Nintendo Switch: all about the new console

Today, January 13, Nintendo held a large–scale presentation of its new console – the Nintendo Switch. She spoke in detail about the possibilities and future games of the platform.

The first official details about the upcoming device appeared in October 2016, when Nintendo released a Switch promotional trailer. It was clear from it that it was a hybrid game console. It can be played both at home at the TV and on the road.

New details became known at the presentation.

The Switch is scheduled for release on March 3, 2017,” said Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima. Console sales will start simultaneously in major markets, including Russia. Its cost in the USA will be $ 299.9, and in Russia – 22,449 rubles.

Tatsumi also noted that the console will have its own online service – Online Services. It will allow players to play online and communicate during online sessions. At first, it will be free, but from the fall of 2017, players will have to pay for it. Users of the service will receive monthly free NES or SNES games.

The console will not have a local binding.

Local multiplayer running over Wi-Fi will be able to support up to 8 devices.

Nintendo Director Shinya Takahashi said that the Nintendo Switch consists of three components.

The first is the doc. Thanks to him, she connects to the TV. In home mode, the console supports a resolution of 1920 by 1080.

The second is the console. This is the main part of the device – a 6.2-inch screen and hardware. Without a network connection, the console, depending on the type of game, will work from 2.5 to 6 hours. The screen resolution is 1280 by 720 pixels. On board – 32 GB of memory for games and other files. It will be possible to expand it using microSD.

The console is recharged using a standard USB-C.

The third component is a composite controller. It is called the Joy-Con Grip and is itself divided into three parts – a charging holder and two mini-controllers (for joy-con).

Mini controllers can be connected to the console and played as on a tablet. In addition, there is a button on one of the joycons that allows you to take screenshots and videos for sharing on social networks.

Talks about the features of the gadget Takahashi noted that the company implies three scenarios for using the console:

• TV Mode (the player looks at the TV screen and holds the assembled gamepad in his hands);
• Console Mode (the player looks at the console screen and plays alone or with friends using a disassembled gamepad);
• Handheld Mode (the player holds the console in his hands and plays by attaching joycons to it).

Yoshiaki Koizumi, the general producer of the platform, spoke in detail about the joy-kons. The joy-cons individually can work as a full-functional gamepad. Each has four buttons, two triggers and one stick.

Joycons can work by analogy with the Wii console controller, which transmitted information about its console position. This made it possible to play on the Wii released in November 2006 in a non-standard way. For example, to hit balls in tennis, I just move my hand in space.

Also, the joycons fix the distance in relation to each other, see the distance to the nearest obstacle, recognize images of objects and are equipped with vibration motors.

The console will also have a full-fledged controller, but it will need to be purchased separately.

More than 80 teams are currently working on games for the console. Among them, both exclusives and classic products that have been released for a long time, like Skyrim. On the day of release, as far as we know now, there are only four products: 1-2-Switch, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Skylanders Imaginators and Just Dance 2017. Perhaps by spring the list of titles will increase.

Source: Nintendo