It's been an agonising 18 months since Nintendo first revealed it was working on a new console. Yes, who knew that a company that has sold hundreds of millions of systems to gamers all over the globe wasn't just going to pack up completely and head off home?
As obvious as fresh hardware from Nintendo may seem, just what form the console would take has been massively up for debate. Seriously, some of the rumours have been fairly extreme. But in recent months most have settled around the concept of a console that's both a traditional system that sits under your TV and a handheld device, all at the same time. Part Wii, part Nintendo DS, basically.
Well, today's the day we can finally kick all those rumours to the curb. Nintendo has officially lifted the lid on its next system via a neat little concept video streamed live across the web, and we've had our beady little eyes on it.
Advert
Credit: Nintendo
We now know the console will be called Switch and, as the rumours suggested, will be a sort of home console, portable hybrid. Basically, Switch is a console that sports its own mini-screen. You can either drop it into a holster and play directly on your TV, or you can unclip it and take the screen out and about with you to continue games on the go.
Advert
To Ninty's credit, the whole thing looks really flexible. You can either use the standard controller (which looks suspiciously like an Xbox game pad) when you're playing on the TV, or you can use clip-on buttons on the side of Switch's screen when you head out. Switch's display also has a stand at the back, meaning you can treat it a bit like a tablet - albeit a tablet that can actually play decent games like Mario and Zelda. Take that, iPad.
Credit: Nintendo
Advert
Nintendo has given Switch a firm release date of March next year, meaning we won't have long to wait until we can get our grubby little mitts on it. The Japanese giant will be hoping plenty of us do, too. Coming after the record selling Wii, Nintendo's current machine - the "I've never even heard of it" Wii U, as it's better known - has been a great, stonking flop and holds the record of being one of the lowest selling consoles in the big N's history.
With Sony about to refresh its offering with the roll out of PS4 Pro next month and Microsoft's Project Scorpio - a revised Xbox One that's set to be the most powerful console ever released - now less than a year away, the water is already looking particularly choppy for Switch's spring debut.
Words by Keith Andrew
Featured image credit: Nintendo
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Nintendo