With less than a month before its official release, Nintendo's new hybrid console, the Switch, is already making headlines – and its creators believe it will stay with players for years.
Earlier this week, "Metal Gear Solid" creator Hideo Kojima said that the new three-in-one console is a "gamer's dream," IGN reported. He said this new gaming system introduces the ability to play games at home like how players do with the traditional consoles, such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Wii U, and then take it with them like a handheld, such as the PS Vita, or any GameBoy variant.
Kojima added that the Switch appears to be the first system to initiate cloud-based gaming, where players can play a game in one system, save their data, and continue playing the same game using the cloud-stored data on another gaming system. However, don't get too excited because there's a key feature missing from the upcoming console and that is, that it doesn't support a web browser, something the Nintendo Wii U had and which gamers may feel the absence of.
Apparently, the idea of being able to play a game at home and then being able to take it anywhere for continued playing – and with the added convenience of being able to play with others – was the idea behind the Nintendo Switch, and that in part explains the omission of the browser - Nintendo is focusing on the gaming.
Speaking to Time, Nintendo Director Shinya Takahashi and Switch Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi said they created the Switch as an answer to a big difference in cultures between gamers in the West and in Japan. While Japanese gamers, such as school kids, prefer walking home together from school carrying a handheld such as a 3DS and then end up playing together, U.S. kids might not have that kind of opportunity "based on their schedules."
They also said that with the Switch, they aim to address the dilemma gamers have in choosing between playing in front of the TV via a home console, and playing on-the-go using a handheld. This way, players will get to enjoy the games they so love to play.
Both of them hope that they will get to see people buying the Switch and then enjoying it for a long period of time, in the same way people used to enjoy Nintendo's earlier home consoles such as the Famicom.
And yes, those who purchase the Switch for $299.99 via pre-order or actual store purchase just might get to see the longevity the new hybrid console possesses: Without elaborating, Takahashi said the detachable Joy-Con controllers have seen some hardware changes, which could mean new hardware could be attached to them.
The console is due to launch on March 3.
