The First Hands-On Nintendo Switch Event is on 13th January

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!

Just look at that photo of the player holding the Switch. Now how is that supposed to be comfortable? Imagine accessing that right analog stick for extended periods of time.

Looking forward to the hands on reports after this event, for sure.

Man, Nintendo's really going all in on the Switch event.

@gatorboi352 And yet people moaned about the Wii U right stick being ABOVE the face buttons. Huh.

I can barely use a below face right stick, due to a hand injury my thumb can only just move down that far and it gets uncomfortable fast. Probably why I don't hate the Wii U Gamepad so much.

But mm, isn't that a very fanboyish thing to say. Opinions. Almost like everyone does want they want because everyone is different. That's my stance anyway, but this comment section will quickly divert into the usual so there's my input for the day.

@rjejr @Captain_Toad take over lads, it's 3am and I've got animation to be doing. Can't be the only grumpy old fart around here now can I?

Something to look forward to on January 13th. I wanna see what that new Mario platformer is like and see what western 3rd parties have in store. This might be a long shot but I'm hoping that a new Wave Race will make an appearance. A guy can dream.

Drooling! I start to feel like smeagle from lord of the rings.... My precious.. Me.. Want... Switch

@rjejr Looking forward to your impressions... if you're up to it.

spittake
Someone was credited for a news tip? This is the beginning of a new era

I will buy it at launch with all games no matter what the price...

Looking forward to more information regarding games.
I'm praying there are new games from Nintendo and not just ports of Wii U games.

I can see what the new versions of Splatoon and Mario Kart are going to be called, it's obvious that they will be called Splatoon Switch and MK Switch.
Switch your characters on the go whilst on the go!
MK Double Dash just got remade into MK Switch.

Excite Truck Switch would be a nice surprise, not that Excitebots rubbish either.
How about Mario Strikers Switch, while we're at it, Battalion Wars Switch and why not dream a little, Viewtiful Joe Switch please Capcom and how about Ikaruga on Switch, turn the Switch on its side, perfect for those sort of shooters!

Hype Train! All Aboard the Hype Train! NOOT NOOT!!!!

I hope at least there are some cute Switch games for starter launching, not just Mario only.

Must be nice to be a Nintendo fan in New York. I kind of expect WV never to have a chance to get recognized as even existing, much less Nintendo doing a thing here though

I'm really excited for this console.

I've been waiting a long time to play console-level games on a handheld, in HD, with console-level graphics.

I bet that Zelda is going to look gorgeous on that screen. Even moreso upscaled to 4K on my TV.

@aaronsullivan "private, five-hour showcase"

Isn't a "private showcase" an oxymoron? And I'm not even kidding. It's the Friday before MLK Jr. Day, if they have something Sat, Sun or Monday we can probably go check it out, though Sat is my kids birthday so he has laser tag planned. We're in no rush anyway, we're a Sony first family the next 13 months, then we'll see. I think they're outgrowing Ntinedo though, PSVR may be our next purchase. Or a 3D printer. They put 10 hours into Pokemon the first weekend but nothing since, they're old and jaded like their dad.

@BLP_Software Well you're much too young to be old, pretty good at the grumpy part though but this old fart is kind of burned out on Switch already. 18 months of waiting, then a 3 minute trailer, then another 2 months of waiting to see if the games in the vid are actually on the system. Or if it's a touchscreen. 6 weeks away is 6 weeks after TGA and PSX, I have better things to do then wait on Nintendo. There's enough people waiting on Nintnedo as it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRicuKHmjZA

Warning, obscenities a plenty, but he's funny about it. He's like the "Mirror, Mirror" version of Alex.

@rjejr I'm nearly 21 (Insert meme here) but yeah, I do grumpy very well. It helps I share a birthday with my grandfather and we both have the same view of "Meh" and are very alike and grumpy.

I'm just being patient now, playing on my 3DS, considering using the PS4 soon, just doing university work. They had "Interviews" from Intel for jobs they said were real. Now I dunno about you, but I don't think Intel would come to us and offer jobs to people who haven't even graduated yet, some of whom are two years off that. Secondly, great to get to see WHAT jobs the day before, and thirdly, and you'll laugh.

Got the spreadsheet of all the interview times. Guess who wasn't on there!? This boy. No reason given. They also didn't ask me what my future plan was. Why? Iunno. But at least I didn't have to give the whole NDA speech to them.

I'm critical of their Sony partnered "Here's how to develop" ways? I'm the only one in there with respect for all 3 console manufacturers, their faults, and am the only one not bashing Nintendo? Seriously, apparently when asked what the highest selling console of all time is, between PS2, DS, Wii, GameBoy and PS1, they said GameBoy is all versions of the hardware, so GB, GBC etc. For some reason, they think GBA is an iteration of the GB. Actual, genuine, former game developers. Teaching us. GBA isn't it's own thing.

