I had no intention of buying a Switch 2. Not only did it feel overpriced with overpriced games, there were some other things that rubbed me the wrong way as well. But the biggest reason I wasn't going to buy one is that I barely have time to play my OG Switch and Xbox Series S as it is. Why buy something new to give me even more I won't have time for?

But then it came to pass through a series of events that I acquired one anyway...

   
I've been jotting down notes for the past couple weeks as I run across things...

• Availability, like for all new systems, is shit. To Nintendo's credit, they did try to keep the scalping down. The problem is that they did a horrible job of it. IF you had an active Nintendo Online membership for a year or more AND you've had 50 hours of gameplay on that account by April 2nd AND you have data-sharing with Nintendo on... you could register for an invitation to purchase a system. But here's the thing: Nintendo doesn't tell you if you qualify! You could sign up and wait it out, all the while wondering if they think you know you qualify. But the simple fact is that you just don't know. I signed up for an invitation even though I had no intention on buying a unit, I know that I'm qualified, and can see that I made the request, but... nothing. Is that because I overlooked something? Who knows? As of this writing Nintendo still hasn't send me an invitation. Not a big deal, I just thought maybe somebody I knew could use it if they wanted one.
• The unit itself is very, very nice. It's thin. It has a large display. The controllers are magnetic and oh-so-satisfying to attach/detach. The menu system is essentially the same as the previous version... which is to say that it's excellent. If I have a complaint, it's that it's not the most ergonomic thing to hold. Your hands cramp after a bit. But, for the most part? Nice.
• The setup, which seems simple on the surface, was kinda a hassle for me. For reasons unknown, it kept having connection issues. But it locks up rather than allow you to fix your settings or enter new ones, so I had to wait for it to time-out multiple times then fail before I was able to register and transfer stuff from my old Switch. Also? I tried to use my favorite USB-C charger, which works perfectly fine on an OG Switch... but I wasn't allowed to use it during initial setup. I had to use the official charger for some reason. No idea if it's a wattage issue, but it was silly given that my S2 had nearly a full charge. After setup my favorite charger works fine.
• One of the things that made me think the S2 is overpriced is that the screen isn't OLED. What the fuck, Nintendo?!? Also... there's a "screen protector" pre-installed on the display. Except not really. It's actually just a plastic film of some kind on the display to keep a shattered screen from spitting glass everywhere. No, you'll still have to add a screen protector to protect not only the screen, but to also protect the film on the screen. This kinda pisses me off. Why not just have the unit come with a protector already on it? I mean a real one. It would add pennies to the cost. Oh well. Fortunately modern screen protectors are fairly cheap and dead-simple to align and install thanks to most having a placement tray attached. I paid $9 for a two pack of scratch-resistant tempered glass, and it was quick, easy, and looks better than having my S2 go naked.
• That being said, the display is a huge step up from the first generation OG Switch screen. I can actually read the tiny text while playing No Man's Sky now.
• Another thing that made me think the S2 is overpriced is the pathetic amount of storage. You get 256GB. Yes, that's 8× what you got in the OG Switch... but that was eight years ago. Games are so much larger now. Which is to say that you'll likely be having to shell out a chunk of money for a pricey microSD Express card. A "regular" microSD card won't work. To double your storage with an additional 256GB will cost you $60. Whereas if Nintendo would have just shipped with 512GB standard, it would have only added around $10 to the purchase price.
• Nintendo has never shipped state-of-the-art hardware. They usually have mid-to-low range specs and rely on having clever games to compel people to purchase their stuff. This time, however, it feels like they went more high end. The unit feels snappy and modern. Graphics are quite good. Load times are decent. No, it's not going to blow the doors off the competition... but it does feel closer to the other options out there.
• I'm just going to put this out there... not a lot of games out there at launch. Yes, Mario Cart World is a terrific IP launch title (with a few caveats) but there's no Mario or Kirby or other strong Nintendo IP available yet. The next one to come out is Donkey Kong Bananza on July 17th, and it looks great. But come on. The good news is that Nintendo has updated a few OG Switch titles for S2. I got a free update for my copy of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker which updates the visuals, for example. But other updates, like for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom are $10 each if you want the updated visuals and such (though I think Nintendo Online subscribers can get it for free?). That's not the same as a new game.
