Nintendo Switch Price and Release Date Confirmed Alongside System Details

Nintendo held a massive press conference at 4AM UK time in order to show more details about the Switch, answering some of our questions about the new hardware, as well as showing off some of the sweet new games that we can see soon. That's super early, but just because we love you we've stayed up well past our bedtime in order to bring you the latest Nintendo news as it happens.

Launch Date and Price

 The system is coming on the third of March, at a price of 29980Yen or $299.99, with European prices varying according to country. Nintendo advised that customers should "check with your local retailer". We checked for you; at the time or writing, they don't know, but we will update as soon as they do. 

EDIT: The price for the UK has been confirmed as £279.99.

Hardware

The console comes with the Switch console itself, the dock, two joy-con controllers and the grip to go with them, an AC adapter and HDMI cable, and a pair of wrist straps. Nintendo were keen to point out that the console is ready for multiplayer gaming out of the box with two controllers, something that was missing for the Wii U. There will be two versions at launch, the only difference being the controller colours are either grey or red and blue. Both will be the same price, so the confusion surrounding the multiple Wii U variants isn't being repeated. 

The screen on the tablet portion will be capacitive, meaning multi-touch and other such things will be possible. Built in Wi-Fi means it can be used for 8-player multiplayer on the go, and battery life will be anywhere from two and a half to six hours, depending on what games you are playing. Fortunately, the system charges by USB-C, so unlike other Nintendo portable, you won't need a propriatary charger to boost up that play time.

We saw a lot more of the controllers themselves at the presentation, and they're much more high tech than we first realised. The individual Joy-Cons are both motion sensitive, like the Wiimote, but apparently more accurately. They're able to sense position as well as movement, and this was shown with new game Arms, a one on one fighter with players having stretchy arms. In the video, we saw the characters fists twisting sideways as the players rotated their controllers.

Other features include an RFID sensor so those Amiibo you bought won't go to waste, a sharing button on the left Joy-Con to share pictures and video, and a camera in the right one that can be used to identify motion and shapes. The Joy-cons  also have tiny shoulder buttons, but these can be made larger by attaching the wrist straps. Way to make people actually put their wrist straps on Nintendo, very clever!

We also got a look at what Nintendo are calling "HD rumble". The controller can give a much more realistic sensation of movement. This was demonstrated by showing how it can mimic the sensations of individual ice cubes being put into a glass, followed by the pouring of water.

The system will have online multiplayer, although there was no word on whether the dreaded friend code system will make a return or not. What we do know though is that it won't be free. Pricing wasn't revealed, but early adopters won't be paying until the Autumn, when the service will become pay-to-use just like on the PlayStation and Xbox.

The Games

Of course, the hardware will be pointless if there aren't great games to play (Wii U, we're looking at you), and the system doesn't look like it will disappoint. Right off the bat, the system will launch alongside The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild, with other big franchises coming soon.

Bethesda made a guest appearance to confirm that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is indeed coming to the console, although they didn't confirm exactly when. There was no mention of the recent special edition, but nonetheless, it's Skyrim.

Splatoon 2 will be released in the summer, featuring more of the same, but with extras added. The turf warfare mode remains but with new arenas and weapons, however new game modes were promised, but not shown. As before, the game will have new arenas released regularly after launch for free. 

The Xenoblade series will be getting a new entry as well. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was announced and it's looking super pretty. Like the previous titles, this will be a Nintendo exclusive but we don't have a release date just yet. It's looking super pretty either way.

Square Enix are working on a few titles, including two Dragon Quest games. As well as those, they are working on a unique 2.5D pixel art RPG called Project Octopath Traveller. 

Other highlights included a new Shin Megami Tensei game in development, FIFA coming to the system, and Suda51 popped up to tell us that Travis Touchdown will be making an appearance in an as yet untitled game. A brief showreel gave us glimpses of Bomberman, Minecraft and Mario Kart amongst other titles. In all, there are over 50 developers working on games and over 80 games in current development. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a Nintendo console without a new Mario game, and that is indeed what we will get. Super Mario Odyssey sees the titular plumber entering some famous real world locations including New York City, and features the kind of open world gameplay that we saw in Super Mario 64. This will come by Christmas 2017.