Everything We Know About the Nintendo Switch Game Console So Far

October 31, 2016 5:00 am

(Sipa via AP Images)

 

At first glance, the upcoming Nintendo Switch looks like a calculated patchwork of earlier, successful NES gaming systems made in response to the dissatisfying sales of the Wii U. But really, the Switch is a highly unique demonstration of what Nintendo, a company that rarely misses the mark, has learned about gaming up to now.

Taking a look at the specs we know about so far, the Switch is a tablet with a 6.2-inch, 720p touchscreen display, and it uses a custom Tegra processor. Don’t worry; it can be plugged into a TV and used like a traditional console, too. It even has cartridges! The Switch has detachable controllers to appease console gamers who might not be comfortable with a mobile-only system, and it uses USB-C charging ports instead of its own, meaning faster charging times.

Nintendo won’t make any official announcements about the system’s specs or supported games until January 2017, but what we’ve seen of it so far is already impressive.

What Nintendo has learned over the years—and what they seem to understand better than their competitors—is that their customers don’t buy Nintendo consoles for their hardware; they buy them to play Nintendo games. So far, the company’s marketing focus has been on games, specifically how well the Switch integrates a console’s superior control setup with mobile gaming, and how well it supports social gaming. Check out the video below for an example of this.

 

Better still, it could be the catalyst for introducing mobile games with Nintendo’s high quality standard to the gaming marketplace. A lot of gamers, both casual and dedicated, would be more than happy with that being the standard.

As of now, the Switch will be released in March 2017, with an estimated price point of $350.

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