It Is, Indeed, a Hybrid Console
One of the biggest selling points of the Nintendo Switch is that you can use it as a traditional home gaming console, and enjoy playing from your couch, or take your games out with you. As seen in the reveal trailer, and stated in Nintendo’s official press release, if you leave the Switch in the official Dock, you’ll enjoy your game on your big television set. Once you lift it up from the Dock, the Switch instantly transitions into portable mode, and you’ll be able to bring your game out with you on a smaller, but pretty sharp-looking screen too.
As stated in the press release:
‘The portability of Nintendo Switch is enhanced by its bright high-definition display. It brings the full home gaming system experience with you to the park, on an airplane, in a car, or to a friend’s apartment.’
It wasn’t mentioned in the press release or shown in the trailer, but it’s likely that the handheld Switch will come with a portable charger that you can use to charge your device when you’re away from the Dock for a long period of time.
It Has Pro Controller Support, and Tinier Controllers Too
From either side of the Nintendo Switch, there are detachable Joy-Con controllers that you use to play your games. When the console is in its handheld form, you’ll be able to grip the controllers at the sides of the screen and play it like you’re holding a normal tablet. However, you can also remove the Joy-Con controllers, set the screen itself down on a surface, and lean back comfortably with the detachable controllers to continue playing.
If you’re looking to play some local co-op games with a friend. each person can take hold of a single Joy-Con controller and play the game together on a single screen. If you’re not a fan of holding the tiny Joy-Con controllers by themselves, and you don’t want to hold the sides of the screen, the Nintendo Switch also comes with support for a proper Pro Controller. It’s still unconfirmed if the Pro Controllers will be included with the Nintendo Switch itself, or if you’ll have to buy them separately.
It Will Use Cartridges
It’s looking like the Nintendo Switch will be using cartridges instead of discs for physical games. In the trailer, the Switch is shown having a cartridge port at the top of the screen, along with a headphone jack. This was likely done so that you can bring your games around with ease, and players won’t have to deal with carrying multiple discs on their person at once.
It wasn’t shown off in the trailer, or mentioned in the press release, but it’s likely that the Nintendo Switch will also support digital downloads from the Nintendo eShop so that you won’t have to bother with bringing physical games around at all.
Lots of Third-Party Support
In the reveal trailer, we saw a few first-party games like Breath of the Wild and Mario. We also got a look at some third-party titles including Skyrim: Special Edition and NBA 2K17. What wasn’t shown in the trailer, however, was the slew of third-party developers that are confirmed to have projects in the works for the console. Here’s the full list of third-party developers that will be involved with developing and releasing titles on the Switch:
• 505 Games • LEVEL-5 Inc.
• Activision Publishing, Inc.
• Marvelous Inc.
• ARC SYSTEM WORKS Co., Ltd.
• Maximum Games, LLC
• ATLUS CO., LTD.
• Nippon Ichi Software, Inc.
• Audiokinetic Inc.
• Parity Bit Inc.
• Autodesk, Inc.
• PlatinumGames Inc.
• BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
• RAD Game Tools, Inc.
• Bethesda
• RecoChoku Co., Ltd.
• CAPCOM CO., LTD.
• SEGA Games Co., Ltd.
• Codemasters®
• Silicon Studio Corporation
• CRI Middleware Co., Ltd.
• Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
• DeNA Co., Ltd.
• SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
• Electronic Arts
• Starbreeze Studios
• Epic Games Inc.
• Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
• Firelight Technologies
• Telltale Games
• FromSoftware, Inc.
• THQ Nordic
• Frozenbyte
• Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd.
• GameTrust
• TT Games
• GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC.
• UBISOFT
• Gungho Online Entertainment, Inc.
• Ubitus Inc.
• HAMSTER Corporation
• Unity Technologies, Inc.
• Havok
• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• INTI CREATES CO., LTD.
• Web Technology Corp
• KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD.
• Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd.
Does this mean that we could possibly see the likes of Persona 5 and Dark Souls III on the Switch? One can hope!
Wireless Connectivity
In the trailer, we also got to see how multiple consoles could work together in the same area. We got a look at Splatoon and NBA, and it looks like when paired together, players can face off against each other in co-op or competitive games.
Similar to how the Nintendo 3DS works with StreetPass and Friend system, the Nintendo Switch looks like it supports wireless connectivity for anyone who wishes to enjoy a local multiplayer game with their friends when they’re out and about. In fact, it’s almost like bringing your 3DS around with you, except the Switch has much better video quality than Nintendo’s flagship handheld.
Release Date?
Today, Nintendo confirmed that the Switch will indeed be releasing some time in March 2017. However, that’s all we know at the moment. There were no other details revealed about the specs and the hardware itself, including the Switch’s starting price, and what you’ll be getting out of the box. There isn’t a firm release date locked down for it either.
Still, we’re pretty stoked to see the potential that the Nintendo Switch has, and it should be exciting to see what it has to offer to the industry come 2017. We’ll keep you updated as more information about the Switch comes our way. In the meantime, feel free to let us know what your thoughts are on the console so far!
