The announcement of the Nintendo Switch came and went last night. Price ($299) and release date (3/3) were provided to the late night audience (well, ‘late night’ depending on the coast you reside on). A majority of the focus was given to the controls of the system, which apparently have more usefulness than previously perceived. HD sound and motion-based control scheme seemed to rule the roost for the controls, but unlike previous Nintendo consoles, Wii and Wii U, it doesn’t seem like a forced feature that could get in the way of the development process. It simply seemed like a viable add-on, should a developer choose to go that route, otherwise it is business as usual.
As for the online structure for Nintendo, nothing of substance was announced, though they did say gamers should expect more information in Fall 2017 and they did acknowledge that the online service would be a paid subscription (no price or details given). Until then, the system will have free online capabilities, much like the same strategy Sony used throughout the PlayStation 3’s lifespan (never saw the issue with this, but whatever).
Another part of the presentation featured some of Nintendo’s first-party titles arriving on the system this year, which included Splatoon, Super Mario: Odyssey, Fire Emblem, Xenoblade 2 and a very interesting game that could pose a workout for some of us called Arms. As expected, the first party titles, which should also include Zelda, looked deep, powerful, beautiful and fun. Nintendo has always managed to hang their hats on their first party titles and also depend on them when third party starts to flicker a bit. Hopefully the first party titles will sit side-by-side with good third party support.
As for the third party announcements, they were mostly games we have seen before in some capacity, some previously released. The third party titles included FIFA, Skylanders, and Bethesda’s big one Skyrim. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and NBA 2K18 were also in the mix. With 80 games in development, there should be more as the year rolls on, especially around the holiday season. It’s not too uncommon for already released titles to make their way to a console launch, especially a launch that is a little over a month away, so you naysayers out there should just cool your jets until new games are announced, which should be around E3 time.
Until we know more information, I will end this with a bevy of pictures (and now videos) captured last night. Enjoy the ride, folks.
