Nintendo finally unveiled its next big console, the Nintendo Switch 2, releasing on June 5. The Switch 2 provides the same hybrid-handheld design that made the Switch a revolutionary success, but with more processing power, bigger storage, and what appears to be nearly full backwards compatibility with the Switch’s impressive library of games.
But 2025 is a different gaming landscape than 2017, when the original Nintendo Switch debuted.
In the home console space, the PlayStation 5 has found enormous success with its solid state drive and near-zero load times. And Valve entered the handheld gaming market with the Steam Deck in 2022, leveraging the the most beloved digital gaming store and the gigantic PC gaming market.
Can the Switch 2 become another success story for Nintendo, or will its too-close-for-comfort design and strong competitors reek of the sales failure that was the Wii U?
The Specs
The Switch 2 is powered by a “custom Nvidia processor,” and features a 7.9 inch LCD screen. The handheld mode can now handle 1080p resolution, with HDR10 support and a refresh rate of up to 120 frames per second.
Storage has been greatly expanded to 256 GB (up from the paltry 32 GB of the original Switch), with support for microSD Express cards up to 2 TB.
The lithium battery life is estimated between 2 and 6.5 hours, which is worse than the 4 – 9 hours of the original Switch.
The Switch 2 also includes a new C button that operates the new GameShare menu, letting players use voice chat, screen sharing, and webcam (via the Switch 2 camera, sold separately).
Meanwhile the Steam Deck features a screen size between 7 and 7.4 inches, depending on the model, and resolution up to 1280 x 800. Refresh rates range from 60-90, with battery life between 2 and 12 hours.
The Switch 2’s storage size is the same as the 256 GB LCD model, but the Steam Deck offers double and quadruple the storage for its bigger models. The larger models also feature the richer OLED screen.
Nintendo released a special OLED Model Switch with a 7 inch screen in 2021, but an OLED Switch 2 model has not been announced.
Of course, the Switch 2 includes the dock, transforming the handheld into a home console. When used with the dock and a compatible TV, the Switch 2 supports 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, or up to 120 frames per second at 1440p.
The Steam Deck also has a dock (and “Steam Deck Dock” is fun to say), but it’s sold separately ($79.99). While docked, the Steam Deck also supports 4K at 60fps, or up to 120fps at 1440p.
The Switch 2 offers an interesting twist with the detachable Joy-Con controllers, supporting motion controls through gyrosensors, and turning the handheld controls into a regular console controller with the grip. New with the Switch 2 are mouse-like controls, by sliding the Joy-Con 2 on a surface.
The Steam Deck’s controls are not detachable, requiring an external controller if used with the dock. But the Steam Deck features thumbsticks and trackpads for different control options.
The Price
Many gamers are suffering sticker shock after the Switch 2’s pricing was revealed, or more specifically, the first party game pricing.
The Switch 2 will retail at $449, which includes the Joy-Con 2, grip, charging cable, and dock. A bundle with Mario Kart World will retail for $499.99. [Recent tariffs may impact the price for US customers. Nintendo has paused pre-orders as a result].
The bundle is a relatively good deal, because Nintendo buried the lede on Switch 2 game pricing. Mario Kart World, a Switch 2 exclusive, will be sold separately for $79.99, a major jump from the previous generation of games which only recently began exploring a $69.99 price tag. Even upgraded Switch titles such as Super Mario Party Jamboree and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are for $79.99 for the Switch 2.
This pricing is not necessarily consistent, however, as other first-party games are “only” listed at $69.99. But it’s an eye-opening start to a new generation of Nintendo games.
The Steam Deck offers several different models and price ranges.
The cheapest Steam Deck is $399, which is also the closest to the Switch 2: a 7 inch LCD screen, 256 GB storage, and comparable battery life. For more, you can shell out for the $549 edition, which includes a 512 GB SSD storage, a 7.4 inch OLED screen with up to 90hz refresh rate, and a slightly bigger battery. Or there’s the massive $649 model, which doubles the storage to 1 TB, and includes anti-glare etched glass screen.
All the Steam Deck bundles also include a carrying case. Resolution also the same across each model: 1280 x 800, which the Switch 2 beats out.
The biggest advantage to the Steam Deck is its massive library of games, and their price. It’s no secret that Steam offers the deepest and most frequent discounts of any digital store. A patient gamer can build up a full library of games for very little cost, whereas first-party Nintendo games are infamously almost never discounted.
The Games
Steam has exploded over the years, and now features over 100,000 games, from idle clickers to experimental indie games to the latest AAA cinematic adventures. For sheer quantity, nothing comes close.
Plus, almost every game comes to PC/Steam. Even Sony, one of the last holdouts to console exclusivity, has finally been releasing games on Steam, from Marvel’s Spider-Man to Horizon Forbidden West.
One can always make the argument that having a decently-powerful PC, or simply owning a Steam Deck (which supports most modern Steam games), can easily replace the need for a PlayStation or Xbox console.
But then there’s Nintendo.
Nintendo’s innovation with consoles is only a part of their winning formula. The other part has always been first-party games. The Legend of Zelda. Super Mario. Mario Kart. Super Smash Bros. Kirby. Splatoon. Pokémon.
Nintendo makes good, high-quality, vastly replayable games, and they always have. And those games are only ever available on a Nintendo console. If you want to play Mario Kart World, you simply must own a Switch 2 (or know someone who does!).
Though sometimes the strength of a console’s library isn’t the end-all. The Wii U had plenty of amazing games, from Super Mario Maker to Yoshi’s Woolly World and Xenoblade Chronicles X, and still suffered from only 13 million in sales (worse than 2001 GameCube, and landing somewhere around the PlayStation Vita).
Conversely, the Steam Deck, despite its advantages in the PC market and huge library of games, has failed to capture the mass-gaming market. Sure, it has “dominated handheld PC gaming,” but that wasn’t exactly a competitive niche to begin with.
Using what little data Valve has shared, along with research analysts, puts the Steam Deck somewhere around 4 million units sold over the last three years. That’s around the same amount as the NES Classic Edition. A trifle, though it’s important to state the Valve doesn’t need the Steam Deck to still rake in profits from Steam and PC gaming. Nintendo needs a successful console.
After the lackluster Wii U era, Nintendo bounced back in a big way with the Switch. Its incredibly unique design took full advantage of the company’s popular handheld consoles. The Switch continued excellent game series such as Zelda, Mario, and Pokémon, and provided a special haven for playing countless indie games on-the-go.
Bolstered by the handheld-only Switch Lite, and then the sharper OLED Model, the Switch’s popularity has been undeniable in its near decade-run. To date, the aging console has sold over 150 million copies, just shy of the GOAT PlayStation 2 at around 160 million.
The Switch 2 has a lot to live up to. The gaming industry is stronger when Nintendo is successful, but a more tumultuous economy and stronger competition makes the anticipated console anything but a surefire hit.
