Nintendo Won't Be Making Any Game or Spec Related Switch Announcements Until 2017

Meh.. system looks good enough for now. Now everyone can quit belly aching and bleeting like onwry varments.

Yeah the Switch is definitely not launching in March.

I wouldn't by a Wii U now. 3DS on the other hand.... might be compatible with Switch!

EDIT: I (proudly) own a Wii U

That gives us 2 1/2 months to ride the Holiday wave, plus Pokemon Sun and Moon will be taking up over half of that. Then, we get the grand build-up to launch starting in January. Although I wish I could get my hands on a console right now, I realize Nintendo still has to make a profit over the holidays. Their strategy is smart; rabid enthusiasts like us will stop speculating with no information, and the average consumer won't be thinking too much about it over the Holidays, so Nintendo still makes money.
Edit: Okay, we'll still speculate, but we'll be satisfied with this launch trailer and any 3rd-party announcements in the meantime.

I was hoping for a Nintendo switch direct in the next month! But hey at least Nintendo revealed it so I'm happy! And like you said, that doesn't rule out third parties.

Somewhat of a dumb choice.

Honesty if you are die hard Nintendo fan at heart we are gonna buy whatever is presented to us. And I'm actually happy what Nintendo Switch turned out to be, even though NX sounds cooler(still iffy on the name) but overall I'm looking forward to what's in store.

I'm already sold either way. It would be nice to know how much it'll cost.

You tagged it as "Nintndeo Switch"

Still interested in the system, we'll see how it goes though.

That's fine. As you said, it doesn't rule out third parties making announcements. I'd also be willing to bet there will be a new Zelda BotW trailer at The Game Awards in December.

Jeez, Kimishima.

i wouldn't be surprised if they were still finalizing specs. this jsut gives them room.

im really excited for the console, now i'll i need is the price, and i'll pre-order this asap!
looking forward too more games coming, and i hope third party take their word

I think it's a smart move, even though it would really be cool to know more. Still excited beyond comprehension.

Also, is that button below the directional buttons for some kind of share functionality? Then again, there is way too much I don't know.

@Jamotello No they need to start mass production really soon.

Word is that this thing has been well into production for 6 months now, and that they could have launched this year if not for Nintendo waiting until more software was ready.

We all know how important it is to launch with a strong opening line-up...

They also won't announce the price until Q5 two thousand schlemfteen.

I hope Indie devs will start to announce games for the system. Nintendo was very strict about who had access to dev kits, but now that everyone knows what the system is, it'd be nice if Indie games could start being developed for it. Plus, WayForward can't pass up an opportunity like this:

@Piersen I believe you mean two thousand schfifty five
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XccUMOQ978

@HyrulianOfHyrule The name Switch is the only gripe I have about the system. It's not even that it's a bad name, it just sounds so generic. At least Wii was distinct. But when it comes down it, if that's my only real complaint, the system is looking REALLY good.

@DiscoGentleman If a date for new info isn't given before January, u can be sure the freaking out will start New Year's Day

@NintendoEan They just reconfirmed the March date in the trailer. In what Universe would Nintendo, the firm who hasn't postponed an official hardware release date in over 20 years, stick to a release date 5 months before launch that is going to be pushed back?

I would very much like to hear of the games and spec sooner rather thasn later. the wait has been huuuuuuuuuuuuuge to get this far, just tell us already.

Nobody that was in half a mind to buy a wiiuy or 3DS before is going to get one now, whether you know anything about it or not, with a new system months away who will bother, unless the wiiu is cut to something crazy like £150.

@KrakenSoup yeah i thought it was lame, also dislike the logo, the system looks very slick and tech but the name and logo dont suit that image.

Makes sense. With Pokemon coming out next month, they need to be pushing the that and the 3DS for the holiday season. Then once January hits, I'm sure we'll get a full-blown Nintendo Direct revealing everything, from specs, to games, to the launch date, to the price, specifics on how the hardware works, etc.

Kinda sucks that we're going to be in the dark once again but at least we know this thing exists and we know what it looks like now. So I can be patient.

When i get my switch console im totally going to custom decal NX over it!
I kind of got attached to nintendo 10. Switch is kind of cute though and I guess nintendo X seems alot like the competition box.

