Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the Wii U and competes with Microsoft‘s Xbox One and Sony‘s PlayStation 4; it has also competed with the ninth-generation consoles, Microsoft‘s Xbox Series X/S and Sony‘s PlayStation 5.
The Switch is a tablet that can either be docked for home console use or used as a portable device, making it a hybrid console. Its wireless Joy-Con controllers, with standard buttons and directional analog sticks for user input, motion sensing, and tactile feedback, can attach to both sides of the console to support handheld-style play. They can also connect to a grip accessory to provide a traditional home console gamepad form, or be used individually in the hand like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, supporting local multiplayer modes. The Switch’s software supports online gaming through internet connectivity, as well as local wireless ad hoc connectivity with other consoles. Switch games and software are available on both physical flash-based ROM cartridges and digital distribution via Nintendo eShop; the system has no region lockout. Two hardware revisions have been released: the handheld-only Switch Lite, released on September 20, 2019; and a higher-end version featuring an OLED screen, released on October 8, 2021.
The Switch was unveiled on October 20, 2016; the concept came about as Nintendo‘s reaction to financial losses attributed to poor sales of the Wii U and market competition from mobile games. Nintendo‘s then-president Satoru Iwata pushed the company towards mobile gaming and novel hardware. The Switch’s design was aimed at a wide demographic of players through multiple modes of use. Nintendo preemptively sought the support of many third-party developers and publishers, as well as independent studios, to help build the Switch’s game library alongside its first-party games, while standard electronic components, such as a chipset based on Nvidia’s Tegra line, were chosen to make development for the console easier for programmers and more compatible with existing game engines.
Critical reception of the Switch was positive. The system received praise for its intuitive design and software library, with criticism directed toward hardware and controller issues. The Switch became a major commercial success, and has shipped over 150 million units worldwide as of December 2024, becoming the third-best selling console of all time behind the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. It is also Nintendo‘s most successful home console to date, surpassing the original Wii‘s 101.6 million units.
A direct successor, Nintendo Switch 2, which will be backward compatible with most Switch games, is scheduled for release on June 5, 2025.
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