Format: Digital NSP (Pre-Installed / eShop Download) Developer: Nintendo EPD (Hardware R&D Group + UX Team) Release Date: Launch Day, Switch 2 Hardware Wave File Size: 2.8 GB
Upon first booting a new Switch 2 console, Welcome Tour auto-launches (unless disabled). A cheerful AI guide—a sentient, floating version of the Switch 2’s new magnetic Joy-Con latch—introduces itself. The goal: tour the hardware’s capabilities by playing through 24 short, charming micro-games. Wing 1: The Grip Reimagined (Haptic & Magnetic Joy-Con) The first shock: the Switch 2’s Joy-Con attach with a soft, satisfying thunk via electromagnets. Welcome Tour ’s first mini-game, “Magnet Mender,” has you physically detach and reattach the controllers to solve a puzzle on screen. A broken bridge appears; you pull the left Joy-Con off, tilt it like a joystick to gather “magnetic flux,” and snap it back in to complete the circuit. The haptic feedback is so precise you feel each magnetic coil engage. nintendo switch 2 welcome tour switch nsp
Another game, uses the new analog triggers (a first for a Nintendo handheld hybrid). You press the trigger lightly to control a brush painting a Mural—full press unleashes a waterfall of paint. The NSP includes a calibration tool disguised as a high-score challenge. Wing 2: The Screen That Sees You (4K + Variable Refresh) The Switch 2’s 1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked) screen supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). Welcome Tour doesn’t just tell you—it shows you. In “Frame-Race Flicker,” a retro-style racer intentionally drops frames, then smoothly corrects them. You must tap the screen to “sync” the tear. It’s educational and oddly addictive. Wing 1: The Grip Reimagined (Haptic & Magnetic
The highlight: a WarioWare -esque game where you spot the difference between a native 4K image and an AI-upscaled 720p image. It’s Nintendo gently bragging. Wing 3: The Microphone Returns (Noise-Cancellation) The Switch 2 includes a built-in mic array with hardware noise cancellation. Welcome Tour ’s “Whisper Dungeon” has you blow into the mic to move a sailboat, then whisper a secret password to open a door. The game filters out background noise so aggressively that a leaf blower won’t break the puzzle. This wing ends with a karaoke mode that isolates your voice from the game audio—a hint at future Switch 2 Voice Chat integration. Wing 4: Backward Compatibility – The Time Vault This is the emotional core. Nintendo famously confirmed Switch 2 will play original Switch games, but Welcome Tour celebrates it. In “Cartridge Cemetery,” you place a physical Switch 1 game card into the new slot (or insert a digital NSP file’s icon). The screen renders that game’s box art in a 3D diorama. Insert Breath of the Wild , and the museum plays the 2017 reveal trailer. Insert an indie NSP like Hades , and a tiny Zagreus runs across your screen. The haptic feedback is so precise you feel
Fan reception, however, is ecstatic. Speedrunners quickly found a “skip tour” button, but casual players kept returning. The became a meme (people yelling “NINTENDO” into the mic to open chests). And the Backward Compatibility wing sparked a social media trend: #MySwitchHistory, where users posted their Legacy Medal screenshots. The Deeper Purpose: Teaching Through Play Nintendo has always struggled to explain its hardware innovations. The Wii U’s GamePad was a marketing disaster because no quick demo showed its value. The Switch’s IR camera was largely forgotten. Welcome Tour solves this by making each hardware feature a rewarding interaction .
You don’t just learn that the new Joy-Con have analog triggers—you feel the difference when a light press tiptoes a character and a full press makes them leap. You don’t read about VRR—you watch a screen tear and then watch it vanish. By the end of the 90-minute tour, you understand the Switch 2 better than any spec sheet could teach. In five years, when the Switch 2 Pro or Switch 3 arrives, Welcome Tour will remain a time capsule. Its NSP will be archived by groups like No-Intro, studied by hardware historians, and modded by enthusiasts who want to run its mini-games with custom input devices. A fan project, OpenTour , will attempt to reimplement the magnetic Joy-Con logic using Arduino.