• That being said... some 3rd party publishers are offering upgrades to their games for S2. The one that got me most excited was Hello Games' No Man's Sky. They were already pushing the OG Switch to its limits to give a darn good version of the game... but the FREE update for S2 is next level. The game is gorgeous. And it's on parity with other platforms in a way that the OG Switch was never going to be. I could write an entire post about how much I love this game... and how much more I love it now... but suffice to say if you haven't played it, you owe it to yourself to give it a go.
• My favorite video game ever since it was released is Minecraft Dungeons. There's been no upgrade made available for S2, but it's a much better experience because load times are better. Alas, the game is locked to the OG Switch's 30fps, so without an update we're not going to see 60fps. That's a darn shame, because I would love to see that on a handheld.
• I got the bundle which came with a digital copy of Mario Cart World. I don't know that I'd say the game is perfect, but it is fun to play and there's so many little brilliant details to be had. I have spent hours just driving around everywhere and seeing stuff in the "world." I haven't even done many races yet, and I still like it. I just wish the races I had played would let you run a classic three-lap race around the track you choose like all the other Mario Cart games, but that's not yet allowed for some inexplicable reason. There's a bunch of other bizarre choices made as well... mostly having to do with the fact that there's no "unreal environment" options to be had. So ultimately I just don't know if it's going to have the replay value of, say, Mario Cart 8. Hopefully Nintendo will have some DLC to shore up the game to make it truly great.
• Nintendo stirred up a lot of controversy with their "Game-Key Cards." These are cartridges which don't actually include any game data... just a license to download the game. Nintendo claims this is a way to sell games on cartridges that are too big for cartridges. Meaning you have to fill up your precious storage space even though you bought a cartridge. But why can't they put at least some of the data on the cartridge so downloads are smaller? I think this is fucking bullshit. I prefer to buy cartridges because I don't have to worry about games I buy disappearing online... don't have to fill up all my storage space... and can play immediately instead of having to wait for a download. The only time I buy games online is when they are on sale for a very good price. Ultimately I see no purpose to Game-Key Cards when you can just buy it online.
• I bought no less than three console grips for my OG Switch. But once I found the Skull & Co. GripCase, I never looked back. It made the console so much more comfortable to play un-docked. Unfortunately, they didn't make that for the Switch 2, so I had to look elsewhere. I was going to go with the Dbrand KillSwitch 2, but it's not a single piece. It's got separate covers for the Joy-Con controllers, which I never want to take off. I always play with them attached and want a grip that keeps everything together. So I ordered a Satisfye ZenGrip 2, which is on back-order until August. I really, really hope I love it as much as the GripCase, because S2 (like the OG Switch) is hand-cramping to play without a grip.
• Battery life feels like a step down from OG Switch, but is probably on-par with other handheld consoles of this class. This wasn't surprising. What is surprising is how fast the battery drains when S2 is not being used. Fully charged on a Monday... fully depleted when I returned from vacation on Saturday and wanted to play.
• The included charger is... okay?... and it does improve on the old version because the cable can be separated from the power brick. I hate it when a cable gets damaged but there's nothing you can do except replace the entire thing instead of replacing just the cable. I haven't timed anything but it seems as though charging on the dock is faster than plugging directly into the S2.
• HDR displayed on the console is darn nice. But trying to get a good HDR image on my television is a complete mess. Probably because my TV doesn't have HGiG support? Adjusting the image with the configuration setup tool results in an image that does not look good. Everything is washed out and ugly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong... but that's on Nintendo... not on me, because I'm merely following their on-screen instructions. I swear that television manufacturers are intentionally screwing up HDR implementation, because I have yet to find a television that does it perfectly out of the gate. And Nintendo isn't doing anything to help out.
• S2 accessories are ridiculously expensive... and just got a price bump thanks to new tariffs. The Pro Controller, which I would like to have because it has programmable buttons under the ZL and ZR triggers, jumped from $80 to $85. Insanity. This is a $50 accessory, maximum. Good thing the OG Switch Pro Controller I already own can be used. Even though it doesn't have the programmable buttons and better sticks/buttons.
• I'm going to wrap things up by talking about the thing that bothers me the absolute most about the S2... it's that the Welcome Tour app costs $10. Yep, the "game" that tells you all about the $450 or $499 console you just bought costs an additional $10. Which is really shitty when you consider that the Nintendo Wii came bundled with Wii Sports, containing actual games, at no cost. This is a shit-bag, greedy, money-grab that is absolutely asinine. And the more I think about it the madder I get, so I guess I'm done now.

And there you have it. No idea how much longer I'll hold onto the thing, but I suppose that I'll buy a few overpriced next-gen games just to see what it's like.

Since the unit is here already.