NEW YORK (AP) — Nintendo is set to provide a closer look at its highly anticipated Switch 2 gaming console on Wednesday.
The 60-minute Nintendo Direct presentation will be live-streamed at 9 a.m. EDT. A release date and price have yet to be announced, but Nintendo said earlier this year the console will hit the market in 2025.
The Switch 2 is Nintendo’s latest hybrid console that can be played in hand with all of the nostalgia of a Game Boy, or connected to a screen and controller for a traditional home console experience.
A January tease of the Switch successor showcased a smooth, nearly all-black handheld console, shaped similarly but lacking the vibrant colors of its predecessor. It appears as if the Joy-Con handles might click, or even magnetize, to the screen instead of sliding into place.
Two USB-C ports (a convenient upgrade for gamers), a docking system and a built-in kickstand were part of the features shown in January. The teaser also showed there might be some sort of Joy-Con mouse control feature.
The new console will be backwards compatible — able to play physical and digital Switch games — although some may not be supported or fully compatible with the Switch 2, Nintendo said. The company’s previous Nintendo Direct on March 27 announced games would continue to be made well into 2025 for the first-generation console, which debuted in 2017.
Nintendo plans to host “Switch 2 Experience” events in several countries, where gamers can get a hands-on experience with the new system. Those events are planned for cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris beginning this month.
