In a trailer revealed today, Nintendo formally announced their upcoming console. Formerly known as the Nintendo NX, it’s been given a name: Nintendo Switch. It’s ambitious, it’s revolutionary, and it’s looking radical. Just how radical? You wait and see, motherlickers.
The first thing you’ll notice about the Switch is its biggest feature; it’s a home console and a handheld at the same time. At home, the Switch rests in a dock that connects the console to the TV. By simply splitting (heheheh) the controller — known as the Joy-Con — and connecting it to the console with a minute gesture, you can bring the handheld screen out of the console! Vice versa is just as easy, and the screens will swap over in an instant. If that doesn’t make you rock hard, hold on to your hats. The handheld version runs at the same graphical setting and doesn’t have a limit to travel, so you can take it literally anywhere. On a bus, on a plane, on a camper van, on the USS Iowa…you get the idea. This tablet can host multiplayer, run online gaming, and even connect to other ones on the go! The halves of the Joy-Con can also house different players, which gives the Switch its splitscreen capability. Nintendo’s keeping mum about backwards compatability, but the trailer showed people playing Mario Kart 8 — or an unannounced Mario Kart game — so we can pretty much confirm that one.
Now, you may be asking yourself: “But where are the gaaaaaaaaames?” Aside from the showcased Zelda: Breath of the Wild, NBA2K17, and our first sneak peek at the un-named Super Mario game for the system, the following developers have pledged allegiance to the Switch:
505 Games – publisher of ARMA 2
Activision Publishing, Inc. – infamously dropped support for the Wii U in 2014
ARC SYSTEM WORKS Co.,Ltd. – developer of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue
ATLUS CO.,LTD. – developer of the Persona series
Audiokinetic Inc. – developer of popular audio systems for games
Autodesk, Inc – developer and publisher of 3D modelling programs Maya and 3DS Max
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. – publisher and developer of the Tekken series, and many many others
Bethesda – developers of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4
CAPCOM CO., LTD. – developers of the Mega Man and Monster Hunter series, and a long-time Nintendo chum
Codemasters® – developers of Worms 4 and the Operation Flashpoint series
CRI Middleware Co., Ltd. – developed games in the 90s, but shifted focus to game development programs
DeNA Co., Ltd. – developers of many mobile games
Electronic Arts – come on do I really have to tell you
Epic Games Inc. – developers of the Gears of War and Unreal series
Firelight Technologies – developer of SFX engines for games
FromSoftware, Inc. – developer of the Dark Souls series
Frozenbyte – developers of the Trine series
GameTrust – game publishing wing of Gamestop
GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE INC. – developer of Killer7 and No More Heroes
Gungho Online Entertainment,Inc – MMO publisher responsible for Ragnarok Online
HAMSTER Corporation – developer of Raiden
Havok – developer of the really popular game engine
INTI CREATES CO., LTD. – developer of Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
KOEI TECMO GAMES CO., LTD. – publishers of Ninja Gaiden and Samurai Warriors series
Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. – developers and publishers of Metal Gear Solid series
LEVEL-5 Inc. – developer of the Professor Layton series
Marvelous Inc. – developers of several Harvest Moon games
Maximum Games, LLC – developers of MYST and Farming Simulator series
Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. – developers of the Disgaea series
Parity Bit Inc. – developer of several cult N64 games
PlatinumGames Inc. – developers of Bayonetta series
RAD Game Tools, Inc. – developers of BINK Video tech
RecoChoku Co.,Ltd. – responsible for various audio technologies
SEGA Games Co., Ltd. – come on guys really they’re one of the biggest names in gaming come ooooon
Silicon Studio Corporation – developer of Bravely Default
Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. – developer of Danganronpa series
SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. – developer of Final Fantasy series
Starbreeze Studios – developers of The Chronicles of Riddick series
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. – publishers of Bioshock series
Telltale Games – developer of Sam and Max (the newer one) and The Walking Dead
THQ Nordic – developer of Alan Wake
Tokyo RPG Factory Co., Ltd. – developer of I Am Setsuna
TT Games – formerly known as Traveller’s Tales, publisher of Lego Star Wars series
UBISOFT – this one’s easy too everybody like what the hell
Ubitus Inc. – developer of various cloud-based softwares
Unity Technologies, Inc. – responsible for the Unity engine
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – develops games using WB licenses
Web Technology Corp. – developers of many game development softwares
The Nintendo Switch is scheduled to release in March of 2017, which means it’s avoiding the “Rush It for Christmas” curse that plagued the original releases of too many consoles to count. Pricing, a release date, and full specs will be shown closer to release. A new console is always an exciting time, but when Nintendo release new hardware the world stops and takes notice. The road ahead should be very interesting indeed.
You can watch the trailer for the Nintendo Switch here.
