After months of leaks and anticipation, Nintendo finally unveiled it's latest console. Formally codenamed "NX", the Nintendo Switch is a hybrid handheld/home console device that will allow players to take full fledged console games on the go. A three minute video showcased several different scenarios that the Switch can be used in, ranging from living room Zelda all-nighters to eSports teams training before a tournament. The reveal video showed off a console that's sleeker and seems to be more appealing out the gate compared Nintendo's current console, Wii U, but I'm still worried that Switch may not deliver.
The design looks great. The handheld piece of Switch looks like a piece of premium tech, not some Fisher-Price toy the Wii U gamepad resembled. What's better is the meat of the console is in the handheld, meaning it can be taken out of your house and isn't wirelessly tethered to the dock. Nintendo is claiming the dock only exists to output video to your tv, as well as charge the handheld. Their video showing off the console was impressive, showing how easy it is to undock the handheld, and the video instantly switches from your TV to the handheld screen.
Switch has quite a few different controller configurations. While on the go, you can simply play the handheld as one single piece. While docking the console, you can pull off the joy-cons and use them to control the game on your TV. The joy-cons are the left and right button/analog stick configurations that slide off the handheld. The video also shows them being used sideways for multi-player races of Mario Kart. It looks clunky and cramped, as the joy-cons are quite small. It's not a perfect way to play, but a worthy trade off to play console quality games like Mario Kart 8 on the go. But similarly to Wii U, Nintendo is offering a pro controller, which is their nomenclature they use for traditional controller.
My largest concern about this new console is the unknown. The video served the purpose of showing the concept of Switch, as well as solidifying it's March release date, but didn't give many details. Nintendo isn't coming forward on specifics such as power and battery life. I'm worried it will only last a couple hours on a single charge, which isn't much considering Nintendo expects you to play long RPGs like Skyrim and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Switch. They also aren't coming clean about how much storage is available for downloadable games, which is worrying when taking into account the ever growing file size of triple-A games. I still have faith that Nintendo will deliver, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. The company expects to release more details and a full launch lineup as we get closer to March 2017.
