A couple of weeks ago, Nintendo fans and gamers alike were surprised with a trailer of Nintendo’s newest console iteration – The Nintendo Switch. We’ve gotten a decent amount of information and overall, I’m definitely excited to purchase the console in March of 2017. However, as with all new things, we’ve got plenty of questions that are unanswered.
Here are five questions I still have about the Nintendo Switch:
1. What’s going to happen to the Nintendo 3DS?
With Pokemon Sun and Moon releasing soon on the 3DS, tons of Nintendo fans are curious as to what will happen to the portable gaming device, once the Switch hits market. Since the Switch is a console that is able to be played portably, does this mean that the 3DS is no longer needed?
2. Will Amiibos be compatible with the Switch? If so, how?
When the Wii U released, once of its biggest selling points for kids and collectors was the Amiibo. With over 80 Amiibos released in the past few years, it’s only reasonable to ask whether or not these plastic figures will be useful on the Switch.
3. Backwards compatibility?
Nintendo is the last company over the past decade to keep backwards compatibility as a big feature in their consoles. Both the Xbox One and the PS4 did not have backwards compatibility in the traditional sense, with Xbox One allowing players to play certain Xbox 360 games much later after release. However, with Nintendo, the Wii was able to play Gamecube games, and the Wii U was able to play Wii games. We know that the Switch will have game cards instead of discs, so will there even be a way to enable backwards compatibility?
4. Price?
The age old question – How much will it cost? As soon as I saw the trailer, I know I was ready to buy the Switch, but as a college student, I can’t be spending a lot of money on a new console. Rumors have it that it will cost around $300. This would be fair, as long as it has a bundled game and a pro controller. I guess will have to see.
5. What will be the launch title lineup?
Nintendo is good about having strong launch titles. So far, we know that the Switch will come with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As a Zelda fan, I’m okay with this being the only game, but we know that there must be something else. The trailer showed a new Super Mario game, perhaps a new Splatoon and Mario Kart, so these are of course options, but only time will tell.
Regardless of any small doubts I may have regarding these questions, I believe that the Switch will be a strong console overall. There’s no doubt in my mind that it will sell well and will definitely be getting one as soon as possible.
