The Nintendo Switch will be released March 3 worldwide for $299, Nintendo announced today during a press briefing in Tokyo.
Nintendo will sell the Switch for 29,980 yen in Japan. In Europe, the price will vary by retailer. The Switch will be available in two configurations: one with gray Joy-Con controllers, and the other with neon red and blue Joy-Con devices. Otherwise, the hardware will be the same: 32 GB of internal storage with a 720p touchscreen.
I’m somewhat curious about the hardware, somewhat interested in the new Zelda they showed off, but I’m appalled at the pricing in Europe (you’ll be plonking down around €400 for the console and a game), and disappointed in the weak launch line-up and pretty meagre collection of games they showed off for the coming year.
The Mario and Zelda franchises have basically become like Call of Duty – every year, we get pots, remakes, of a new game with a few new mechanics, and that’s it. There’s nothing wrong with that – if people enjoy them, they enjoy them, and that’s great – but I feel like Nintendo could be doing so much more than this.
Uh, Thom, have you never heard of the NES Classic? Try searching eBay.
You’ll never find one for even €400. I hate to say it, but just get a PS4 or XBox.
I really like that Nintendo is trying to make unique products. I just hope that 3rd party developers don’t avoid them like the plague within the first year of launch.
Most people think like you, that’s the general perception, yes… but I think that perception about Nintendo is outdated and objectively WRONG: the last Zelda game was released 6 years ago, last 3D Mario game 4 years ago. During the Switch conference many new IPs were presented (ARMS, 1-2-Switch, Splatoon 2) plenty of new characters with completely new aesthetics and even new gaming styles. I see no repetition there, in fact, it was pure innovation.
Just take into account Mr. Miyamoto was screened only for 10 seconds!!! The whole conference was focused on young developers and new projects and IPs. Something unthinkable 10 or 15 years ago.
So no, the “Nintendo is repetitive” mantra doesn’t apply to the Switch conference at all. It has a lot of problems but lacking new stuff is not one of them.
I second that.
Its really only people who don’t play Nintendo games who hold this belief.
The writer has given himself away on that I think..! Comparing Call of Duty with Mario or Zelda sequelitis is pretty innacurrate.
That sentence sounds so much like marketing speak. “new IP”, “New characters”. Remember when companies released games and not “IP’s”?
I have no problems with mario or zelda or starfox being reused in nintendo games. There is a massive difference between how nintendo does it and how {insert generic fps title here} work.
With Nintendo the characters are used in different games and different stories and different environments. Mario is in mario kart and in mario world and in mario and luigis mansion. Same with Link and Zelda, which are placed in wildly different worlds with very different quests. It reuses the “beloved” characters in different environments and completely different types of games. Or even in similar types of games, whats important is the fact that the players instantly recognise the character.
Franchises like {insert generic fps title here} put random characters into different war zones and chew them up and spit them out, its all very samey, there is no attachment to characters, the attachment is to the name. Its about playing as a random, shooting randoms in a war set somewhere in the timeline – same game different settings and its just become incredibly boring.
I am undecided about the switch. Its bordering on just too expensive, its accessories are definitely too expensive, there is no way I am paying for online again, its just a massive scam (thank you microsoft and the loyal legions of xbox followers, for thinking paying for multiplayer is acceptable – you maroons)
with a game the switch will be about €350 euros / £350/ $360 – not wildly expensive, but not exactly cheap considering its basically an android / nvidia shield tablet with funky controllers and a dock. I definitely wont be there day 1 (I say this, but I was one of the dumb-asses that bought a wiiu)
I was looking around at recent gaming tech and honestly I am a bit surprised by the Playstation TV. Currently selling for 45usd at amazon, is able to take a dualshock 4 controller and play most vita games. With some hacks can play most of them and do more.
If it weren’t for those damn proprietary highway robbery priced proprietary sony memory cards…