Games

Meet Switch: Nintendo’s new console mixes handheld and console gaming

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Nintendo Switch is a hybrid home/mobile gaming console, coming next year
The Nintendo Switch is revealed at last
The Switch connected to a big screen
We still don't know many details about the Nintendo Switch, but it's on sale from March 2017
Detachable controllers fix to the side of Nintendo Switch's screen for an all-in-one handheld mode
Nintendo Switch under the big screen in TV mode
You can take Nintendo Switch anywhere and dock it when you get home
Mario running (literally) on a TV-tethered Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch is a hybrid home/mobile gaming console, coming next year
Docked at-home setup for Switch and its controllers
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Nintendo has given the world its first look at the Nintendo Switch, the company's long-awaited successor to both the Wii U and 3DS. As rumored, it blends handheld and console gaming in a device you can take anywhere you go.

There are different portable modes to the Switch: including an all-in-one handheld mode where you use it similarly to a 3DS, and a mini-TV mode where you pop out a kickstand for the tablet/screen and use detachable controllers that slide off the sides of the tablet. When you're at home, everything can plug into a big screen and work like a traditional home console.

That's the big selling point – the portability of mobile gaming combined with the power and big screen experience of a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One (though it's unlikely to match those machines in terms of processing oomph). Multiplayer gaming also looks central to the Nintendo Switch.

Docked at-home setup for Switch and its controllers

There's a custom-made Nvidia Tegra processor inside the new gaming device and it uses cartridges for games, but apart from that we don't have much to go on besides the preview trailer, which you can see below. Nintendo has said there are going to be more than 500 games available at launch, from big names including Warner Bros, Ubisoft and Activision.

The stars of the preview video enjoy some Switch gaming action on a large TV, on an airplane and in the back of a van, so it looks like this really is going to be something you can take everywhere with you. Provided you're happy to carry another device alongside your smartphone of course.

Mario running (literally) on a TV-tethered Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch goes on sale in March 2017 – no pricing info yet – and you can expect to hear a lot more about it between now and then. You can see it in action for yourself in the video below.

Product page: Nintendo

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3 comments
Augure
Nintendo completely lost it. And I think they're dead. Sure it'll be nice for the easily impressionable early-adopters with money to waste, but there is nowhere going for a single-purpose tablet that doesn't fit into a pocket as an underpowered handheld console in 2017. VR was the only incentive susceptible to save it on the long-term but it's not going to be possible since the screen is too large. Calling it now, this is the very last Nintendo console.
Robert Kelly
I have an ipad and i haven't found a game that really grabs me. in my opinion, tablet games are not as good as most console games. So this is an area ripe for a decent option. nintendo isnt winning when it comes to going head to head with the PS4 or Xbox's so different is a smart move for them.
zr2s10
It makes sense in the regard that handhelds are the only market that Nintendo has been winning at. MS and Sony have been mopping the floor with them on home consoles. Graphics/processing is only part of that. The Wii U can't compete with the Xbox One and PS4 graphically, but yet, you can get an Xbox One S for less than a Wii U. That's absurd. Nintendo thinks that because they have Mario, they can price a substandard machine at premium prices. Mario is the only reason they are still afloat, and probably Pokemon (shudder) to a lesser extent. If they price the Switch properly, it can dominate the handheld market, and they should offer premium Mario (and other properties) on real current gen consoles. But they'll likely price the switch too high for what it is, and continue to limp along.