While I’ve been following the video game industry closely since the late ’90s, I’ve never actually stood in line for a console launch until last night. The Switch 2 had me up past two in the morning, and I’m glad I finally got that notch in my belt.

Back in the aughts, there was an abortive attempt when the Wii hit shelves, but I bailed the moment I saw how long the line was at my local big box store. I ended up waiting a long while for hardware of my own instead. But since then, I’ve been fairly lucky that my pre-orders haven’t required much legwork.

I got laid off at the tail end of February, so I had already written off buying Nintendo’s new console at launch. Pre-orders rolled around in April, and I was content to wait for a better time to buy. I didn’t realize that I’d soon be launching a video game website though.

Jared got his pre-order ready to go, but that’s back home in the US. He’s in Europe on a long-planned vacation, so he wasn’t able to swing coverage. I know some folks who got theirs, but we’d have to wait to hear about their experience for a while — perhaps next week, hmm?

I decided it was worth dropping by my local electronics store to see what the line was like in the lead-up to a midnight launch, so I pulled up around 10:45 to find a very reasonably-sized crowd.

In the end, I ended up being number 26 in the pre-orderless group, and there were easily dozens of consoles left by the time I made my way to the cash register around one in the morning. I was tired, but at least I was victorious.

I got home, opened up the box, and immediately began the process to transfer my data from my Switch OLED. Weirdly, the devices were picky about which USB-C sources they were powered by, but I got everything moved over in about fifteen minutes total.

Dead on my feet, I set up a handful of important downloads, and I headed to bed so that I could wake up and play once I was refreshed. Unfortunately, four and a half hours isn’t nearly enough time to restore yourself, so I’m writing this somewhat deliriously. Them’s the breaks!

‘Mario Kart World’

Right out of the gate, I played about two hours of “Mario Kart World” to get a sense of the only major first-party launch title. As a fan of the series, I fully expected to enjoy it, but I was surprised at how much better it looked than “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” when I was up-close and personal. Specifically, the lighting seems to be entirely overhauled for the better.

I even booted up the original Switch release to compare and contrast, and I found that I was executing sharp turns significantly better in the new game too. It’s immediately clear that the handling, lighting, and art design of “World” is significantly better than I was originally giving it credit for.

I finished two Grand Prix cups, gave the new knock-out mode a taste, and then dabbled in the open world. The first mode is exactly what you’d expect except there are now 24 players. The second adds a tense layer of battle royale to your multi-stage racing, and I’m broadly in favor. The open world? Pretty sparse at first blush.

I’m immediately drawn in with unlockable karts and characters, and there’s no doubt that I will put a lot more time into this game over the coming weeks and months. I’m hoping that there’s more than simple timed challenges hiding in the open world, but I remain pretty skeptical. After all, “Forza Horizon” has some pretty big shoes to fill.

“Mario Kart World” is available now on the Switch 2 for 80 freaking dollars.

‘Welcome Tour’

It should have been a pack-in celebration of the very beautiful Switch 2 hardware. If they had just eaten the cost like a normal company, everyone would be praising “Welcome Tour” as a delightful, if nerdy, exploration of the tech that makes “Mario Kart” run so well.

Instead, this slight mini-game collection-manual feels like Nintendo is nickel-and-diming their most dedicated players. And while this certainly isn’t a unique take, there’s no getting around this friction.

But beyond the money issue, I have to admit that I’m charmed by the museum-like aesthetic and bizarre writing. I’ve only seen the first two areas, but I definitely want to finish off the whole damn map before I call it quits.

“Welcome Tour” is available now on Switch 2, infuriatingly, for $10.

‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’

When you ship a new console now, there’s a certain expectation that older games will get a new coat of paint. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can convert your Switch copies of “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom” to Switch 2 versions with higher resolutions, better frame rates, and an iPhone app to make completing the games a little bit easier.

I’ve only spent about an hour running around in “Tears of the Kingdom” in handheld mode, but I was sincerely impressed when I launched my existing save. The frame rate makes an enormous difference immediately, and I’d really hate to go back to the older version now.

I’m not saying you should buy a Switch 2 for better frame rates, but they’re worth the price if you’re already dropping $450 for the console.

The Switch 2 upgrade pack for “Tears of the Kingdom” is a reasonable-if-annoying $10 fee on top of the original game’s purchase price.

Image Credit: “Mario Kart World,” Nintendo