The launch of Switch 2 brings with it a selection of retro GameCube games for subscribers to the Nintendo Switch Online service. As it did for the NES, SNES, N64, and even Sega Genesis/Mega Drive when games from those platforms joined the library, Nintendo has released a perfect recreation of the original controller, allowing you to play those classic games as authentically as possible.
For anyone who was gaming when the GameCube was first around, it’s slightly surreal to now have a perfect recreation of the original controller that’s wireless but not the bulkier WaveBird model. It’s no bad thing, though, and decades-old muscle memory will soon kick in. Younger players might find the unusually-shaped controller odd at first, with its tiny nub of a C-Stick and its chunky, rounded shoulder triggers, but after a few laps of F-Zero GX, you soon realize how perfectly tailored the controller was for its games.
For the modern update, Nintendo has tweaked the design slightly, incorporating controls specific to the Switch 2–namely the Home, screen capture, and C buttons—at the top of the pad, and added a tiny new ZL button on the left-hand shoulder. That helps make this GameCube pad broadly compatible with some modern Switch and Switch 2 games, though not a perfect match—the Start button here mimics the Switch 2’s plus (+) button, there’s nothing to replicate the minus (-) button, and it lacks newer features such as clickable thumbsticks.
However, availability is a problem for this controller. It’s only available directly from Nintendo’s online store, can only be purchased if you have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription, and is limited to one unit per account in the US, but two per account in the UK.
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Review information
Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2 Available on: Nintendo Switch 2 Release date: June 5, 2025
The conversation around interactive-visit-come-video-game Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, rather unfortunately, has not been about the game itself. Rather, many players have (rightly so) lamented the fact that this is a paid download rather than a pack-in experience – similar to the likes of Wii Sports or even Astro’s Playroom on PlayStation 5.
That being said, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour remains one of the top downloads on the Switch 2 eShop – at least here in the UK – so folks are certainly buying it. The question is, then, is it worth the $9.99 / £7.99 you’ll end up paying for it? Well, yes and no.
There are positives to take away from the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour experience. If you’re a hardware head like me, Welcome Tour presents information about the Switch 2 system in bite-sized chunks of trivia. There are even info booths and quizzes to undertake that highlight specific features, such as HD Rumble and mouse controls. I’m also a fan of the tech demos and minigame challenges that let you try out said features in a practical fashion.
Realistically, though, it’s an experience that only lasts a handful of hours, and rather annoyingly, it could be a more expensive game than its modest price tag lets on. That’s because some of the demos and minigames outright require things like a 4K TV or the Switch 2 Camera.
If you’re shooting for 100% completion, then Welcome Tour assumes you’ve gone all-in on the Switch 2 ecosystem as a whole. This is why I strongly feel the game should have come pre-installed onto your Switch 2 console; having to pay for a game that you might not even get to experience everything in – depending on the hardware you own – is extremely disappointing.
Ins and outs
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is presented as a giant exhibition for the new console. You’ll start by picking your avatar’s appearance simply by plucking them from a queue to the venue; you’re either an extremely tiny human, or the exhibition and its various sections are monolithic in size. I’ll let you decide which is more likely there.
If your objective in Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is simply to plough through all the areas, then that’s easy enough. You’ll begin on the left Joy-Con 2 controller, and you’re tasked with finding and checking all the components there. That includes things like the analog stick, directional buttons, and magnetic connector.
Once you’ve seen it all, you can unlock the gate to the next area, where you’ll repeat that process. It’s fun at first, but even though it’s a short experience overall, there will be instances where you’ll find yourself pixel hunting while uncovering all the gizmos needed to unlock the next area. That means a lot of running around this isometric exhibition, which can be quite a chore.
Up for a challenge
(Image credit: Nintendo)
To sidestep some of the tedium said exploration can bring, I do encourage you to take things at a measured pace in Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour. Thankfully, there are some distractions to be had in the form of quizzes, minigames, and tech demos.
