In most ways, Nintendo’s Switch 2 is exactly what we wanted: a Switch, only better. Nintendo has an occasional tendency to follow its best and most successful consoles with some of its weirdest ideas – Wii U, anyone? — but this time seems to have stayed the course in the best way. Still, this is Nintendo, so there are a few oddities in this console.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk about all the best and worst things about the Switch so far. (I should say: one of the very worst things is that its pre-orders have been delayed because of the Trump administration’s tariffs, and there’s a strong chance it’s going to be even more expensive than we think. We recorded episode before a lot of the tariff stuff went down, but that’s surely the worst news of the lot.) The Verge’s Ash Parrish, one of the few people who has actually played with the new console, tells us all about her experience. We dig into how the screen looks, whether Donkey Kong Bananza can be a generational game like Breath of the Wild was, the strange feeling of the mouse controls, the big emphasis on video chat, and much more.
Finally, we answer a question on the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about whether Trump’s tariffs should change your buying habits. As always with this administration, it’s tough to know what’s real and what isn’t. But all signs point to things getting more expensive — and in some cases, potentially hard to find at any price. If you’ve been eyeing an upgrade, it might be time to hit the button.
Oh, before we go, please vote for The Vergecast in the Webby Awards! Thanks so much to everyone who voted already, but there’s still a few weeks left, and we really want to win this thing. Your votes are the only thing that count, so let’s do this together!
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
