Nintendo Switch: what we know about the upcoming game console – The Verge

Yes, Nintendo Switch cartridges taste terrible

2017-03-01T12:03:59-05:00

For a few days now, rumors and reports have been circulating that the cartridges for the new Nintendo Switch taste really bad when you lick them or put them in your mouth. The Verge can now confirm that, yes, licking a Switch cart is the absolute worst. Don't lick your Switch cartridges.

It never actually occurred to our reviewers to lick the cartridges we tested, because honestly who does that. But the internet could not be ignored. Here's GiantBomb's Jeff Gerstmann putting a cart in his mouth and regretting it almost immediately:

We had Verge executive editor Dieter Bohn lick The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to taste for himself. …

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The Nintendo Switch indie strategy: release new games every week

2017-03-01T11:12:36-05:00

SteamWorld Dig 2 | SteamWorld Dig 2

Nintendo has a revised strategy for indie games: look forward rather than backward. That goal is a bit loaded. On one hand, it speaks to a general concept of newness. Its slate of upcoming indie games, which will be charged with filling the Switch's slim release calendar, are largely new releases, many debuting exclusively on the portable-console hybrid. That is to say, few of them are releases of games that have appeared elsewhere (Stardew Valley being the obvious exception). But "looking forward rather than backward" also speaks to the company's ongoing relationship with the people who make and publish indie video games - a group it has, t …

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The best Nintendo Switch Easter egg is a mysterious fictional employee

2017-02-24T12:11:55-05:00

Barring some massive last-minute redesign, the Nintendo Switch will launch with one of the company's most benign user interfaces. A queue of open slots (for your yet-to-be-built game collection) floats above six small icons: News, eShop, Album, Controllers, System Settings, and Power. There's no flashy animation or interactive Mii village. It's less minimal than it is skeletal. Fittingly, the console has two visual themes from which to choose: "Basic White" and "Basic Black." Yes, those are the real names.

However, the Switch isn't completely void of personality. Nintendo has placed one charming and recurring detail throughout the menus. It …

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The Nintendo Switch won’t have Netflix or other streaming apps at launch

2017-01-20T00:36:21-05:00

Nintendo's focus at its Switch event last week was on the hybrid portable/home console's lineup of games, with next to no information on the operating system or other functionality. Now, via some answers provided in response to questions asked by Kotaku, the company has revealed a little more information - but stayed quiet on a lot.

Here are a few things we've learned:

The Switch won't support any video-streaming apps like Netflix or Hulu at launch. "All of our efforts have gone toward making the Nintendo Switch system an amazing dedicated video game platform," the company says, although this functionality is "being considered for a future …

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Nintendo Switch VR headset shows up in patent

2016-12-15T12:28:51-05:00

A recently published Nintendo patent shows how virtual reality could work on the company's upcoming Switch console, despite Nintendo's overall ambivalence toward VR. The patent, spotted by a NeoGAF member, describes a head-mounted display that would hold the Nintendo Switch tablet, reminiscent of Google's Daydream headset or the Samsung Gear VR. The headset, Nintendo writes, could "enhance the sense of immersion" and could either include its own tracking sensors or use ones on the tablet itself. Wearers would play games by sliding off the Switch's removable controllers, which could hypothetically also feature Wiimote-esque motion sensors.

T …

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Nintendo Switch will have a ‘wider array’ of new hardware accessories, says CEO

2016-10-28T01:41:00-04:00

Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima has hinted that there's more to the company's upcoming console, the Switch, than it revealed in the brief video introduction last week. "By no means was that everything," Kimishima told Bloomberg, suggesting that the tablet-style core unit and detachable controllers are part of a larger hardware initiative. "It may be appropriate to call them accessories. Or it might be better to call them add-on hardware. It's probably more correct to call them accessories. You can assume that there will be a wider array."

Twitter user Ryan Salamanda shared an interesting concept for the Switch's controller back when the syst …

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Nintendo Switch will reportedly have a multitouch screen

2016-10-27T13:12:05-04:00

Last week Nintendo finally unveiled its long-rumored next console, Switch. But while the console's debut trailer provided a clearer picture of the device, it also raised a number of questions. Most notably: does Switch have a touchscreen? The answer, according to a new report from Eurogamer, is yes.

The site claims that Switch will feature a 6.2-inch 720p display and that, unlike past Nintendo hardware like the 3DS and Wii U which had resistive touch screens, it will also include a capacitive multitouch display. Eurogamer previously reported accurately that the Switch - then known as the NX - would be a portable / console hybrid with contro …

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Nintendo will reveal the Switch’s price and release date on January 12th

2016-10-26T21:55:29-04:00

Nintendo doesn't plan to reveal much more about its upcoming Switch console this year, but you won't have to wait too long into 2017. The company just announced a "Nintendo Switch Presentation" in Tokyo on January 13th (the 12th on US time), which will be streamed live around the world. Nintendo will use the event to announce the system's price, release date, and initial lineup of games.

Nintendo confirmed in its earnings report yesterday that it still plans to release the Switch worldwide in March, so there isn't a lot of time to get the word out. Nintendo is also planning media presentations in the US and Europe following the Tokyo presen …

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The Nintendo Switch dock is only for charging and TV output

2016-10-21T04:51:27-04:00

The core concept of Nintendo's upcoming Switch console is that it's a portable device with games that you can also play on your TV at home by way of a dock. But don't expect the docking unit to provide more storage or performance capability to the tablet - Nintendo has confirmed that it's primarily a way to get the tablet-style portable's games onto the bigger screen.

"The dock is not the main console unit of Nintendo Switch," a representative tells IGN. "The main unit of Nintendo Switch is the unit that has the LCD screen, which the two Joy-Con controllers can be attached to and detached from. The main function of the Nintendo Switch Dock …

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Check out this genius Nintendo Switch controller concept

2016-10-20T20:28:36-04:00

Nintendo this morning unveiled its ambitious Switch device, a portable handheld-console hybrid that will act as the company's successor to the Wii U. One of its trademark features is a wild modular controller scheme called Joy-Con. Essentially, the left and right portions of the wireless controller slide out and reattach to a portable display you remove from the base station. Joy-Con also lets you play multiplayer games by using each tiny Wiimote-like peripheral as a standalone handheld controller.

This opens up all sorts of possibilities. In fact, Twitter user Ryan Salamanda has devised a fascinating Joy-Con peripheral concept that would m …

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