We were able to test the Nintendo Switch 2 for a month. Price, catalog, hardware: we take stock of the console.
Released on June 5, the Nintendo Switch 2 causes a lot of ink. What has long been mentioned as a “switch pro” has become the official continuation of the Japanese manufacturer, so much so that Its exorbitant price of € 470 questions about its innovations. However, during its presentation to the press, we had been rather convinced by the machine and its grip, while having had a reserve on the very calibrated and controlled seduction operation of Nintendo.
But then, a month after its launch, what to think of the consolewho was sent to us by Nintendo on the occasion of this test (a transparency that seems necessary to us, especially when the tariff question is also important to take into account)?
Not so minor differences
At the first start of the Switch 2, We would almost be surprised at the so -asserted in -egg of the machine with his big sister. Once your account is entered into the console, it is possible to make a total transfer of the SWITCH 1 data to the 2 by putting them side by side. We are not only talking about games, but of all the parameters (the Wi-Fi used, these kinds of things), reinstalled through an operating system that has not really changed.
At the same time, it is difficult to blame Nintendo on this wish for continuity, which is even rather pleasant. Whether you are an occasional player who wants to quickly find his bearings or an inveterate gamer who wants to quickly plunge back into his game library, this familiarity has his good sides. Especially since from a hardware point of view, The Switch 2 displays a less discreet ditch than it seems.
Apart from the size of the console and its screen, much more pleasant (even if we regret the absence of OLED), The functioning of the Hardware of the Switch 2 would almost refer the old model to a poorly broken draft. The Joy-Con are finally pleasant to use (especially the joysticks), the system of magnets to hang them corrects the problem of the “slide” of the Switch 1, and you should no longer be satisfied with this mini piece of plastic which exceeds it on a table. We are entitled to a real crutch, accompanied by a new USB-C socket on the top of the machine (to be able to recharge it while continuing to play in this way).
To tell the truth, The Switch 2 recalls above all that the first model was a concept as innovative as it is perfectiblewhich has had its great merit and the fact of feeding the imagination of the whole industry. What if, basically, Nintendo primarily targeted this new competition, that of the Steam Deck and other Asus Rog Ally?
Admittedly, the latter are incomparable in terms of power, but the Kyoto firm has decided to roll up its sleeves, in order to offer a catalog of games which seemed hitherto inaccessible, embellished with its exclusives which make it essential to any bit of Mario or Zelda. Not sure that Cyberpunk 2077 Either “the ultimate experience” on Switch 2 (we had seen it shoot at the Grand Palais, and it was often ram), but the 24 pilots in the middle of chaos in Mario Kart World Prove that the bike has it under the hood, and that it can now centralize a sum of experiences, especially for those who no longer know where to give head.
A weak launch?
We are not really at the level of a mini-PC, and yet, The most exciting novelty in Switch 2 is its famous mouse fashion. Far from being a gadget (even if no novelty does it justice so far), it is especially of formidable precision, and activates by simple detection of the position of the controller on the edge. We had tested Metroid Prime 4 In this way, and the result was simply stunning. The air of nothing, playing Civilization VII On console with this device is suddenly much more viable.
Nevertheless, Nintendo’s strategy is not really interested in this niche, and seems initially turned towards the conquered advances, those who do not need to feel a technological gap. It is present, as long as we count the FPS as we count the sheep to sleep, but without being blatant either. Let us hear well, Mario Kart World is the expected killer app. The game is artistically sumptuous and, once accustomed to the change in dynamics of gameplay and races, difficult not to want to start tricks everywhere with your kart and to get lost in your world open to inspired level-design.
But it is alone, and does not use all the features of the machine to show its potential. The Switch 2 is above all a comfort consolewho will please those who want to restart Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with still increased fluidity (this is our case), or finally take advantage of Zelda : Breath of the Wild et Tears of the Kingdom Without disgusting aliasing and intense framerate falls. No luck, in the case of Link’s latest adventures, These updates are at a price of € 10. The practice is far from being exclusive in Nintendo, but it begins to sting, especially when, in parallel, unpublished experiences of play lack the launch of the console.
The Switch 2 encourages to curl up in its past experiences for the momentor even to bring out the credit card for a premium subscription to the online which allows access exclusively to a GameCube emulator. It is perhaps, in our case, the real “sadness” of this month of play, where we finally had more pleasure and time to immerse yourself in FZero GX (one of the best racing games in the world), Soulcalibur 2 (one of the best fighting games in the world) and Zelda : The Wind Waker (one of the best Zelda), that in the rare new features of the machine.
The biff, the moula, the caramel
And that is basically, the major problem that we must talk about. Yes, any manufacturer tries to impose an ecosystem, where each accessory or each game is supposed to appear essential in the eyes of the players. But there, The Switch 2 allows Nintendo to pass an embarrassing CAP (and not only by increasing the price of its biggest games).
Do you want to enjoy the GameChat at its full potential? So you will have to get the camera at € 60 (although other USB-C webcams operate a priori). Do you want the pro controller or the gamecube controller in addition? Count between 70 and 90 €. Do you especially take your dematerialized games? We will have to invest in an SD card more than ever (and only some models are compatible). You were waiting for a little free game to discover the features of the console at the Astro’s Playroom ? No luck, you will have to be satisfied with this vacation notebook made “video games” (the quotes are important) that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tourand for which you will still have to go back to the checkout (10 € all the same).
This little drop of water that overflows the vase is in itself far from harmless. Beyond the total playful disinterest of this false technical guide filled with a handful of boring mini-games like death, it is quite indecent to see Nintendo in this way on the slightest day, while a commercial gesture would have been more than welcome in view of the poverty of the catalog at its launch.
Rather than opening up to a new potential fringe of public, the manufacturer knows that he can rest on those acquired to his cause, and who will have no problem paying, again and again. Sadly, This approach serves the real technical added value of the Switch 2which is felt and promises the best for its future blockbusters once in your hands (we think of The Duskbloodsor to the potential of a new 3D Mario).
But it would be omitted that the console is far from being impeccable (its battery which falls in the harbor after 2 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.), and that it comes out in a context of generalized economic crisis, where it becomes complicated to accept such a gap between a commercial strategy and the reality of our daily lives, which makes our entertainment more inaccessible than ever.
