For the first time in five years, Nintendo will be releasing a new game console. The company announced that the Nintendo Switch will be available on March 3 for the price of $299 at a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 12.
Nintendo has also revealed that the storage system for the console will be a 32 GB SD card, but has said that it can support higher storage limits. Nintendo has also commented on the battery life of the controller, saying that it will range from 2.5 to 6 hours. They have also confirmed that the game “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” can be played for about three hours. This controller will also have a multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, which is similar to the touchscreen of an iPhone.
Nintendo talked about online services for the console as well, saying that it will initially be free, but that sometime in the fall they will begin charging money for online play. Neither the price for the online service nor benefits of paying for it were given.
A new console wouldn’t be worth buying if it didn’t have any games to buy at launch. As of right now, the Nintendo Switch only has two games at launch. These games are “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “1, 2, Switch. 1, 2, Switch”, which is a mini-game collection in which players use the two Joy-Con controllers (the left and right parts of the controller) with the screen and play without using the screen. One game that was demoed for release was similar to an old Wild West duel where players have to try and pull out their controller and shoot more quickly than their opponent.
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” will most likely be the game to get on launch day. It is the open world Zelda game that people have been waiting years for, and appears to be a great game. However, it will also release on Nintendo’s current console, the Wii U, with probably worse performance.
Some other games were also revealed for the console, but will release further away from launch. One of these is “Super Mario Odyssey”, a sandbox Mario game similar to “Super Mario 64” and “Super Mario Sunshine” with a hub world and other areas to explore. Nintendo is targeting a holiday 2017 release with this title. Splatoon 2, a sequel to the hit game Splatoon, was shown off as well. The sequel seems to have brand new weapons, new areas, and new characters to play as. Nintendo is targeting summer 2017 for this game. Another game that was revealed by Nintendo is called “Arms”, which is a boxing game where the player uses the left and right Joy-Con controllers to punch. Nintendo has said that this game will release spring 2017. The final game that Nintendo revealed was “Xenoblade Chronicles 2”, a sequel to the open world title on the Nintendo Wii. Not much information was given except a trailer, and a tentative release date of 2017.
Nintendo was not the only company present. Todd Howard from Bethesda Studios also made a video to confirm that “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” will be coming to the Nintendo Switch. Electronic Arts was also attending, revealing that “FIFA” will come to Nintendo Switch.
Other games that were mentioned and only given a trailer were the “Shin Megami Tensei” game, “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe,” “Fire Emblem Warriors,” “Dragon Quest X,” “Dragon Quest XI,” “Dragon Quest Heroes 1 & 2,” “Project Octopath Traveler” (a new RPG from Square Enix) and a new untitled “No More Heroes” game.
For more information and to view the aforementioned trailers visit Nintendo’s website and their YouTube page. There may not be a lot of games at launch, but I for one am going to get a Switch just to play “Zelda.”
