Blog #02 - The New Super Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo just announced the Switch 2, and I realised quickly that I have thoughts about this and I need to write them somewhere. Thankfully, I have this dear site in which to do such ponderance.

The Nintendo Switch 2

All of those tech leaks seem to be true. The Nintendo Switch 2 itself is an iteration on the old Switch, a bit bigger, new joy cons that lock into the system using magnets, Nintendo really want to show you that the sticks are different - maybe they won't drift this time? A rumour thrown around is that the joycon functions as a mouse, in the video it does slide around on its side, so this could be a possibility. Most importantly, it is backwards compatible with the majority of games. Questions I still have are - what the hell is the C-Button for? And is the screen OLED or LED?

Mario Kart after 8

The crew look a little different, sorta like they do in Super Mario Wonder. Donkey Kong is probably the most striking, he looks like a mix between the Arcade original and Illumination’s movie version, 24 racers on a giant track looks crazy, I would eat at a Yoshi themed Wendy's (which only just opened here for the first time since the 80's

In addition, Christa Lee on Bluesky links Mario Kart to Famicom Grand Prix II 3D Hot Rally, Toad is basically riding the same car. It's a nifty detail which leads me to unrealistic expectations about Excite Truck or Stunt Race FX dreams, maybe a mission mode like DS. OKAY I'll stop now.

I’m a sicko, while everyone was dunking on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC, I was stoked to see the Mario Kart Tour tracks were getting a second life and that my favourites were getting inventive interpretations based on their Tour versions - see Kalimari Desert’s branching paths and raised ramps.I’m likely to run through each Mario Kart game in anticipation - maybe acquaint myself with Double Dash better, I've spent the least amount of time with that game.

And... back to The Switch 2

While I sorta miss the handheld style of Nintendo consoles in terms of size factor and weight, but this looks to be in line with Steam Decks and whatever other types of these hybrid consoles exist today.

My price guess is that it’ll probably be $400 USD, which means nothing to me. The Australian dollar on the other hand is quite weak at the moment - my initial gauge is $650 which seems rich, I’m leaning towards $600 AUD based on guesswork based on OLED Switch and PS5 Slim Digital Edition retail prices. $600 slots in comfortably between these.

I’m excited by the prospect of a new Switch. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be purchasing it day 1, I've still got some catch-up with recent games such as Super Mario Wonder and Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, maybe I'll jump in when Nintendo package Mario Kart 9 with it or a sleek revision is teased. It's exciting nonetheless.

Onto Site Updates

I'm drafting one or two articles - Ape Escape 2 is the first game I've beaten this year and it's been drafted, still experimenting with editing screen capture to be aestherically pleasing. I'm conscious about space, but the images don't seem too big and I can omit or delete some later. I also plan on writing a monthly updated Music column about my favourite new release album of that month.

I think I've pinned down the format of the site, you can see this page uses a sleek as Nintendo Switch inspired background, while others use Yellow or Green - I've basically generated a tonne of different schemes to experiment with. Thank you Irony Machine for the Rhombile generator.