Switch 2 is confirmed to continue using Access Co.’s NetFront Browser NX for embedded devices. It is optimized for memory efficiency and D-pad navigation.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-04 Pacific Time]
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NetFront Browser
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Switch 2 Display Backlight
Shen Zhen Australis (深圳市南极光) revealed themselves to be the supplier of Switch 2 display backlight, and the “extreme requirements” from Nintendo:
- ultra-thin light guide plate of 0.3x mm thickness
- 25% lower power consumption
- capable of passing 6,000 micro-drop tests
彼时，行业普遍水准停留在0.5毫米厚度，任天堂的指标需求意味着要完成技术跨代升级。“评估后，成熟的供应链基本上都选择了放弃，只有南极光和另一家公司接下了挑战。”
At the time, the industry standard remained at 0.5 mm thickness. Meeting Nintendo’s demands meant achieving a generational leap in technology. “After some evaluation, most mature suppliers basically gave up—only Australis and one other company took on the challenge.”
任天堂的测试标准如同悬顶之剑——整机需完成六面体跌落测试，每面1000多次，共计6000多次冲击，且内部异物直径必须控制在0.06毫米以内。
Nintendo’s testing standards were like a sword hanging overhead—the device needed to complete drop tests on all six sides, with over 1,000 impacts per side, 6,000+ total impacts, and the diameter of any internal foreign matter must be kept under 0.06 mm.
The whole process started in 2020, going from the initial yield of merely 5%, to delivering the fist batch of qualified products in 2024-05, reaching overall defect rate of <0.4%. Read the full article here.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-04 Pacific Time]
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Switch 2 Wireless Antennas
A Switch 2 teardown video revealed the locations of three wireless antennas. According to the FCC filing they are: 1 Wi-Fi, 1 Bluetooth, and 1 combo. Switch 2’s three LDS antennas should substantially enhance the reception over Switch 1’s two PCB antennas.
The wiring and placement of the upper-right antenna were previously confirmed by patent WO2025104911.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-04 Pacific Time]
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Switch 2 Fitness Game in Development?
Evidence is mounting that Nintendo is developing a Ring Fit Adventure successor, and it might come sooner than you think.
On 2025-05-23 Nintendo registered an “accessories for video game controllers” design in EU. Its images, however, are held secret (“deferred”) for up to 30 months. This indicates that it’s a brand new unannounced product.
Fumiyoshi Suetake is the designer on record. His most recent registered designs were Alarmo and Ring-Con. He’s also the designer of an unreleased “training instrument” filed in 2015.
As for the original 2019 Ring Fit Adventure patent, Nintendo filed for a continuation in the US in 2023 and a division in Japan in 2024. It shows that the company—for some unknown reason—wants to extend the legal protection on a product already launched.
Last Nov and again this May, Foxconn Technology Co. (鴻準, Switch assembler) disclosed its “force sensing technology” developed for a gaming customer (Nintendo) to create “diverse new gaming accessories”. Note the crudely drawn Ring-Con and two force sensors.
Taken together, it strongly suggests that a new fitness game and accessory are in development. Although the deferment of design registration can last up to 30 months, companies usually register product designs closer to their reveals. I suspect that we’ll hear more about it within a year.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-03 Pacific Time]
[Update on 2025-07-02] The secret design registration is for the Charging Grip 2. Nonetheless, there are still enough patent activities pointing to ongoing development of fitness software.
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Pre-launch Report
Nikkei Asia’s latest long-form report on Switch 2 is a good read, filled with interesting quotes and clear charts. A few excerpts below.
Takaya Imamura, former Nintendo Art Director for popular games such as […] Majora’s Mask, told Nikkei Asia via email, “The incorporation of existing technologies, such as mouse-like functionality, exemplifies Nintendo’s long-standing philosophy of ‘lateral thinking with withered technology’”
“the company is putting increasing emphasis on expanding its intellectual property,” added Imamura, who is now a professor at [IPUT Osaka]. […] “it’s becoming harder for a gaming console to survive on hardware alone. Nintendo must present its IP and platforms as a unified value proposition”
Naoya Mokushi, who oversaw the lottery at [Bic Camera’s] Ikebukuro branch, said the competition was “extremely fierce,” […] “Those who won the lottery came to the counter with big smiles on their faces, genuinely happy,” Mokushi said. “We want to sell the Switch 2 to those kinds of people.”
[Originally posted on 2025-06-03 Pacific Time]
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Unprecedented Inventory
Within the notice of Nintendo shareholders meeting is the breakdown of inventories as of 2025-03. It reached the unprecedented level of 486 billion yen (~US$3.4B).
