Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 (Wednesday 2nd April 2025 @ 14:00 BST) + Treehouse Live (Thursday 3rd & Friday 4th April 2025 from 15:00 BST)

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Happenstance said:

Was kinda of hoping that this direct would convince me as I've gotten back into handheld gaming recently but there was just nothing for me in that.

Yeah, Direct didn't really do anything for me. Far too much focus on older games and not enough on new software. Console price is fine but the software is another matter. I refused to splash the cash on Sony's first party goods when they started charging stupid amounts and this will probably be the same here. Problem is though that Nintendo rarely drop the price of their software.

[Happenstance]

Just now, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, Direct didn't really do anything for me. Far too much focus on older games and not enough on new software. Console price is fine but the software is another matter. I refused to splash the cash on Sony's first party goods when they started charging stupid amounts and this will probably be the same here. Problem is though that Nintendo rarely drop the price of their software.

Yeah with Sony I can justify paying their digital prices for new stuff as I buy the discounted top-up cards so it brings it down to a price I can at least stomach.

[Cube]

4 minutes ago, bob said:

Probably includes tariffs. Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs.

But that doesn't make sense, as their digital price is more expensive than ours, while physical (the one that would be affected by tariffs) is the same.

 

5 minutes ago, Josh64 said:

The online options built into the 2 also finally look up to scratch and facetime/screen share is the kinda thing I would have loved in the Wii era, alas I'm too anti-social to use any of that stuff now 🤣 

The Wii U had facetime chat at no extra cost. Didn't even need to buy a camera.

[MindFreak]

Yeah. The first half of this was a tough watch, them getting on and ok about voice chat like it's something new, and then showing EyeToy like games... Hard pass on that. 

Mario Kart Worlds looks great, but it's a multiplayer game for me. So what to play when getting the console? 

And that tutorial game? Why isn't that bundled with the console, no-one will pay for that!? 

So, yeah, wheelchair basketball, but the controls look really awful. Cant see that getting much support in the long run, though the idea is neat. 

Lots of third parties, but all older games, while the new ones didn't really tickle me. Ending with Kirby Air Riders and a new DK game was really surprising, though! Got a good laugh at that! 

Smart move not to mention pricing, though. That would have soured the dough quite a bit. 

Also, June 5th is a national holiday here in Denmark, so might not be able to get the console until June 6th!

[Julius]

I don't know if this is a hot or a lukewarm take, but anyone else feel like they completely dropped the ball on selling the concept of Mouse-Con here? 

Yeah it's going to be demo'd in Welcome Tour and something like Drag x Drive, but the biggest selling point I feel we got for it was Prime 4's Switch 2 Edition having it essentially be a point-and-click shooter – and even that feels like a matter of preference and not necessarily a case of being "the best way to play". Didn't really feel like there was an experience they showed where it convinced me "oh, this is what they're going for – I see the vision!"

Could be that they're leaving it to people share their first impressions of it from hands-on events, but it felt like they made a much bigger deal out of things like the Switch 2 Editions and even the C Button than they did Mouse-Con. 

[Jonnas]

This presentation didn't really... wow me. There was a lot of cool stuff revealed for sure, and a lot of stuff that makes me happy as well, but there wasn't a "cornerstone" gimmick to it all, so it felt a bit unfocused, like they're just listing facts and cool stuff. The mouse-con could've been it, but like @Julius says, they felt more like an extra option out of many (which is still cool for many games that are typically better on PC, yes, but no game centers on it).

But it's fine, the Switch 2 didn't need to be the Wii, or the DS, or... the Switch 1. Context is important.

They definitely let me know that the Switch branding is going to remain a very convenient and satisfying way to play, between its gigantic library, the drip-feed of classic games, the occasional oddballs (like the Mario Party upgrade, Kirby, or 3D DK), and even legitimate 3rd party support, including modern fighting games. Whenever they confirm City of the Wolves for Switch 2, my purchase will be immediate.

All of that said, the return of Soul Calibur 2 was my absolute favourite announcement, I'm so happy about that.

[Josh64]

8 hours ago, Cube said:

But that doesn't make sense, as their digital price is more expensive than ours, while physical (the one that would be affected by tariffs) is the same.

 

The Wii U had facetime chat at no extra cost. Didn't even need to buy a camera.

Which I did try, and was kinda cool, but was a separate app that you couldn't run alongside a game 

[Julius]

Right then, I was watching the UK stream of the Direct so missed this, but the US stream closed out by shooting off the games and features we can expect to see shown off in the upcoming Treehouse streams, starting from 15:00 BST today and tomorrow (timestamped):

Quote

• Mario Kart World
• GameChat
• Super Mario Party NS2 Edition + Jamboree TV
• Drag X Drive
• Street Fighter 6 Switch 2 Edition
• BotW and TotK Switch 2 Edition
• Switch 2 Welcome Tour
• Donkey Kong Bonanza
• Bravely Default Remaster
• Kirby & The Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World
• Nintendo GameCube: Nintendo Classics
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Now, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up here, this is total conjecture on my part, but I think it's going to be worth paying attention to the order these games are streamed in – because if it goes in the listed order and tomorrow's Treehouse closes out with Prime 4?

