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On Saturday the 14th of January 2017 StG was given the exclusive opportunity by Nintendo to try out its newly-announced Switch console in Melbourne. Over the course of two hours or so I was able to try the console in its three different forms (docked, handheld and tabletop) and sample some of the games that will be available for the console this year.

The Switch is a bold, last-dash strategy for Nintendo. After the failure of the Wii U to capitalise on the tens of millions of Wiis sold, the Switch needs to be a success for the company to stay in the hardware business. It’s a situation reminiscent of the SEGA Dreamcast, but from what I’ve seen Nintendo should be able to avoid its once-competitor’s fate.

 

Hardware

The Switch is smaller than impressions and product photography may lead you to believe – in a good way. The screen (6.2” or ~16cm) has a vibrancy that belies its relatively low (720p) resolution. Everything looked fantastic on the screen; colours pop and text is sharp. This allows information density to a far larger degree than was possible on the 3DS. Disgaea 5 for example is text-heavy but remains perfectly readable when playing in handheld mode.

The screen with two Joy Con (like data, Joy Con is both singular and plural) gives a good feeling of heft without being too heavy – though of course I haven’t had the opportunity to sit down with one for a solid play session in its handheld mode. Talking about handheld mode, Nintendo have mentioned that you can charge the Switch from a battery pack (with a USB-C cable), which will be a boon for cross-country flights or longer car trips. I was pleasantly surprised that the Joy Con were more comfortable than they look, especially when paired with the extra slide on that’s part of the wrist strap. The overall fact that the console comes with essentially two controllers is neat, and makes impromptu multiplayer sessions that much easier.

That said, the asking price is a little high, and I think Nintendo will struggle to convince shoppers to forgo a more powerful Xbox One S or PS4 Slim, which are roughly the same price and are usually bundled with a game. As prices come down and the games library expands this issue should be addressed.

 

Software

I was unable to access any of the system settings or menus – Nintendo had the Switch demonstration units locked down fairly tightly. I was interested in trying out the screenshot button for example, but it was inoperable during my time with the device.

That said, Nintendo had a large variety of first-party and third-party games available to try out – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, ARMS, 1, 2, Switch, Snipperclips and of course easily the highlight of the event, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It would be laborious to try and go through them all, but what I want to describe is how the games work on Nintendo’s new console. This is particularly true as many of the games coming to the Switch are ports or slight upgrades of existing Wii U titles (Fast RMX, for example is a nicer version of Fast Racing Neo for the Wii U).

Games for the Switch at this stage are a known quantity and this may be a huge benefit for potential owners in buying into the system, or, conversely, it may make some gamers hold back from buying the new system. Why spend all that money just for some slightly better graphics? I hope that Nintendo has thought deeply about this issues, and, at minimum, will provide upgrade pricing on ports such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. There is precedent for something similar, as when Wii Virtual Console titles were provided upgrade pricing when moving to the Wii U.

Because otherwise the launch line-up is slim – with only four games available out the door, and in those only one full-fledged title – Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Diehards who pick one up day one will have to content themselves with Zelda for a good couple of months, but by year’s end the Switch will have a solid line-up of games that covers a variety of genres. This includes big shots such as Super Mario Odyssey and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim as well as smaller titles such as ARMS.

A small scoop though – Splatoon 2, which otherwise plays very similarly to its Wii U debut version, will finally let you switch weapons between matches, a godsend for anyone who’s spent multiple hours playing the game, and allowing greater freedom in trying different loadouts.

Whether it was Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the Grip, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in handheld mode (with the Joy Con attached either side of the console), Splatoon 2 with the Pro Controller or finally Snipperclips in tablet mode with the Joy Con detached and shared with another player, all were great experiences. The controllers are comfortable, there was little to no latency detectable from what I could see, and the Switch’s party trick and raison d’etre, fast changing between TV and portable mode was impressive, and crucially quick and easy. There is nothing you need to press or confirm, it just works.

Yet storing all those games on the Switch may be an issue. Sporting only 32GB of internal memory (seriously) the Switch seems to be designed to only hold smaller games on the on the system, and rely instead on the fast speed of the GameCards (of which there were none to see on the day.) The Switch is expandable with microSD up to 2TB in size, once available), but that’s additional cost to cover a shortfall in the main device. Hopefully later revisions will have a larger capacity but it’s disappointing there isn’t a “pro” or “luxury” configuration that comes with 128GB of internal storage.

All in all, Nintendo have done an extremely impressive job with the hardware, and have a promising line up of titles for the coming year. But as with the Wii U, the ability to continually provide a stream of high-quality and compelling games is where the success or failure of the console lies. The Switch has all the right parts for it to be a success and it will undoubtedly outpace both the 3DS family and the Wii U. I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be a success – Nintendo seem to have woken up to the world a little more than in the last couple of years.

Other crucial elements will need more details before we can draw any firm conclusions – what about this new paid online service for example? Will purchases finally be linked to accounts, not hardware? Will Nintendo show respect to some of their most loyal customers who have spend hundreds on the Virtual Console? These all remain to be seen and could be huge boons, or massive pain points supporting or holding back the Switches overall success. For me though, I’ve preordered one. It’s not for the hardware, (for Nintendo that has always been secondary), it’s the games, the pursuit of fun, that has always been central for me. And I simply cannot miss Breath of the Wild or Splatoon 2.

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