Nintendo Switch Event Planned for January 12
By Rory Young 25 October 2016
Nintendo is announcing a January 12 presentation where the Nintendo Switch will be further unveiled, including price, release date and a look at several games.
Speculation regarding the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo’s newly announced gaming platform, is running rampant. While the Switch’s reveal showed off what the platform looks like and the general ideas behind its design, Nintendo held back on fully announcing major features or points of interest like price and release date. Later, Nintendo confirmed that those details would not arrive until 2017. Today Nintendo’s plans became quite a bit more specific — an event is now scheduled for January 17, 2017.
Details regarding the January 17 presentation were fully unveiled during a presentation given to financial analysts in Tokyo by Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima. According to Kimishima,”major details” will be given regarding Nintendo Switch. Those details will include the platform’s launch price, its launch date, and a “look” at the line-up of games in development for the Nintendo Switch.
The event will air during “U.S. time” and will be globally livestreamed, and sampling events will then be held at later dates in both the USA and Europe for press, partners, and players. The exact details of these events, of which some will be open to the public, will be revealed at a later date. Don’t be surprised if some of these events are actually just retailers hosting Nintendo Switch demo booths, which will no doubt be mobbed by excited Nintendo fans.
Learn more about Nintendo’s new home gaming system at the Nintendo Switch Presentation, streamed LIVE on Jan. 12 https://t.co/0c7gOJasA2 pic.twitter.com/5aR7MBH2C5— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 27, 2016
Very little is currently known about the Nintendo Switch, beyond its handheld-and-console-in-one design. Details like whether the screen on the Switch is a touchscreen, whether it supports MicroSD storage, and important things like battery life remain secret. Can Nintendo show all of these details in a single presentation? Unlikely, but after the relatively information-low debut of the platform, any details are certain to be highly anticipated.
Most highly anticipated will of course be the Nintendo Switch’s launch line-up. Nintendo hasn’t dedicated themselves to a full reveal of their launch games for the Switch, opting for ambiguous language regarding both how many games will be shown and whether or not they’ll actually be launch titles. Still, with a new 3D Mario project and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim being teased in the announcement video, Nintendo’s certain to impress so long as they show any games at all.
The Nintendo Switch was announced just recently as a portable platform with a large tablet-like screen and two detachable Joy-Con controllers — one on either side of the screen. The platform can be placed into “dock” included with the console, which allows the platform to be displayed onto a television like a standard console. Price and launch date will be revealed during this newly announced January 12 presentation, as well as some of the platforms in-development games.
