Should I Buy A Switch 2 in 2025?

It’s (probably) almost here! The successor to the mighty Nintendo Switch will be in hands within the next six months – providing of course that Nintendo ever decide to announce it.

Excuse the bitterness. I’ve spent the last three years recommending the Switch, but with the caveat that a new one is on the horizon. We’ve seen pictures of it (mostly from Chinese accessory makers, such as the one above), we’ve got details of the hardware inside, we even have a rough idea of when it will be released. One person claims to have seen a box.

And yet Nintendo are staying largely tight-lipped. They will announce it on their own terms, and at this rate it’ll probably be after we’ve all already bought one.

I’ll start this piece with one of the few definitive statements we can give: don’t buy a Nintendo Switch. It’s still a fine little device, albeit one that has been feeling a bit tired for at least a couple of years. With the release of a new Switch, the old one will either drop in value or be made irrelevant through price or software. Kids may still get a lot of use out of them – it has a hell of a back catalogue – but adults should wait. You’ll get a bargain or, better yet, a brand new console at launch.

So is the Switch 2 worth a purchase is 2025? That answer is much harder to give.

Switching It Up

The Switch 2 is a true successor to Nintendo’s current console. It looks the same. It will feel the same. But looks can be deceiving.

This is because it’s getting a fairly decent bump in power, made better by upscaling tech from Nvidia. This enables lower resolution images to look as sharp as higher resolution ones, and it’s incredible on PC. Rumours are that it will play games like Final Fantasy 7: Remake – a PS4 game – perfectly decently.

That sounds like a loaded statement. It isn’t. If something like Final Fantasy Remake can run on the Switch 2, there isn’t going to be much that can’t scale down to it. For the first time in a long time, Nintendo-only gamers should be well served by third parties.

Granted, that’s based on rumours. It’s all we have. On paper it certainly shouldn’t be a problem. Here’s hoping Nintendo soon tell us what they have planned.

On top of that, the Switch 2 will offer up all of Nintendo’s usual IPs. The next Mario game will be on Switch 2. Mario Kart will probably return. There will be entries in the Zelda and Metroid franchises. If you want to play Nintendo games legally, the only play to play them will likely be on this new console. Nintendo won’t be bringing their titles to PC unless something goes very wrong.

The Risky Second Console

With that said, it’s not all roses for Nintendo. They’ve managed to stay away from the development problems plaguing every other major publisher. They’ve done this by avoiding the crusade for ever improving graphics and by keeping tight control of their budgets. The Switch was a 1080p console. The Switch 2 will be a 4k console. Nintendo won’t necessarily be able to avoid some of the increasing costs that PlayStation and Xbox are battling with now. Those issues will be passed onto the consumer, either in the form of longer gaps between games or in new methods of monetisation.

On top of that, arguably the main selling point of the Switch is no longer a novelty in 2025. Handheld gaming PCs already offer a good alternative to whatever Nintendo is cooking. You’ll play a wider, cheaper variety of games, and likely with better graphics in some instances, without spending any more money on hardware. The main reason to buy is if you want to play Nintendo games, and that’s as good a selling point as any. Still, if you’re after a handheld in 2025, don’t feel locked into the Switch 2.  That is doubly true if I’m wrong and third parties don’t flock to the new console.

All of this results in a device that probably won’t end up selling more than the might PlayStation 2 (as the Switch managed just this last few weeks). But it doesn’t need to. Nintendo are offering up a very simple proposition: it’s a Switch, but it’s better. And for some that will be a very attractive offer.

Should I Buy A Switch 2 in 2025?

And that’s the beauty of mainly playing Nintendo consoles. You know if they’re for you.

You’ll spend the next seven years not playing some of the biggest games available on PlayStation, PC and Xbox. You’ll watch as PC handhelds come out faster and increasingly run rings around your Switch 2.  There’s even a chance an emulator pops up that offers a better experience elsewhere – it has happened before.

Those are just facts. Granted, not particularly nice facts when the console hasn’t even been announced, but it’s where we are. It’s what Nintendo is. But that’s part of what makes them special too. You wouldn’t have a game like Breath of the Wild if Nintendo fell victim to the cinematic blockbuster craze.

If you’re planning the Switch 2 as an additional console, you can’t go wrong. If you’re happy with your Switch and want more of the same, get a Switch 2. You’ll have an awesome time. If you’re heavily into the latest and greatest AAA games and nothing else will do, then avoid.

But you probably already knew that.

For everybody else, this is a definite recommendation. That’s with the caveat that we need to hear more about it, but we know enough just from the concept. So long as the games are there – and they will be – then it’ll likely be worth the wait.