Nintendo Switch pricing tips, controllers, everything you need to know
The final evolution of the Nintendo NX is here in the form of a console called Nintendo Switch. Today we're going to run down the details that are available thus far – the important details. We'll also be hypothesizing what it means for the system to be in the form that it is, and what that'll mean to the future of your pocketbook.
Nintendo Switch Pricing
We've got enough information here to make a reasonable guess at what the Nintendo Switch will cost. Nintendo's 3DS XL is currently available for around $200 USD – so we'll expect the Switch to cost more than that. The Nintendo Wii U costs around $300 USD, and it came out back in 2012. So we'll expect the Switch to cost more than that.
Nintendo shouldn't price the Switch above their closest competitors – or shouldn't do so by much. As such, pricing the Microsoft Xbox One S at $300 USD sets the max price for the Nintendo Switch up for less than $350. Or so we'd expect. The same goes for the PlayStation 4 and the PS4 Slim, both coming in at around $300 starting price.
The Nintendo Switch is a different kind of monster, of course. It's not just a console, it's a display, too. Things might get weird with pricing.
Controllers
There's at least four different forms of control in this setup. The Nintendo Switch has the ability to work with a standard controller. You'll see this controller later in the first trailer for the console.
This console also works with what appears to be a near-standard controller. In fact, this is a base for the two detachable units that come from the display. Combined, these pieces create a controller that's quite unique.
These detachable controllers can also function on their own, separate. Once the display is set down or docked, the user can hold these two controllers apart from eachother. Like a Wii controller and a nunchuck, these two work together.
The two controller sticks described above also function while attached to the removable display. It's like a gaming tablet the likes of which we've not seen for... a few months now.
More than 2 ways to play
The Nintendo Switch aims for more than one way to play, hence the name. Users can play at home, first of all. This gameplay has the tablet docked near one's own TV, likely connected via HDMI.
Once the player wants to move away from the TV, the tablet's display is what's used to see the game. Controllers can remain attached to the sides of the tablet, or taken off and used wirelessly.
The player can hold the tablet with the controllers, if they've gone mobile. Or, if they're in a calm environment they can remove the controllers and engage the kickstand.
Wireless play with friends in local multiplayer games may need more than one Switch. It does appear that each of the two detachable controllers can be used by 2 different users. In that way Mario Kart Switch (or whatever it'll be called) can be played in local split-screen multiplayer mode.
Release Date
The Nintendo Switch is set to appear in stores in March of 2017. While this seems to be a hard set date from Nintendo for this release, it could well change. Anything is possible when you have a company obsessed with perfection.