Despite silence on the matter from Nintendo, it sounds like a core feature of Nintendo’s last two games consoles might be making its way to its next one. A quote made by GameStop CEO Paul Raines on a recent investor call would seem to indicate the Nintendo Switch will have motion controls, reports IGN.
“A movement-related game is more fun for kids, you know, taking those accessories off — [the detachable Joy-Con pads] — you can really do a lot of interesting things with that in gameplay.”
Motion controls were the signature feature of Nintendo’s Wii, over 100 million units of which were shipped during its lifespan. When the Wii U succeeded that platform, it also came with motion controls, but that capability took a backseat to the Wii U’s standout feature, its touchscreen controller. That system has been considerably less successful, with Nintendo having shipped fewer than 14 million units as of the end of September.
Nintendo has refused to confirm or deny the presence either motion controls or a touchscreen in its Switch, which is set for release in March 2017. An October report, however, did point to the Switch having a 6.2″, 720p, multi-touch display.
It’s unlikely that any verification or repudiation of either motion or touch controls will be forthcoming before the end of the year: Nintendo isn’t set to release more details about its hybrid home/portable system until January 12, 2017.
Even though Nintendo has not confirmed the Switch’s hardware specs, control inputs, or even launch games, a GameStop survey found that a high percentage of consumers familiar with the console to be interested in purchasing one. Of those surveyed who were aware of its existence, 27 percent said they planned to buy a Switch at launch.
Raines is cautiously optimistic about the system. He called the Switch “a very interesting device” that he thinks has “tremendous potential as a game-changer. We’ll have to wait and see like everything else in this industry, the consumers will vote with their dollars, but I think it’s got a lot of potential.”
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