Nintendo announced plans for a new system almost a year and a half ago. The project, codenamed NX, was shrouded in secrecy, but today that veil has been pulled back. Introducing the Nintendo Switch, a hybrid mobile and home console with a tablet interface and detachable controllers.
The tablet is called the Switch Console. It has a screen measuring approximately 7 inches, but it is unclear what kind of resolution the Switch Console will produce. The Switch Console can be used to play games on its own, or it can be plugged into the Switch Dock, which then connects to a TV.
The detachable controllers are called Joy-Cons. They can be attached to a central unit called the Joy-Con Grip to act as a single controller. This is how you control the system when you are playing on your TV at home. However, these Joy-Cons can also slide onto the side of the tablet interface for gaming on the go. The Joy-Cons can also be used as detachable controllers that can direct the action on the tablet remotely. It looks like the two Joy-Cons can either be used in tandem by one person, or split between two gamers for multiplayer action.
The tablet has a kickstand and an Nvidia Tegra processor.
Nintendo is also offering a Pro Controller option for those who aren’t a fan of the tablet style controls, with a more traditional controller layout.
It looks like this system will offer both local and online multiplayer, but it’s unclear what local multiplayer options will be available for both home and console gaming.
In terms of the kinds of games you can expect to find on the Switch, Nintendo has the support of developers and publishers like Activision, Atlus, Bethesda, Capcom, EA, Epic Games, Konami, PlatinumGames, Square Enix, Take-Two, and Ubisoft.
The Nintendo Switch is coming March 2017.