I'm seriously thinking there's a decent chance that we could see a release date announced. What better way to end the streams than with an announcement like that? 

I mean, it's the only first-party game we knew about going into the Switch 2 Direct which still doesn't even have so much as a release window! I've seen some people point out that it feels like there's a bit of a single player-shaped hole in the launch lineup in terms of first-party releases...and to not jinx it, that's all I'm going to say about that  

I mean, seriously though! Discounting Switch 2 Editions of BotW and TotK and GameCube games on NSO, the only Nintendo-developed, single player focused launch title Switch 2 has is Welcome Tour! 

It also wouldn't be the first time Metroid has had special treatment in a Treehouse – it couldn't fit into the E3 Spotlight back in 2017 anyways due to the sheer focus and dedication of that presentation to the Switch, but a whole ass Metroid game was announced in the Treehouse that day (Samus Returns for 3DS). 

And to anyone going "hey, Julius, why wouldn't they announce that in the Switch 2 Direct?" – I say that this is Nintendo, Metroid could've been buried in all the other announcements and also, let's not forget, Nintendo have already announced daily updates on the Switch 2 leading up to launch via the Nintendo Today! app, so wouldn't it be in line with that to save one or two big bits of news featured in the Treehouse livestreams, too?

Considering that Metroid is still a relatively niche series as far as Nintendo IPs go, and that Treehouse streams attract the more hardcore of the Nintendo crowd, too, it would make sense to me to keep something like that to share exclusively with them, and obviously perpetuate the hype and news cycle for the Switch 2 along with it. 

Edited yesterday at 01:02 AM by Julius

[S.C.G]

Nintendo Switch 2 Direct 02/04/2025 Roundup

Press release and video embed.

(Time to start saving)

 

[MindFreak]

7 hours ago, Jonnas said:

The mouse-con could've been it, but like @Julius says, they felt more like an extra option out of many (which is still cool for many games that are typically better on PC, yes, but no game centers on it).

Well, Drag x Drive is pretty heavy on mouse con usage. 

But yeah, they should have shown it used more in MP4. 

It also made me wonder where they imagine people playing Switch 2 games. I sit in my couch, I don't imagine the mouse con being very comfortable to use there. 

Edited yesterday at 07:19 AM by MindFreak

[Will]

Yeah I don't really get the mouse con thing at all. It's cool that it's in there but I can't see many people actually using it as a control method. Dual mouse would be very easy to do yet... I can't think of a single game where they have? I don't see many games using it and those that do won't see many people choosing it.

[Ashley]

58 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

Well, Drag x Drive is pretty heavy on mouse con usage. 

But yeah, they should have shown it used more in MP4. 

It also made me wonder where they imagine people playing Switch 2 games. I sit in my couch, I don't imagine the mouse con being very comfortable to use there. 

Yeah that's my thing. To use it I'll have to rearrange my furniture and find a low table to sit on the floor in front of. 

It feels like it's going to be this generation's HD rumble. It'll be a thing that's there, but there won't be many cases of it being a feature. 

[Julius]

1 hour ago, MindFreak said:

Well, Drag x Drive is pretty heavy on mouse con usage. 

I think that game is awesome for being the game where people are basically put in the position of a wheelchair-bound person. 

But I also think it doesn't look remotely fun and was a terrible showcase for the Mouse-Con. Unfortunately that game is deader than dead on arrival, even if it somehow turned out to be a budget title (it's Nintendo first-party, though, so we're probably looking at the price of an OG Switch game in the most optimistic case). Giving me serious Destruction AllStars vibes. 

That's not even mentioning @Cube's point during the reactions where Nintendo's accessibility options are historically low effort/poor, and so a dark irony to this game with wheelchair-bound players characters is that there are a good number of wheelchair-bound people - who I think would otherwise be happy to see some much-needed representation in games - unable to play the game, leaving the gesture a bit of a token one that rings hollow. 

Anyways, for me, it was just missing obvious use cases. Again, I thought it was a total lock-in, but Baldur's Gate III seemed like the easy win here – yet after all the hullabaloo about third-party access to dev kits, I question if Larian even have one at this point? 

So we ended up with our best look at "traditional mouse controls" in Civ VII, where they showed an on-screen pointer for all of 3 seconds:

It was shown off so ineffectively. We've been talking about the possibility of DS, Wii, 3DS and Wii U games built off the back of the potential for Mouse-Con, but nothing shown really sold that concept well enough in my opinion. Totally glossed over. Even Prime 4 is only kind of half using it, and that feels like something of an alternative for the gyro aiming controls you see in Prime Remastered and some other first-party games (which I'm not a fan of, so I'm curious to see how I'd get on with Mouse-Con there!). 

