A console is growing up – Diepresse.com

Now it doesn’t take long. The Switch 2 will be officially available in a few weeks. « Die Presse am Sonntag » was able to try out the new Nintendo console in Berlin, which, in contrast to its predecessor of eight years ago, has a significantly adult. But not just that.

While President Donald Trump’s current customs policy in the United States ensures uncertainties in the price, the Nintendo Switch 2 will definitely be launched for 470 euros. That is more than your predecessor by 100 euros. Measured by the fact that the console also offers a lot more performance, this is an acceptable price increase.

What is new?

The hybrid console is slightly larger with a screen diagonal of 7.9 inches. Nintendo has also said goodbye to the blue-red design. Reminiscences on the Steamdeck cannot be discussed away. The switch, which is kept in matt black, only looks much grown up. The design is chic and especially the fact that the Joy-Cons are now docked magnetically, knows how to convince. Because if you haven’t hooked off the small controllers at least once at the old switch, you can call yourself a magician.

Even though the exhibited consoles in Berlin were equipped with fixed joy cons, it was possible to guess in the demo stations that the magnets are balanced, which is why it cannot be assumed that they can be loosened too easily. They are also larger and are better in the hand. Overall, the processing is convincing.

In « Metroid Prime 4: Beyond » it was possible to try out how the Joy-Cons are used as a mouse. There is a problem here and there because you sometimes have to change, but that’s probably only a matter of practice. The parallels to a PC shooter are wanted. This results in another game set-up with the hybrid console.

The special thing about the Switch has always been that it can be used mobile or just on the television (connected to the docking station). With a good and large mouse pad, the Switch 2 also competes PC games. The improved hardware makes it possible. The Nintendo handheld weighs almost half a kilogram. Compared to the predecessor, it has increased by almost 136 grams.

The LCD screen (Nintendo has dispensed with OLED despite already existing model) offers a resolution of 1080p and, which is probably its greatest advantage, a screen repetition rate of 120 frames per second (also referred to as FPS). But not every game offers this quick refreshration.

Battery, memory – joy and suffering

The battery capacity could be better and reminds of the very first version. Nintendo speaks of up to 6.5 hours of perseverance. But the first tests show that graphically elaborate games such as Cyberpunk 2077 (which celebrates the Switch 2 entry into the Nintendo universe) will rather offer a maximum of two hours of enthusiasm. The memory has been increased by measly 32 gigabytes to 256 gigabytes. This is more than necessary eight years after the release. But: MicroSD cards are no longer compatible. MicroSD express cards are required. In everything, the Switch 2 is a worthy successor. A reasonable device, without a big frills.