Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Nintendo has revealed a price and release date for the Switch

Gabe Carey
By

After months of teases, Nintendo announced that its next console, the Nintendo Switch, will be available worldwide on March 3, 2017, and will cost $300 in North America. The company announced the news during an unveiling event in Tokyo Thursday, January 12.

Each console will be bundled with a Joy-Con controller, wrist straps, Joy-Con dock, Switch dock, and an AC adaptor. The Pro controller will be sold separately from each of these packages. The console will ship with two color variants, one with black Joy-Con controllers and another with a blue and red Joy-Con. Both models will be sold for the same price.

Recommended Videos

The company also confirmed that the system, a hybrid fusion of both a handheld and a console when docked, will support online services compatible with mobile smart devices. On unspecified mobile devices, presumably iPhones and Android, you’ll be able to invite friends to play games with you on the Switch no matter where you are.

Related

As shown in the initial teaser, two players can split the Joy-Con pads — called “sharing the joy” — which connect to the console via infrared sensors. In this form, the joy-cons can be paired with a strap peripheral, which also adds pronounced “+” and “-” trigger buttons. Both the joy-cons and straps come in a variety of colors, including black, blue, and red. The console’s Joy-Con controllers will support motion controls, and feature a hypersensitive HD rumble feature.

Thus far, Nintendo said that its console will launch with a proof-of-concept party game geared towards families and friends called 1 2 Switch, which features a compilation of various mini games. Unlike previous Nintendo platforms, the Switch will not be region-locked, meaning you can finally import all those Dragon Quest games that inevitably only come to Japan without buying an imported console. Other games confirmed for the Switch include The Elder Scrolls V: Skryim, Super Mario Odyssey (December 2017), and a new motion-controlled boxing game called ARMS (spring 2017).

The battery life of the Switch, according to Nintendo, will last somewhere between 2.5 and 6 hours. Optimistically assuming it lasts closer to the latter, this is good for players looking to enjoy lengthy Splatoon 2 sessions, which, by the way, is also coming to the Switch in summer 2017.

If you’re wondering if Nintendo Switch is worth it, read our review on Nintendo Switch.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Gabe Carey
Gabe Carey
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A freelancer for Digital Trends, Gabe Carey has been covering the intersection of video games and technology since he was 16…
Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers: how they work and eligible games
Link stands near allied humans and Gorons in Tears of the Kingdom.

After disappearing from the store in 2019, Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers have returned to the eShop. These vouchers are a great value to those who are active Switch users and purchase a lot of their games digitally via the Nintendo online shop. By purchasing a voucher, players are able to browse a constantly expanding selection of Switch games, including many high-profile first-party titles such as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Splatoon 3, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and use their vouchers to purchase games. In addition, they can also be used to preorder upcoming titles.

If you neverhad the chance to use them before, here's everything you need to know about Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers.
How Nintendo Switch Vouchers work

Read more
Don’t expect a Switch Pro or new Nintendo console within the next year
preorder legend of zelda tears the kingdom nintendo switch oled gameplay

If you were hoping that a new Nintendo console was right on the horizon after the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, think again. Nintendo has confirmed that it plans to release no new hardware over the next 12 months.

On May 9, Nintendo shared its financial results for the last fiscal year with investors. Console and software sales both lagged by a bit compared to the year before, with Nintendo crediting a semiconductor shortage and a weaker holiday season for that. Looking to the next year, the company hopes to sell 15 million new Nintendo Switch consoles on top of the 125.62 million that are already out there. Those forecasts are all based on existing hardware, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Read more
Play this Zelda hidden gem for free with Switch Online before Tears of the Kingdom

Ahead of the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it’s a great time to look back on the stalwart Nintendo’s series presence on Nintendo Switch. From Breath of the Wild to a plethora of classics on Switch Online, it’s probably the best console for any fan of this series to own. That said, there’s one Switch exclusive that may have flown under your radar and is worth checking out before Tears of the Kingdom. That game is Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necrodancer featuring The Legend of Zelda.
All About Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Ft. The Legend of Zelda - Nintendo Switch
Free for Nintendo Switch Online members until May 7 and available at a 50% discount on the eShop through the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, this game is a rare case of Nintendo collaborating with an indie studio for a project tied to one of its biggest franchises. The result is a Zelda game that expands on the rhythm-based action formula established in Brace Yourself Games’ 2016 hit Crypt of the NecroDancer.
Although this roguelite doesn’t play like any other Zelda game out there, it makes some design choices that call back to the series' most iconic titles. That, as well as its rhythmic nature, will feel refreshing ahead of Tears of the Kingdom’s ambitious and systems-heavy open-world adventure. If you haven’t played it, give Cadence of Hyrule a shot while it’s free.
A unique adventure
As a crossover between Crypt of the Necrodancer and The Legend of Zelda, the game begins with NecroDancer protagonist Cadence being whisked away to Hyrule. She quickly inspires Link or Zelda to explore the world and fight back against Octavo, who put Hyrule’s king to sleep with a magical Lute. Those who prefer the more minimalist stories of earlier games in the series will enjoy how quickly the game gets players to the rhythmic action. People begging Nintendo to make Zelda playable in Tears of the Kingdom will also appreciate that they can play most of the game as her if they want.

The act of playing Cadence of Hyrule is where things get really interesting, as it combines old and new ideas to create something that feels familiar yet refreshing. Starting with the new, this is a rhythm game where players must move and attack enemies on the beat. The Zelda franchise is known for its music, and Cadence of Hyrule takes full advantage of that by including versions of some of the series’ greatest hits. Until we get a Theatrhythm-like game for Zelda music, this is game fans of the franchise's iconic soundtracks can't ignore. 
Hopping tile-to-tile on the beat is pretty simple to understand, but it can get quite difficult as players must also account for the fact that every enemy also moves and attacks on the beat. Recognizing that players will probably die a lot, the game is structured as a roguelite where some dungeons are procedurally generated (as is the world each time you start a new file). Items can be found or bought with Rupees to help players during an individual run, while Diamonds are collected in dungeons or by clearing a screen of enemies can be spent on more permanent upgrades.
This may sound daunting, but gameplay options like setting the controllers to vibrate on the beat or only letting enemies move when you do can make it easier. Most Zelda fans should also feel more at home with how other parts of Cadence of Hyrule are designed.
But still familiar-feeling
 
Rhythm-based movement and combat aside, this is a classic top-down Zelda action-adventure game with aesthetics, presentation, and iconography that the series was once known for. The familiarity in terms of the locations visited, enemies fought, and items obtained makes those more distinct elements easier to embrace. It’s also novel to see elements from post-2D Zelda games show up in this style, like Skull Kid via DLC.
It demonstrates just how malleable and well-designed the core Zelda formula is because it still feels faithful despite its rhythmic nature. While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom’s massive open worlds and deep gameplay systems impress, they’ve also created a yearning for a more classically structured Zelda experience from some fans.

Read more