Today has been one of the best days of the year for gamers as Nintendo finally pulled back the curtain on the Switch 2. As exciting as the hour-long presentation was, not every revelation was a positive one. In fact, some of the surprises from the Nintendo Direct were met with confusion and frustration from fans of the video game company.
From the price hike for Switch 2 games to the missing Mario game, there were a few ways that Nintendo let us down on Wednesday, which we’ll discuss below.
Nintendo Switch 2 game prices
The biggest surprise on Wednesday had nothing to do with hardware. Mario Kart World, which arrives alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5, will cost $80. Nintendo also announced that another Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, Donkey Kong Bananza, will cost $70 when it launches on July 17. Games for the Switch typically cost $60. Those days are over.
The list of incompatible Switch games
A vast majority of Switch games are playable on the Switch 2, but there are several exceptions. There’s a page on Nintendo’s website listing all of the Switch games that aren’t supported on or fully compatible with the Switch 2. Thankfully, the only OG Switch game that will probably never be playable on the Switch 2 is the Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit, as the Switch 2 just can’t fit in the Toy-Con VR Goggles accessory.
That said, there are dozens of games that struggle to start up on the Switch 2 or have in-game compatibility issues. Some of the notable games with start up issues include Dead by Daylight, Doom Eternal, NBA 2K25, Nobody Saves the World, Rocket League, Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, Warframe, and World of Tanks Blitz.
The good news is that Nintendo is continuing to work on improving compatibility.
We could have had a Super Nintendo Switch
I don’t mind the Nintendo Switch 2’s name, but it’s not exactly creative. As it turns out, the next-gen console almost had a significantly more memorable name.
“There were a lot of ideas for the name, and we really struggled to find the right one,” Nintendo producer Kouichi Kawamoto revealed in an Ask the Developer Q&A about the new console. “We even considered ideas like “Super Nintendo Switch.” However, Super NES, which came out after the NES, couldn’t play NES games. Since Switch 2 can play Switch games, it didn’t feel right to use the same naming convention as Super NES.”
Where’s the next 3D Mario game?
As a massive fan of Donkey Kong 64 and Kirby Air Ride, I was beyond ecstatic to learn Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders are both launching this year. That said, I am also somewhat surprised that we didn’t even get a glimpse of a new 3D Mario.
It’s been nearly eight years since Super Mario Odyssey launched for the Switch, and we know just as much about its successor now as we did eight years ago: Nothing. Again, I’m pleased as punch with the launch lineup for the Switch 2, but how much longer are we going to have to wait for another full-fledged, 3D Mario adventure?
No big changes to the Switch 2 UI
In case you didn’t notice, we never saw the Switch 2 home screen during the Nintendo Direct on Wednesday, but there’s a single shot of it on Nintendo’s website. As you can see above, the new home screen is all but identical to the Switch home screen.
The biggest differences look to be rounded edges on the game icons and the longer list of apps and settings in the menu bar. Other than that, it’s basically indistinguishable from the Switch UI. There’s nothing wrong with the Switch UI, but it is relatively bland compared to its competitors, and it would have been nice to see a bit more zing this time around.
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour should be free
If you are new to gaming or just want to make sure you know how to use your new console, it is always nice when a game or demo is included to show you the ropes, such as Astro’s Playroom on the PS5. Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which will be available on June 5, is Nintendo’s version of that idea, but with one key difference: It costs money.
While I’m interested in playing the minigames and interactive demos that Welcome Tour seems to offer, I absolutely won’t be paying for the privilege to do so.
