Nintendo Switch Hands-On: 10 Things We Learned
The latest offering from The Big N is their most divisive yet.
For months, Nintendo’s successor to the Wii U has been shrouded in mystery, going only by the mysterious codename “NX”, with rumours about features and patents flying all over the place. Nintendo fans all over the world have been eager to find out how the Japanese giant was planning to bounce back from the disappointing performance of their last home console.
Following the grand reveal last Friday, Nintendo held events worldwide over the weekend, allowing a small number of people to try out their latest offering; the Nintendo Switch.
Several games were on display and available to play, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 1-2-Switch, ARMS, and Nintendo’s crown jewel of the launch lineup, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
We were on hand at the London event, held at the Hammersmith Apollo, and were looking forward to getting our hands on the kit to see if this could be the next smash hit for The Big N.
Read on to get our thoughts on the day, and everything we were able to play.
10. Nintendo Has Learned Lessons From The Wii U
In hindsight, a major issue with the Wii U, especially at launch, is that Nintendo did not market the machine effectively.
Due to the lack of information sent out to the masses by the marketing team, the general public were either unaware of the new console, or were confused as to whether it was an add-on for the Wii, a new game, a handheld, whether it could be taken on the move, and a hundred other questions.
The House of Mario have clearly learned from this, and events like this one are part of their strategy to get the word out to the masses about what the Switch is, what it can do, and why you need one in your life.
There was a large team of friendly Nintendo reps who were very knowledgeable about the product, and more importantly, were very enthusiastic when showing it off.
There was also an emphasis on experiences being inclusive for everybody, and Nintendo clearly hope that games such as 1-2-Switch and ARMS can recapture the casual crowd and party atmosphere of Wii Sports at the launch of the Wii. Time will tell if this is the case, but events like this are a big step in the right direction.