Made me think the Wii U problem with it's name was that it didn't have a 2 at the end. Seemingly people are that thick here. Even the smart ones in charge.

I saw Sterling's video, and I do think he's gone a tad too aggressive. He should consider amiibo stock was low because...well new market, don't wanna be buying back unsold stock cough Disney Infinity. As for NES Mini Classic whatever, look how the Wii U sold. Terribly.

I also feel he was missing the retail side of things. Yes, Nintendo produces, but who places the orders? Who says "We want this many?" Retailers. They get bought up, and passed out by said retailers to stores as they see fit. Given how Nintendo stuff has sold lately, I can see retailers greatly underestimating. Probably didn't want another Wii U shelf space problem.

I know that's the case over here. I don't even think my local GAME has Nintendo /anything/ in stock now.

And that's terrible.

Here's Lex Luthor.

@rjejr And I should mention the people I work with in those classes in a debate with necessary research and references to pass said that they would "rather play games on PS4 or PC so they don't have to use the Wii U's tiny less than a Blu-Ray disc size for tiny insignificant games".

25GB. I went so damn hard on them for that. They got the marks too. Work that out.

Friday the 13th.Something told me I bet it's a Friday and so it is.

Private? What does that mean in this context? No media?..or just where it will be held?

@JaxonH Yep me too,much more so than I ever was for the Wii U and I love that flawed thing.In fact,I could say it's the most hyped I've been for a new Nintendo console since the 64.I was on my travels when the Gamecube released so missed all the hype around it.Although I got it near launch it didn't get much attention till a couple of years later.It was the same for the Wii,because of life circumstances I knew of it but not much more.It wasn't until around a year after the Wii released that I got caught up in the hype,then I joined here haha.

The Switch though has me excited and I've already made my mind up I'll be buying it day one.With what they've learned about HD gaming and online play from the Wii U and combining that with their vast experience with handhelds,it could be a dream machine.The fact they're getting a new Mario,Zelda,Pokemon and ports of Kart,Smash and Splatoon out early means we could be seeing a lot of new IP's or forgotten ones brought back by the 2nd year.January 12th can't come quick enough.

@BLP_Software Gamepad wasn't particularly comfortable for extended sessions either.

In fact, it was central to the downfall of Wii U. So OF COURSE Nintendo would put out a v2.0 of it!!

@audiobrainiac Private showcase usually means primarily media or people representing businesses.

Looking forward to the event in Tokyo.

@audiobrainiac Also, it means not public, as in it's invite-only. I've seen a lot of people comment online that they were excited to attend since they live in New York, even though they aren't in the gaming media or industry and would never get invited to that.

@audiobrainiac My assumption is that it means this'll be a media-invite event, but I'm not really sure either!

@gatorboi352 I'd prefer it if it was above the buttons too,i'm not really sure why they had to change it.It looks rather slim too,I'm not sure how comfortable it'll be for extended play sessions.At least the Gamepad was ergonomic,you got to give it that.It won't effect me anyway as I'll be using the Pro controller most of the time,which looks fantastic.What about yourself,are you feeling more optimistic about the Switch than the Wii U?

This is what the wii u needed. Nintendo got too cocky and figured it would sell on the wii brand alone. There was no demo kiosk prior to launch. Hopefully nintendo will actually advertise this sucker.

Quick test - who among you is hearing the sound from the trailer by seeing this GIF?

I'm hoping for the best. Cautiously just as ever, mind you, but still hopeful. Not to mention I've been dreaming of such a console for quite a while now. And if the console's power is enough to win over the naysayers (and therefore third-party devs), the Switch will be actually allowed to do one thing few Nintendo consoles could: brag.

I'm pretty hyped. Hopefully the launch will be huge. Some re-masters are welcome if there's a decent line-up of new games to support.

It should be a great day. I've seen that gif a few times.

Wow real Swtch news, nice.

@BensonUii
Which one?

Where is this actual announcement? I saw the Polygon report which doesn't link to or reference anything. This, which doesn't link to or reference anything. I can't see anything from Nintendo on their Press Releases. From whence did it come?

Chances are this will only be for the press to try out the system in a controlled environment so that they can show it off without the risk of too much being given away... so it's probably more to help the publicity of the Switch rather than giving us any new information.

Personally, I'm more looking forward to the rumoured BotW demo that is supposed to be on the way to the Wii U... there has been talk of it possibly being released during the game awards due to it's nomination, which would be awesome, but I haven't seen any evidence to back that up.

