Nintendo Switch 2

[Jazzy G]

Managed to get a pre-order with Mario Kart, Street Fighter 6 (I really hope my fightstick and hitbox are compatible) the camera and a memory card from Curry's, which I'm going to get delivered to mine on launch day. I don't know whether Vicky will want to chip in towards it or pick up one of her own. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Not that I’m picking one up but if you missed out on a pre order and was desperate, Argos seem to have tons in stock and ready for collection/delivery today. 

Edited June 5, 2025 by TildeGuy~!

[Weezenal]

Mine arrive this morning. Only just had a chance to open it. If you plan to transfer settings from Switch 1 make sure that it’s charged and has the latest software to speed up the process.

[RedTwoster]

On 4/3/2025 at 3:52 PM, RedTwoster said:

I’ve never had an issue pre-ordering a console from Argos. It’s where I got my PS5, Switch 1, Series S and 3DS from, and they all arrived on time with no problem whatsoever. 

What I think happens - and I may be wrong - is that rather than send them out from a central hub, the availability is tied in to availability at your local Argos store, and that’s also who will be delivering it. That makes it less likely that scalpers can abuse the system.

The reason I think that’s the system is because you enter your postcode, and then they then check availability based on that. 

But yeah, I’ve found them to be a safe bet for pre-orders.

 

I should never have said this. I’m still waiting on my pre-order arriving, and the tracking number Argos provided doesn’t work. I could literally have gone into the shop opposite my work and bought one off the shelf today, pre-ordering has been a waste of time. 

[DavidB6937]

Ah that's a pain. Hope it gets sorted.

I ended up getting one from Amazon when they recently re-stocked. It's coming Saturday which is fine as I won't have time to do anything before then anyway.

Just got Mario Kart but I'll probably pick up Fast Fusion and Ridge Racer too.

[Retro Red]

34 minutes ago, RedTwoster said:

I should never have said this. I’m still waiting on my pre-order arriving, and the tracking number Argos provided doesn’t work. I could literally have gone into the shop opposite my work and bought one off the shelf today, pre-ordering has been a waste of time. 

I’ve not got mine from Argos either, DPD tracking still shows it en route to the local depot.

[RedTwoster]

1 hour ago, Retro Red said:

I’ve not got mine from Argos either, DPD tracking still shows it en route to the local depot.

That’s shit. They’ve not been able to provide me with a working tracking number or order number all day and have provided no email updates - in the morning when I contacted them, they said it had dispatched. In the late afternoon they said it was definitely out for delivery (yet could still not provide a working order or tracking number) then this evening they said it would arrive tomorrow and some had been delayed as they seals were broken. I asked if I could have a tracking number, and confirmation of this in writing so I can at least escalate if I don’t receive it again (and also so I can complain in writing rather than by live chat - I’ve been charged £429 plus delivery at the end of the day) but they said no, and ended the chat. I’m pretty pissed off, as I wasn’t rude and made the point of being understanding and thankful to their customer services representative, I’m well aware that dealing with the public can be a crap number. Luckily I screen-grabbed the chat, as I felt a bit suspicious of contradictions in the space of the final chat. But yeah, I’m a bit miffed and I’m still without a working order or tracking number.

[FLips]

Opinions are subjective and I’m sure some of you will feel different, but I was round a mate’s house earlier playing the new Mario Kart and it left me feeling kinda happy I’ve waited. It’s not that good.

The open world, admittedly I only played about 20 minutes of, but it’s very empty. I found the odd blue switch that started an A-Z times challenge, and I found some character tokens and coins, but solo it was barren. I was expecting Burnout Paradise, with things to smash and collect on every corner, but it’s got nothing going on.

The Grand Prix mode, and the tracks in general are the most disappointing thing about it.
Because the game is built around the open world driving between courses, the GP seriously suffers from a lack of unique tracks or memorable moments because it’s formatted in a way where most races are A to Z rather than laps, and A and Z are the only interesting bits with all the letters inbetween being long stretches of empty road. Due to there not being actual proper courses either all the smaller parts suffer. The music and track parts are borrowed wholesale from other MK games but beyond tribute. I struggled to see or hear much of anything brand new. 

24 racers is a nightmare too. If you thought getting swarmed with shells and boomerangs in 12 player was bad, cop a load of this. It’s a hellscape where you drop from 1st to 24th at the flick of a switch, and the weapons are so imbalanced it’s almost impossible to claw it back.

The most interesting thing about it is the new Knockout Race thing they have which is fun but again suffers from 24 racers. What isn’t fun is doing this mode splitscreen, one player getting trampled by Giant Mushrooms and Stars on the first lap and then having to sit out and spectate for 10 minutes while the other player carries on.

