One Year Ago Today, Nintendo Released Its Greatest Console Yet

Nintendo is a historical giant in the gaming industry, always finding ways to innovate and evolve. One of its biggest accomplishments in console gaming is one year old today.

The Switch 2 brings unbelievable technology specs and graphical input to portable console gaming that, when combined with the company's unmatched intellectual property advantage over its competitors, makes it a unique machine on the market currently and one of the greatest to ever exist in gaming.

Nintendo fans lined up outside of stores on June 5, 2025, ready for the successor to the highest-selling console in the company's history. The Switch had major staying power, but it was time for an upgrade. The Switch 2 has been everything you could dream of and more.

The game library has famously been a sticking point for impatient fans. There still isn't a major Super Mario or The Legend of Zelda release on the console in the first year, and neither franchise has been announced to be on the way yet. There have been plenty of rumors that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time might be getting a complete modern remake before the end of the year, but nothing has been officially announced yet.

There has been plenty of underrated titles to grace the Switch 2 in the first year. Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the truly creative and rare platformers to push the genre forward in the category's history. It's a system seller, even if some folks don't view DK as a character that can get people excited about a console.

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book was an underrated gem that came out in May. There are also plenty of great third-party games that have come to the console, a rarity for Nintendo in the last several generations of gaming. Most of these big games skipped Switch, Wii U, and Wii hardware.

There's lots to look forward to this summer as far as games for the Switch 2. Star Fox will get things kicked off at the end of June. Rhythm Heaven Groove will follow in July. Things are just getting started for Nintendo's best console yet!

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 9:00 PM.