The company’s first entirely new platform in eight years, the Switch 2 has the potential to lift sales for game makers and retailers after what has been a lacklustre three years for the industry.

Tokyo-listed Nintendo will release its new Switch 2 console on June 5, seeking to keep the No. 1 spot in video-game devices with a new version of the top-selling model it introduced in 2017.

The new product will start at US$450 ($604.35) in the US, the company said Wednesday, an increase from the US$300 the company charged for the original Switch.

Nintendo revealed details of the machine during an hour-long livestream and announced several new games, including Mario Kart World, a new entry in the popular Mario Kart series, which will release alongside the system. The new game will feature 24 racers and a free roam mode that allows players to explore the world beyond the racetracks. 

The company’s first entirely new platform in eight years, the Switch 2 has the potential to lift sales for game makers and retailers after what has been a lacklustre three years for the industry.

To buoy sales, Nintendo is leaning on a large lineup of third-party games that were not playable on the previous Switch, including old entries in franchises such as Street Fighter and Final Fantasy.

Rather than asking customers to start from scratch, as it did with most of its previous consoles, Nintendo is instead taking an iterative approach. The Switch 2 resembles the Switch, with its large screen and detachable controllers, but is slightly bigger.

Like its predecessor, the Switch 2 will play games both on the go and on a television using a dedicated docking station. The new machine can play almost every Switch game as well as games that will be developed exclusively for Switch 2.

The Switch 2 will also have some additional features, such as allowing players to flip over the controllers and use them as a computer mouse for playing certain games. 

The Switch 2 controller includes a C button dedicated to a new feature called GameChat. Players will be able to use it to talk to friends using the system’s built-in microphone and can share their screen with friends while playing games.

A separately sold camera will allow users to appear on screen while playing, much like they would while streaming on Twitch or YouTube.

The Switch 2 will also allow you to play select supported games locally or online with people using other Switch 2 systems, even if they don’t own the game.