The long awaited next generation Nintendo console finally made its debut on Thursday 20 October 2016.
The big reveal took the form of a YouTube video, giving gamers worldwide their first look at the Nintendo Switch, which is slated for release in March 2017. The trailer demonstrates the console’s adaptability: it is designed for seamless switching from at-home TV-play to on-the-go hand-held.
The console’s controller rests in a home dock and has a portable screen, much like its predecessor, the Wii U. Unlike its predecessor, however, the Switch’s handheld screen boasts double detachable controllers which are initially docked on the screen’s sides for mobile, multi-player gaming.
The YouTube trailer features a game developed for the console, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and offered glimpses of what appeared to be Splatoon and Mario Kart 8, including new character, King Boo.
Also sneakily squeezed in are a few seconds of what looks like a brand new 3D Mario game. But there wasn’t much of this to go on except a single bullet bill and a few coins alongside Mario sprinting and jumping around.
In addition, the trailer showcases third party games being played on the console, including the ever-popular Skyrim. On Twitter, Nintendo also released a long list of third party developers that they plan to work with in order to provide a full library of titles for the new console.
First word of the Nintendo Switch, previously codenamed the NX, emerged during a press conference in March 2015. Nintendo aims to release the console within two years of its first mention.