Nintendo Switch 2 Early Reviews Delayed To Launch Day

If you were hoping to see reviews of the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 before the big day, you may be out of luck. People aren’t being sent early review copies of the console, and a large day-one patch may be to blame.

We won’t be completely without news – there are early preview events for Mario Kart World, for example – but the hardware itself is going to stay somewhat mysterious until you get it in your hands.

Every Nintendo Switch Game Getting A Switch 2 Upgrade

Finally, Tears of the Kingdom at a stable 60 FPS.

The Game Business quotes an editor in their coverage, saying: “Anyone who can get hold of a console early from a dodgy retailer will have a head start in terms of coverage.”

It’s a frustrating blow in the Switch’s ongoing war against scalpers, but if the explanation for the lack of early copies is warranted, then that day-one patch is going to be big.

The Game Business also points out that the Switch 2 is dropping during Summer Game Fest 2025, which will make early coverage of the console all the more hectic.

Nintendo Switch 2 console with Mario Kart World in the background

As for the big patch, Nintendo has not commented on exactly what they’ll be changing about their console. One can infer that it’s something fairly important – perhaps a fix for one software exploit or another – if they’re willing to undercut their own hype machine like this.

A lack of information, coupled with the tariff situation jacking up prices, may put a dent in the otherwise-impressive sales figures the Switch 2 is expected to see. However much money they’ll lose by doing this, Nintendo must have crunched the numbers and determined it to be worthwhile.

Gameranx speculates that fan anticipation for the Nintendo Switch 2 is just way too strong for something like this to meaningfully hurt sales. Which doesn’t seem too far off the mark – the original Switch was already a massive hit, and Switch 2 hype just keeps building.

Here’s Why Nintendo Underestimated Switch 2 Demand

Nintendo didn’t expect demand for the Switch 2 to be this high, and now we know why.

Nintendo Has Revealed The Switch 2’s Hardware

While we won’t be able to get hands-on with the Nintendo Switch 2, we have learned what kind of hardware the console will be shipping with.

We go over it in our article covering the topic, as well as how the console’s performance dips if you’re not using the dock.

Nintendo Switch 2 Final Technical Specs Has Bad News For Handheld Fans

The final technical specifications for the Nintendo Switch 2 have been revealed, and they have bad news for people who like to play in Handheld mode.

It’s definitely an improvement from the original Switch, and you can see how things look yourself in the gameplay footage Nintendo has shown off.

Is it up to par with other modern consoles? It gets close, but it’s no PS5. And that comes with a caveat, since the performance dips even further if you’re in handheld mode.

But ‘listed hardware’ and ‘actually getting hands-on with the console’ are two very different things. You’ll have to wait if you want to see the latter, though if you don’t care too much beyond “yeah it’s a bit worse but it has a handheld mode”, the former will do fine.