Nintendo Switch 2 launches in June with new Mario Kart World game
[April 03, 2025]
By RYAN KRYSKA
NEW YORK (AP) — Nintendo has announced a June 5 launch date and $449.99
price tag for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will
introduce interactive chat and screenshare functions to connect gamers.
In its 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation on Wednesday, the company
revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch 2, a larger screen and
several games that will launch with the console.
Central to its updated system is a new “C” button on its Joy-Con
controller, which will launch a “GameChat” feature that requires a
subscription to Nintendo's Switch online service. It allows players to
“communicate with friends and family while playing a game,” and lets
them share their game screen with others. A built-in microphone will
also allow chatting with other gamers.
“When you think about some of the biggest titles on (the Nintendo
Switch), it’s like Mario Kart, Super Mario Jamboree, even though that’s
quite a new title, has cracked the top 10 of most played games on the
console. So, it does make a lot of sense that the sort of headline
feature is geared primarily towards that sort of use," said Hannah
Cowton-Barnes, a London-based video game industry expert for Tech
Advisor.
Perhaps the most contemporary function yet for the Switch 2 is the
ability to use the Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse. The
developer displayed multiple ways to use the new function, such as
angling a club in a golf game.
The new portable console features a 7.9 inch LCD screen that displays in
1080p. Nintendo also revealed in the live stream that, when docked, the
system will be able to support 4K resolution for compatible games.
The presentation started with an extended look at Mario Kart World — the
console's launch bundle game — which adds a bit of flair to the series
with a knockout game mode and the ability to grind on rails
skateboard-style while racing.
The developer also unveiled a new James Bond game, dubbed Project 007,
again revisiting the classic Nintendo 64 console hit revered by many
first-person shooter fans.
Nintendo also announced two more Switch 2 exclusives featuring its
marquee characters. Donkey Kong Bananza, a 3D adventure with the big ape
punching his way through a huge underground world, arrives July 17.
Kirby Air Riders, a racing game from the director of the Super Smash
Bros. series, is due later in the year.
Third-party exclusives likely to create some buzz include Koei-Tecmo’s
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, a hack-and-slash prequel to The
Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, coming this winter. From
Software’s The Duskbloods, a baroque multiplayer title from the creators
of Elden Ring, is scheduled for 2026.
Miss the GameCube? Nintendo said Switch Online subscribers will be able
to access a limited selection of GameCube titles such as The Legend of
Zelda: Wind Waker and F-Zero GX.
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A man walks by a Nintendo Switch display at an electronics retail
chain store in Tokyo, on Oct. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara,
File)
 The new console will be backwards
compatible — able to play physical and digital Switch games — but
users will need to purchase a microSD express memory card for the
Switch 2. The presentation revealed that normal microSD cards will
not be compatible with the system. However, data from the original
Switch can be transferred to the new console.
The Switch 2's launch price is significantly higher than the
original Switch’s $299 price tag. A separate bundle that includes
the new Mario Kart game will also be available for $499.99.
The Trump administration’s tariffs have hit the video game console
industry at a fragile moment, said Joost van Dreunen, author of “One
Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video
Games."
“At the beginning of a new hardware cycle, all of a sudden we’re
looking at this price hike,” said van Dreunen, a games industry
researcher. “I had originally predicted that the Switch 2 would be
$400. Now it’s announced that it’s $450. That $50 difference is a
Trump tax."
The tariffs, he said, impact games hardware because console devices
are manufactured and shipped from China and that region at large.
The early stages of a hardware life cycle are already very low
margin, or usually a loss for hardware manufacturers, van Dreunen
said. Those manufacturers typically eat the margin in order to get
the devices out to stores.
“But with an increased tariff, that means that margin is probably
even worse than it historically is. But their hands are kind of
tied. They can’t not progress. They can’t not launch a new hardware
generation. So for the consumer base, people are just going to pay
more.”
Nintendo plans to host “Switch 2 Experience” events in several
countries, where gamers can get a hands-on experience with the new
system. Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New
York, London and Paris beginning this month.
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Associated Press reporters Sarah Parvini in Los Angeles and Lou
Kesten in Washington contributed to this report.
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