Nintendo gave the world the first look at its next console earlier this Thursday. The Japanese video game giant revealed the Nintendo Switch through a YouTube video posted on all its official channels. The Switch is a hybrid, modular console that promises to be Nintendo’s next big thing.
Fans had been waiting for official info on the codenamed Nintendo NX for months now, but the reveal was sudden and unexpected. Nintendo issued a pre-announcement tweet just hours before debuting the Nintendo Switch on Thursday morning.
The months before the Nintendo Switch reveal had been full of speculation, but some of the rumors were true. It is indeed a hybrid console and Nintendo did end up announcing it in October. What’s more, the wait won’t be so long for fans since the Switch will be available in March 2017 as predicted.
Nintendo Switch’s modular trait allows for a home and portable gaming console in one
The upcoming Nintendo Switch is a hybrid machine with the capacity to transition seamlessly between a handheld device and a home console. The Switch consists of two main modules: a portable display and a permanent dock.
Gamers can play on the Nintendo Switch as a home console by leaving the two modules coupled. Using this configuration, the also modular Joy-Con controller needs no modifications. There is also a Switch Pro controller, which is not modular and offers a more traditional alternative for playing.
However, the real Switch shines when it is used as a handheld or a portable device. Nintendo’s console automatically switches to the handheld mode when a player pulls it out of the dock. The dock presumably keeps the mobile display charged.
There are at least five ways to play on the Nintendo Switch
The modular Joy-Con controller offers versatility when it comes to playing. On its base form, the Joy-Con consists of two separate controllers working as one by pairing them in a base module.
Gamers can quickly pull the two individual Joy-Con pieces from the base controller to play with them in different ways. While using the Nintendo Switch as a handheld device, players can slide and click the Joy-Con controllers on the side of the display to play.
Furthermore, users can use the two Joy-Con pieces wirelessly, one in each hand to play single-player games with the Nintendo Switch. For multiplayer brawls, each Joy-Con controller can work just as fine, and players can bring more than one Nintendo Switch display to play on opposing screens.
Nintendo Switch is welcoming all, from iconic games Zelda and Mario to instant classics like Skyrim
On the first official trailer for the upcoming Nintendo Switch, the company previewed some of the games that will be available for the console. New Zelda, Super Mario, and Mario Kart titles will land on the hybrid machine, most likely upon launch.
An untitled NBA game and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim also showed up in the trailer. Nintendo gave no information on the Switch’s exact release date or price, but previous rumors narrow it down for a mid-March, $499 launch.
Source: Nintendo
