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Accessories wise, I will be getting a LAN adaptor in addition to an extra USB C charging cable and a micro SD card. That wasn't an option on the poll, but I thought I'd mention that it's a fairly essential day-one add-on to get maximal network speeds.

I think asking if the Switch is a handheld or home console is rather like asking if a mule is a Donkey or a Horse. It's neither; it's a mule. When you take aspects of two different things and put them together you get something entirely new. That's what the Switch is supposed to be, that's what the Switch is, that is how it should be seen in my opinion.

What if you play a horror game and your right joycon is your flashlight, and you're in a dark room and you point the joycon at the tv to shine light where you want to see. Why was that never done on the Wii?

@Mogster Except, it's not like you're paying $60 for games that don't have online and $70 for games that do to cover the cost of running/maintaining servers. If you play Mario Kart online you are getting more than if you just play it alone or locally. If you don't need that extra value, you don't have to pay for it. Covering that extra cost with a service beats having the game itself be priced higher for a feature you might not even be interested in.

Really excellent article! My biggest concern is that Nintendo will charge something like $50 a year for this online service while suffering from a lack of 3rd party support. What's the point when your platform isn't getting the Destinies and Battlefronts? For that matter, what's the point when people can get those games on rival platforms which they are already paying an online service fee for? Ultimately, as lovely as Splatoon and Mario Kart are, they are not reason enough to pay continually to play online!

It's on my radar. If the reviews are strong, I may pick it up on sale eventually.

"[...]services like this - when running perfectly - can bypass the technological arms race, something the company's stayed out of for a number of weeks."

Hmm, I thought it was longer than that

@dew12333 Yes, a rumor from Eurogamer, and they haven't gotten any of their so-called "information" about the Switch right so far...

@PlywoodStick Okay, point taken. But I would still argue that there is value in having better than 4-5 hours of battery life. I mean, the 3DS isn't the greatest standard to measure battery life against...

@PlywoodStick How is overheating the only potential problem? What about battery life?

@DarthNocturnal But if you save your game data to the game cartridge itself, you don't have to put as much data in the console's drive or SD card.

I am a fan of the Wii U, but there is no arguing that the console suffered serious issues. The biggest problem to me has been the fact that the Gamepad with its second screen was meant to be the core feature, yet, few games utilized it to great effect. In fact, even many significant 1st party games such as Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros Wii U, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ignored the Gamepad screen entirely, excepting for off TV play.

@Snow-Dust Seriously? Carousels? Bumper Cars? Let's hope that Universal has a little more imagination than that...

@Anti-Matter Baby Park is from Double Dash

Unless Nintendo announces that all Switch Virtual Console purchases will transfer to all future Nintendo devices, I'm out.

@LiamR That's not entirely true. RAM and ROM are both memory, albeit different types of memory. These days, when people say "memory" that generally refers to RAM, but referring to ROM or "storage" as memory is not empirically wrong.

@capitalism Oh, and a 3DS.

@capitalism I have two consoles. An Xbox One and a Wii U.

I hope it has a touch screen, but really only so that it can play games that really rely on a touch interface such as Super Mario Maker.

@Dark-Luigi Umm, March is like 5 months away...

@JHDK And a release date. And a launch lineup.

@Rutana It's way too early for Sony and Microsoft to come out with entirely new consoles right now in any case. But I agree, both companies would probably try to copy what makes the NX novel if they could.

@huxxny Fair enough.

@huxxny Because you'll just buy it whatever it is?

For me, at least, the controls were not what soured me on the game. For me it was the pacing. The game starts out at the familiar fast clip from SF 64, but it slows down uncomfortably, particularly with the gyrowing stealth level and during some boss battles, such as against Gigarilla. The pace than inexplicably accelerates past manageable in the level where everything is sped up. Even worse is when you die in the 3rd stage of a mission, and you have to go all the way back to the beginning of it. Pacing was all off.

@Simbabbad As long as that console isn't a Wii U...

@InklingOrange The game isn't stored on the NFC chip, just the filename of the ROM that is pre-loaded into the hardware. All the NFC is doing is telling it which ROM to load.

"The title - which was originally expected to arrive on the Wii U this year but ended up being pushed back to 2017"

Actually, it was originally supposed to be released in 2015...

hoo hoo! just what I needed!

I just don't see the point of having screen real estate that is going to be covered up by the user's hands.

