Nintendo Switches it Up

The long-awaited Nintendo Switch is now out. Originally known as the NX during development, the Switch was officially revealed in Oct. 2016 and scheduled for worldwide release on March 3, 2017.

The Switch is the highly anticipated video game console by Nintendo, and is the company’s seventh major home console. The new console acts as a hybrid of both in-home and portable gaming systems.

Pre-order sales for the Nintendo Switch were virtually sold out everywhere in the U.S. within hours of being announced. Nintendo had previously said it was planning to ship 2 million units worldwide by the end of March 2017, and is expected to sell 40 million units by 2020, according to research firm DFC Intelligence.

The Switch follows Nintendo’s previous home gaming console released in November 2012, the Wii U. The Wii U was met with poor reception, with a mere 13.56 million units sold from initial release up until Dec. 2016. This is comparison to the 101.63 million units the original Wii sold since 2006, and 22 million GameCube units since 2001.

Despite Nintendo doing poorly with Wii U sales, the gaming giant is expected to switch things up and cater to many gaming niches with the Switch.

Dozens of local Nintendo fans waited for the console’s midnight release at the Best Buy in Riverpark on March 3.

FCC student and diehard Nintendo fan Tim Forschey had been camped outside of Best Buy since 1 p.m. on Thursday, and was one of the first in line to get his console.

“It’s been a while since Nintendo’s had a totally new console, so I’m pretty excited,” said Forschey. “The new ‘Legend of Zelda’ game is what I’ve been looking forward to playing the most.”

Mark Gonzalez, another FCC student who attended the midnight release, also had high hopes for the Switch.

“I’ve read a lot of positive reviews about the Switch,” said Gonzalez. “Nintendo has changed many things to appeal to a larger demographic with this console, so hopefully the Switch will be a hit.”

Some of the big titles coming out for the Switch include “Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” “Splatoon 2” “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe” and “Super Mario Odyssey,” which are all spin-offs to some of Nintendo’s most popular franchise games. While a few of these popular titles are released at the same time as the Switch, the rest will be released periodically throughout 2017.

However, some Nintendo fans are not as excited for the Switch and its upcoming games.

“The graphics on the console look really good, but I would only buy it once the price goes down,” said Enedino Martinez, an engineering student at FCC. “It isn’t worth the hype or the money right now.”

The majority of games for the Switch retail for $60. The Nintendo Switch itself retails for $300 and includes two Joy-Con controllers, a Joy-Con grip, and a docking set. The console currently remains in limited stock at various retailers in Fresno.