Nintendo let us try out a bunch of modes in Mario Kart World last week — and playing in a race of 24 characters I got my butt whooped.
I’m looking forward to just driving streets in Free Roam mode, though.
With the game getting an update this week for the launch of the Switch 2, the Nintendo Music app has added 344 tracks from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom including the game’s main theme and opening. Listen to the entire playlist and you’ll be 11 hours and 43 minutes closer to the Switch 2’s release.
Producer Kosuke Yabuki talks about what went into building the Nintendo Switch 2 launch title.
In a video posted by Nintendo, Huang highlights some of the capabilities brought to the Switch 2 through its custom Nvidia chip:
It brings together three breakthroughs: the most advanced graphics ever in a mobile device, full hardware ray-tracing, high dynamic range for brighter highlights and deeper shadows, and an architecture that supports backward compatibility.
Huang adds that the chip also offers “dedicated AI processors to sharpen and enhance gameplay in real time.”
Tariffs, cheaper alternatives, and a relative lack of innovation are all factors that could slow the console down.
Mechanism has teased its first Switch 2 accessory coming this summer. The company, which made its name with the Deckmate accessory ecosystem for Steam Deck and other handhelds, has unveiled the Basegrip Plus case.
It works with its vast ecosystem of platform-agnostic attachments, but contains swappable parts that only work on the Basegrip Plus, from rear plates to bigger Joy-Con 2 grips. Some of them will be available as free 3D files, if you want to print them out yourself.
It won’t move to production until it verifies that the Switch 2 actually fits in it, a cautious mindset that I respect (one that many accessory companies aren’t bothering with). One thing to note is that the case won’t fit in the dock at launch, but Mechanism plans to create an adapter.
Following updates to the Nintendo Switch App and the Nintendo Today app, the Nintendo Music app has also been updated and now features a new sleep timer for those wanting to drift off to their favorite soundtrack.
A small crescent moon icon appearing in the lower right corner of the app’s interface while playing a track or playlist can be tapped to open a menu with timer options ranging from 5 minutes to 60 minutes.
While the next big Pokémon game won’t be releasing until later this year, Nintendo’s Japanese site says that we can expect to see Scarlet and Violet getting their long-awaited patches that will improve the games’ frame rates, visuals, and draw distances on June 5 just in time for the Switch 2’s big debut.
For now, the console is still stuck with basic light and basic dark modes, according to a setup and menu walkthrough that was posted on YouTube but has since been removed. The walkthrough otherwise didn’t show much that Nintendo hasn’t shared itself, but it was an interesting preview of what to expect when the Switch 2 launches on June 5th.
Update: the video was pulled.
Staples is a place you might go if you need office supplies without waiting for a (likely cheaper) online delivery. Unexpectedly, it’s also where you might just be able to buy a Nintendo Switch 2 on launch day, June 5th. The company has shared a list of participating stores across the US offering the console on a first come, first served basis, and it’ll limit customers to one per day.
What other brick-and-mortar retailer selling the Switch 2 can let you scoop up both a console and a roll of bubble wrap at once?
Will things change for the Switch 2?
With photos of retailers getting Switch 2 inventory in ahead of the console’s launch next week, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Somebody got a Switch 2, and posted a brief unboxing video of it on YouTube.
In the comment section, the poster, Ali Almarzooqi, mentioned that the console does not work yet as it needs an update and he will be waiting until June 5th to play it with the rest of us. Update May 27th: Aaaaand the video’s been pulled.
Despite similar art styles and narrative elements, this ain’t ya mama’s Danganronpa.
Nintendo just updated its Switch Online subscription service with a nice mix of four retro handheld titles: the survival game Survival Kids, sci-fi shooter Gradius: Interstellar Assault, puzzler Kirby’s Star Stacker, and RPG The Sword of Hope.
PowerA recently debuted its first Switch 2 gamepad, a wired one with Hall effect joysticks (no rumble, motion controls, or Amiibo support, though) that costs $39.99. It’s available to preorder at Best Buy, launching June 9th. PowerA’s model seems like a better value than Hori’s, which will cost $10 more.
We haven’t yet heard from some other major third-party players on Switch 2 plans yet, including 8BitDo, GameSir, or GuliKit. But with two weeks until the Switch 2 launches, I’m expecting a deluge of announcements soon.
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Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Alolan era is set to continue with Extradimensional Crisis, a new expansion featuring the (technically not legendary) pokémon known as Ultra Beasts. Following the set’s launch on May 29th, there will also be new Drop, Wonder Pick, and Mass Outbreak events running throughout June to help add even more beasties to your collection.
Following the addition of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe scenes (what Nintendo calls its alarm clock’s wake up experiences) last December, Alarmo is getting another free update with a collection of seven new Animal Crossing: New Horizons scenes. Samples of the new alarm sounds are available on Nintendo’s Japanese site and include Isabelle doing morning exercises and K.K. Slider singing the game’s theme song.
Universal is opening its latest theme park expansion in Orlando today, which includes the third iteration of Super Nintendo Land, following locations in Osaka and Los Angeles. The park comes at a busy time for Nintendo, which is just about to launch the Switch 2 — but it’s also part of a larger plan to turn it into more than a games company.
Storage and component company PNY announced that its 128GB and 256GB microSD Express cards for Switch 2 are now shipping, costing $44.99 and $55.99, respectively. Its lineup brings the same PCIe 3.0 spec as the other microSD Express cards out there (blowing regular microSD cards out of the water when it comes to speed).
Let’s hope that PNY launches a 1TB model soon, because the Switch 2’s 256GB of built-in storage can only carry a handful of AAA games.
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Nintendo showed off the sound design of the Switch 2 this morning in its Nintendo Today app. There’s definitely some of the original Switch’s vibe here, but speaking for myself, a few of these are going to take some getting used to.
Check it out in the Reddit post below.
The original Switch included a feature for finding missing Joy-Con controllers through vibration, but if they were buried under couch cushions, or lost somewhere with a lot of noise, it was difficult to hear. That feature is being carried over to the Switch 2, but as demonstrated in the Nintendo Today app, the new Joy-Cons now vibrate and make a pulsing beep sound, potentially making them much easier to locate.
The console version of the Killer Instinct 2 arcade game, called Killer Instinct Gold when it launched on the N64 in 1996, has been added to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. The arcade version of the game used pre-rendered clips for backgrounds of various stages, but the N64 version replaced them with fully 3D environments that moved more realistically with the game’s camera. The fighters themselves, however, remained 2D animations.