@ShadJV
That's ridiculous. Some games are digital download only such as Indy titles and Virtual Console games. I am very interested in getting those as rewards despite the fact that I prefer to get my full retail games as physical copies.

This article, like Nintendo, is really missing the point. The underlying problem with the Virtual Console is that there is no such thing. That is to say that there is no single Virtual Console. To date, there have been three, and each (the Wii's, the 3DS's, and the Wii J's) has been tied to a single device, has had its own library, and has required separate purchase of games. If, instead, the Virtual Console was a single platform that would run on all Nintendo devices (present and future) then gamers would be able to make lasting purchases that equated to real ownership and continue a game's save file between home console, handheld, and next-gen devices. Third parties would be encouraged to release games on a platform with this model as a game would have the advantage of being available for all time from a single effort of porting. This would be of great value to Nintendo directly as well, as Nintendo would no longer be in a position of needing to re-release games every time they put out new hardware. A game purchased would be a game purchased forever, but a game released would be a game released forever as well. Until this is done, "The" Virtual Console will always be limited by its very concept and design.

@polarbear

Similar, except Luigi U was paid DLC. Plague of Shadows is free.

Even in the sixth spot, I think 3D World is overrated.

No worries, mate. We all start somewhere. I must have been running around Princess Peach's castle for a week in Mario 64 before I stumbled into a painting and realized "This is an actual game, with levels!!" No one is born knowing how to play games. Part of the magic is learning.

"...as is the fact you can take a stage you like and edit it yourself, creating a new alternative to share."

Actually, the developers have stated that while you will be able to edit stages you have downloaded, you will not be able to share them.

Personally, I think the game looks great. This is the game I have wanted since Star Fox 64 (for the most part). While the graphics could certainly use some polish, that's far from a deal breaker for me. I would rather see local and online multiplayer and co-op get added if there is still time. Miyamoto was talking about one player using the Gamepad to shoot while another player handled flying. I'd rather play online controlling Fox's Arming while a buddy controlled Falco... but I'm pretty sure that's not in the cards.

@OneBagTravel But imagine that as you are flying and watching the third person perspective on the TV, that perspective constantly changes as you move the Gamepad, intentionally or otherwise. This isn't Splatoon... there is a lot going on in an on rails shooter like Starfox. I think this would be far too disorienting. As things stand, the tilt controls don't effect your camera when you're flying, and I think that's the way it has to be.

@MikeW
The build that was brought to E3 could easily be months old, already. It's not as though they just slap that together the night before the conference starts. It may also be the case that the developers intentionally scaled back the graphics in this build because the game in development isn't running at 60 FPS yet. In any case, the graphics may, even now, not be far off from what people are hoping for.

That having been said, it may be that what we see is what we'll get as Nintendo will prioritize frame rate over graphics. I say have faith. Nintendo has not released an ugly or choppy game on the Wii U yet as far as I am aware.

I remember when SteamWorld Dig had just recently come out and was first gaining popularity, I wrote a comment on a NintendoLife article about the game asking about the gameplay to see if it was up my alley. Brjann Sigurgeirsson himself responded and described the game in a way only a doting creator could. His response convinced me to get it, and SteamWorld Dig proved to be one of my favorite gaming experiences of recent memory. A lot can be said of a studio as dedicated to its games as Image and Form is. Even more can be said of a developer as dedicated to his fans as Brjann Sigurgeirsson is. It's clear that this incredible dedication is what makes this studio's games as great as they are. I am looking forward to Steam World Heist with great anticipation, and I don't expect to be disappointed!

It always felt silly casting aside an automatic weapon for the PP7 pistol, but that was how awful the Klobb was, really.

The Wii U really seems to be in the midst of another games drought. If things don't pick up this E3... I dunno.

@dahkuToby Happy to help I'm looking forward to seeing how the Wii U version turns out. Good luck!

@dahkuToby Specifically, I'd like to see more interesting and varied backgrounds as well as a soundtrack with a longer loop. Also, I would want to see different backgrounds and hear different music themes as I progressed from level to level.

Mechanically, this game looks somewhat interesting. But there's a lot to be desired in terms of visuals and music. It may be appropriate for playing on a smart phone, but it doesn't really work on a console.

Sounds promising. I will keep my eye out for it.

Agree with this article 100%

@Marshi In the States, it's out May 30th.

What about the Wii U Virtual Console promotion where each month a different game became available for 30 cents?

@linksmash-z0-9 Congrats!