By Patrice Linmin

Nintendo is switching things up with the announcement of their new console, the Nintendo Switch. At the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) conference back in June, Nintendo announced a new console to come March 2017 with a working title called the “Nintendo Nx” and that was the extent of the information. Recently, a trailer was finally dropped along with the reveal of an actual title, the Nintendo Switch .

The Nintendo Switch is a revolutionary new console that is a combination of a handheld system and a standard system. It can be played on the TV like normal, but can also be played portably. There are several ways to play it; by using the screen as a controller like the Wii U, by using a classic controller, or by taking the panels off of the second screen to use as controllers and play with friends. It’s very versatile and has the portability of a DS/3DS and the technical power of a Wii U.

It’s an extremely innovative idea. However, there are some concerns. One is the price. It’s almost two consoles in one so how much are we expected to pay for that? Another concern is battery life when it is taken portably. The trailer shows a guy playing it on an airplane but how long could you go on that plane ride before the device dies? The trailer also shows that it charges via a docking station. Will there be an AC Adaptor? Can you move the docking station as well? Does something change when you take it portably to save battery life like brightness or resolution?

There is also the concern of the controls. When the Nintendo Switch goes portable, you can remove the side panels and use those and controllers or “Joy Cons” as they both have a joystick and four buttons (A, X, Y, and B buttons on one, directional buttons on the other). But these “Joy Cons” are quite small and consumers are worried that this might affect gameplay. They could also be easily lost and buyers want to know if there will be replacement options for that and how much that would be.

Compatibility is another concern. For a long time, Nintendo has kept its console compatible with the previous one (the Wii could play Gamecube games, the Wii U could play Wii games, the DS could play Gameboy Advanced games, the 3DS could play DS games, and so on). However, the Switch looks like it’s going to use SD cards or some sort of cartridge similar to the portable devices. It makes sense that it would run CD Rom as that could interfere with the portability. So what will consumers do with their Wii U games? Will there be a data transfer or something downloadable? Or will fans be out of luck?

Overall, the Nintendo Switch seems to be a very innovative idea, combining the accessibility of a hand-held device and the power of a system console. Most fans appear to be happy with this announcement, although they do have some concerns. However it’s too early to know everything that the company is planning for the new console so we’ll just have to wait for March when it comes out.