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Nintendo's Switching Things up!

The Ying and Yang of Nintendo.

For months now rumours float in the air, everywhere whispers of the 'Nintendo NX'. What's it going to be? A new handheld, a new console, gaming in 4k, a true competitor with XboX and Playstation?Yesterday, Nintendo released a video. One that put these rumours to rest. It's called the Nintendo Switch and it's beautiful and innovative. In short I WANT no wait NEED ONE!Nintendo SwitchThis hybrid video gaming system, like its logo brings the ying and yang of gaming together in one sleek device. The ying being at home on the coach 'classic' console gaming, and the yang being the on-the-go handheld experience.Both have been smartly brought together via a modular setup. When you're at home the Nintendo Switch rests in its dock that connects to your TV. This way you can enjoy big screen gaming on the couch with a controller. When you want to switch (see what I did here? *wink*) this up, you simply grab the Nintendo Switch out of the dock, slide the control parts (Joy-Con Controllers) out of your Joy-Con Grip controller thing and on to the tablet-like Nintendo Switch and voila. You are good to go, or stay on the couch, when something is portable you don't have you be on the move. Maybe you want to be playing Mario when the rest of the household wants to watch something on Netflix. Granted this was already an option with the Wii U, but the Nintendo Switch gives you the ability to actually leave the house while still maintaining its bright high-definition display. Cool new feature: you can detach the Joy-Con controllers on the side, give one of them to your friends so you can play co-op on the go. If you prefer not to play with the Joy-Con Controller (in or out of the Joy-Con Grip accessory), Nintendo is going to release a more traditional controller at launch: Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. This would be my personal choice, since it is more in line with how I already play video games, and has a similar feel as the dualshock controller, the xbox controller and the wii pro controller.  

A Console Is Only As Good As Its Games

This is something that Nintendo has been struggling with since the launch of the Wii. While Nintendo has an excellent first-party line-up, there are hardly any third-party games on their consoles.Sure, games like Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid Prime, Splatoon are all exquisite, it's not enough to keep the consumer happy. As is shown by the declining sales on the Wii U. The last couple of generations Nintendo video game systems (Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS) have been catering to the kids market which is in contrast to the consoles I grew up on. On the NES, SNES and even N64, and the Gamecube there were a lot of games that fixed the need of the so called mature gamer.nintendo_switch_developer_partnersWith the Nintendo Switch it looks like they're going back to that. When looking at the Nintendo Switch Trailer; not only do you see gorgeous looking Nintendo games like: The Legend Of Zelda, a Mario Platformer, Mario Kart and Splatoon. There is also a third party sports game that looks like it's 2K's NBA series as well as Bethesda's Skyrim! In their press release, Nintendo has confirmed that many big publishers and developer have agreed to release games on this new console. Among them are: Bandai Namco, Capcom, Activision, Bethesda, EA, Ubisoft, Havok, Platinum Games, Square Enix, and Telltale. That's just naming a few. I can't wait to play a Dragon Age, Skyrim, Dishonered, Tom Clancy or Battlefield on the Nintendo Switch.  Seeing that the Joy-Con controller's button configuration isn't too different from the controller on other current gen consoles, I don't think that porting will be all too difficult. Then again, I might be wrong. I have no knowledge of that side of games I just play them :)

Shut Up And Take My MONEY!!

shut-up-and-take-my-money-nintendo-thumbKeep your money in your wallet. Nintendo is giving you a couple of months to save up for this bad boy. Personally I think it will compete with Playstation 4 and Xbox One, so I reckon it will set us back around max EUR/USD 400. No word on a launch date just yet. Nintendo has revealed that it will be available as of March 2017. However no word on price, product configuration and related specifics yet. The rumour mill about the specs has been in full effect as soon as the video aired. Nintendo has confirmed that it can playback video in 4k, a game will be in 1080p at 60fps. Nvidia confirmed it will deliver its processor: Nvidia Tegra processor.Other than that we will just have to wait for the updates that will follow in the upcoming month as well full game demonstrations and a list of launch titles. March can't come soon enough! Hurry Up Spring. [embed]https://youtu.be/f5uik5fgIaI[/embed] 

source: http://www.nintendo.com/switch