I feel like having a wake for NX now... poor little guy. Lived a full life as only the best of place holder names.

Ah well, we've seen the thing now at least. And the year is almost over, so wont be so bad. Hopefully in the meantime the 3rd parties will speak up about their support for the system. (Ubisoft, now is a good time to confirm Beyond Good & Evil 2 for Switch!)

@Jamotello hmmm Maybe. The fox conn production rumour seems valid which means they are already producing units and warehousing for distribution. Or perhaps just trial run units, but the rumour stated a fair few units to be run so who knows. I like your theory though.

@scamander i think he was joking about all the comments in the past few weeks expecting a delay..

Why not? They should be trying to persuade potential customers over the holiday period why they should hold off and buy a Switch instead.

@TerrapinJess I doubt there will be 3DS/Switch compatibility, Switch has just one screen, and i don't think that one screen will be a touchscreen anyway, how would that work in console mode? How much would it drive the price up just to make it a touchscreen purely for backwards compatibility?

@allav866

That is brilliant on so many levels. I really hope they actually port it to the Nintendo Switch.

Back to the rumor mill! C'mon "insiders," sources, and industry "experts": get back to work and pad out the next couple months for us!

@Zach777
I bet they don't.

@MysticX why do so many people doubt that the Switch comes equipped with a touchscreen? It's 2016/17 people, of course if going to have a touchscreen!

Nintendo Direct January 1st. This is what we need

@Tomires My question remains: how does a touchscreen work with TV mode? (Keeping in mind that major controls-changes between TV and portable modes don't really fit the "seamless transition"-thing Nintendo are going for)

@OdnetninAges Really, I'd like a MSF Trilogy, with all three games in Hyper Drive Edition form, but we never got Academy, so let's just start there.

@KrakenSoup I quite like it. Reminds me of the various "switches" that have appeared in Mario games since Super Mario World...

As long as the info on Breath of the Wild keeps coming (even if it's only regarding the Wii U version), I will be satisfied. There's also Pokémon Sun & Moon and Super Mario Run, but I'm not that interested in those games.

But hey, if you enjoy rumours and speculation, you've got another two great months ahead of you! If you don't, uh, you can always stare at an image of Switch... I guess?

@TerrapinJess Even I have to agree with you. Got a Wii U too, enjoyed it every day since it came out. But now that I've seen the Switch? Suddenly my PS4 and Wii U are looking suspiciously sellable...

@MysticX It doesn't. (Which doesn't rule out a secondary control scheme) Why would one want to play touch screen-heavy games on the big screen anyway? How does one judge his position on the tablet device while simultaneously looking at the TV? That would require some sort of haptic feedback.

Oh Nintendo...you never do learn, do you? You're meant to capitalize on momentum, not let it die down! By January next year most casual consumers will have moved on too the next thing and have forgotten about Switch entirely.

If this is their home console (sans touchscreen) is there another handheld the works?

Announce dark souls 3 dagnabbit!!

Will anyone else announce their games beingade for the nswitch??

I love the Switch so far. But... assuming the rumours are true, who's bright idea was it to make a tablet with no touch screen?

I think the concept is great, though... but we really need to see the OS, the games, the full list of features, etc...

nintendo is doing the right thing. they are going to drip feed info about the switch to boost interest and hype so we get more excited. they are not going to shoot thier load all over us but sprinkle us every now and then until march.

@andybunn Well, I'm not sure what it is they are going to be sprinkling during November and December. Specs are ok, but games sell systems.

This is a mistake. They should be hyping it up every month until release. Now the leakers will do their job for them.

Does this mean also no Nintendo Directs? Oh right, the only one game left this year and it's Pokemon...

Nintendo may as well have had yesterday's trailer in early January then unless the additional content for MK8 and Splatoon is coming to the Wii U versions before the Switch version launches.

Good luck Nintendo Life on filling the site with content for the rest of the year!

Pfff, fuming... I need to know now!

@Boxmonkey Our profanity filter doesn't like God being spoken about like that. Please refrain.

Oh man!
They sure will be working on a tight schedule come next year.

