Super Nintendo Switch + Game-Key Cards + the Switch 2’s homescreen + the Switch 2’s Joy-Cons

Some Switch 2 games will be on Game-Key Cards, which don’t come with an actual game on it:

Instead, the game-key card is your ‘key’ to downloading the full game to your system via the internet. After it’s downloaded, you can play the game by inserting the game-key card into your system and starting it up like a standard physical game card.

It sounds like this system might replace the physical Switch games that come with a code inside instead of an actual cartridge.

After years of rumors, Nintendo has finally announced a release date for the Switch 2. The long-awaited successor to the Switch will be available on June 5th for $449.99. It will be available for preorder in the US from select retailers starting on April 9th, as both a standalone console or bundled with Mario Kart World for $499.99.

As predicted, the Switch 2 features a larger 7.9-inch LCD display, with support for 1080p resolution and HDR, 256GB of built-in storage, and up to 6.5 hours of battery life. The Joy-Cons are bigger, too, and now magnetically attach to the console instead of relying on a pair of sliding rails to snap into place. They also offer mouse-like functionality with select games, and the right Joy-Con sports a “C” button, which can be used for in-game chat features, screensharing, and other actions.

The Switch 2 could’ve been the Super Nintendo Switch.

In an interview, Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto revealed why Nintendo stopped short of giving the console a name reminiscent of the Super NES:

Super NES, which came out after the NES, couldn’t play NES games. Since Switch 2 can play Switch games, it didn’t feel right to use the same naming convention as Super NES. Switch 2 is a new system with improved performance, but we’d like players who get their hands on it not to focus on the specs, but rather to think of it as the latest system developed by Nintendo.

Nintendo didn’t spend much time on the Switch 2’s UI during today’s big Direct presentation, but the company has just given us a pretty good look at the new console’s homescreen.

At the bottom of Nintendo’s webpage detailing how certain games are getting updated Switch 2 Editions, there is a small image of the Switch 2’s homescreen highlighting where the eShop icon will be located. Aside from a few minute aesthetic changes, the homescreen looks more or less like the original Switch’s. Presumably, you’ll also be able to select a darker UI option the way you can on Nintendo’s last console. There’s no word on whether the Switch 2’s UI will gain customization features like what we’ve seen on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X / Series S. But Nintendo went into great detail about the console’s specs, its new features, and how you will be able to preorder the system ahead of its June release.

In its April 2nd Direct event, Nintendo revealed a lot of the Switch 2 details we’ve been waiting for, including the console’s price ($449.99 in the US), its June 5th release date, and a slew of new games coming to it, like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. The video and details the company published after the event also helped create a more complete picture of what we should expect from the second-generation Joy-Cons that come with the system.

The new Joy-Cons look a lot like the old Joy-Cons but are about a half-inch longer and black, with color accents on the connection rails and under the analog sticks – blue on the left and a pinkish red on the right. Nintendo says they’ll be more comfortable, too. They have the same general button layout as the originals, but with a new “C” button on the right Joy-Con 2 that’s used for a Discord-like GameChat feature that lets you talk to friends using a microphone embedded in the top of the Switch 2 itself, and includes screen-sharing functionality and the ability to start streaming with the Switch 2 camera accessory Nintendo is selling separately.