In the latest Nintendo Direct we got introduced to the concept of "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" games. A variety of Nintendo Switch games will see updates to enhance performance, increase resolutions, and enable the new sharing feature on the Nintendo Switch 2, where most of them will be free. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, however, require you to purchase an "upgrade pack", but they will also come with improved graphics and new features.
The first line of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games include Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Pokémon Legends Z-A, and... Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Some of these will even feature additional contents, like the Star-Crossed World for Kirby, but in case of Metroid Prime 4 this is primarily about the controls.
The game will support the mouse-functionality of the new Joy-Cons to offer a new control method. And it even does so seamlessly, so you can play with the pointer controls and as soon as you put down the right Joy-Con's side on a surface you will be able to utilize the mouse aiming. That's really cool!
Otherwise, the game will run in 120FPS, twice as much as on the Nintendo Switch. Or you can alternatively play in 4K. Both modes also support HDR in addition for even prettier visuals.
This sounds great, so there should be no good reason to go for the Nintendo Switch version, right? Well... there is a catch: the atrocious boxes. Here are the ones for Metroid Prime 4 in comparison (the different size of the boxes is just a guess, but the Switch 2 ones will be larger in a similar dimension to the consoles):
I'd say that the Nintendo Switch versions are actually more desirable. They take away less space and the covers are much cleaner. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition looks like one of those empty boxes that only include a download code.
And that might be partially even true. There is conflicting information about this, but we don't know for sure yet whether these upgrade packs will be included on the cards or as download codes. If it's the latter, then there will be no real value in owning the physical versions of the Nintendo Switch 2 Editions over the normal ones....
Well, in my case, I won't get a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch, so I will likely play Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on my current Switch anyway and then upgrade it later. The enhanced visuals are very nice, but I can also appreciate what Retro Studios was able to achieve on the old Nintendo Switch. It's very impressive. And when I replay the game later on, like in a harder difficulty, I can do so on the Nintendo Switch 2 with even nicer graphics.
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