Imagine this: You're sitting in you're living room, playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on your television, and then you're parents walk in to watch a sports game. Instead of saving your game and making way for the sports game, you pull a companion tablet out of it's charging dock and presto: Now you're playing Mario Kart on a tablet, and you can bring it into your bedroom for some privacy. That's exactly the idea with Nintendo's latest console—announced in October of 2016 with some more details released this January, and a release date of March 3, 2017. The device successes the massive failure of the Wii U console announced in 2012, and serves as Nintendo's chance to bounce back from it's lackluster sales of the Wii U and it's "New" Nintendo 3DS handheld. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and even some third-party content like Skyrim are slated to launch this year for the Switch, and they're all played with Nintendo's latest odd controller; Joy-Cons. These so-called "Joy-Cons" are kind of like two pairs of Wii remotes, and can snap on and off the Switch tablet and a 'grip' that turns the two Joy-Cons into a more conventional game controller. In addition, some developer communities have been suggesting a concept of "different Joy-Cons for different games," which may or may not be adopted by Nintendo. Other parts of the Switch's hardware include a USB-C port for charging and a 720p display (if you play on your TV it goes all the way up to 1080p), but Nintendo decided to follow in Apple & Moto's footsteps and remove the headphone jack. This means there will be no private listening without using the USB-C charging port. The major concern with the hardware, however, it the issue of battery life. Nintendo says one will get six hours of battery life on a charge, but for more high intensity games, that will only equate to three hours of gaming. That's an inferior amount of play time than the social media/casual games/web browsing combo that usually kills today's phones in a few hours. Another concern is content. While there will certainly be more than enough games from Nintendo itself, the company's consoles have always been famous for lacking third-party titles. As said earlier, games like Skyrim will make an appearance in the Switch's catalogue, but that may just be where it stops. For more adult games, and just overall more games, it seems that consoles like Sony's PS4 and Microsoft's Xbox One lineup will reign superior when it comes to content. So, with all these downfalls, will it be worth a buy? That question remains to say answered, as it has not been released. Our recommendation? Wait a month after its release and then check sales figures. If it seems like people are buying the Switch, give it a go. There's nothing wrong with getting a Switch of your own. Roan Thibault is the editor-in-chief of Mirror Journal. Please again note that this is NOT A REVIEW, and do not treat it like such.
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