So Nintendo did their big Switch conference and revealed a bunch of new information about their new console, price, date, assorted gimmicks and the games lineup.
The Nintendo Switch is the successor to the Wii U, and to a much greater extent, the cult classic Playstation Vita handheld.
It can play fairly high-fidelity games pretty much anywhere and features a dock to play the same games on your TV. New to the Switch are the Joy-Con controllers, a pair of controllers that can be fastened to the handheld itself, used as one controller in both hands, with a grip handle to be used as one traditional controller, and as two distinct controllers in certain games. The Joy-Cons themselves feature an infrared pointer, motion controls, “HD Rumble,” and a near field communication reader for the inevitable amiibo figures that I really want to buy.
The games lineup is fairly robust for the first year of a Nintendo console, and The Legend Of Zelda: Breath of The Wild is a launch day game, too. There’s an extendo arm-based fighting game called simply Arms. ARMS. ARRRRRRRMS. It looks fun.
There’s a throwaway party game called 1-2-Switch, a Fire Emblem X Dynasty Warriors spinoff, Skyrim, a yet unnamed Shin Megami Tensei game, Splatoon 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Super Mario Odyssey (a sandbox game where Bowser’s gimmick is that he’s dressed like a JoJo character (Google it)), a Square Enix RPG called Octopath Traveler and Snipperclips, a co-op game about cutting up your friends. Also, sports.
The console proper costs $300 USD, releases on March 3 and online play is going to be free until fall, when the Switch will adopt a paid online subscription like the PS4 and Xbox One, but unlike them, the free game program is an absolute joke. You get one NES or SNES game per month with new online multiplayer features, and you lose that game at the end of the month. If it costs the same or more than Sony or Microsoft’s services, skip it.
I'm probably going to skip purchasing this new Nintendo console until later on, mainly because Spring is already going to be wallet heck, between Mass Effect Andromeda, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5, and Persona 5. Buying any Nintendo console isn't really worth it at the very start anyway, since its heaviest hitters come later. Also, I'm worried that third parties won't find it worthwhile to port their games to the Switch if it doesn't prove popular or powerful enough. Besides, it's not like I can get one at launch anyway.
Logan Graham is a junior studying media arts with a focus in games and animation at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Are you excited about The Switch console? Let him know by emailing him at lg261813@ohio.edu.
