It's Finally Time to Get a Switch 2
A steady release schedule, software improvements and unexpected hits are making the case to upgrade clearer.
Everything Else Got More Expensive
Even as a day-one Switch 2 owner, I found it pretty hard to recommend the console to anyone who already owned a Switch. My reservations were never really about the hardware itself. It was more about what you were paying for that hardware relative to what else was on the market. But over the past month or so, I’ve found myself reaching for the Switch 2 more than I ever have before, and I think the calculus has finally shifted.
The Switch 2 is still available at its launch price, which now makes it a considerably better deal against competing PC handhelds than it was at release, many of which have been rendered unavailable or unaffordable by the RAM-pocolypse. Nintendo’s pricing strategy around individual games still raises eyebrows, but on a hardware level, the value proposition is legitimately strong. We’ve even seen third-party titles like Resident Evil where the Switch 2 can go toe-to-toe with PC handhelds on a performance basis, thanks to Nvidia’s DLSS technology. That’s not nothing.
A Launch Lineup That Left People Waiting
Of course, most people buying a Switch 2 aren’t primarily there for third-party ports — and this is where the early months felt a little thin. Mario Kart World was a solid system seller, but for many it didn’t quite hit the highs of previous entries in the series. Donkey Kong Bananza looked like a consolation prize on paper, a game most people hadn’t been asking for, until they actually played it and found it genuinely impressive. Even so, it wasn’t the kind of title that carries a console for the better part of a year.
Things filled in gradually. A new Metroid arrived, Animal Crossing received a substantial update, and both felt like genuine service to fans of those franchises. But they were additions rather than arguments. We were left asking where Nintendo’s big showcase titles were — and honestly, most of us were sleeping on Pokopia.
The Game Nobody Saw Coming
Let’s have it right: the first time I saw Pokétopia teased, I assumed it was a cash grab. Throw a Pokémon skin over Animal Crossing, call it a day, collect the money. As it turns out, I was completely wrong. Pokopia is by far the best game on the Switch 2, and it’s every bit the system seller the launch lineup was missing.
I’ve put just over 50 hours into the main game — building environments, exploring, settling into its rhythms — and then gave myself a deliberate breather. But this is a game where some players will log thousands of hours without blinking.
But as someone who sank over 400 hours into team-building and online battles in Sword and Shield, Pokémon champions is the game I’ve really been waiting for. The appeal of a dedicated competitive Pokémon platform that allows you to build teams and experiment without grinding through a mainline game first — is genuinely exciting to me.
A lot of the criticism aimed at Champions reflects something broader: Pokémon has become such an enormous franchise that no single game can speak to everyone. The re-release of Fire Red and Leaf Green landed for a different audience; Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s battle system made its own case for the direction many fans want Game Freak to head. However, it may prove impossible to commit to that vision in mainline games without branching off the official VGC format into a game like Champions. In any case, there’s now genuinely something for every Pokémon fan on Switch 2.
Your Old Games Got Better Too
One aspect of the Switch 2’s recent evolution that doesn’t get enough attention is what Nintendo has done for the back catalogue. A significant operating system update shipped recently, bringing features like Handheld Boost Mode — which runs original Switch games in handheld mode at the same performance settings they used when docked on the original hardware. For games like Fire Emblem: Engage, this is a meaningful upgrade, and it quietly fixes a lot of the inexplicable jank that crept into certain titles when running on Switch 2 at launch.
It’s the kind of update that doesn’t make headlines but genuinely improves the experience of owning the console day to day.
The Case Is Now Clear
The Switch 2 that exists today is a substantially more compelling proposition than the one that launched. It’s been built up through incremental system improvements, a slow but steady stream of quality releases, and a couple of genuine surprise hits — Pokopia chief among them. A healthy accessory ecosystem is starting to take shape around it too, which is always a good sign for a console finding its footing.
If you’ve been sitting on the fence, the wait has done you a favour. The library is stronger, the software is more polished, and the value case is clearer than it’s ever been. I’d say it’s finally time.