After a trade war delayed pre-orders, the Nintendo Switch 2 finally debuted worldwide on Thursday.
Fans across the country waited in line for days or even weeks for their chance to buy the console, which boasts a bigger screen, robust social features and detachable controllers that can also act like computer mice.
"I really love the new design of it," says Jacey Adler, an influencer who attended a midnight release event in New York City. "You can play with friends too, and the ability to not just have gaming be a solo experience but be able to see and talk to your friends while you play is such a cool aspect of the Switch 2."
Other attendees had more mixed reactions to the new features.
"I was using the mouse mode and the mouse felt very sensitive," says Simone De Rochefort, a video creator for the online outlet Polygon. "I was having a lot of trouble with my little spaceship that was flying around, trying to dodge spiky balls — that was a little tough for me."
But the Switch 2's novel controllers weren't the real star of the show.
That honor goes to Mario Kart World, the latest installment in a series that has sold millions of copies since the 1990s. This time, the game presents a vast world to freely explore alongside the usual Grand Prix competitions.
Even a racing defeat at the release event didn't dampen Bowen Yang's enthusiasm for the new Mario Kart Game.
"Look, I did my best, I don't know that I picked the best stats for my vehicle," said the Saturday Night Live cast member, "But that was the perfect amuse bouche for what will surely be a thrilling time in the knockout rounds. So I can't wait to experience that from the comfort of my home with my friends or enemies."
While the Switch 2 has been selling out at retailers, some gamers blanched at its cost: $449, which is significantly higher than the $299 launch price of the original Switch.
"The first batch of sales will all go to the diehard fans, and they're price elastic," says Joost van Dreunen, adjunct assistant professor at New York University's Stern School of Business and CEO of the data firm Aldora. "They don't really care what it costs."
The Switch 2 will likely be scarce for months to come, even during the holiday shopping season. But Nintendo's most significant challenge may be convincing its own users to upgrade.
"The Nintendo Switch 2 has really been designed from the ground up to be a modern machine and so under the hood is way more processing power, way more memory," says Nate Bihldorff, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of product development and publishing. "And so the gameplay opportunities that it can create and the graphical capabilities of it are an order of magnitude over the original Nintendo Switch."
But van Dreunen thinks many existing customers, like himself, will need more convincing.
"I'm a huge fan and I'm happy to wait a little bit," says van Dreunen. "I'll get it when I'm ready for it."
Nintendo projects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles by the end of the fiscal year in March 2026.
But it remains to be seen whether the Switch 2 will come close to the record-breaking 150 million units that the original Switch sold.
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