Nintendo has hosted an early hands-on experience for the Nintendo Switch 2 in Melbourne, with hundreds of excited gamers getting a first-look at the upcoming console.
Spaces were limited, with a ballot held earlier this year to secure a spot at the event.
READ MORE: Nintendo Switch 2: Everything You Need To Know
Held at Melbourne’s Olympic Park, Nintendo fans filled the Centrepiece venue to experience the new console a month before launch.
Thanks to Nintendo, we got to check it out ahead of the public. For an entire afternoon, media and creators got to experience plenty of what the new console has soon offer.
Quick first impressions:
- The console itself felt great in the hands, very sturdy.
- Joy-con haptic feedback is immediately improved on — a huge step up from the original Switch.
- The magnets on the Joy-cons are really locked in there. I tried pushing them back as I played to see if they would accidentally come out — they didn’t.
- Mouse controls will take some getting used to. It did not feel natural to have half a controller in one hand and a mouse at another — time will tell!
Games on show included Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bonanza and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — which highlighted the Switch 2’s mouse control feature.
Upgraded Zelda titles and third-party games like Split Fiction were also there for gamers to play.
READ MORE: ‘I’m expecting Mario Kart World LARPing to be a thing’
Mario Kart World was by far the highlight. We didn’t get to experience any of the open world content but the races, graphics, power ups, characters, cars and the controls were all fantastic.
Gamers can pick up the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 5th. It retails for around $700.
