Nintendo’s Switch to the Future

Hamish Shepherd

On 1/12, Nintendo held a conference in Tokyo, Japan introducing their new console, the Nintendo Switch, which is to be released on 3/3/17. The price is $ 299.99 in U.S dollars and available for pre-order in the U.S , Britain, Australia and Japan. The release of the handheld and console hybrid shows the rebounding of Nintendo after the U Wii’s  poor performance on the market.

The system is Nintendo’s  innovation in gaming and is a combination of their two branches of gaming technology hand held and traditional home console. One of the biggest features that set the Switch apart from other consoles is the ability to be portable.  When used as a standard home console, the gamepad, which is similar to the U Wii pad , sits in a station that plugs into a T.V and uses a controller similar to pre existing ones. This mode is called “T.V mode” while  “Tabletop mode” can be used when the pad is removed from the docking bay and then placed upon table and while still using. The handheld mode is the biggest innovation of the three modes since the pad is removed from the docking bay and the controller disables and connects onto the sides of the pad.

The battery life istwo to six hours depending on the game played. For example Nintendo has stated that “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be played for roughly three hours on a single charge. The console also has the ability to connect with up to eight people in multiplayer. These components show a combination of their work with the Wii U and the DS series of handheld consoles in effort to combine the best of the projects. They have also made changes that the public requested  with the Nintendo Switch, such as lack of distance that the Wii U pad can be used from the main console.

Many games have already been announced for the the console that are continuations of long lasting series as well as new games to Nintendo platforms. They are keeping with classics such as the Mario Kart series and Super Mario, as well as creating series with sequels such as the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 .Nintendo has also entered into a partnership with Bethesda.  This is the first time that the two companies have worked together. The executive producer and director of Bethesda ,Todd Howard, says that they are excited to work with the company. This puts the final touch on the variety of games the new console will offer.

On 3/3, the console will be released internationally and with great excitement from the gaming community. The Nintendo Switch is the culmination of Nintendo’s past projects into a new and innovative system; as Todd Howard put it “Classically Nintendo yet something new.”