I wonder if Third Parties will make announcements. The way Bethesda and 2K declined to comment upon their upcoming NS games seems to indicate that they also won't be talking about them before January.

I hope there's a "New Year's Direct", or even an actual hands-on event right at the start of 2017.

The cat's officialy out of the bag, so I'm at ease. I still have lots of things to beat on my Wii U.

Noooo! This means that the upcoming Animal Crossing Direct won't feature a new installment for the Switch.
I was hoping for a new game in the series soon.

Back to unfathomability mode.

I suppose they have a good reason such as finalising specs or tweaking features. Better to have something that works as it's supposed to than something that disappoints early adopters and sets a poor tone (like an exploding battery).

Still, I can't quite believe there isn't anything else they could tell us.

Not terribly bothered by this. We know what it is now so the wait isn't as painful, we have enough to speculate on for the next several months.

It's an odd strategy. I feel as if they should be continuously fuelling up the hype train until its release.

Following that statement, preorders might not even be available until 2017 too. But I'll keep checking anyways.

@Moshugan Teasers aren't reveals right.

waiting for about 3 months is nothing compared to the year and a half we waited for the reveal

I'm not overly concerned about specs, I don't think most 3DS owners could name anything about the innards of that system, people just buy it to play games, but why mention something as specific as region locking and say "wait until next year", why say "no comment" to IGN about touchscreen.

I'm glad they had the reveal yesterday, but same old Nintendo, 1 step forward, 2 steps back. Can't they learn a single thing from Gamefreak and the Pokémon Company? Sun & Moon have had non-stop promotion for 6 months, and it's going to sell great.

If they are really going to clam up about NS for over 2 months, well that's just stupid. It's out there, keep it out there. Specs may not matter, but games do. Talk up the games.

Unless every game in that trailer yesterday was this one on Wii U. I'm still waiting on any game on Wii U that looks anything like this one.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z4SGjPLV5mw

Disappointed about games, but I suspect all of this delay in announcement is about the very real chance that it could overshadow 3DS and while Nintendo failed at curtailing a drought for the Wii U, it hasn't failed for the 3DS, yet. Convincing people every week that they shouldn't buy a 3DS is probably not good business.

I was honestly thinking about picking up a New 3DS for Holidays and now — not so much.

If I'm right about this, it suggests that NS doesn't have 3DS compatibility either. That may end up being the biggest downer for the NS: no backwards compatibility.

It could be indirectly made up for with twice as many first party games as usual (because the targets aren't split) and new 1.5 versions of popular Wii U games.

(The 1.5 versions are much better than it sounds at first because so few had a Wii U and they are a new experience for 3DS owners.)

@rjejr This still leaves open the possible reveal about touchscreen. Stocks went down a bit, so throwing the investors a "hey, it also does mobile" bone next week could help. Unless we count touchscreen functionality as a "spec".

Anyway, now that there is a solid foundation of official information about NS I feel like other tidbits are going to leak with more confidence so dedicated followers will get something over the months. Might as well focus on what we have right now.

As for Nintendo and marketing I think they pulled off a largely positive reveal. Now it can remind people what is has right now. Pokemon and NES mini and Super Mario Run and New 3DS models and games are going to exciting for a large segment of players.

This makes sense. Keep people interested before its launch while still focusing on Pokémon and MOBILE, their big money makers, for the holidays.

@aaronsullivan Yeah, good luck marketing that $299 Wii U over the holidays with ZERO new games. Wouldn't want to mess up those sales numbers.

And the same can nearly be said for 3DS. It's 6 years old, it's been $169 for 5 of those. XL has been $199 it's entire 4 year life, it has never not been $199. I know Pokémon will sell millions, and SMM will sell some, but how many more hardware units will it sell, such old tech. Nintendo is going to sell more $199 iPod Touch this holiday with Super Mario Run than it's own hardware.
2DS should do OK at $79, but the people spending $80 on a 3 year old kids toys aren't the ones spending $300 on new consoles launch day, so 2DS sales may continue for a year or 2 after NS comes out anyway, so talking about new NS games now really won't affect 2DS any.

