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Nintendo has revealed the Switch 2 following weeks of speculation, and showed a brief segment of Mario Kart 9 footage as well. The Switch 2 will launch sometime in 2025, and the company will air a Nintendo Direct -- the company's name for its product showcases -- dedicated to the new console on April 2, 2025. The Switch 2 reveal trailer highlights a few key differences between it and the original system. It's larger than its predecessor, though Nintendo hasn't released specifications yet, and its Joy-Con controllers attach via magnets, instead of sitting on rails. Nintendo also showed a new USB-C port on the Switch 2's top, next to the audio jack, and a new button on the right Joy-Con below the home button. Nintendo confirmed that the Switch 2 is backward compatible, meaning it can play physical and digital games released for the original Switch, and there will be games that launch exclusively for the new system. The Mario Kart 9 footage near the end of the reveal trailer shows Mario, Luigi (in a new kart design), Yoshi, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Daisy, Rosaline, and Peach on a new desert track called the Super Mario Bros. Circuit. Peach and Yoshi are on motorcycles, so that feature returns from the original Switch's best-selling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Following the Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo will host a series of hands-on experiences around the world, where people with a Nintendo Account, a free service Nintendo provides, can play the new console at a demo station. The locations and times are below. North America New York, April 4-6, 2025 Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025 Dallas, April 25-27, 2025 Toronto, April 25-27, 2025
Europe Paris, April 4-6, 2025 London, April 11-13, 2025 Milan, April 25-27, 2025 Berlin, April 25-27, 2025 Madrid, May 9-11, 2025 Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025
Oceania: Asia: Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025 Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025 Hong Kong, To be announced Taipei, To be announced
Ticket registration will open for these on Jan. 17, 2025, at 5 p.m. Eastern via Nintendo's website, and registration closes on Jan. 26, 2025. Nintendo said the U.S. events are open to U.S. residents only.
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