For one, Nintendo promised "a closer look at Switch 2" in a Direct video presentation scheduled for April 2. It would be a little weird for that "closer look" to come after the console itself was launched, so a launch before April seems out of the question.

You can always count on Nintendo for a surprise. This is the company that followed the Game Boy with a strange dual-screened handheld and broke out of its GameCube slump with a console focused on motion controls.

The Switch 2 announcement contained precious little real information. The new machine will seemingly function much like the original: a hybrid device operating as both portable and console. Nintendo’s showcase video depicts an original Switch morphing into a slightly larger, somewhat more grown-up and less colourful Switch 2 model.