A behind-the-scenes look at Nintendo Switch 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Nintendo's Switch 2 is bigger and better than its predecessor of eight years past as the video game developer pushes to bring its brand into “a new era" where social experiences are at the forefront.

The Associated Press and other members of the media got an exclusive look this week at Nintendo's latest handheld, TV-console hybrid, which dives head-first into the social world of online gaming.

The Switch 2 will hit the market June 5 at a price of $449.99.

“You’ll be joining us as we step into a new era of Nintendo,” Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s president, told those in attendance before they scattered to test out the new Switch.

Video and audio chats and game-sharing functions are huge parts of the new console. One of the Switch 2's Joy-Cons — it's controllers — even has a “C” button to quickly access “GameChat." Click the button and up pops window views to others players' gameplay, lined up at the bottom of the user's screen in squares like a video conference call.

A camera attachment — sold separately — allows gamers to project themselves into those windows instead of sharing their own screen, while some games let the camera-user appear in the game itself. A microphone is now built into the console for audio.

Another feature, “GameShare,” allows users to share the game they are playing temporarily with other consoles that don’t have it.

And then there’s a function to control the console’s Joy-Cons like a computer mouse — an appeal toward the growing PC-based gaming audience — something developers are excited for people to try.

“Because of the environment were in, it’s a hands-on experience,” Takuhiro Dohta, the console’s director, said through a translator at the media event.

Kouichi Kawamoto, the Switch 2’s producer, called the mouse feature a “fun,” “engaging” way to experience gaming.

It can be used on multiple surfaces, not just a mouse pad, he said.

“We have made adjustments so that you can control the mouse on your pants,” Kawamoto said through a translator about sitting down and using your own leg as a mouse surface. “There were some people in development where that was their preferred way of playing.”

The media demo area had a station to test out the mouse function on a wheelchair basketball game. Players used both Joy-Con “mice” for that one. Using both at the same time was a gaming experience unlike many, or any. This particular station had a smooth pad that the Joy-Cons slid around on seamlessly. Another station without the pad worked just fine on a hard desk surface — that one was a world-building game with less precision required.

The first game played was Mario Kart World — included in the console’s bundle package. That was in handheld mode. The 7.9 inch LCD screen is bigger and it feels it. Next to a last generation Switch OLED Model, there’s a stark difference.

The handheld graphics were obviously better in 1080p. In the docked mode, Nintendo says the system is able to support 4K resolution for compatible games. It wasn't immediately clear if the docked games that were demoed were compatible, but the graphics looked better than the first-generation Switch. Especially in Hogwarts Legacy. Wow.

The Joy-Con controllers, which are now magnets that click into place, are upgrades from the slide-into-place mechanism in first-gen. The AP didn’t spend enough time with the demo unit to get a great read on how sturdy they are, but developers were asked about what one reporter thought was a “flimsy” connection and had this to say:

“It may at first glance look flimsy, but if you’ve actually touched it, I think you’ll see that it’s not as flimsy as it looks,” Kawamoto said through a translator. “We did our best to make sure it’s strong.”

The new Mario Kart World featured a thrilling Knockout Tour mode that pits 24 players against each other in a race where the field is culled at five checkpoints until one racer remains.

Among the wishes from Switch fans was an increased battery life. Developers weren’t able to promise that, mainly because they said battery life depends on the environment and conditions the console is operating in. The Switch 2 does uses more energy. But they did say it has a larger battery to compensate for that.

“With Switch 2, because of things like ‘GameChat’ ... There’s variability of battery life even wider than the Nintendo Switch,” Dohta said.

The Switch 2 will cost $150 more than its predecessor at launch. Joost van Dreunen, author of “One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games,” said the Trump administration’s tariffs have hit the video game console industry at a fragile moment. He believes the console costs about $50 more than it would have without the tariffs, which he says impact video game hardware because console devices are manufactured and shipped from China and the surrounding region.

One of the Switch 2s that media members demoed said “Made in China” in the small font on the back of the console.

Nintendo didn’t address pricing, with a company moderator declining to answer a reporter’s question on the cost during the media event.

When asked about chip shortages, hardware costs and the pandemic, however, developers did say those factors impacted development in terms of the number of consoles they could produce.

“Yes, for example covid certainly had a large impact in the development,” Tetsuya Sasaki, the console’s technical director, said through a translator. “Even with the chip shortage we were working with our partners and had to be creative in working our way through that. ... And yeah even the Nintendo Switch was hard to get at one point.”

In addition to Mario Kart World, two more Switch 2 exclusives feature its marquee characters: Donkey Kong Bananza, a 3D adventure with the big ape punching his way through a huge underground world, arriving July 17, and Kirby Air Riders, a racing game from the director of the Super Smash Bros. series, due later in the year.

The new console will be backwards compatible — able to play physical and digital Switch games — but not every game from the predecessor console will have that capability. Also, users will need to purchase a microSD express memory card for the Switch 2. The Nintendo Direct on Wednesday revealed that normal microSD cards will not be compatible with the system.

Associated Press reporters Sarah Parvini in Los Angeles and Lou Kesten in Washington contributed to this report.

"Made in China" is on a new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Mario Kart World on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

A GameCube controller is at a Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Hogwarts Legacy on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Mario Kart World on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

An unopened Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console is on display at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

New Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming consoles are on display at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Super Mario Party Jamboree, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Donkey Kong Bananza on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Super Mario Party Jamboree, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Mario Kart World on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

People play Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Star Crossed World, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video gaming console at a media preview event in New York on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

President of Nintendo America Doug Bowser delivers his remarks during the debut of the Nintendo Switch 2, in New York, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A game controller for the Nintendo Switch 2 is demonstrated during a media event, in New York, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Joy-Con controllers of the Nintendo Switch 2 are demonstrated during a media event, in New York, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Joy-Con controllers of the Nintendo Switch 2 that include a new "C" button, are shown during a media event, in New York, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Nintendo Switch 2 is demonstrated during a media event, in New York, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

HONG KONG (AP) — To his supporters, former media mogul Jimmy Lai is a fighter for democracy. To his opponents, he's a traitor to his motherland.