I’m a huge fan of the MK series. I got my Gamecube for Double Dash, played every other iteration to death, still play 8 after what must be a decade, but this one is a bit of a downer. It has one new gimmick that dominates the game and everything suffers because of it. I’d still play it over early ones like Super or Advance, but of the proper 3D ones it might be my least favourite and we played that thing for a good 4 hours.

[RedTwoster]

2 hours ago, FLips said:

The open world, admittedly I only played about 20 minutes of, but it’s very empty. I found the odd blue switch that started an A-Z times challenge, and I found some character tokens and coins, but solo it was barren. I was expecting Burnout Paradise, with things to smash and collect on every corner, but it’s got nothing going on.

That’s a real shame. Given that review consoles weren’t issued, it’s really hard to gauge what launch titles are worth buying. VGC has been very down on Donkey Kong Bananza from their impressions of the demo, so I hope this doesn’t end up being like the 3DS as far as its early software library is concerned. We’ll see, I suppose.

[Retro Red]

8 hours ago, RedTwoster said:

That’s shit. They’ve not been able to provide me with a working tracking number or order number all day and have provided no email updates - in the morning when I contacted them, they said it had dispatched. In the late afternoon they said it was definitely out for delivery (yet could still not provide a working order or tracking number) then this evening they said it would arrive tomorrow and some had been delayed as they seals were broken. I asked if I could have a tracking number, and confirmation of this in writing so I can at least escalate if I don’t receive it again (and also so I can complain in writing rather than by live chat - I’ve been charged £429 plus delivery at the end of the day) but they said no, and ended the chat. I’m pretty pissed off, as I wasn’t rude and made the point of being understanding and thankful to their customer services representative, I’m well aware that dealing with the public can be a crap number. Luckily I screen-grabbed the chat, as I felt a bit suspicious of contradictions in the space of the final chat. But yeah, I’m a bit miffed and I’m still without a working order or tracking number.

Try adding 1550 to the start of your tracking number and put that into the DPD website. Both the numbers I got from Argos didn’t work, but when I then got the email from DPD saying the parcels were on the way both had missed those first 4 digits.

[DavidB6937]

I've not played Mario Kart yet but funnily enough the open world aspect was the thing that interested me the least, so I suspect my experience might be a lot different to some of the reviews.

I'm quite easily pleased. I just wanted a new Mario Kart after seemingly playing the last one for 10 years. So I think I'll get more than enough out of this new one.

[Weezenal]

Played a few Grand Prix with my wife and it’s fun but the open world doesn’t work as well as the old fashioned circuits. The races also feel a lot slower even on 150cc. I think you’re supposed to collect the coins to build the speed up but it never feels as snappy as you’d want it to be. Hopefully to make it faster.

Agree with @FLips that the open world free roam does feel a bit empty, it’s definitely no Forza. I did get slightly more into it when I played more of the mini games but it does need a bit more added.

Overall it still fun and nice they mixed it up a bit but maybe the open world bits weren’t needed or could have had some classic circuits.

Bit annoyed as upgraded the Zelda games with the Expansion pack and its saying my wife’s account can’t access the upgraded version. Assuming it’s another cash grab to get us to join the family version. 

[RedTwoster]

4 hours ago, Retro Red said:

Try adding 1550 to the start of your tracking number and put that into the DPD website. Both the numbers I got from Argos didn’t work, but when I then got the email from DPD saying the parcels were on the way both had missed those first 4 digits.

This didn’t work sadly, but the console did arrive this morning. I’ll definitely think twice before pre-ordering with Argos again, but at least I’ve not been left without one

[Jazzy G]

Even though we'd left instructions to leave the parcels in a safe place our DPD driver decided nobody was home so left our Switch 2s at the post office. Then they texted telling us we coukd pick them up. I felt really ill yesterday and spent most of the day in bed, but had a couple of hours where I managed to set mine up, had a look at the welcome tour (you need a 4k TV, pro controller and camera to be able to fully experience it) and a few games of Ridge Racer, which was fun. I left Street Fighter 6 downloading and may have a look at that today. My Hori play and charge stand arrived as well so I can hook my fightstick and hitbox up to it and have a look. I wonder whether Vicky might enjoy playing using Gyro controls. I think I'll use modern controls in handheld and classic if it's docked. 

[Scratch]

Add me to the list of those thoroughly disappointed with the new Mario Kart. I really dislike the A-to-B races, the tracks are too wide, the action is far too manic and you spend far too much time not drifting round a circuit in a kart.

I’m 45, so maybe I’m really not the target audience now, but it’s a big step backwards from Mario Kart 8.