So now we know a little bit more about the upcoming Nintendo Switch. We know what the price will be. We know some of the additional items that will be available with it. We know a launch title. Am I an excited meerkat at this moment?

 

The answer is very much yes. Already criticism is coming in about the Switch, and I understand why, but let’s focus on the positives shall we? The recommended retail price here in the UK is £279.99. This is actually slightly lower than I’d expected. For this, you get the console, the docking station, the controllers and the docking station for the controllers. You also get a HDMI cable for linking the docked console to the TV. The console has a touchscreen. It’s battery life is up to six hours, but with the warning that this depends on how it’s being used (the website advises that when playing Breath of the Wild, the console’s charge will last around three hours).

What else can we expect? It’s nigh-impossible to go into detail about the Joy-Con controllers (the detachable hand-held controls seen in the trailer), but suffice to say, they offer a range of motion controls and an individual Joy-Con can be used as a stand-alone controller. Nintendo are also launching a subscription-based online service (probably similar to those found on the PlayStation and Xbox systems). Multiple Switches can be linked together for local multiplayer too.

What of the software? For me, the biggest news is that Breath of the Wild will be a launch title – Nintendo showed off a new trailer for their latest, biggest Zelda game alongside their Switch presentation, and it reaffirms why I badly want to get my hands on both the Switch and this game. This latest trailer revealed quite a lot of voice acting, something previous absent from Zelda games, and in my humble view, this is long overdue. Whether this voice acting is present in both the Wii U and Switch versions of the game remains to be seen, but both versions launch on the 3rd of March, and both versions have an optional Master Sword edition available.

This game will be amazing, I just know it

A Nintendo announcement wouldn’t be a Nintendo announcement without mentioning their other big A-lister, and sure enough, Mario is coming to the Switch, in an open-world game that might be similar in scale to Breath of the Wild. Details are sketchy, but Mario visits a city that looks very much like New York, as well as several other locations, and Bowser is suited and booted in a style reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart.

Guess whose back

Super Mario Odyssey won’t launch until nearer Christmas.

The UK site also hints that big third-party titles like FIFA and Elder Scrolls will be hitting the Switch. If so, this is big news. The Switch lacks the raw power of the PlayStation and Xbox, but might there be enough to handle titles like those mentioned? If so, Nintendo might have cracked a winning formula.

All that remains now is to wait for the 3rd of March!