Nearly a decade after the original Switch came out, and following years of fans’ pining for a major upgrade to Nintendo’s wildly popular portable gaming platform, the Switch 2 is here. It’s already June 5—the console’s official launch date—in some parts of the world, and a day-one update with “important features and updates” is now live. People are finally starting to go hands-on with games like Mario Kart World, while others prepare for midnight launch parties in their respective time zones.
Unlike all of Nintendo’s previous consoles, the Switch 2 arrives without any reviews or extensive testing from media or content creators. With the exception of two preview events, the highly anticipated console is going out into the world fresh for everyone. Officially, Nintendo blamed that outcome on the need for a last-minute day-one update, VGC reported yesterday. That had kept even leakers who got the hardware ahead of launch from being able to actually play any games on it, including older Switch 1 cartridges.
With the update now live, people have been able to start installing firmware version 20.1.1. It unlocks some of the Switch 2’s most important features, including GameChat and access to the Nintendo eShop, Switch Online, virtual game cards, and the controversial game key cards that don’t actually contain the game. As a result, early players in New Zealand and other places have started sharing pictures online of the Switch 2 downloading new games like Mario Kart World while everyone else patiently waits for the clock to strike midnight in their region.
Here’s what the new eShop looks like, for example. After years of stuttering on the old console, it actually seems to run smoothly (for now):
A day-one patch is also live for the open-world racing sequel launch title. Mario Kart World 1.1.0 adds support for Camera Play, online multiplayer, and the ability to upload and download time trial ghosts. More importantly, it looks like Nintendo made some last-minute tuning adjustments as well. “We’ve increased the number of characters that can be selected from the start,” reads one of the patch notes. “The time limit for deciding on a course has been removed when playing Locally or LAN,” reads another.
For those interested in what’s actually going on inside the Switch 2, someone’s already uploaded a complete teardown of the new hardware. ProModding’s surgery on the console has already raised some important questions, like why is Nintendo hiding so many screws underneath hard-to-replace stickers on the side of the console?
For anyone who doesn’t already have the console, Switch 2’s launch day could be a lot rockier. While many secured pre-orders months ago, some stores in the U.S. have promised limited day-one inventory for people who show up at the midnight launch. The Switch 2 is expected to sell out at launch, but there’s a big question around just how hard it will be to get and for how long. Walmart has already begun cancelling some fans’ early pre-orders, and “out of stock” signs have been sent out to many stores.
Another big question is when all of those online pre-orders will finally get delivered. My bundle from Target currently isn’t slated to arrive until June 11, so I’m heading to GameStop today to join the masses to try to score a launch-day unit. My local store said they’d have about 10 for people showing up without pre-orders. For now though, backroom inventory is at long last going out on store shelves. Hopefully, there aren’t too many horror stories of people failing to get theirs.
Plus we’ll have to see how Nintendo’s servers hold up once the console is out across the globe and millions of players are trying to download games and day-one updates simultaneously. It’ll certainly put the Switch 2’s allegedly improved Wi-Fi speeds to the test.
We’ll be updating this story throughout the day so check back for more news on what players are finding as Nintendo’s most anticipated console launch ever finally gets underway.
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