Nintendo just gave a nod to toilet gamers across the globe with the latest commercial for its upcoming Switch gaming console. Just one second after the commercial begins, we see someone slip the handheld portion out of the Switch base. Cut to the person sitting on the toilet sporting a big grin while playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the handheld. The grin could stem from playing the game or from something else … we have no idea.
Yes, toilet gamers, Nintendo knows your dirty little secret.
Using bathroom humor in the Switch ad campaign is a little surprising for the historically buttoned-up Nintendo, but could be a sign that the company is attempting to redefine its audience. It follows from the initial reveal, which only featured adults and notably included drinking.
In addition to the toilet scene, the commercial spotlights local multiplayer gameplay with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in multiple environments. The game won’t be available until April 28, which is unfortunate given that the Nintendo Switch console hits the streets on March 3 for $300. However, there will be a handful of games to purchase at launch including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Skylanders: Imaginators, Super Bomberman R, and more.
The first Nintendo Switch commercial focuses on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It demonstrates how gamers can sit on the couch and play on the big TV, and then pull the handheld out of the base to continue the adventure on the go. It also goes on to show the gamer sitting on an airplane playing the same game, but with the screen sitting on the drop-down food tray and the detachable controllers in hand.
The Nintendo Switch will reportedly be based on Nvidia’s Tegra X1 processor (SoC) that currently powers Nvidia’s Shield TV set-top box. This chip consists of four ARM-based processor cores (A57) and 256 Maxwell graphics cores, meaning the Nintendo Switch misses out on Nvidia’s latest Pascal graphics chip architecture used with its GeForce GTX 10 Series graphics cards. That’s apparently being saved for Nvidia’s next-generation Tegra X2 Parker chip, arriving sometime this year.
According to reports, the Tegra X1’s graphics cores will run at 768MHz when the Switch is docked, down from 1,000MHz GPU speed in the Shield TV set-top box. Even more, when the handheld portion is pulled out of the dock, the GPU cores are reportedly downclocked to 307.2MHz. Meanwhile, the processor cores will remain at 1,020MHz whether the handheld is docked or not.
That said, Nintendo is undoubtedly betting on its hybrid console design and first-party content to push Switch sales instead of promoting the hardware residing underneath. The Wii sidestepped Microsoft and Sony’s hardware arms race and found immense success through its unique design and content, so time will tell whether Nintendo can replicate that success with the Switch.
Regardless, Nintendo’s new Switch commercial is an attention grabber to say the least. Although it’s aimed at Germany, we all know that Nintendo toilet gaming has been a worldwide epidemic ever since the original Game Boy.
