At 4am GMT today, clutching my coffee, I sat bleary-eyed and waited for the much anticipated Nintendo Switch Presentation.
Not much has been revealed about the console since its official unveiling in October ’16 but the rumour mill has been running more and more rampant by the day. Finally, we can now put some of those rumours to bed and separate fact from fiction. As Mario would say: here we go!
The Presentation
Right out of the gate, Nintendo dropped the bombshell everyone was waiting for immediately. Nintendo Switch will be released simultaneously around the world on 3rd March 2017. This means that the Switch will be available in Japan, Northern America, most of Europe and other territories on the same day. It will be ¥29,980, $299.99 (US) and will vary across Europe (UK retailer GAME is currently listing the price at £279.99).
They also confirmed online multiplayer, which will be free initially but there will be a fee as of Autumn 2017. A price wasn’t mentioned but it’s likely to be a monthly/yearly subscription similar to what we’re used to already. Another aspect is that the Switch will connect with most smart devices and be used to interact with other players but they didn’t elaborate too much on this.
Another major feature is that the Switch will be region-free for its software to help incorporate the focus on the consoles mobility.
The Specs
Nintendo emphasised that the Switch shares the DNA from previous Nintendo consoles and talked about the various strengths of each of them (although they only said the GameCube had a handle. Poor GameCube…)
Out of the box, the Switch will include:
- the console (the monitor we’ve seen in the previous video)
- a left and right Joy-Con (with wrist straps)
- Joy-Con Grip (to make the Joy-Con into a traditional controller)
- a docking station (to connect the console to a monitor)
- HDMI cable and AC adaptor
The Switch console will be touch screen and have the ability to wireless connect up to 8 consoles for local multiplayer.
The Switch will also be available with standard grey Joy-Cons or with one red and one blue. It’s worth mentioning at this point that Nintendo refer to the Joy-Cons as plural but it is just the one controller which can act as two separately as pictured.
The battery life of the Joy-Cons will vary depending on the game that is being played but will be somewhere between 2 and a half to 6 and a half hours and you can play while they are charging.
Nintendo went into great detail showing off their new controllers and what they can do. They can read Amiibo data, they have a capture button similar to the Dualshock 4 which will incorporate video in the future and each Joy-Con is motion sensitive.
The Joy-Con, when separated, looks to be an evolution of the Wiimote and nunchuck and will be used in a similar way. There was also a swanky new feature called “HD Rumble” introduced. It’s very difficult to convey in writing but the video presentation described how the controller can sound like there is an ice-cube in a glass (bear with me) and when you tilt the Joy-Con you can hear/feel the ice-cube moving inside. How this will play out in actual games remains to be seen but it was an interesting, if somewhat baffling, feature.
The Games
Now down to the important part. The reason we all buy a console in the first place: the games.
Nintendo were keen to show off two games that make the most out of the Switch and the Joy-Cons. First up was 1, 2, Switch; a game that can be played with the Joy-Cons but without the use of a tv. The video demonstration showed people playing in a variety of manners but a western shoot-out was the most prominent one to feature. 1, 2, Switch will make use of the HD Rumble feature and is designed to get everyone playing together.
Next up was Arms. This was described as a “more complex” game but was essentially a more in-depth version of boxing from Wii Sports. Players will use the Joy-Cons as you would the Wiimote and nunchuck and punch, twist, tilt as well as input button commands to fight their opponent. This can be played split-screen on one tv or connecting wirelessly with the Switch monitors.
This is classic Nintendo encouraging people to play together in innovative and active ways. 1, 2, Switch will release 03/03/2017 but didn’t confirm if it will be included with the console. Arms will be released later in the Spring.
We saw a trailer for Splatoon 2 which also intends to make full use of the Joy-Con controllers with motion sensitive features and includes online and local multiplayer set for a Summer 2017 release.
Next up, what most people were expecting/waiting for, Mario’s here! Super Mario Odyssey is the game’s official title and it is graphically fantastic. The trailer shows Mario running round a more ‘real-life’ city amongst other colourful locations but not from the Mushroom Kingdom. It seems that Mario has been taking inspiration from James Bond villains as the trailer showed off a new hat-throwing attack (because who throws a shoe, really?) as well as Mario’s hat featuring a set of eyes. Not much more was revealed as the game is still heavily in development and, unfortunately, not due to release until the Holiday period 2017.
A quick video was shown announcing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Fire Emblem Warriors before it was announced that over 50 3rd party companies are currently working on titles for the Switch with over 80 games currently in development.
Square Enix announced Dragon Quest 10 & 11 as well as Dragon Quest Heroes 1 & 2 and something called Project Octopath Traveller which looks to combine 8-bit RPG sprites with HD backgrounds. We also heard from Sega, Bethesda (confirming Skyrim), Grasshopper (hinting at a new No More Heroes) and EA (confirming Fifa).
Whilst not officially announced in the presentation, eagle-eyed viewers could spot several other titles throughout the video such as Mario Kart 8, Bomberman, Sonic, Minecraft, Rayman and even a new looking version of Street Fighter 2. There was also a quick glimpse of what looked like a Mii hinting that they may well be returning on the Switch. Here is a full list of games announced so far.
Finally, at the very end of the presentation we were treated to a new and extended trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It looks absolutely stunning and appears that it could be well worth the wait. Even better, it will be available at launch so the wait is almost over.
The Round-Up
Despite a lack of announcements concerning games that will be available when the console launches, Nintendo set out to impress with their presentation and in terms of their hardware they certainly did. I had reservations around how the ‘switching’ aspect of the console would work but it appears to be seamless and easy to do.
The Joy-Con controllers featured heavily and while they are impressive, my main concern would be the cost of additional controllers (again, UK retailer GAME has a complete Joy-Con listed at £79.99) but the presentation didn’t seem to see this as an issue with a lot of emphasis on one controller actually being two and a lot of games being based around this function eliminating the need for more controllers.
Everyone expected a March release date and roughly got the price about right. Nintendo are smart to go with this price range as they’re already at a similar level that the PS4 and Xbox One are now so even though they’re a bit late to the console war in the current generation, they’ve not out-priced themselves for anyone who would be looking to purchase a Switch alongside their current console of choice.
Overall, the Switch looks really impressive and it seems to be a massive step back in the right direction following the disastrous Wii-U. But only time will tell if its worth gamers making the switch back to Nintendo.
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