. The current offering is ok, but limited in sport selection. 

There has been some chat about Call of Duty and other 3rd party games so will wait to see what appears. 

nunasdream:

 

No OLED no buy. So I'll be waiting on that revision. I'm pretty disappointed, the games don't look that much better than OG Switch ones either. 

 

That is weird. My youngest is Switch-mad and has been salivating about the new one despite not having the money for it yet - and to think they’re not offering it with an OLED, which I imagine would put him off. He had already replaced his first gen with the OLED primarily due to the LCD.

It’s not like OLEDs are the only way of getting a decent image - the screen on the iPad Pro I’m typing this on is a good example of this - but, man, that LCD on the original Switch was not such a case…

Reviews I've seen show the LCD is very good. I've pre-ordered one anyway. 

lxsw20:

 

Reviews I've seen show the LCD is very good. I've pre-ordered one anyway. 

 

Yeah I've read a few reviews saying that while the Switch 2 only has an LCD screen and not OLED, the Switch 2's screen is much better than the original Switch's screen. People that previously said "no OLED, no buy" were changing their minds after seeing the new screen.

Not an issue for me as I play 100% docked.

I have shipping notifications from Mighty Ape for the extra controller but not the console. I hope I'm wrong but the way things are going with mighty ape recently I'm 50/50 if ill see a day one delivery. 

Received tracking notifications from JB Hi-Fi for both MK bundle and pro controller today, so all looking good for release day delivery. Rather impressed, as have had launches previously where they only lodged the item on release day. They also offered last week to change to in-store collection, for those who wanted greater certainty. 

Any first thoughts from those who picked one up? I managed to score one as a walk-in to a local JB HiFi here on the Gold Coast yesterday. I wasn’t able to pre-order due to my travel plans but all the information said they would be plentiful on launch day so I was cautiously optimistic I wouldn’t miss out. 

I’ve only had a short play so far as I’m here to visit family not play games. But first impressions are pretty good so far. The only real down side so far is battery life but I guess that’s the compromise with such a powerful hand held console.