FIVE REASONS
TO SWITCH
Nintendo is re-inventing the console again...
1
PLAY WHEREVER YOU LIKE
The heart of the Switch is a 6.2-inch touchscreen tablet, which gives
you a choice of two configurations: slap it into the supplied docking
station and play games on your TV with the two Joy-Con controllers,
or take the tablet out of the dock, stick the controllers on the side and bring
it with you on your travels. It’s not a new idea, but this is probably the best
implementation of it we’ve seen to date. What’s more, its games won’t be
region-locked, so you’ll easily be able to play Japanese or US titles.
2
ABOUT THOSE CONTROLLERS...
The Switch’s Joy-Con controllers are versatile, to say the least.
You can attach them to the Grip gamepad; clip them onto
the Switch tablet for mobile gaming, as mentioned above; or hold them
in your left and right hands, like a pair of Wii remotes. The right Joy-Con
is equipped with an infrared motion and distance sensor, which,
when combined with the HD Rumble force-feedback system,
enables some truly innovative gameplay mechanisms.
3
GET READY TO RUMBLE
HD Rumble is being described as the most nuanced haptic
feedback system currently available. At the console’s launch,
Nintendo was touting its ability to replicate the subtly different feel
of shaking a glass with one ice cube in it, or two. It’s this ‘high resolution’
that makes possible games such as Milk, in which players compete
to milk a cow – a task that involves responding to the most subtle
changes in physical feedback.
4
NO SCREEN REQUIRED
Alongside the new console, Nintendo is introducing the 1-2 Switch
suite of mini-games, many of which are designed to be played
without looking at the screen at all (or at least barely). These include
Milk, mentioned earlier; a safe-cracking game where HD Rumble lets
you know when a lock’s tumblers fall; and a two-player, Western-themed
duelling game.
5
A TASTE OF THE OLD SCHOOL
The starting line-up of games for Switch is solid, if unexceptional.
What’s perhaps more interesting is that a whole host of NES,
SNES and NeoGeo games will also be available for Switch. The Switch
was designed to bridge the gap between hardcore and casual gaming;
with this announcement, Nintendo’s targeting the retro market as well.
FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: The tablet can be placed in a docking station, so games
can be played on the TV; Milk makes the most of the Switch’s haptic feedback system;
the right Joy-Con has an infrared camera that detects the shape, movement and
distance of objects; the Joy-Con controllers clip into the tablet for on-the-go gaming
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