- ¥37B more Raw Materials than the previous COVID induced high
- Quadrupling the previous Work-in-Progress high for OLED Model preproduction
- Finish Goods barely lower than 2018-09, when Nintendo made more than they could sell (more on that below)
- 49% higher total inventory than previous record
In 2018-09 Nintendo had inventory excess due to optimistic forecast of 20MM Switch and 4M 3DS sales. Since Switch 2 is priced 50% higher than Switch 1, the aforementioned 49% inventory increase suggests that Nintendo might be preparing for 20M Switch 2 sales (and 4M Switch 1). The 15M forecast is only a charade.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-03 Pacific Time]
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Joy-Con Violin Bow Simulation
A virtual violin patent from Nintendo has been published. By tilting and moving a Joy-Con along a cylindrical object (e.g., an arm or cardboard tube), player can control the octave, scale, and volume. The moving direction even simulates up-bow and down-bow.
Keisuke Iba, the patent’s inventor, most recently worked on Nintendo Switch Sports. Just as Wii Music followed Wii Sports, is this patent a sign that Switch Music is being developed?
A new Labo Toy-Con is another possibility for the virtual violin. Nintendo just filed a divisional application on 2025-02-18 for its original 2019 Labo VR patent, hinting at continued development interest.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-02 Pacific Time]
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Sales Prediction
Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda released his quarter by quarter prediction of Switch 2 sales in 12 months:
6MM » 9MM » 17MM » 20MM units
He believes that it will markedly exceed past records. To twist the knife further, he has this to say:
その代わりに任天堂のハードにPSプラットフォームと同じゲームが出ないことを楽しんでいた一部の人々には，つらいことが増えるだろう。
For those who enjoyed the fact that Nintendo hardware didn’t get the same games available on PS, it’s going to be increasingly more painful.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-01 Pacific Time]
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Facial Recognition
Facial recognition confirmed? A Switch 2 camera mini game in Welcome Tour asks the player to imitate a facial express on-screen. This opens door for V-Tuber/Mii-Tuber in GameChat in the future.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-01 Pacific Time]
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Compatibility Layer
Switch 2 Welcome Tour explains that the Switch 2 OS is translating Switch 1 games in real-time while you play. This is also how Steam’s Proton works. Anyone calling it “emulation” is being disingenuous.
[Originally posted on 2025-06-01 Pacific Time]
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Stick Improvements
Although an NoA SVP stated that Joy-Con 2 doesn’t feature a Hall effect stick, reliability and usability improvements most likely have been made. Case in point, Alps Alpine (stick supplier) patent WO2020174902 seeks to:
- reduce abrasion on carbon track (less debris)
- ensure consistent contact (debris resistant)
Alps Alpine also holds patent JP2021131945 that describes an advantageous stick design:
- adding a resin layer to protect PCB edge (less debris)
- leaving multiple “grooves” for debris to escape
From the Switch 2 preview events, there are reports indicating that the stick movement is smoother than before. Nintendo patent US20240176382 could be one of the reasons:
- bottom of slide (1st image below, #14 & 24) is concave; slide base (31 & 32) is convex → smoother pivot motion
- due to the aforementioned curve, the center of pivot motion is deeper than the actual stick → wider range of motion (2nd image)
[Originally posted on 2025-05-30 Pacific Time]
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Effective Anti-Scalping
Nintendo’s anti-scalping measures in Japan seem to be working. Nikkei Marketing Journal reports:
「スイッチ2の在庫のうち、転売に回るのは5%前後にとどまるのではないか」――。ある証券アナリストはそう予測する。
“Of the Switch 2 inventory, only about 5% will go to resale,” predicts one securities analyst.
卸会社への聞き取りや周辺情報を総合して試算した結果、2017年発売の初代スイッチは「ピーク時で3割くらいが中国へ流出していた」（同）。
Based on interviews with wholesalers and other industry information, he estimated that for the first-generation Switch “at its peak, about 30% was transferred to China.”
[Originally posted on 2025-05-30 Pacific Time]
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Virtual Game Cards
The patent for Virtual Game Cards has been made public.
1st image below: Indicator of a playable card on home menu
2nd image: Management of cards library
3rd image: Steps of execution when a card is “inserted”
[Originally posted on 2025-05-29 Pacific Time]
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Alps Alpine Is Involved in Joy-Con Stick Design
Interesting detail from the design registration of Joy-Con 2 analog stick: Norimasa Okanishi, an Alps Alpine (アルプスアルパイン) employee, is listed among the designers. This suggests that Nintendo collaborated with Alps Alpine on the design.
Furthermore, Alps Alpine forecasts an increase in sales “for game market” in FY25 (ending 2026-03). It indicates that the company is manufacturing the analog sticks for Switch 2.
Nintendo and Alps Alpine also jointly filed two analog stick patents in 2023 (link 1 and link 2). These seem to be for R&D only and not for Switch 2, but I might write more about them in the future.
[Originally posted on 2025-05-27 Pacific Time]
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Joy-Con Stick
