Switch 2 Direct length gives Nintendo ample time for gimmicks, games, and surprises

Nintendo has confirmed that tomorrow's Switch 2 Direct will be an hour long, which should be plenty of time to highlight new hardware, software, and services.

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Tomorrow is a big day for Nintendo, and a big day for the games industry. The Switch 2 is poised for a full-on showcase at 9AM EST on the Nintendo YouTube channel. The stream will be an hour long and is expected to cover all of the bases of a new Nintendo product.

"We will provide detailed information about the Nintendo Switch 2. The broadcast will last approximately 60 minute," the Nintendo Japan account said on Twitter.

Fans should expect to see new games, including system-selling first-party franchises, as well as hardware gimmicks like the JoyCon mouse feature. There's also the new C-button to think about, and the new secondary USB-C slot, which is undoubtedly for convenient charging while in tabletop mode but could also be used to facilitate attachment mods, like maybe a DS-style second screen.

The C-button is also rumored to have some sort of service-oriented functionality and is believed to be C for Campus. Maybe it's an offshoot of a Switch Online subscription fork.

Speaking of Switch Online, we might also see the return of old-school Nintendo classics. Gamers are hoping that Nintendo will bring long-awaited Gamecube games to Switch 2, presumably as part of a new and more expensive Switch Online subscription tier.

One of the big selling points for the Switch 2 is said to be 4K gaming, or at least improved gameplay experiences that are made possible by the device's new chip, an upgraded NVIDIA SoC that allows DLSS image upscaling. The Switch 2 is said to be powerful enough to run the Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 demo as well as Breath of the Wild in 4K.

Nintendo will also be hosting two Nintendo Treehouse Live shows centered around the Switch 2, and those streams will be a hefty 7 hours combined. The first stream is up on April 3 and lasts 3 hours, and the second stream will be on the next day on April 4 and lasts 4 hours. Both shows start at 10AM EST.