Nintendo have been leading the way with console innovation from the original Game Boy to the Wii U. The Game Boy took the handheld Gaming market by storm and since then the likes of Sony haven’t been able to keep up. The DS and 3DS saw handheld innovation taken to a new level, then with the Wii and Wii U saw Nintendo move towards a different direction with consoles than Sony and Microsoft aiming more towards family and party fun games.
So what's is the next step for Nintendo?
On October 20th at 3pm, Nintendo announced their new console called the Switch.
This was a first look at their new console and there is much excitement from the 3-minute video that they released, but what can consumers expect?
The Nintendo Switch
Console and handheld innovation has been Nintendo’s biggest marketing success, whilst Microsoft and Sony built more powerful consoles to try and directly compete with PCs. Nintendo decided to invest into new ways of attracting casual gamers, and those who just want to play for fun. But within this process they were able to delve into a new realm of serious gaming, with the fun aspect high on this agenda.
With the Wii, they were able to make a more physically demanding console perfect for party scenarios, where you created avatars known as Miis to represent you in the Nintendo World.
As they developed new ideas, the DS and eventually the 3DS came along for handheld gaming which offered a new aspect of multi-screen gaming and 3D gaming, which have been and still is very successful.
The latest offering of innovation though is called the Nintendo Switch Whilst specifications themselves haven’t been announced yet, Nvidia have confirmed that the Switch uses a system-on-chip from the Nvidia Tegra family of products "based on the same architecture as the world's top-performing GeForce gaming graphics cards", and a custom API.
What is astounding and innovative about this console though is its flexibility to be both a home and hand-held gaming console, whilst keeping the same graphics and processor power. Nintendo proudly say that you are able “to play the same title wherever, whenever and with whomever” and also the “mobility of a handheld is added to the power of a home gaming system”.
What We Know From Nintendo
As previously mentioned, the Nintendo Switch offers further innovation into the console gaming world. When at home, the console rests in the specifically designed dock that attaches to your TV, allowing you to play it from the comfort of your own home.
However, by simply lifting Nintendo Switch from the dock, it instantly becomes a handheld gaming device, that allows you to continue to play your games anywhere you want. The controllers are known as Joy-Con, and they attach and lift from either side of the console, meaning you can play it as a handheld anywhere.
The video suggests that the Joy-Con controller has its own adaptable pad for home gaming, and attaches to each side of the console for handheld.
But to add further flexibility to the Nintendo Switch, it shows that you can remove the Joy-Con controller and two people can take either half for a multiplayer experience whilst on the go. Plus, it looks as though there will be capabilities of connecting to other Nintendo Switch consoles whilst it is in handheld mode to further enjoy local face-to-face gaming situations. This means also that developers will be able to be more creative with the games that they produce. Watch the official first look from Nintendo’s YouTube channel below.