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Forums - Nintendo - Switch 2 - First Impressions

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So, I brought a Switch 2 at launch and wanted to give my first impressions on the system.

Alot of people are complaining about the cost of the system because i guess they are solely looking at raw performance numbers, but the Switch 2 is more than just a Powerful handheld. 

UNBOXING

Unboxing the Switch 2 you will find it very similar to unpack and set up. You get the 1x Tablet, 1x Dock, 2x Wrist Straps, 2x Joy Cons 2, 1x Joy Cons 2 Handle and the booklets. 

PLUGGING IT IN / BUILD QUALITY

Plugging it in is simple and nothing special. You can transfer all your data from the Switch 1 to the Switch 2 wirelessly which was pretty neat. Now everything about the Switch 2 has been improved, even the Wrist straps have changed. One thing i notice with the Switch 2 is the build quality. It feels nice and solid. The plastic feels nice, the screen looks great, and the Joy Cons 2 have been slightly increased in size to help people with bigger hands like me. I even brought the new Switch 2 Pro Controller, and it is probably the best console controller I have held in my hands in terms of comfort features; it feels amazing in the hands. I also brought the Switch 2 Camera which works as intended, quality is decent, but it is what is it, a fancy Webcam. I don't have any complaints with the quality of the products Nintendo have built here. 

PLAYING GAMES

I have brought only 2 games for the Switch 2 so far, the Welcome Tour and Mario Kart World.

1) Welcome Tour: This game is abit of a mix bag and it's understandable as to why. It's not really a video game. Welcome Tour is an education game, it teaches you all the ins and outs of the Switch 2 and its controllers and features and let me tell you, I was interesting. You learn so much about the Switch 2, from how they added a fan into the Dock to the HD Rumble 2 to the Mouse controls which is mainly what most of the game challenges use. I give the Welcome tour a 5/10. Its average, its great if you really have time to learn the internals and there is a lot of knowledge about the system here, as it explains almost everything, even showing you cool playable demos like how HDR works. However, my biggest gripe is that this game should have been bundled, it's not really worth the sales price and Nintendo missed a good opportunity with having this game built in, so all Switch 2 owners have the chance to learn about the Switch 2 and how it all was put together. 5/10

2) Mario Kart World: Now let's get into the real meat of the Switch 2. MKW is definitely a different game to MK8 and its all for the better. Bigger racetracks, more kart racers (24) compared to MK8 (12) which means the game can get a little hectic when everyone is bunched up together. The visuals are a huge improvement over MK8 in almost every way, granted Mario Kart has a very good art style, so you will really notice it when you see it in motion and in person. They have also included a new Campaign mode called Knockout Tour which they merge all the tracks in one of the regular championship cups and make 1 big racetrack and the first to the end wins, which is very neat. They also included a Free Roam mode which is basically a hub world where you drive around finding hidden items, collect coins and just explore, basically this Hub world is Forza Horizon. I give MKW a 9/10. It's what you would expect from a Mario Kart game and is a must own for any Switch 2 owner. 9/10

CONCLUSION

I really enjoy the Switch 2; it offers amazing features and has improved upon the Switch 1 in almost every way. The new Mouse Feature works well, the HD Rumble 2 is good, the Controllers feel better, and the System produces decent visuals. It's slightly on the expensive side but for the build quality and the amount of improvements it brings, I'd say it's worth it. 

Last edited by Azzanation - on 13 June 2025

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Azzanation said:

1) Welcome Tour: ...However, my biggest gripe is that this game should have been bundled, it's not really worth the sales price and Nintendo missed a good opportunity with having this game built in...

Honestly I'm amazed you all are actually paying the $10 for Welcome Tour. Seems like pretty much everyone agreed it was absurd for Nintendo to charge money for this "game" instead of it being a pack-in, but some people, like yourself, are still buying it only to find out what everyone already knew: yes indeed it should have been free and is not worth paying any money for. Like, I dunno, maybe when you spend $500+ to buy a system you don't care about wasting an extra $10?

Everything about the Switch 2 looks awesome...except of course the horrible pricing strategy, which Welcome Tour is a part of. Buying Welcome Tour is just telling Nintendo that yes indeed that can get away with anything they want and consumers will still hand over money.



Slownenberg said:

Honestly I'm amazed you all are actually paying the $10 for Welcome Tour. Seems like pretty much everyone agreed it was absurd for Nintendo to charge money for this "game" instead of it being a pack-in, but some people, like yourself, are still buying it only to find out what everyone already knew: yes indeed it should have been free and is not worth paying any money for. Like, I dunno, maybe when you spend $500+ to buy a system you don't care about wasting an extra $10?

Everything about the Switch 2 looks awesome...except of course the horrible pricing strategy, which Welcome Tour is a part of. Buying Welcome Tour is just telling Nintendo that yes indeed that can get away with anything they want and consumers will still hand over money.

That's exactly why Nintendo doesn't care about complaints on the internet. They know that the people who complain do it for the sake of putting on a show for how unforgiving they are when a company supposedly charges too much. "I am fighting for consumer rights!" - Sure, sure.

You will also be a good boy and buy a Switch 2, if you haven't done so already. It might just be that you are still putting on a show, unlike others who have already admitted that they caved.



Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.

