Switch 2 Buyers: Hold On to Your Original Switch—the Resale Is Not Worth It

There’s each crushed prospective Nintendo Switch 2 buyers whitethorn privation to little the outgo of the upcoming $450 handheld console erstwhile preorders spell unrecorded connected April 24. But earlier you get excited by expected trade-in deals, you should cognize you whitethorn not get overmuch wealth from your console unless it’s successful implicit pristine condition. Plus, determination are a fewer truly bully reasons you whitethorn privation to clasp onto your console, particularly if you privation to prevention yourself from buying near-$100 Switch 2 Joy-Cons.

GameStop’s Switch 2 preorder propulsion includes an enticing trade-in deal: $175 disconnected a Switch 2 erstwhile you commercialized successful a Switch OLED oregon $125 disconnected for a regular Switch. Nintendo’s hybrid console inactive sells for $300 and $350 MSRP, respectively. Trade successful a Switch Lite ($200 MSRP) and GameStop volition springiness you $100 disconnected a Switch 2. Naturally, determination are a just fewer caveats.

To get the afloat trade-in worth for some the Switch and Switch OLED, you’ll request to person everything that came successful the archetypal box: the TV dock, Joy-Cons (with wrist straps), Joy-Con Grip, powerfulness cord, and archetypal HDMI cable.

If you person each that, past you request to marque definite your handheld is inactive successful pristine information to get the afloat value. GameStop confirmed to Gizmodo implicit email that immoderate benignant of Joy-Con instrumentality drift, a occupation that has plagued the handheld since launch, volition mean you’ll get acold little trade-in worth for the console. If you ever upgraded the sticks connected your Switch to non-factory standard, you won’t beryllium capable to commercialized it in. Additionally, if you’ve owned your Switch for adjacent to 8 years, determination could beryllium different blemishes that diminish the terms you tin get disconnected the Switch 2.

And if you’re readying to resell your aged Switch connected eBay aft the Switch 2 launch, don’t expect to get overmuch much than GameStop’s commercialized in, particularly if you don’t program to merchantability immoderate of your precious carnal crippled cards. Perhaps a GameStop worker won’t find thing incorrect with your Switch, oregon possibly the store could instrumentality pity connected you and assistance you the afloat trade-in worth adjacent with a wonky stick. Either way, determination are respective economical reasons you mightiness privation to instrumentality with your archetypal Switch.

© Nintendo

If you already spent adjacent to $500 connected a console aft shipping costs and tax, we don’t expect you’ll privation to wage a boatload for controllers, particularly erstwhile first-party games are acceptable to outgo $70, $80, oregon adjacent $90. After Nintendo raised prices for respective of its accessories past week, a brace of Joy-Con 2 controllers present outgo $95. Joy-Cons are inactive immoderate of the champion for speedy and soiled section multiplayer successful games similar the upcoming Mario Kart World. Nintendo has confirmed that archetypal Switch Pro controllers and Joy-Cons volition link with Switch 2, though they won’t connect to the caller console due to the fact that they don’t usage magnets. And portion the Joy-Con 2 person new rodent controls, which sounds large for games that mightiness necessitate much precision similar first-person shooters, we besides don’t expect excessively galore games to enactment the feature, astatine slightest astatine launch.

The Switch 2 besides isn’t compatible with the microSD cards utilized for the archetypal Switch. The Switch 2 only works with microSD Express cards to grow the paltry 256GB interior storage, and those are pricier than the regular non-Express representation cards. If you ain immoderate integer Switch games, it mightiness conscionable beryllium amended to support your console astir until we person a Switch 2 successful manus to corroborate the transportation process. Nintendo has said players tin swap crippled advancement from archetypal Switch to Switch 2 versions of games. However, store pages for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom enactment the games whitethorn not enactment unreality saves.

© Nintendo / YouTube

Finally, adjacent though the Switch 2 is compatible with archetypal Switch games, there’s a anticipation they whitethorn not tally perfectly. Nintendo has been unfastened astir which titles are afloat compatible and which whitethorn acquisition issues, but successful an official Q&A, Nintendo Switch 2 manager Takuhiro Dohta confirmed the console is utilizing immoderate magnitude of emulation for the involvement of backwards compatibility. Specifically, it’s “somewhere successful betwixt a bundle emulator and hardware compatibility.” This means the Switch 2 is rendering immoderate parts of the archetypal Switch hardware arsenic software. Nintendo inactive has to trial the immense bulk of the galore archetypal Switch titles successful earnest to cognize if determination are immoderate issues. Some notable games similar Doom: Eternal person “start-up issues” connected Switch 2. If you privation to marque definite your full room of games stay playable, you’re amended disconnected keeping your Switch connected hand.

It’s a bummer, I know. Gaming is getting much costly each year, and Nintendo has acceptable a caller barroom with 1 of its astir costly devices yet. Perhaps it’s a reminder you don’t really request the caller Nintendo hotness connected release. Give it a small clip and find if you’re truly successful the close spot to bargain a caller $450 console. Though with tariffs and economical meltdown connected the horizon, possibly you shouldn’t hold excessively long.