Nintendo Switch Has Been Dated, Priced, And Shown Off To The World

Last night the Nintendo Switch was given an official release date and all of the Nintendo Switch details were given out with a few games mixed in

The wait is over and it looks like the Nintendo Switch now has a solid release date and all of the details for the new console have been dropped out there. Last night there was a special event held to show off everything that has been teased and speculated on since October of last year and it all came to a head with us getting a release date of March 3^rd world-wide and a suggested retail price of $299.99 USD. Not only that but then all of the new details and games slated to come to the Nintendo Switch in the coming months and year. It was stated that there are about 80 titles in the works just for the console and a plethora coming to the system at launch. Of course there were also a lot just mentioned as in the works and no real information on them as of yet.

As we’ve all seen before, the Nintendo Switch will have multiple style of play from docking for a traditional TV style play, to a “table top” mode where the system is removed from the dock and placed up with the built in kickstand, to the more mobile version where the Joy-Cons link right into the machine. The console itself is the screen portion of the set up and it looks like it will have all the normal bells and whistles of a standard console with built in WiFi and storage but also it will use “Cartridges” to load and store games. More or less it looks a lot like the same method used for the PS Vita when not storing locally. Seeing as the Nintendo Switch has 32 GB of space locally I’m guessing that digital isn’t going to be the best option. I guess we’ll see though.

In terms of use it looks like the Nintendo Switch will be able to be played as remote as you wish based on the game you are currently playing. This goes for both the connectivity and the power of the system itself. Currently it is stated that the Nintendo Switch will have enough batter for two and a half hour to six hours of play time based on the title you have selected. The good news on that though is that it isn’t required to be in the Dock to charge as you can plug it in with the AC adapter that comes with the core setup for the console. If I am looking at this correctly, it is also the same charge that plugs into your Dock so you may want to look into getting a secondary compatible USB-C cable to make sure you aren’t having to unplug and plug in for the various uses.

Now we can move onto the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers that we mentioned above. These are the two mini controllers that we’ve also seen before that can dock to the side of the system directly, into a secondary docking system to allow for a traditional controller feel, or be used as a smaller controller for multiplayer games out of the box. Each Joy-Con has a joystick on it, the traditional four buttons for gameplay, the left and right “trigger” buttons, and one to drive the system back to a “home” state. At least that is what it looks like as both have a similar button on each and it would make sense. On top of all of that though, each has accelerometer and gyro-sensors for motion control, each has a HD rumble pack built in, the right has a NFC touch-point for your Amiibo toys, and the right also has an IR Motion Camera to detect hand gestures, distances from objects, and other things that developer may come up with.

Before we have only seen that the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers would come in a very bland grey color but it was also revealed that they will also come in a Red and Blue option at launch. At least in the console bundle so far. They will also have the same wrist strap systems that we’ve seen on the Wii but these will extend out the button options for the controllers as well as add some protection from dropping or losing them during gameplay. The console bundle will also come with these mixed in so there is no worry about buying them later unless you don’t like the basic black color they will come in no matter the color scheme you select at purchase.

Hardware aside, there were also a bunch of games announced for the Nintendo Switch and only a few set to come at launch. You can see the full list below with a few omitted as they were not given names during the presentation but shown in the sizzle real. As of right now it looks like they are retailing for $50 USD and since you’ve been following along so far, one of the launch titles for the Nintendo Switch will indeed be The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. Just in case you needed further reason to pre-order the system and get ready for March 3^rd. Although it does look like none of these titles will be coming boxed up with the Nintendo Switch so you may want to see what you have as options for now.

The Nintendo Switch does look like a pretty solid system to me and the price-point isn’t bad at all for a completely new console to hit the market. Yes it is about $50 USD more than the other big players out there but this is a whole new life for Nintendo and not something that has years of experience out there. Sadly though, I have to admit that given the launch line up announced so far and the fact that most of the titles here have no appeal to me, it does not look like something I need to run out and buy or pre-order just yet. The fact that it can run some higher-end titles in the long run does have the appeal but on March 3^rd and most likely for a few months after it will be doing nothing more than collecting dust for me. Once new titles are announced I can totally see the Nintendo Switch having a place in my home though.

How excited are you for the Nintendo Switch now that we have a lot of the details for it now? Do you like the fact that it can be removed and played remotely for about six hours in the best case or is that just a gimmick here? What are your thoughts on the game line-up here and do you see many titles that make this a day one purchase for you? Let us know and then discuss down in the comments. For more on the Nintendo Switch and all of the games and functions coming to it, be sure to stay right here. We’ll keep the updates coming as we are very interested in seeing this new console flourish and look forward to what Nintendo has down the line for it.