Now, he could face life in prison after being convicted of conspiracies to commit sedition and collusion with foreign forces in a landmark trial that began in 2023.

Lai, 78, is an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party who was arrested in 2020 under a national security law following massive anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong the year before.

His arrest and the closure of his Apple Daily newspaper, a tabloid-style publication that backed the democracy movement, dealt a blow to free speech in a city that was once a bastion of press freedom in Asia.

Born in mainland China, Lai was just 12 when he arrived in Hong Kong on a fishing boat as a stowaway, hoping for a better life in the then-British colony. He began working as a child laborer in a glove factory, where he was introduced to the garment industry. He later founded the popular casual wear chain Giordano in 1981.

But a pivotal moment for Lai was the Beijing deadly crackdown on the 1989 student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square: His company printed T-shirts in support of the protests and he became interested in media to disseminate information.

He founded Next Magazine in 1990, and five years later, Apple Daily. The news outlet attracted a strong following with its sometimes sensational reports, investigative scoops and short animated video reports. Being openly critical of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, the newspaper was well-received among pro-democracy readers.

In 1994, he insulted then-Chinese Premier Li Peng, calling him “the son of a turtle egg,” an offensive slur in Chinese culture, after Li justified the Tiananmen crackdown. China pressured the Giordano brand and Lai had to sell his stake in the company.

His long-time friend Lee Wing-tat, also an activist, said Lai was a firm believer in democracy, freedom and the “small government, big market” economic principle, which emphasizes minimal state intervention and free trade. This was shaped by his childhood experience in mainland China, where his family suffered under the Communist Party's rule, and his rags-to-riches journey in the city, Lee said.

Lai organized informal gatherings for pro-democracy lawmakers and scholars to discuss policies over meals in the 1990s, in the hopes of influencing politicians, Lee said.

He also took to the streets, including massive pro-democracy protests in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement, and made donations to pro-democracy parties, including one that Lee used to chair. His newspaper often urged readers to join protests.

Lai was among the demonstrators in the leaderless anti-government protests in 2019. He met with then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the time to discuss the developments linked to a now-withdrawn bill that sparked the unrest, angering Beijing.

In 2020, China's national security law for Hong Kong, meant to quell the protests, loomed. In response, Apple Daily launched a campaign encouraging readers to petition U.S. President Donald Trump, during his first term, to “save Hong Kong.”

During his trial, Lai’s Apple Daily executives said he had influenced the newspaper’s coverage, with one saying objections to the petition campaign were brushed aside. Prosecutors accused him of asking staff not to target Trump, and Lai later testified he hoped the American president could help stop the national security law.

After the law took effect in June 2020, Lai told The Associated Press that “Hong Kong is dead.”

More than a month later, Lai was arrested under the law as police raided Apple Daily's building. The operation sent shockwaves through the local press scene. In 2021, arrests of the newspaper’s top executives and freezing of some of its assets forced the publication to cease operation.

Since December 2020, Lai has been in custody, during which he was sentenced to five years and nine months for fraud allegations in a case unrelated to the security law.

During his current trial, prosecutors alleged he had conspired with others to collude with foreign forces and publish seditious materials, saying he had clearly betrayed national interests. They pointed to Lai's articles, text messages, social posts and livestream shows. Lai admitted he had advocated for foreign sanctions against China earlier, but stopped once the law kicked in. He argued in court that he wrote without seditious intent.

“For truth prevails in God’s kingdom, and that’s good enough for me,” he said.

The court rejected these arguments, writing in an 855-page verdict that Lai's campaign against the People's Republic of China carried on for much of his adult life and continued “in a less explicit way” after the law's passage.

“There is no doubt that (Lai) had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years,” Juder Esther Toh said, reading from the verdict.

The food lover, who is nicknamed “Fatty Lai,” has shrunk in size while in prison. His lawyer in August said he had experienced heart palpitations, though the government said a medical examination found no abnormalities.

Lai, a Roman Catholic, drew multiple crucifixions behind bars, and his friend Robert Sirico, a U.S.-based priest, received one of the pictures.

Beijing has called Lai “an agent and pawn of the anti-China forces." But Sirico said Lai had told him he wanted China to be better and the priest visited mainland China after Lai encouraged him to.

“He had a great love of China,” Sirico said, pointing to Lai's art at home and the meals they shared.

In the AP interview in 2020, Lai appeared undaunted.

“If I have to go to prison, I don’t mind. I don’t care,” he said. “It won’t be something I can worry about, I’ll just relax and do what I have to do.”

FILE - A protester holds an umbrella up during a rally on a main road in the occupied areas outside government headquarters in Hong Kong's Admiralty, Oct. 9, 2014. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Protesters march on the streets against an extradition bill in Hong Kong, June 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

FILE - Media mogul Jimmy Lai, center, wearing a pair of goggles, appears outside the government headquarters to join a protest in Hong Kong, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

FILE - Tiananmen Square is filled with thousands during a pro-democracy rally in Beijing, China, May 17, 1989. (AP Photo/Sadayuki Mikami, File)

FILE - Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, then owner of the Hong Kong and Taiwan newspaper Apple Daily, attends the Seminar on Tenth Anniversary of Hong Kong's Handover organized by the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, June 9, 2007. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)