White gloves on! And ready!

Probably it will only be for media outlets for them to write articles about their first impressions.
I think that they'll have retail units for general publics from the end of January or around that.

@gatorboi352 I agree it really doesn't look comfortable to me but surely they'll have carried out some internal 'hands on' testing first.

I'm not too keen on the Wii U gamepad myself though.

@DragonEleven "there has been talk of it possibly being released during the game awards due to it's nomination"

How great would that be! A new trailer followed by "demo available in the Eshop now".I'll be watching for sure.

Since this affects basically no one, we can move on...
I mean sure we'll get impressions, but until there are public events, well....

It's happening!!!

@gatorboi352 people said the same thing about the gamepad and it is comfortable. It's the 3DS that cramps my hands.

@3MonthBeef why didn't u just tag me in your rude remark? Not everyone is as informed as u, troll.

Excellent ashame its private tho but i'm sure alot of people will be given out some details tho.

@OorWullie For what I know about it right now, I can't say that I am. If the Switch Pro Controller doesn't come bundled then I'll be even more disappointed with it.

At the end of the day though, if a consistent flow of AAA 3rd party support isn't there, I won't be either.

@leo13 Well, that's my point. And you're right this thing looks way more 3DS in its design than GamePad. And yes, the 3DS was a chore to hold over long sessions.

I'm honestly expecting it to cost $500-$600. It's a high end tablet with 2 controllers and a TV dock. If you look at the cost of the high end tablets (Ipads and Windows tablets) they're pretty high. Then you have to consider that the joycons and the tv dock can't be free and I'm expecting to have to pay a premium. Hopefully I'm wrong.

@gatorboi352 I bought a nice handles attachment for my 3DS and it made a world of difference. I'm hoping that the joy cons are shaped such that it's comfortable, but I guess we'll soon see.

@BLP_Software Woah, woah, woah, me?!

Um......uhh........something, something, something....
Happy toad noises

See what happens when you put me on the spot like this!

@Captain_Toad Hey, I get summoned too! Voice of grumpy reason over here needs backup sometimes

Can't really be excited when its not public and only a select few.

@3MonthBeef Sry, then. Some have never been to a private LAN, screening, or social party so your examples are hardly "common". Why would one assume "private" means the exact same for everything? That would be ignorant.

@leo13
Rumors suggest the Switch will be $250 for a basic bundle and $300 for a deluxe bundle.

Even if those rumors are wrong, the Switch will not be $500/$600. You greatly overestimate the cost of the Switch's hardware.

I think that Breath of the Wild, Fe, a new mario title, Monster hunter XX and Skyrim will be some of the launch titles.

@audiobrainiac
"private" will probably mean invite only. probably media only, ign, game spot etc... anyone they think can get the message out to the most people.

@gatorboi352
yes, I too am worried about how small the joy cons are. I made sure to pre order a pro controlpad as well because of that.

@westman98 I really hope you're right, but it's hard to imagine. I heard those rumors, but I've heard a lot if rumors before that were wrong. I'm still waiting for Emily Rogers to be right about Mother 3 which was supposed to happen a long time ago

@leo13
Those rumors came from three independent retailers (GAME, Gameseek UK, and Toys R Us Canada), not Emily Rogers.

You really overestimate how expensive the Switch will be. Sure, it won't be dirt cheap like a 2DS or regular sized New 3DS, but the tech inside the Switch appears to be mature technology that will likely allow for a reasonable ($250) price tag.

And when in the world has Nintendo ever charged $500/$600 for any of their consoles?? Nintendo has made a lot of dumb mistakes, especially with the Wii U, but pulling a "Sony E3 2006" is not one of them. Even if the "$250 rumors" had never come up, I still don't understand why you would believe Nintendo would choose to price any of their products at $500.

@westman98 like I said I looked at the product and guessed what I thought it would cost to make. Then if you consider they said they won't sell it for a loss I assumed it would be at least what I was figuring it cost to make. Then when you consider the Wii U is still $300 I assume the new faster better machine will cost more.
Again I hope you're right, but it's hard to believe it.

@leo13
I don't understand how your guess came out to $500. The Switch is likely going to be on par or less powerful than the XboxOne, which is currently $250. The chipset is based off of an Nvidia chipset that is used in the $200 Nvidia Shield. The tablet display itself is a traditional 720p multi- touch display, used in a large percentage of mobile devices.

If the Switch turns out to actually be more powerful than a PS4 Pro or Xbox Scorpio, then your $500 guess makes sense.

And the Wii U is not $300 because it's worth $300. It's $300 because Nintendo wants to sell the console at crazy high margins as they discontinue production of the system.