Nintendo unveils Switch 2, the successor to the hugely successful Switch

Nintendo announced the successor to the second most popular gaming console in the US, and it’s called the Switch 2.

ONE teaser trailer about two minutes long released on Thursday morning revealed a console with a similar form factor on it the handheld 2017that retains its hybrid format as a portable machine with a docking station that connects to TVs and monitors for home console gaming.

The trailer is sparse on details. Perhaps the most important, besides the teased release date this year, is that the Switch 2 will play games from the first Switch consoleincluding physical cartridges, with a disclaimer that certain games may not be supported or fully compatible.

The trailer contained no other information about future games (as gaming media have reported prior to Thursday), but instead showed clips from a Mario Kart game, with small details hinting that it could be the follow-up to the original Switch’s best-selling game. “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.”

Switch 2 again has Joy-Cons, motion-tracking controllers that can be clipped to the side of the console or detached and work independently. The controllers are larger to match a larger screen and base console, which is reported to be an LCD screenin contrast to original Switch’s OLED line that boasted true blacks and sharp colors.

The machine itself is all black, with hints of the original console’s blue and red controllers now showing through its seams and under its joystick. The button layout is largely the same, including a broken directional pad. The dock, which connects the laptop to larger screens via HDMI connection, is more rounded and boasts a large 2 above the Nintendo Switch logo.

The Switch 2 is rumored to boast graphics horsepower just below the PlayStation 4 Pro, released in 2016. That may seem like old technology, but the original Switch used a mobile chipset that was older than anything else in 2017. The portable and still slim form factor factor would not be able to house the kind of power seen in PlayStation 5, Xbox or desktop PC machines. It might be compared to Valve’s Steam Deck, a portable device that plays PC games through the Steam operating system.

With more than 146 million units sold since its release in 2017, the Switch is the third best-selling console in history and the second best-selling gaming device of all time in the United States. It was so successful it led Nintendo to its most profitable era in video games.

The Switch’s success surprised many analysts at the time. Developers of virtual reality technology, which has struggled to see mainstream appeal, marveled that a single piece of software, “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild“, was so compelling that it moved hardware. At the time, the game was sold with the console at a one-for-one price.

Nintendo promises more information on April 2nd, with hands-on events to try out the system to be announced at a later date.