I got to play Nintendo Switch 2: hands-on with 2025’s gaming must-have

There are new ways to catch goombas, a Mario Kart battle royale and innovative gameplay ideas abound, but Nintendo will need to work hard to sell its next-gen machine

After Nintendo's intriguing hour-long live stream on Wednesday, we now know a lot more about its follow-up to the phenomenally successful Switch. But how does the Switch 2 play? After the online presentation, I got to spend about four hours road-testing the new console at a press event in the Grand Palais, Paris, the box-white exhibition hall adorned in Nintendo red and lined with rows of high-end TV screens and Switch 2 consoles. There was also a 90-minute roundtable with three of the masterminds behind the console: Tetsuya Sasaki (hardware design lead), Kouichi Kawamoto (producer) and Takuhiro Dohta (director). Here's what I learned.