Rumors about the Nintendo Switch 2 have been around for years, I’m not telling you anything. Some YouTube channels have even made it their specialty, with a video at the slightest osef rumor and we might as well tell you that we were stuffed to the point of nausea. Except that here, things are accelerating and we have more than concrete elements. For what ? Already because 2025 is the marketing date of this Nintendo Switch 2, the usual code name given to it as long as Nintendo has not made anything official. So what we know is that the console will be released this year and what we also know is that the announcement is imminent. And you know why we risk knowing everything in the coming weeks? Quite simply, because all the hardware is leaking from manufacturing plants in China. It’s time to take stock of what was leaked during these Christmas holidays and you will see that it is not a revolution that awaits us with this Nintendo Switch 2, but an evolution. And this is undoubtedly Nintendo’s best move to maintain its supremacy…
In March 2025, it will be 8 years since the Nintendo Switch arrived. Eight years is a long time, especially in terms of technical developments and we are not going to be surprised, but with an architecture as obsolete as that of the Nintendo Switch, which has approximately the same power as a PS3 , it’s high time for Nintendo to update. But before taking a look at the leaked Nintendo Switch 2 specs, thanks in particular to a photo of the motherboard, let’s take a look at these Joycons which ended up on the Internet this weekend and which prove that the reveal of the console is imminent. It all starts with these two stolen photos which first appeared on the Chinese forum Baidu Tieba, then shared en masse on Reddit, then Twitter. These images may not show the front of the Joy-Con, but rather the edge and the back of the accessory, which will give us some very interesting information. At first glance, in terms of design, no big changes, we are really looking at an evolution of the Nintendo Switch controller. Certainly these Joy-Con appear larger but the first thing that appeals to us is the choice of the two colors. The controller has a matte black outer shell, while the inner rail sports a sky blue tint.
Other elements that are of interest: the presence of 3 buttons and a sort of connector. The two buttons located at the top and bottom of the Joy-Con would serve as magnetic clips, which means that we would be dealing with two magnets to replace the sliding mechanism of the first Nintendo Switch, which guarantees a more intuitive experience for hook and unhook the Joy-Cons from the Switch 2 screen. A choice which could also significantly improve the lifespan of the Joy-Cons, by reducing the risk of mechanical wear. The 3rd button is none other than the pairing button which allows you to synchronize the Joy-Cons with the console. No, where Nintendo will try to innovate is in this connection which seems to be an optical mouse sensor. This innovation should transform the controller into a real mouse, allowing unprecedented precision in shooting games, strategy games or possibly in a new Super Mario Maker for example. The Joy-Con could thus be used directly on a flat surface, like a mouse, offering players an ergonomic alternative to traditional controls. If this feature turns out to be official, there is no doubt that Nintendo will find innovative ways to exploit it.
Of course, many wonder about the authenticity of these Joy-cons, especially in the era of 3D printing and this is not the first time that users have managed to deceive people by making people believe in leaks. . There is, however, one element that will reinforce the credibility of these images, it is the serial number that we see on one of the Joy-Cons which was returned and recognized as valid by the Nintendo database. Enough to prove the accuracy of these new generation Joy-Cons.
The Nintendo Switch 2 therefore appears to be a natural evolution of the first console, with a refined design, a larger size and above all increased power. What emerges from the rumors and the indiscretions of the manufacturers already exposed is that Nintendo will not go into the field of revolution as was the first Nintendo Switch. With an installed base of 150 million machines sold, it is out of the question for Nintendo to deprive itself of its audience and the announcement of backward compatibility between the first Switch and the Switch 2 last November clearly proves that Nintendo is not going to try the devil by going into absolute change. The same machine but more powerful, with additional features, that’s all the public is asking for and that’s what the competition has been doing for decades, especially since Nintendo refuses to relive the industrial accident of its Wii U , sold 13 million copies worldwide in 5 years of existence. And these new Joy-Cons perfectly illustrate this approach: significant technical innovation, refined design, but respect for the fundamentals that made the first Switch successful.
But it’s not just the Joy-Cons that have leaked in recent days, the motherboard too and from what we can see on the Internet, it’s a motherboard equipped with an Nvidia SoC with the inscription ” SNW8VF”. Why are these photos ultra credible? Because in the video game industry, Nintendo is Nvidia’s one and only partner on a portable console format, but also because this chip number does not correspond to anything on the market, other than a chip manufactured by Samsung in 8 nm with the Ampere architecture, that is to say the equivalent of the GeForce RTX 3000. And you know, offering two generations of graphics cards late, since Nvidia is about to launch its GeForce RTX 5000, that looks a lot like the Nintendo we know, always more comfortable with well-mastered technologies than launching into the frantic race of technological overkill.
And then something that is not misleading is that we can clearly distinguish a card reader, or rather cartridge reader, specific to the Nintendo Switch. And since it is a question of backward compatibility, this means that we can put the cartridges of the Switch 1 in the port of the Switch 2. The reverse is not possible, however, since it is said that the cartridges of the Switch 2 would have an additional tab to prevent them from entering the first console. Besides, we should expect improvement patches for Swich games on the Switch 2, a bit of what PlayStation and Xbox are already doing with their respective machines and that’s very cool. Last element found in these photos: the presence of two USB-C ports. This has been part of the rumors around the Switch 2 for a while, and the Switch 2 would keep its USB-C port for the dock under the console, but would also offer a second port on the top of the machine to be able to charge it when it is placed on a desk.
For the Nintendo Switch 2 screen, no OLED screen but an 8-inch LCD screen, we’ve known that for a while now. A surprising choice at a time when OLED dominates the market, but also because that the latest model offers OLED, but this strategy will allow Nintendo to reduce its costs for the launch of its Switch 2, and offer a more expensive premium OLED version within a few years. In exchange, the Nintendo Switch 2 will obviously experience a technical boost, with an 8-core processor and the presence of NVIDIA DLSS technologies to offer 4K upscaling. Broadly speaking, the Switch 2 would be 4 times more powerful than the first Switch of the name, and for comparison, it would be the equivalent of a PS4 Pro. However, you should expect upscaled 4K with 30 frames per second in docked mode and 1080p in portable version. Obviously compared to what is offered with the PS5 and the Xbox Series, it’s disappointing, but we know Nintendo, power is not an end in itself.
Concerning the dock of this Switch 2, it would be more rounded in its design, but would retain the same connections as the Switch OLED. Rumors announce the presence of a fan that would cool the Switch 2, since with 4K support, the machine could heat up more.
According to rumors, it is said that the game that would accompany the launch of the Switch 2 would be Mario Kart 9, a game capable of moving crowds and boosting sales of the console. Because it’s already been 11 years since the game was released, first on Wii U and then adapted for Switch in 2017 and at this point, more than 75 million copies have been sold since its release in 2014 It’s a system-seller and if Nintendo releases Mario Kart 9 at the same time as the Switch 2, it’s a hit. It now remains to be known the release date of this Switch 2, which could potentially arrive at the end of March 2025, at the end of Nintendo’s fiscal year, something which had been announced by Nintendo itself, which means that the announcement is truly imminent. The price is also to be defined: less than €400? Within €500? Will Nintendo stay at a family price or increase its prices like other manufacturers? There are still a lot of unanswered questions, and we’ll know very soon, that’s for sure!
