So, busy week in the world of video games, huh? The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally launched and landed in the hands of gamers around the world, eight years after the first Switch revolutionized gaming. The Switch 2 isn’t quite as revolutionary, with Nintendo opting to make an upgrade of its predecessor rather than completely overhaul what might end up being the best-selling console ever. Still, that isn’t stopping plenty of OG Switch owners from wanting to get their sweaty palms on the latest shiny new toy (raises hand).
But do we need it right now? Probably not.
It’s easy to get swept up in the hype surrounding a new console launch and everything that comes with it. Walmart sent snacks with some Switch 2s! Everyone’s playing as Cow in Mario Kart World! Cyberpunk 2077 is somehow launching better on a Nintendo platform than it did on PlayStation and Xbox five years ago! Yet, once the excitement surrounding its launch settles down, the Nintendo Switch 2 will be left with something of a disappointing launch line-up. There’s no must-buy system seller like the first Switch had in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
But what about Mario Kart World?
The Switch 2 has Mario Kart World launching with it, but people have been racing in and enjoying Mario Kart 8 for over a decade now (did you know it originally launched on the Wii U? Wild) and there’s no reason to expect Mario Kart World won’t have a similar runway ahead of it. You’ll have plenty of time to eat mushrooms in the future, when there are more reasons (games) to justify picking up a Switch 2.
Now, what’s deemed a “system seller” is going to be different for everyone, of course. Mario Kart World might be your system seller, and I understand why — great party game and, seriously, Cow? Love it. If Pokémon Legends: Z-A was announced as a Switch 2 exclusive, this would be a completely different story; I’d be opening a Switch 2 now and praying it didn’t have a staple in it. Yet, the game I’m most looking forward to will also be playable on my Switch OLED, so here we are. Sorry, Donkey Kong Bananza, your exclusivity isn’t swaying me in ways a hypothetical Pokémon exclusivity could.
The real draw of the Switch 2, currently, is its role as a port machine for all the games the original Switch couldn’t run. I have no doubt pew-pewing on the go in Star Wars Outlaws will be fun on the Switch 2, and Split Fiction feels like the perfect match for Nintendo’s general vibe. But if you’re a multiplatform gamer, chances are you’ve either played those games or elected not to check them out on your PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series.
All of this is to say nothing about how adopting a console at launch is, in a way, opting in to be something of a beta tester while any bugs get squashed — especially considering the press wasn’t given pre-release consoles or games to review. Mario Kart World could have sucked, for all we knew! (It doesn’t, and actually kinda sounds like it rules. But still. The principle.)
As you stave off the FOMO, just remind yourself the Switch 2 will be here for years to come and, in time, will likely be easier to purchase than PS5s and Xbox Series Xs were deep into their launch cycles. Whether it eventually gets cheaper remains to be seen, owing to the general uncertainty of the world economy and the ongoing US tariff situation, but a $450 price tag is steep enough as is. Plus, holding out on a Switch 2 and its future exclusives will give you all the more opportunity to tackle your never-ending backlog. So, remember to enjoy what you already have, because the shine of that shiny new toy will wear off eventually.