Quizzes are the most straightforward of the bunch. There are various booths dotted about the exhibits, and talking to the person there will load in some information displays you can read to learn more about various aspects of the Switch 2 ecosystem.
Minigames are a bit more bespoke. Each area will have at least one or two, and most are fun little diversions. You’ll be tasked with a great many things with these, again having something to do with the Switch 2’s capabilities. Examples include using the Joy-Con 2’s mouse to pilot a UFO avoiding spiked balls, and a task where you have to guess the framerate of a ball bouncing across a screen.
Best bit
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour’s presentation is really quite charming. Running around on a giant Switch 2 screen or Joy-Con 2 controllers is a novel idea, and I had fun exploring each area to learn more about the console and its accessories.
Finally, there’s the tech demos. These don’t offer much of a challenge and instead showcase various aspects of the Switch 2’s tech. An early example has you shaking the Joy-Con 2 like maracas to demonstrate HD Rumble, while another showcases the handheld’s HDR capabilities, where you can let off fireworks and compare the differences between HDR and SDR color gamuts.
Completing quizzes, minigames, and tech demos will award you with medals, and collecting enough of these will unlock more content, including harder versions of minigame challenges. Some of these were surprisingly tough, too, so you may have your hands full if you’re a completionist.
Though the completionist route is kind of where Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour can potentially fall apart. The game flat out assumes the player has access to a 4K display and accessories like the Switch 2 Camera, as, believe it or not, there are challenges and tech demos related to such items.
Again, this would be slightly less foul were Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour a free inclusion with the console. But as it stands, I would avoid purchasing it even at its modest price if you don’t have a contemporary gaming setup, as you simply won’t be able to enjoy all the content on offer.
Should you play Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
Frustratingly, there is absolutely nothing in the way of options for Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, let alone for accessibility. At the information kiosk in the game’s first area, you can talk to a non-player-character (NPC) there to invert camera controls, and that’s literally it. Nothing for audio, visuals, or alternative control schemes.
How I reviewed Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour
I played Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour for five hours on the Switch 2 system. As the game has strict requirements for which control schemes to use at any given time, I was limited to using the Joy-Con 2 controllers for things like HD Rumble, mouse controls, and more. As for display, I swapped between my LG CX OLED TV and played on the Switch 2 handheld when the game required it.
Nintendo Switch 2 troubles have been extended to our neighbors north of the border. Pre-orders for the highly-anticipated hybrid console have been delayed in Canada just before they were slated to begin.
Jonathan Ore, senior writer for CBC Radio Online, shared a statement from Nintendo of Canada on Bluesky on Tuesday saying pre-orders for the Switch 2 have been delayed in the country to “align with the timing of pre-orders” in the United States. The statement reads as follows:
“Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in Canada will not start on April 9, 2025 in order to align with the timing of pre-orders to be determined in the U.S. Nintendo will provide updated information at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.”
Nintendo of Canada’s last-minute decision to delay pre-orders of the Switch 2 for the region comes nearly a week after Nintendo of America made the same move following President Trump’s plans to impose tariffs across the globe. That delay was made “to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions.”
After the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct aired, fans took to social media to express their sticker shock at the $450 price tag they discovered on the Switch 2 page of Nintendo’s site, as the company wasn’t transparent about the price during the stream. The pre-order delays that occurred in the U.S. and Canada as a result of the tariffs now have players concerned that the Switch 2 will cost even more $450 (or $500 for the Mario Kart World bundle), despite Nintendo’s efforts to keep its gaming ecosystem an escape from reality.
In an interview with The Verge, Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser denied the tariffs were factored into the Switch 2’s $450 price tag. He said the price was due to the console having a bigger LCD screen, the GameChat feature, enlarged Joy-Con controllers, and advanced internal hardware, among other factors.
Although the Switch 2 will be released on June 5 as planned, a new date for pre-orders has not been announced. If you still plan pre-ordering the console, we prepared this guide to help you out.