Backwards compatibility. Dual screen seems gone in NS, which 99% of people don't seem to mind, just me and like literally 2 others. But I was really thinking NS could sell as a 3DS games on TV player. Maybe it still could, but I'm having a problem figuring out how. So like you I'm thinking New XL, but it's 6 year old tech, so $99 Black Friday is my ceiling. I have a PS4 to buy this Christmas. NS is looking like never for me. My kids can do what they want.

People know it exists now and have a good idea weather the idea will appeal to them. No need to say more and have it lost in the Christmas craziness. In January they announce deals and then can have a constant uninterrupted hype train building for 3 months. If the announced everything now then the general public would probably forget about it as they are all playing with their new iphone and other gadgets around Christmas. I remember pre ordering the PS VR in Marchand was super excited. But it is hard to retain that intensity for 7 months. I want to know everything now as I love Nintendo, but this to me is the best strategy for everyone else.

But...but...I'm just dying for more info! I've watched that trailer more times than I can count at this point...

That's totally fine. We finally know what it is, so no biggie.

It's a little upsetting that we won't hear more this year, but I think the 3min trailer for hyped up people more than I thought it would and got a lot of people interested.

As a huge Nintendo fan, I will most likely be getting it day one, because I will always love there franchises, and it doesn't matter what weird system they put together, in the end, games are what matter

Way to many Nintendo apologists.

Nintendo revealed the system now so that they can discuss it openly with their investors next week. However, it makes sense to wait until after Christmas to really start building the hype. Besides, it will give developers extra time to polish the launch games before they need to be shown off in a big way. By mid January the launch titles should be in their final form.

I really want more info.... Its nice to know what the Switch is (and gods it looks nice!) but I need more details!
Back to the rumor mill then! The announcement at least proved what insiders seem to have more realible info,

Fair enough, it's nearly Christmas and they want to focus on pushing Pokemon ,NES and those remaining Wii U's.

@MysticX valid point!

But but.... what if the Wii U game pad (with screen) is compatible with the Switch! Hmmm....

@scamander 5 months isn't enough time ESPECIALLY when no news on your product for a while. When it's new year, Nintendo could possibly have no news until February or EVEN March. While their keeping quiet about Switch, their quietness could lead TO March and the system could be delayed without notice.

@NintendoEan They are quiet, because it doesn't make sense to promote a product in the holiday season, that can't be bought. It even would harm their business, because less people would buy their actual holiday products (Mini NES, Sun & Moon, 3DS bundles), especially since there are rumours of Sun & Moon ports coming to Switch. They will start to promote NS as soon as the holiday season is over and in the age of social media two to three months are more than enough to promote your product and establish brand awareness. The average consumer won't know about it up until release anyway, like with every other product.

@scamander If the promotion can't start until early 2017 (when Switch is supposed to launch), they better delay that console, or else it's gonna sell a very little number of units day one.

@KrakenSoup yea that is my only pet pive, the concept is great it's just I think a better name could of been used

@NintendoEan This ain't 1998.

@scamander "This ain't 1998". What do you mean?

@NintendoEan You don't need months of time to get the message across. The Nintendo Switch trailer is already the most-watched video of the NoA youtube channel- ever. They only needed 24 hours for that. What do you think how many people they can reach from January to March, if they're going full steam and hit the message out of the park?

Just one question....what is that square button on the left joy-con?

@scamander Yeah but still. They need to get this system right. Don't you remember what happen to SEGA when they were releasing consoles too soon after they were revealed?

I'm guessing this means we're going to get an amazing Direct in January like we usually do.

Meh, better than Wii U. Nuf said.

@NintendoEan That was different because SEGA's reveals were literally the first many third parties heard of it too so nothing was ready (something probably impossible today).

@Rect_Pola Yeah but still. They need to get this system right cause if this system fails, Nintendo is going 3rd party.

I don't really have a problem with this really. Its understandable they would hold off on finer details to avoid torpedoing their holiday sales especially if it turns out Sun and Moon is coming to NS

@NintendoEan Nintendo's situation isn't comparable to Sega's at all. Back then we got our gaming information out of monthly magazines and tv ads only. Today information spreads like wildfire via youtube and social media.

