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Everything I want from the Nintendo “Switch”


For about a year now gamers have been speculating on what the Nintendo NX is. Well everyone can now take a break from that, for now. Earlier this week Nintendo released an announcement trailer for the NX... I mean the Nintendo Switch. They didn’t present any specs in the trailer, leaving more question than answers. Nintendo is changing way we play games, again. Do you want to play at home? How about on the go? You can do both! The Switch seems like a new and fresh idea that works, but there is still so much we don’t know about it.

Every passing day there has been new rumors and leaks of the Switch. I think the biggest rumor is if the Switch will support touch screens? From watching the trailer, they made a noticeable point that no one is touching the screen. When I first saw the trailer I automatically assumed that it was going to have touch functionality. But the trailer distinctly did not show touch interaction in any way. Touch functionality has been with us in technology for more than six years now and for Nintendo to completely remove touch seems like a misstep.

Battery life is the most concerning aspect of the Switch. How long does the tablet last when it is undocked? No one knows. This is a major selling point for consumers. Game journalist speculated if it isn’t more than six hours a lot of gamers will be put-off by that idea. Without a big battery, the appeal of making this also a handheld is nullified. A big battery is a huge part of a handheld console; I want to see how Nintendo tackles the battery issue.

Now for the detachable controllers or should I say the “joy-cons” -- which is a creative name. The way they showed how “joy-cons” are used in the trailer doesn’t look practical. The form factor of the “joy-cons” are small, and to use each individual joy-con as a single controller is a neat idea but it’s not the ideal way to play video games. The big question for me is how will the detachable nature of the joy-cons be used. Motion controls are they only thing that I think would work well. But for the motion controls to work well, Nintendo needs a creative idea for motion controlled games.

Joy-Cons used split and used as a single controller

A Joy-Con used in multiplayer situation

Ever since the announcement trailer of the Nintendo “Switch” the gamer side of the internet went crazy. Now that we all know what the “Switch” is, there are even more unanswered questions. For me the Switch is something that is new and fresh from the outside. But the internals are the biggest selling point for me and I’m sure for a lot of others too.  Like what is the battery life when I’m on the go, will there be touch functionality, or how well will the joy-cons be used? Hopefully all the questions will be answered soon.


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