After months of rumors about the Nintendo NX, the company’s supposed next gen console, Nintendo released a video announcement showing their actual next gen console: Meet the Nintendo Switch! The video, which you can view above, serves as the first glimpse into the new home gaming console from Nintendo that appears to be sort of a mashup on the Wii U and their popular DS line of handheld systems.
“Nintendo Switch allows gamers the freedom to play however they like,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO, Nintendo of America. “It gives game developers new abilities to bring their creative visions to life by opening up the concept of gaming without boundaries.”
The Nintendo Switch is a home gaming system that will allow gamers to play a title a home then take the screen with them and continue the game with the same system in portable mode. They can also play the same title wherever, whenever and with whomever they choose. Meaning multiplayer gaming at any given moment!
The set up for the Switch has the portable screen sitting in the Nintendo Switch Dock that connects the system to the TV. Once you take the portable screen from the dock it is instantly ready for on the go gaming. It boasts a high definition display so you can game virtually anywhere and it will look crisp and beautiful.
You can also remove two detachable Joy-Con controllers from either side of Nintendo Switch. There are several ways to utilize the Joy-Con controllers for multiplayer gaming. One player can use a Joy-Con controller in each hand; two players can each take one; or multiple Joy-Con can be employed by numerous people for a variety of gameplay options. If you don’t like those options, you can also use the optional Nintendo Switch Pro Controller to use instead of the Joy-Con controllers. Even better, you can just link up multiple Nintendo Switch systems together to enjoy local multiplayer face-to-face competition.
So far, I can only tell a few downsides to the new console which otherwise looks TOTALLY AMAZING. One of the best features of the Nintendo Wii was the ability to hold a screen in your hand while playing on the television. However, because the Switch now uses the screen as the console at the same time, we lose the dual screen playing. Also I am a bit worried about the processing power that this portable gaming system will have as it looks like it is running as the entire console at the same time. Yet overall, the new Switch looks like what we wanted the Wii to be and is very much an improvement in the right direction for Nintendo.
Full game demonstrations, the list of launch window titles, as well as launch date, price, product configuration and related specifics, will be shown and announced prior to the March launch in 2017.