I do hope that advert ends up making the rounds on tv. It is a great teaser and a fantastic way to keep the mindshare focused on Switch until march. I may not be going day 1 due to no 3ds bc and I have a mountain of games to finish but I will get one by my birthday. Just waiting on that region free confirmation.

Aw, at least tell us if it's locked.

"including region-lock status"
The guy mentioned it in order for us to be mentally ready for the next bad news: region locking is still a thing.

Also, the "definitely not coming in March" comment by @NintendoEan got me nodding: while the details can wait, there's still build-up, and marketing efforts, to be done until a console launches. So yeah, I'm afraid this wait will be long.

I know we don't know a ton about it, but all I want for Christmas is to buy this dang thing. I was gonna get a couple more 3DS games (a system I STILL have a huge backlog already downloaded on) but now I just don't see the point. This console seems to be the end all be all for me. I am really anxious to see the launch lineup and bundles officially revealed.

@AlexSora89 Yeah i'm glad I got you on my side! LOL!

@NintendoEan
No biggie!

No more announcements this year?

I'm so happy the Switch looks like a cool piece of hardware. It looks classy and well-designed unlike the rubbish Gamepad...

Can't wait to hear more about this and especially the price!

@Piersen hi a good console and a good line up of games go hand in hand. 3rd partys developers shyed away from the wiiu because they didnt believe in it or know how to make games for it.

the switch is more traditional and most 3rd party developers will welcome this and i think that switch will have good support.

if i see an advert every five minutes or hear the same song every 10minutes i get bored and become uninterested. maybe nintendo dont want to bash us over the head with switch. also christmas is coming and nintendo want people to buy their existing product.

every one chill out its not rocket science its business

@andybunn No profanity, thanks.

@rjejr Maybe a 2DS on sale. Hmm... I don't know it's tough. Believe it or not, if I get one, it will probably be with two copies of Metroid Federation Force. I also like dual screens and I feel your pain but I'm still bullish on this direction for Nintendo. We are outliers.

@aaronsullivan We are outliers

I know. People dont' understand how I can not like the system for me but still think it's a good move for Ntineod. I'm sure 2 or 3 years ago I was on here saying - Nintnedo should get out of the home console business and just make a handheld w/ TV out.

And now here it is. Only it will likely be $100 more than a portable should cost.

Did you see my proposed price list earlier? I always told Thanos no matter what happened, I'd always get a Home and Away out of this somehow, even a hybrid.

NS Away - $249 tablet, 2 Joy Con, maybe 1 Grip
NS Home - $299 tablet, dock, and above
NS Deluxe - $349 above plus NS Pro controller and some Wii U port, MK8 or SSB or Splatoon, maybe a bigger SD card

Accessories sold separately -
Dock - $49 or $79 or $99 as we don't know what it does yet
Charging cradle - $19.99 if "dock" is $99
NS Pro controller - $49.99
NS Joy-Con Grip - $19.99 if it isn't in Away

They need that many SKUs for people w/ 3 kids and 1 tv or 1 rich guy w/ 3 tvs needs extra docks.

Meanwhile I'll wait for NS TV in 2018. It's a logical progression.

https://shield.nvidia.com/android-tv

@NintendoEan yes it is.....

@rjejr the bundle was supposedly seen for $399 and console on its own (with no dock) was 299. But I'm not sure where people saw that.

I think this is a bad move. The first trailer we got was great at communicating what they want it to be and what kind of "console" it is. And it appears fantastic.

But we need more details. They don't necessarily need to come all at once, but they need to be there. We have the idea and concept of the what the Switch is, but we still don't know what it can do fully. This needs to be addressed.

We also need to know some of the games that will be coming on release and in the launch window. And as for the list of third party publishers, we need to know in what capacity they are working on it. Is it just re-releases of existing titles like Skyrim? Are they new titles which will release on Switch alongside other platforms? Or are they exclusives? For example, If they announced that From Software had a new exclusive title, they'd have me by the gonads.

At six months to go before launch, if people have more information as to how things work it can inspire much more confidence. Say what you will about the Wii, but that press conference at E3 2006 was clear about so many things. We need to have some more info before the end of the year, assuming that it will actually release in March of course...