Nintendo revealed today what has been rumored for weeks, it’s new gaming console Nintendo Switch in a video on Youtube. The new device plays as a home console as well as a mobile console, allowing gamers to play the game seamlessly on the go and back on the couch. The versatility to play with this mini system against friends on one screen in a van, then bring it home and pick it all up where you left it seems really exciting. It reminds me of video and music on-demand becoming more flexible to modern tech lives. The announcement has been a trending topic on social media throughout the afternoon, with millions talking about the new gaming device from the same people who gave us Super Mario .
It’s not surprising this new device will have a duality with at-home and on-the-go play because if you look at Nintendo’s history, their most successful consoles were handheld devices, the Gameboy and the DS which have both sold over a 100 million each. With their last console the Wii U falling behind Microsoft’s XBOX One and Sony’s PS4, they had to do something to carve out their piece of the video game pie as consumers look to the next generation to come in.
The big gaming studios have committed to making games for Switch including Activision, Bethesda, EA Games, Sega, Ubisoft and Warner Brothers. Nintendo Switch is due out in March, with the new Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild available on the system when it launches. Industry experts tell BBC-UK are saying the Nintendo needs to have a blockbuster roster of exclusive games on the Switch so they don’t fall behind, and the launch of this new console gets lost in the digital forest.
And yes, there will be a new Mario game….