What we know about the Nintendo Switch: Hardware

Written by Ven

January 13, 2017

With the live Nintendo Switch Press Conference over and done, we have compiled a list of the important details that are worth knowing.

The Switch will be released in less than two months away, on March 3rd, 2017, worldwide. The two known Switch launch titles are 1, 2, Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

With a suggested MSRP of $299.99 USD, or 29,980 YEN, coming with the dock, the system itself, one pair of Joy-Cons, the Grip, which allows the two Joy-Cons to form a more traditional controller, a pair of wrist straps, which make the individual Joy-Cons a bit more ergonomic, as well as a Wiimote-Style wrist strap to keep you from losing it, as well as the necessary chords to keep everything running.

One feature of the Joy-Con that was not previously known, like the ability to read Amiibo via an NFC reader, was a rather advanced rumble feature, with a very strange metaphor involving an empty glass with ice cubes to explain the feature.

One important detail that the presentation made a big deal to point out was the complete absence of region locking moving forward on the Switch, allowing you to play any game from any region on any console.

Another large concern is battery life for a console that’s meant to play big games on the go. According to current Nintendo president Kimishima, the battery life of the console should vary from game to game, with 2.5 hours being the worst, and 6.5 hours at its best. While the console may not have the best battery life, it can be charged by any USB-C head charger, making things a bit easier.

Of course, the device can innately connect to Wi-Fi for online play, as well as accommodating local multiplayer, both allowing two players to use one Switch each with one Joy-Con, to up to eight Switch units connected for one play session.

What is most interesting, and not something that was elaborated on too much, was allowing for parties and voice chat between users during gameplay. What is so fascinating about this that it is an online service done through smartphones, connected to your Nintendo Account.

The service is going to be free at launch until Fall 2017, at which point it will become a subscription service, akin to Xbox Live Gold and Playstation Plus.

Details about the games and other software coming to the Switch in the coming months up til launch can be found here.

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