Again, though: I think the hands-on events will spill the proverbial tea here. 

1 hour ago, MindFreak said:

It also made me wonder where they imagine people playing Switch 2 games. I sit in my couch, I don't imagine the mouse con being very comfortable to use there. 

This is actually something I've been thinking about a lot, since the Mouse-Con first got leaked, as I'm much the same way and mainly play on the sofa (and very, very, very rarely play in bed) – I think the solution for us here could be one of those bed trays for breakfast in bed? 

[Dcubed]

3 hours ago, Julius said:

That's not even mentioning @Cube's point during the reactions where Nintendo's accessibility options are historically low effort/poor, and so a dark irony to this game with wheelchair-bound players characters is that there are a good number of wheelchair-bound people - who I think would otherwise be happy to see some much-needed representation in games - unable to play the game, leaving the gesture a bit of a token one that rings hollow.

On the other hand, Drag X Drive is very accessible to people who can’t make fine motor movements with their fingers; who can only move in broad gestures (common with arthritis, Parkinson’s, motor neuron disease etc).  Manual wheelchair users will usually be able to make those broad gestures, making this game very accessible to them.

Not so cut and dry.  Swings & roundabouts etc.

Edited 21 hours ago by Dcubed

[Julius]

Hmm, just wondering about whether Prime Remastered might get a Switch 2 Edition announced for added Mouse-Con shooter functionality and boosted performance? Not that it necessarily needs it, I just imagine Retro being Retro, and how above and beyond they seem to have gone with Quality/Performance modes for Prime 4, and how functionally similar the two games must be, that it's a possibility. 

Not that I'd expect it announced during the Treehouse necessarily, mind you, but wouldn't that be nice? 

4 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

On the other hand, Drag X Drive is very accessible to people who can’t make fine motor movements with their fingers; who can only move in broad gestures (common with arthritis, Parkinson’s, motor neuron disease etc).

Not so cut and dry.  Swings & roundabouts etc.

Oh yeah, definitely. I didn't mean to make it out to be so cut and dry, so thanks for mentioning other groups which might benefit from Mouse-Con and the potential accessibility – definitely worth highlighting, and like you say, it's swings and roundabouts and definitely not a potential point of contention without its own nuance 

I guess at this point I'd honestly just love to see Nintendo give a true and proper adaptive controller of their own a go, honestly, and continue to improve their often limited accessibility options. This feels like it could be the start of such an interesting next step for them in this space, or otherwise very quickly forgotten – so I hope they just decide to take the leap! 

[Julius]

Line-up for Day 1 of Treehouse confirmed!

Quote

• Mario Kart World
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch 2 Edition
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Switch 2 Edition
• Drag x Drive
• Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond – Switch 2 Edition
• Nintendo GameCube Classics

Starts in 22 minutes! 

[Julius]

Toad with the sass walk lol

SHOW US THE COW YOU HEATHENS

[Ike]

No parts customisation

Max coins now 20

Auto trail items

Feather item. No hopping?

Glowing item was not fuel, it's food. Changes costume based on location?

[Glen-i]

I see you there, Mario. Doing the dance from the GBA Mario & Luigi. Pity Luigi doesn't have his.

Grip is not a stat you can see anymore.
You can do multiple tricks in a single jump.
The slowdown you suffer from getting hit by traffic is almost non-existant. On the other hand, the Spiny Shell really hits hard.
I think if Lightning is used, it starts rain, which makes the track slippery for a bit.

Not keen on automatic trailing items, that means that you have no choice but to lose your item if a Spiny Shell comes along.

Edited 19 hours ago by Glen-i

[Julius]

Rosalina's Observatory for the interstitial

I'm cleaning while watching this, Nintendo, why are you catching me off guard like this 

Edited 19 hours ago by Julius

[Glen-i]

I'm guessing those food items give you a random costume, and that will serve as the main collectible. So you'll have to play as specific characters to get their costumes.

The character select screen had 7 pages. With 12 spaces for characters on each page, that implies there's at least 73 - 84 characters. Which is insane!

Edited 19 hours ago by Glen-i

[Julius]

[Julius]

Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, okay they're following the order they posted for today's show, so next we should have the Switch 2 versions of Zel–

*PRIME 4 INTENSIFIES*

Opening cutscene looks immense! 

Edited 19 hours ago by Julius

[Julius]

Oh wow, you can seamlessly switch between Mouse-Con and standard Joy-Con configurations – no menus or buttons, just turn the Joy-Con on its side! 

[Glen-i]

Oh no. People are gonna moan that a Metroid game dares to have English dialogue.

I hope that you can turn the "Lock-on Free Aim" off. Unless you're built around that, like Metroid Prime 3, that's gonna make aiming difficult.

EDIT: Huh, this boss does utilise the free aim... That's gonna suck for people not using motion/mouse controls...

Edited 18 hours ago by Glen-i