The Nintendo Switch 2 was finally unveiled on April 2, 2025, after years of anticipation. While the console mostly delivers, there are still a few areas in which it falls rather flat on its face – especially with regard to current-gen performance.
In particular, it is noted to deliver PS4-like performance, which, despite being impressive, falls short of the current-gen standards set by the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and just about any mid-range PC.
The Switch 2 fares well against the competition | Image Credits: Nintendo
How it fares against the competition and whether its price tag is justified remains an entirely different matter, however, as multiple factors come into play here – other than its price.
For all intents and purposes, the Nintendo Switch 2 is a PS4-lite
The Switch 2 is similarly specced to a PlayStation 4 | Image Credits: PlayStation
The Nintendo Switch 2 sits somewhere between the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro in terms of raw performance. It does come with an additional 4 gigabytes of shared system RAM though – which should make for a noticeable performance improvement.
SpecsPlayStation 4Nintendo Switch 2PlayStation 4 ProCPU/GPU (APU)8-core custom Jaguar AMD; custom AMD Radeon graphics (1.84 TFLOPS)Custom Nvidia CPU + GPU (specs still unknown)8-core custom Jaguar AMD; custom AMD Radeon graphics (4.20 TFLOPS)RAM8 GB GDDR512 GB GDDR5 (estimated)8 GB GDDR5Base Storage500 GB HDD256 GB solid-state based1 TB HDDPower Consumption (Max)165 WUnknown310 W
This is, assuming that the console remains in its docked mode though – in handheld mode, it draws far less power and is more comparable to a Steam Deck, at least going by recent benchmarks.
The Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch 2 are quite comparable | Image Credits: Valve
Interestingly enough, the Steam Deck is also comparable to a PS4 in terms of raw performance, and the Switch 2 having similar performance is no coincidence. After all, one cannot build a handheld that is as performant as say a PlayStation 5 – at least, without sacrificing battery life and portability.
The ASUS ROG Ally, for example, is leagues stronger than the Steam Deck but is also incredibly inefficient in comparison, burning out its 40 Whr battery in under an hour (at 25+ watts). Given how important battery life is for a portable device, Nintendo made the right decision here.
After all, the Switch 2 is no slouch, and the fact that it can supposedly keep up with the PlayStation 4 Pro (in its relatively tiny package) is already an impressive feat. Additionally, given how it incorporates tech such as DLSS, it should have an easier time playing the more ‘modern’ releases thanks to the power of upscaling.
The Switch 2 is costly, but its game pricing is the real issue here
There is no doubt that at $450, the Nintendo Switch 2 is a lot more expensive than what players might have expected it to be. After all, the original Switch was launched for $299 back in 2017.
All things considered, though, the pricing of the Switch 2 is the least of our worries here. The console’s price can be somewhat justified, but it’s game pricing most certainly cannot. Asking $80-$90 for a game is quite the unfortunate trend set by Nintendo, and it is already receiving a ton of backlash.
While it is unlikely that Nintendo will back down from its pricing strategy here, it is hoped that the rest of the industry will not follow suit – and make gaming an even more expensive hobby than it already is.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
