Switching It Up: Keeping Up with Nintendo

What’s that? I think I hear the hype train coming into the station. Toot toot!

With Nintendo’s Switch event only a few hours in the past, we were given a peek at some exciting new features, including an ability to sync smart devices with the console in order to chat, invite, and play with friends, online multiplayer, and the promise of a good game lineup, all available on March 3 of this year.

I wrote about this a bit already, just throwing up some cold, hard facts, but I wanted to take a little more time here and go through what we’ve just learned.

Are You a Good Switch, or a Bad Switch?

All irrelevant puns aside, the Switch is boasting HD motion controls, with which you can apparently feel such minute changes during play that they simulated feeling an ice cube clinking around in a cup as an example. Nintendo has also promised to get rid of regional locking of their games, so you can  buy and play all around the world to your heart’s continent… er, content.

Most exciting (for me, anyway), is the promise of real-life social play. In a world of screens, Nintendo has designed at least one game called 1 2 Switch to work without the need of a television. You and your friend each grab a Joy-Con controller and…

Wait, where do I look? What do I do?

That’s right, folks. The Switch is giving you a way to play make-believe with your friends again. You can actually play with them, side-by-side, looking them in the eyes as you play together.

With the promise of being able to sync up to eight Switch devices, and each device being able to play with two Joy-Cons, and each Joy-Con able to support one player, there is a possibility of being able to hook up sixteen of your friends to all play together.

Just the Facts

The Nintendo Switch is offering online play, as mentioned, but they are jumping on the bandwagon of their friends over at Sony and Microsoft and using a subscription system now, although fans will be able to try it out for free until fall of 2017. If you’re into the gadgetry, Nintendo has already announced a pro controller that will run at USD69.99, and Joy-Con controllers (that will also be available in blue and red, if that’s interesting to you) that run at USD49.99 each or USD79.99 for a set of two.

The Switch also boasts three types of play, one of which you can use a television just like any other console, and two that are much more mobile. In fact, the Switch can be used like a portable screen – or tablet – that you can play using the Joy-Cons, or you can reattach the Joy-Cons to the tablet part and play as a handheld. Battery life will range from 2.5-6.5 hours, depending on the demands of the game, but IGN commented that the new Zelda title will run the battery down in around two to three hours. But you can play it while charging, so that’s a plus.

Game Highlights

For me, the two games I found most interesting were Super Mario: Odyssey, which is taking the old “snow world” and “swimming world” and “flying world” and throwing them right out the window in favor of a much more varied landscape, including one that looks very much like a real city.

Oh, an Mario can use his hat as a projectile, and even as a throwable item he can jump on to cross large pits.

Of course, as a long-time Zelda fan, Breath of the Wild continues to make me smile in anticipation, even as I write this in the middle of the night. While a release date wasn’t confirmed – although rumors are flying that it will be a release title for the console – it is true that it will also be released on the Wii U.

Nintendo or Ninten-don’t?

Is it worth getting the Switch on release day? Personally, I plan on waiting. While it looks interesting and has some really great features that I absolutely adore (have I mentioned that you can play games with another person while looking at them??), a new Mario game and a Zelda title that will release on a “previous” gen console aren’t enough to get me to jump on board, especially with a $300 price.

With limited funds and not a lot of interest in hand-held games, I’m not sure I’m ready to drop such an amount to play games face-to-face. If I want to play samurai warriors, the people I’d want to play with would probably get as much of a kick out of playing with old wrapping paper tubes as with playing with a tiny controller. More, probably, since the possibility of actually whacking someone is there.

Like with the Wii, I’m tentatively optimistic, and I’m sure I’ll pick one up eventually, like I did with the Wii and I’m probably about to do with the Wii U (anticipating a further drop in price as the Switch comes out). But again, like with every other console, it’s going to depend on the lineup of games available. And apparently, more information will be coming out about that later today!

What are your thoughts on the Switch? Is in a console to jump at right away? Am I missing the bandwagon? What are you most excited about with the Switch?

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena

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