Is it because of the Switch 2 hardware that things will take longer?

Keep in mind - This is the first genuine, honest-to-God generational hardware leap Nintendo has made since the Wii to Wii U/DS to 3DS. While the Switch has some notable upgrades and advancements over the Wii U - The two systems were practically the same in terms of power and scale.
And it's just been the trend of the entire industry where as the consoles get beefier, the longer the development cycles take - Especially for AAA titles. Look no further than GTA VI, which just got delayed... Again.

Hardware is one thing but you also have to factor in architecture as well, how coding and calculations work under it when creating assets for the platform, Nintendo also tend to use their own inhouse engines as well which are likely in the early stages of platform optimization.

I could care less about Grand Theft Asshole VI. The average GTA protagonists are even less likable than Ganondorf.

Also, part of that leap is higher resolution support. I think every single Nintendo published Switch 2 game runs 1080p at least. More games support 60FPS as well. 

The Kirby Air Riders online test is live this weekend, anyone else give it a go?

I did and I am quite enjoying it.

It feels like a modernized version of the game Air Ride should have been. I believe the game had some major development issues, and I am glad Sakurai got to make the game he wanted. Really curious to try out the story mode which seems like an Air Ride Roguelike.

Yeah I enjoyed it a lot too; I didn't play much as I don't want to spoil it before launch day, but the style and game feel were impeccable.

I never played the original as I didn't have a Gamecube back in the day, but this I like.

No Kirby Air Riders for me today. I was focused on Astro’s Rescue Mission…which, let me just say, if you haven’t played this game before, wow!! I cannot recommend it enough. As a diehard Nintendo fan, even I would say this game ranks among the greatest 3D platformers ever created. Much more impressed by this than I was Astro Bot (2024), which felt like a lesser version of 3D Mario.

(Granted, I’ve never played VR before… so maybe that’s why I’m so overwhelmed right now. This was legitimately one of the greatest gaming experiences I’ve ever had.)

I played last night, did all the tutorial, raced all 3 available tracks, then went on the online mode and had some fun, then went back to Dragon Quest remake because that's my current addiction.