Nintendo announces Switch 2 release date - and a new Mario Kart game

Nintendo has revealed the Switch 2, the long awaited successor to one of the best-selling consoles in history, will be released on 5 June. Fans have been impatiently waiting to find out more since January, when the Japanese gaming giant ended months of speculation byconfirming basic information about the new device. In a Nintendo Direct online presentation, watched by more than a million people, it gave further details of the hardware, as well as confirming it would be accompanied by Mario Kart World, a new edition of Nintendo's most famous game. It also announced a series of other new titles for the console, including Elden Ring and Street Fighter 6. The company said the new device would have better graphics and audio than its predecessor, and a chat button allowing players to speak to each other while playing. The price will vary in different markets but in the UK it will retail at £395, or £429 with Mario Kart. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa called the new console "a leap forward", eight years after the release of the original Switch. As well as huge interest in the device itself, fans have been keen to find out what games they will be able to play on it. Most eye-catching was Mario Kart World - in which the franchise appears to have been given a significant refresh. Water graphics, character tweaks, big sprawling race tracks seen from a distance with varying weather and climates - Nintendo is firmly showing fans this console has more under the hood than its predecessor. The firm also showcased the platforming adventure Donkey Kong Bananza and Kirby Air Riders, a sequel to a fan favourite game released back in 2005 - both coming later this year. Nintendo also confirmed that "compatible" Switch games will work on the Switch 2. Others will get Switch 2 editions, meaning they will have updated graphics and gameplay. On the Nintendo Store website, the digital versions of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza are priced at £66.99 and £58.99 respectively. The physical versions are both £8 more expensive. The games made by third party developers - such as Elden Ring - are notable too because some are the kind of high-profile games that typically have not come to Nintendo consoles in recent years. They include: Elden Ring developer FromSoftware also revealed a new multiplayer game - The Duskbloods - as a Switch 2 exclusive coming in 2026. The console itself has a bigger screen than its predecessor at 7.9 inches, with a better display - 1080p compared to the Switch's 720p, with HDR support and showing up to 120fps. Marginal changes - such as larger buttons and control sticks - will get attention. But more interesting is that both controls can be used as a mouse, as with a PC, in supported games. Nintendo argues its 3D audio tech will create a surround sound experience, but this is unlikely to be the feature that sways people to picking up the device. 256GB of internal storage is a big upgrade, as Nintendo has historically been stingy on this front. The C button on the switch controller is the new bit of hardware for the Switch 2. It appears to help control a voice chat feature which is built into the system. Players pop up at the bottom of the screen, appearing almost like Zoom or Teams - complete with a quite low frame rate screen share - and Nintendo claims its tech will isolate your voice regardless of background noise. The original Nintendo Switch is one of the best-selling consoles of all time, having shifted more than 150 million units since its 2017 release. Only Sony's PS2 and Nintendo's own DS have proved more popular. Its hybrid format - allowing players to use it as a handheld device or hooked up to a TV in a more traditional home console set-up - is thought to be one of the big reasons behind its success. Even if the new device replicates that level of interest, it may need to overcome other challenges. Console launches are often hit with hardware shortages - a trend that was particularly evident when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles were launched in late 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nintendo's president Shuntaro Furukawa previously told investors the long wait for the new console was partly to ensure the company could manufacture enough machines to meet demand. Since then the global trading picture has been affected by President Donald Trump launching a wave of tariffs - it is not yet clear how they could affect the production and sales of the Switch 2. Additional reported by Thomas Fabbri.