Thoughts About The Nintendo Switch

Just to get it out of the way, Nintendo's new console/handheld hybrid, the Nintendo Switch has me excited more than either the Wii or the Wii U when they were first announced (2006, and 2011 respectively), which is probably why the last Nintendo console I bought was the GameCube sometime back in 2002.

If you haven't yet watched the video that Nintendo released yesterday (10/20/16), I highly recommend that you go and watch it.  Or you can watch it here/below, because that's the way the Internet works nowadays (hey, "nowadays" is actually a legit word).

What I gather from this long (but very welcome) announcement trailer, is the following:

• The Switch looks like the Wii U gamepad with detachable controllers.
• The Switch will use game carts, visually similar to the DS and 3DS carts.
• The Switch connects to your TV via docking station which doubles as a charging station.
• The Switch will be open to more initial 3rd party developers than Wii U.
• The Switch will be able to communicate with other Switches, at least when in close proximity.

And as for what I want to know:

• As is the case with everything that charges, what is the play time/life of a single charge?  What about the difference in life between the detachable controllers and the screen unit?
• Will the screen of the Switch be a touch screen? (Since it wasn't shown to have this functionality in the video, I'm feeling that it won't be.
• Which games, if any, will be backwards compatible via Nintendo's Virtual Console?
• Will the Switch be able to communicate with the 3DS?  (I actually don't know why I'm wondering this as I am not expecting it to be the case, just curiosity I guess).
• What are the online capabilities?  Wifi, 4G/3G?
• Will there be a built in web browser similar to the 3DS?
• What will the hard drive size of the Switch be since I do not see Nintendo doing away with digital downloads?  Will there be multiple units with different size drives at vastly different prices?
• Current rumor is that the unit will cost $300?
• What will the starting package include?  Docking station, controller, game(s)?
• Will the package come with a travel case?  I don't like the idea of carrying around, essentially a gaming tablet without some kind of dedicated storage case.

By the time you read this, there will have been hundreds of dozens of other sites with their own speculations about additional accessories, games that are, are not, or should be released on the Switch, as well as their own criticisms of Nintendo's design for their new system.  As of this writing, there are currently 322,000 results on Google for "Nintendo Switch," (1,8600,000 as of this posting) but I do not mind throwing our proverbial hat in the already densely crowded pool of Internetal thoughts.

I obviously have more questions about 3rd party support for both past and future games and auxiliary specs (battery life, hard drive, colors, memory card, et cetera), but I am sure that those will be revealed in the coming months.  So until then, we all will just have to sit back, speculate and filter through everyone else's reactions, speculations, and trolls out there.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

 Instrumental