By Liam Bodle
Photograph: Nintendo
The new Nintendo Switch console promises to be a game changer in its official announcement yesterday. Nintendo is hoping the new console, previously named the NX, will entice the millions of gamers they lost after the release of the Nintendo Wii U in 2012.
Nintendo Switch resembles a tablet with detachable controllers and hopes to appeal to both home-based gamers and handheld gamers. It can be placed in a dock to play games on a television or can be used as a standalone portable device.
Nintendo released a short “teaser”, which one analyst has described as “Nintendo’s last shot” at a home console. Highlights from the new teaser include a gamer playing the Switch from home, then moves to portable play in the taxi, on the plane and then back home.
Some top third-party developers have announced they are working on games for the Switch, including Activision, Capcom and Ubisoft — three developers who moved away from producing games for its predecessor, the Wii U.
Another interesting aspect of the Switch is that it will use small cartridges to deliver its gameplay, moving back to some of Nintendo’s earlier consoles. The last home console to use cartridges was in the 1990s with the Nintendo 64, which homed groundbreaking games such as The Legend of Zelda and GoldenEye 007.
Of the 50 people polled on Twitter, 75 per cent said that they were excited for the release of the Nintendo Switch. With over eight million views on the announcement YouTube video, interest in Nintendo doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
The tongue tied Wii U is dead. The #NintendoSwitch speaks clearly https://t.co/dEFI2qL5ft
— Julian March (@JulianMarch) October 21, 2016
So cool… This takes gaming to a new level. #Nintendo #Switch #NintendoSwitch https://t.co/Ce4NVT4LDJ
— tansy (@heuwah) October 21, 2016
However, not everyone understood what the Nintendo Switch was and one confused Facebook user wrote: “What is Nintendo Switch though? A portable Wii U or something else entirely?”
Nintendo has yet to reveal the Switch’s technical specifications, so it is difficult to compare to its competitors from Sony and Microsoft. However, Nintendo has succeeded in grabbing gamers’ attention, as they eagerly anticipate the release of the Nintendo Switch in March 2017.
Liam Bodle is a postgraduate journalism student. His interests include film, gaming and writing about LGBTQI issues. Find him on Twitter: @liambodle
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