Slownenberg said:
Azzanation said:

1) Welcome Tour: ...However, my biggest gripe is that this game should have been bundled, it's not really worth the sales price and Nintendo missed a good opportunity with having this game built in...

Honestly I'm amazed you all are actually paying the $10 for Welcome Tour. Seems like pretty much everyone agreed it was absurd for Nintendo to charge money for this "game" instead of it being a pack-in, but some people, like yourself, are still buying it only to find out what everyone already knew: yes indeed it should have been free and is not worth paying any money for. Like, I dunno, maybe when you spend $500+ to buy a system you don't care about wasting an extra $10?

Everything about the Switch 2 looks awesome...except of course the horrible pricing strategy, which Welcome Tour is a part of. Buying Welcome Tour is just telling Nintendo that yes indeed that can get away with anything they want and consumers will still hand over money.

When you are spending this kind of money and not having not many new games to play built for the system, $10 isn't going to affect you that much. I brought it because I was curious, and it gave me another game that wasn't Mario Kart World. I also make my own personal judgements, having my own hands-on experience is better than relying on someone else's opinion, because someone else's opinion is not your opinion.



My first thought was that the screen was much bigger than I was expecting. I really like that I can still use the Switch pro controller. It's very much just an upgraded switch, which is kind of boring but not a surprise.

What I was surprised by is how well the mouse actually works. There isn't much support for the mouse mode, so I've only used it for the mini games in welcome tour and for a single round of Fortnite, but it really feels how it should. I have a friend with a 3D printer and I'm going to ask him to print a mouse casing for the new joycon, which should hopefully make it a little more comfortable.

Overall I'm happy with the purchase so far. Mostly been replaying the Switch 2 version of BOTW since it's been so long.



I like it when my mom goes out of town because I get to sleep on her side of the bed. -William Montgomery

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SuperJortendo said:

My first thought was that the screen was much bigger than I was expecting. I really like that I can still use the Switch pro controller. It's very much just an upgraded switch, which is kind of boring but not a surprise.

What I was surprised by is how well the mouse actually works. There isn't much support for the mouse mode, so I've only used it for the mini games in welcome tour and for a single round of Fortnite, but it really feels how it should. I have a friend with a 3D printer and I'm going to ask him to print a mouse casing for the new joycon, which should hopefully make it a little more comfortable.

Overall I'm happy with the purchase so far. Mostly been replaying the Switch 2 version of BOTW since it's been so long.

Glad you are enjoying it also. The Switch was filled with a vast majority of amazing games and to be able to play them again with improvements is amazing. I redownloaded Splatoon 3 and it received a free update, nothing really noticeable in MP however the Hub world going from 30fps to 60fps is a welcomed improvement and stops the jankyness from going into from 30, to 60 back to 30 etc.

I did get the upgrades to BOTW and TOTK and will visit them again when I get the chance.



Just got mine today, doing the system transfer now!



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

RolStoppable said:
Slownenberg said:

Honestly I'm amazed you all are actually paying the $10 for Welcome Tour. Seems like pretty much everyone agreed it was absurd for Nintendo to charge money for this "game" instead of it being a pack-in, but some people, like yourself, are still buying it only to find out what everyone already knew: yes indeed it should have been free and is not worth paying any money for. Like, I dunno, maybe when you spend $500+ to buy a system you don't care about wasting an extra $10?

Everything about the Switch 2 looks awesome...except of course the horrible pricing strategy, which Welcome Tour is a part of. Buying Welcome Tour is just telling Nintendo that yes indeed that can get away with anything they want and consumers will still hand over money.

That's exactly why Nintendo doesn't care about complaints on the internet. They know that the people who complain do it for the sake of putting on a show for how unforgiving they are when a company supposedly charges too much. "I am fighting for consumer rights!" - Sure, sure.

You will also be a good boy and buy a Switch 2, if you haven't done so already. It might just be that you are still putting on a show, unlike others who have already admitted that they caved.

I don't know what the original poster was complaining about but if it's a show Nintendo want I'll give it to them and never cave until those prices come down (And they won't) not even for a bigger, more expansive and intricate Fire Emblem Three Houses game and I know for a solid fact that that large majority of the people who bought the Switch are or will be forced into not being able to cave cause they just won't be able to afford it, it'll be Nintendo caving and lowering prices on games when all is said and done, if and when the economies of the world stabilise after the flood. 



My impressions are:

* Great build quality, no creaks and issues like the OG Switch.
- Let down by a garbage display and continued Joycon drift issues.

* Decent hardware upgrades, better CPU, better GPU, more and faster Ram, better Wifi.
- Should have come with slightly more Ram to let the hardware breathe. I.E. 16GB.
- Short battery life. She is a power hog.

* Overpriced games and accessories.
- Hardware cost can be reduced by selling/trading your Switch 1 console thanks to Backwards compatibility.

* Retains physical media.
- Majority of 3rd party releases are crappy "code in a box" of "Game key cards" and not a proper physical release.
- SD Express support, much faster than standard SD cards.



--::{PC Gaming Master Race}::--

I feel like the screen issue is one of those things that almost nobody would ever notice without it being told to them.

If it weren’t for sites like digital foundry then probably like the 99% of people would have no clue that the screen is slow or whatever (I’ve been gaming my whole life and I didn’t even know screens had a speed until Switch 2).

It’s one of those things that only a small number of hardcore tech enthusiasts care about or can even notice.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.