Last month, Nintendo revealed its new gaming console, the Switch. It definitely looks promising, or at the very least pretty, intriguing in design. But is the system’s innovative design enough to move them off the shelves?
Nintendo Switch is a follow-up to the Wii U, which was released in late 2012. Offering a cutting edge gaming experience through an LCD touch screen in the gamepad, Nintendo was hoping the Wii U would be a sales success like the previous Wii system, one of the best selling home consoles ever.
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. The Wii U was seen as an OK console to a lot of critics due to only minor improvements in graphics capabilities over the original Wii and lack of third party game developer support. No third party means no popular game franchises like “Call of Duty” or “Assassin’s Creed.”
While Nintendo has been known for its popular exclusive franchise stars like Mario, Link and Kirby, they haven’t been able to sell as many Wii U systems as initially thought. It’s a good thing Nintendo’s handheld systems like the 3DS sell like hotcakes.
But enough of the negatives; the winds of change will soon be carrying the Nintendo Switch to the market.
Like the Wii U, the Switch is a home console with an innovative gamepad: players can hold two “halves” of a controller to play games on their TV or just have one half and give the other to a buddy for some friendship-endangering multiplayer. The gamepad uses motion controls in addition to buttons, making for immersive gameplay.
If you’re in the middle of a game and need to take your dog out for a walk, you can pause it and connect the two controller halves to the Switch system and out pops a portable LCD screen complete with joysticks and buttons to keep enjoying your game on the go. To quote Jimmy Neutron’s dad, “You gotta admit, that is pretty neat.”
Plus, Nintendo hinted at third party support for games: “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” was shown prominently alongside gameplay of “Zelda” games. Nintendo already makes some kick-ass titles (Mario Kart, anyone?), but being able to play some of your other favorite non-Nintendo games would definitely be an added bonus.
The Nintendo Switch definitely sounds hopeful – that cool-looking controller and third-party game support should definitely bring in some interested souls like me to the nearest GameStop. Here’s to anticipating a system that is as fun as it looks. Expect to see the Switch sometime in 2017.
