The urge to buy the newest and latest gadgets has never really been something I felt. It could be the latest iPhone, iPad, or back in the day feeling the need to get a Tamagotchi before anyone else. I was just never someone that had to be the first one to own something. I’ve been a tech journalist for six years and it’s still not something that is ingrained in me. I’ve had the opportunity to test a lot of products before they were released to the public, and I’ve done so on numerous occasions.

But I’ve still never been the person touting it over others that I owned something before them. There are perks to owning something early, as you get the intel before others on whether it’s a good product or not. Those days of childhood envy when you go over to your friend’s house strictly because they have a game or toy that you don’t have yet don’t last forever. I never went at midnight to pick up a new device (I did do it for a few Harry Potter books, but I hope you’ll give me a pass on that for this story.)

When news broke that the Nintendo Switch 2 was finally coming out, I was intrigued. I have been a Nintendo enthusiast for much of my life as receiving the Nintendo 64 is probably the most exciting experience I’ve ever had relating to a tech-related gift. I’ll be the first one to admit I’m currently not the world’s biggest gamer. But I do really enjoy playing certain franchises, like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Here’s why you can all battle it out for the Nintendo Switch 2 and I’ll keep playing my older favorite games on older consoles for now.

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4K Capability

Yes

Brand

Nintendo

Screen

7.9-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution LCD, HDR, 120Hz refresh rate (4K/60fps 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution when docked)

Game support

Switch 2, Switch 2 Edition, Switch

Storage

256GB (expandable with microSD Express cards)

CPU

Custom NVIDIA processor

Bigger doesn’t always mean better

There are benefits but not enough for me to rush out

Nintendo

There are a few main upgrades the makers of the Switch 2 made to build on the revolutionary Switch 1. The larger screen is arguably the most noticeable difference as the new version has a 7.9″ screen with an LCD display compared to a 6.2″ one for the Switch 1. That may not seem like a massive change, but in terms of a handheld device, that is noticeable. But what is going to be most noticeable is the change in resolution. Going from 720p with no HDR support to 1080p with HDR support is a solid change that is going to make games seem enhanced and look even better.

I’m not going to try and tell you that the change in resolution is not a big deal. That’s an awesome upgrade Nintendo made and gamers are going to love it. The handheld screen is something I’m not too blown away by. Sure, it’s more screen to look at, and the games will be minimally more enjoyable. But if you compare some of the larger laptop screens to ones that are an inch or two smaller, has it really justified the price change or made your life infinitely better? The same goes for a phone that’s an inch or two bigger than a previous one you had. I can tell you that these are harder to carry around and they’re a bit heavier. The selling point of a screen that’s a bit larger doesn’t do it for me.

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Nintendo did us all a favor with compatibility

I won’t need to buy the games again

Nintendo

When I found out that the Nintendo Switch 2 is going to be backward compatible with the Switch 1 games I already have, I was pumped. This meant that I wouldn’t have to purchase all the games I already own again. That hasn’t been the case for any of my previous consoles that I’ve owned (again I haven’t had every possible console, so this was cool to me.) Some of my favorite games ever are still only available on Nintendo 64 (Bomberman 64, Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball.)

This isn’t to say Nintendo won’t eventually have these available to play, as they’ve done a great job of retroactively adding games from previous consoles to Nintendo Online. But if I’ve still invested in playing some of these games after many years, I don’t need a new console to let me play them. I’ll just play them in their original format. I’ll always get a rush of excitement playing Ocarina of Time with a Nintendo 64 controller in my hand. Playing it on a Switch just doesn’t give me that same feeling (to be fair to Zelda games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are perfect for the Switch and I wouldn’t change the experience of playing them in a handheld way or on a TV.)

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Battery life isn’t much better

For the price, this is a no-brainer

One of the more frustrating things about the Nintendo Switch is how short the battery life lasts. It’s supposed to be both a handheld gaming console and one that you can plug into a dock. But how are you supposed to actually play it for a while if the battery dies so fast? I’ve had it die within an hour to two hours before. Remember when a Game Boy would last forever because it had four AA batteries? What happened, Nintendo? (Obviously, I understand that powering something as powerful as the Switch uses up battery, but I can still be frustrated.)

Unfortunately the Switch 2 has worst battery life than the Switch. The Nintendo Switch 2 retails for $450, which makes the poor battery life surprising. It feels a little silly that I could be paying for something that costs that much and could only use it for two hours before it dies. I don’t want to feel chained to the charging dock. I want to use the Switch 2 as the genius designers intended: on the go. That’s hard to do when the battery life doesn’t hold up under even just moderate use. While I do appreciate that they have upgraded the cooling aspects of the gaming system, extending the battery life would have been a nice feature for fans willing to pay that much for the system.