Please Note: Trailers are marketing tools specifically crafted to sell products to a large audience. That being said, the Nintendo Switch looks incredible… as long as they deliver on everything shown.

Console

Let’s start off by looking at the console itself and assume it comes with all the standard set of cables. It appears like the Switch has two ports on the side. They look like HDMI ports but with a picture of a lock between them. The console itself follows Nintendo’s mantra of keeping everything neat and compact. The rumors about the console having a screen and a dock were correct. You can see the portable screen in the image above. The Switch when docked is almost the same size as the original Wii. Although the design of the console has no actual impact on gameplay, it’s worth noting that the console looks at home with any entertainment system. This is due to the system’s matte gray finish—which gives the Switch a pleasing neutral composition to work with.

Controller(s)

Throughout the trailer we are shown several controllers with the ability to transform and be used in specific ways. Let me explain. Figure A is the first controller shown in the trailer. It has all the same buttons as a Wii U controller, but without the bulky touchscreen. The first transformation is when the man in the video slides off the left and right portions of the controller (Nintendo calls them Joy-Cons, so I’ll do the same from here on out) and attaches them to the screen sitting in the dock of the console. The Switch’s portable screen is considerably smaller than the Wii U, a vast improvement over the awkward sized control pad. The width of the screen with controllers attached is about the same width as an average white male gamer in their 20s, judging from the trailer, but it looks comfortable. In the following scene, we see the young man take the Switch to a park, demonstrating that you don’t need internet connectivity to play games. What’s more impressive is that the resolution and graphical detail seem equal to when the game is being played at home from the dock. This is shown throughout the video by the seamless transition of video when dropping the portable screen in and out of the TV-connected dock.

From there the young man, with all his hopes and dreams, travels to the airport where we see more tricks the Switch can do. Its screen has a convenient kickstand and, thankfully, a headphone jack (I’m looking at you Apple). We also learn that the Joy-Cons on the side still function when removed from the screen, turning it into a standalone monitor of sorts. The Joy-Cons can still be used as normal controllers when removed from the screen, but from what I saw on the console I don’t believe that Joy-Cons are capable of motion tracking. At least not yet. They seem too small to have the proprietary technology built in, and there was no sign of an IR camera near the gentleman’s television.

Upon returning from his trip, the man docks the screen but leaves the Pro-Cons as he picks up another, separate, controller (Figure C). This controller is essentially a Switch version of a Wii U Pro controller. It fits in your hands comfortably, and the analog sticks are positioned where Microsoft (and myself) prefer them to be—at differing heights.

What you may have overlooked though is the genius button layout of the Joy-Cons and how they are mirrored. This is perfect for those of you who may be left-handed, but the ingeniousness doesn’t end there. Because you use both Joy-Cons most the time, you are always traveling with a next-gen system and two controllers. This means you will have a next-gen multiplayer experience everywhere you go!

Cartridges

The rumors of cartridges were (thankfully) true, but they would have to be if the rumors about taking the console on-the-go were as well. And this is a logical move for Nintendo, it allows a thinner console (in this case, the portable screen) to play higher demanding games by offsetting some of the processing power. It also increases the systems battery life which is extremely important for a portable system. What’s funny is this is the same reason why cartridges were used in gaming systems to begin with. The cartridges look small, although slightly larger than a 3DS cartridge, so traveling with a few won’t be a hassle.

Multiplayer

Since I already went into detail about multiplayer in the controller section, I’ll use this space to discuss Nintendo’s reasoning for the multi-controller set up. Nintendo is a smart company. They always go back to their roots when they see the ground beneath them begin to shake. For those of you veteran Nintendo fans, you might have realized how much of the focus of the trailer was focused around local play. That’s because sitting around with friends playing cute, fun, and simple games is what made Nintendo the champions they are today. Which is why both sides of the portable screen controller can be used as individual controllers, so you can play with friends when they come over. Nintendo also never liked the idea of people playing online together and were forced into it. This provides a solution to that dilemma as well. Now you can take your entire system with you wherever you go. You essentially bring the games to your friends. If they have a Switch themselves, you can probably play together or versus each other, too. This is just speculation, but it seems accurate if you look back at the people playing the basketball game with two Switches in the trailer.

 

After analyzing the announcement trailer in-depth, it’s obvious that Nintendo looked at themselves and their community when creating the Switch. But, this is just a trailer. We will still have to wait until it’s release this March for more news and updates. But for now, things are looking up for Nintendo. I mean, their website crashed because of this video, what more could you hope for but overwhelming demand?