Hardware
Surprisingly enough, the event didn’t focus very much on the hardware. After a quick recap of what we learned back in October, we got a look at some configurations of the console itself. You could use it on your TV like a traditional console, take the Switch on the go like a handheld, make the Switch itself a screen on a counter as you use the Joy-Cons, and even link with up to seven other Nintendo Switches. They briefly mentioned the touch-screen and battery life (which ranges from 2-6 hours depending on the game). And, the console will have 32GB of storage (some of which is reserved for the system) that can be upgraded.
A lot of attention was given to the Joy-Con controllers themselves. Aside from launching with two brightly colored versions (Neon Blue and Neon Red), it turns out that they’re also very accurate motion controllers. They’re so accurate that you can shake a virtual cup of ice and feel each individual ice-cube clinking and clanking as if you were really holding the cup.
To be completely honest, the lack of any stronger details concerning the hardware is… well, concerning. We don’t know what kind of power to expect, which means we don’t know what kind of games to expect. That will put the Switch in a rocky position, as consumers tend to go off of hard information unless they’re just die-hard fans (something that the company seems to be light on in recent years). The concept is different, but maybe not different enough to stand out against rock solid competition, and a superpowered Project Scorpio due later this year.
Power has become more important in recent years, even when style takes the front seat. It supports the larger worlds that developers are more often creating, as well as more capabilities for gameplay and immersion. You can get but so far on just colors alone, especially if some of those colorful games rely too heavily on gimmicks. Power will prove to be a serious hurdle for Nintendo, one they stumbled over with the Wii U’s release.
