Nintendo Switch Reveal, My Thoughts

Well, Nintendo has finally done it! They have revealed their next system! Originally called the NX, it has been officially revealed to be called the Nintendo Switch. And they just put out a teaser video for it!

The big selling point of the Switch is heavily emphasized in this teaser. Basically, it's a console that you can take with you and still play games on it. It's essentially a tablet-like console. I do like the look of this thing. It's rather sleek.

I have to admit, the idea of being able to take your console with you and play games anywhere on it is pretty cool. Nintendo did describe this thing as a "Hybrid Device", and the Switch certainly does appear to live up to that. I just hope it has very good battery life.

I hope that this has backwards compatibility with the Wii U. Since it uses cartridges, maybe it's also compatible with the 3DS. Unfortunately, we don't really get a good look at what the cartridges look like. If they looked like 3DS cartridges, that could've hinted at backwards compatibility. Imagine being able to play any of the Pokémon games on a big screen. Or Dragon Quest VII.

It has two controllers: A standard-style controller, and one called the Joy-Con. The Joy-Con can be taken apart and docked onto the Switch to play on the go. The Joy-Con's pieces can also be used as separate controllers if two people want to play the Switch on the go. This is amazing. This offers a variety of options for how you want to play games on this thing. That is incredible.

The game footage shown in the teaser is very interesting. One is clearly The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which may be a launch title for the Switch. Another is a possible new Mario game, which makes sense. Except for the Gamecube, Nintendo has always launched a console with a Mario title. A third is possibly Skyrim. Since Nintendo has announced that Bethseda is one of the third-party partners they got to develop games for this system, Skyrim may get ported to this thing. A third game represented in footage is Splatoon. This may hint at a sequel to Splatoon, but I think it's more likely the game may be ported to the Switch.

All in all, this teaser was incredible. It had a great song playing through it, it showed people having fun with the Switch, and it showed the Switch was capable of as a hybrid console/handheld device. I think I'll get this baby come next year.