Nintendo's new console is called the Switch, and it will further blur the lines between home and portable gaming
Image/Photo Credit: Nintendo
Nintendo has provided the first official glimpses of their upcoming console. Previously known only as the Nintendo NX, the company now has an official name for the console: the Nintendo Switch.
The new name signifies more than Nintendo's wish for gamers to switch from the two dominant consoles on the market, Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PS4, to their shiny new toy, but also highlights how easily users can switch between the two main playing modes of the console.
Earlier rumors about the console have proven to be far more accurate than expected, right down to how the console will work in hybrid mode. There is a dock device for the tablet like portable device, which Nintendo are calling the main Switch Console. There are also two detachable controllers (normally attached to the console's main controller), called Joy-cons, that clips onto either side of the tablet to produce a device that's not too dissimilar to the Wii U's GamePad.
The two Joy-con controllers can also be used separately for quick on-the-go two player gaming without the need to but an extra Switch console, with the tablet device having a built-in kickstand that accommodate multiplayer on the go. A promo video released by Nintendo also shows 4 player action using two Switch consoles.
The trailer released by Nintendo also revealed other hints about various aspects of the console, including the fact that some kind of SD card like device will be used to store games, along side digital only versions. Several titles, some launch titles, were also shown in the trailer, including the heavily anticipated 'Zelda: Breath of the Wild', a new Mario platformer, NBA 2K17 and Skyrim.
No other major details were announced, other than the console's release date being March 2017, but if recent rumors prove to be as accurate as the rumors that predicted the hybrid portable nature of the console, then it will most likely go on sale for $299.99.
Nintendo played up the portable multiplayer potential of the console.
"In addition to providing single and multiplayer thrills at home, the Nintendo Switch system enables gamers to play the same title wherever, whenever and with whomever they choose," said Nintendo. "The mobility of a handheld is now added to the power of a home gaming system to enable unprecedented new video game play styles."
Home
