We've been keeping our eyes open for news about Nintendo's latest console - Nintendo Switch since October last year when we first heard about it, so I was thrilled to find out that I was invited to attend the Nintendo Switch UK Premiere, and be one of the first to try out the Nintendo Switch.

You can find most of the details about the Nintendo Switch on social media now, but there seem to be quite a mixed view out there, with some that, in my opinion, aren't necessary useful if you are looking for information to help you decide whether it's worth buying a Nintendo Switch.

To know if you need a Nintendo Switch (or any other consoles), it's good to figure out what the brand (Nintendo) is offering you, what kind of games they offer, what 3rd party developed games that is available on the console, and who the main users are.

For us, for example, our main users are our 2 young kids. They love cute and fun games, and they love playing together as a family. So for us, Nintendo is more suitable for us, because they offer a lot more games that are children and family friendly. Even if a kiddy game is remotely violent, it's done subtly that the focus of the game isn't the fighting. They offer games for adults as well which I love, and the graphics and soundtrack are quite stunning for their latest Legend of Zelda games, meaning that they are there with their specs. There is plenty of 3rd party developed games that will work with it too.

Now the only question left for us is whether we need to upgrade our Nintendo Wii U to the Nintendo Switch.

Although you can find the information elsewhere, I'd still like to post this up and share with you, and how we see the Nintendo Switch from a "family and kids priority"gamer's point of view. Perhaps you can use this as a guide and see how it applies to you?



Me and Eileen from ET Speaks from Home had plenty of fun trying out new games that will be released on Nintendo Switch, using of course, the Nintendo Switch! Some fun games really get us exercising and I was absolutely knackered after 3 games! I can totally visualise playing the games with the kids and have lots of laughter though (more about the games below)!


I have learned quite a bit about the Nintendo Switch, and the rest I tried to find out from the Internet. Here are what I know so far:


Launch date: Friday 3rd March 2017, can be pre-ordered now
Price: UK RRP £279.99
Version:
Nintendo Switch with Grey Joy-Con Controllers or
Nintendo Switch with Neon Blue and Neon Red Joy-Con Controllers (Nintendo UK's store pre-orders are currently out of stock for this version already!)

Comes with:

• Main Nintendo Switch Console (some call it a tablet)
• Joy-Con L and Joy-Con R controllers
• Joy-Con Grip (to connect Joy-Con L and Joy-Con R and turn them into one controller)
• A pair of Joy-Con wrist straps
• Nintendo Switch Dock (holds the Nintendo Switch console and connects it to a TV)
• HDMI Cable
• AC Adapter

Accessories can be bought separately

3 Modes to Play:
TV mode where you dock the Nintendo Switch, switching the screen to the TV

Tabletop mode where you can prop the main console on the table, and players can use 1 part of the Joy-Con controller to play together/ against each other

Handheld mode where you attach both Joy-Con controllers onto the main console and play it like a handheld console

Joy-Con Controllers:

• Depending on the game, can be used together for 1 player, or split and used by 2 players
• They are much thinner and smaller than the Wii controllers. Very light weight as well, making them much easier to use (the more important that you use the Joy-Con straps to avoid it from flying off your hand)
• Left Joy-Con controller has a Capture Button to take instant screenshots
• Right Joy-Con controller includes an NFC touchpoint for interaction with amiibo figures (works with Skylanders' figures too! No more additional platform to reach out to), and an IR Motion Camera that can detect the distance, shape and motion of nearby objects in specially designed games (e.g Rock, Paper, Scissors!)
• Both Joy-Con controllers include advanced HD rumble, which can provide compatible games with subtle vibrations. For example, I was milking a cow (I know!) in the 1-2-Switch game, and I can feel how much milk I got from a squeeze through the vibration

Expandable storage: although internal storage is only 32MB, it can be expanded by using unlimited MicroSD cards with storage size up to 2TB each

Resolution: The Nintendo Switch Tablet has a 720p 6.2 inch screen, and resolution can go up to 1080p when it's docked and connected to a TV

Batteries:
Main Console: Depending on the game, it can go from 2 to 6 hours unplugged. It recharges using the USB-C port
Joy-Con controllers:
Uses non-removable 525 mAh batteries that will last up to 20 hours.
They are charged by attaching them onto the main console, and charging time can take up to 3.5 hours.
A Joy-Con Charging Grip (not the same as the Joy-Con Grip that's included with the Nintendo Switch pack) that can be bought separately will charge the Joy-Con controllers as well.

Local Wireless Play:
Up to 8 Nintendo Switch can be connected using the same wireless network to play together

Region-locking:
No region-locking

Online Play:
It's currently free, but a monthly fee will be in place later in the year.



First Impression:

We absolutely love the idea of a hybrid console. We can use the TV screen to play family games like Mario Party or Mario Kart, and when time comes for us to take the TV back, we can "kick" the kids aside without stopping the game. They can continue playing in handheld console mode. This was one of the best feature from the Nintendo Wii U, and we are glad that they have kept it.

Nintendo took it a step further and now the kids can even move to another part of the house to continue their game, without breaking the game's connection (Clay tried taking the Nintendo Wii U Gamepad with him to the toilet haha!). They can also put the console down and play with the Joy-Cons, so they won't be fighting over the screen.

The Nintendo Switch overall is much thinner and lighter than the Nintendo Wii U Gamepad, making it much easier for the kids to hold (Clay struggled with the Gamepad, although he loves it). It's less tiring to use the Joy-Con controllers than the Nintendo Wii controllers too, just make sure that the kids use the strap. You can buy individual Joy-Cons to replace a broken one for (RRP) £39.99, but it's of course best to make sure that they will last for as long as they can.

Some said that the battery duration for the Nintendo Switch is too short. I never think about this really because we seldom play for hours without taking a long break, but when we do, we are normally at home. We'll have to actually take the Nintendo Switch on holiday to see how this affect us.

Batteries for the Joy-Con controllers however is a massive upgrade for us! I know that, like all lithium-ion batteries, they don't last forever, but it's a great news for us because OMG the time we spent finding AA batteries that has some juice left! And we ended up spending lots on rechargeable's and non-rechargeable's too.

No Regional-locking can be a very exciting thing for us. I'm not sure if we will buy games from abroad, but if there are some really good titles not available in Europe, this will be great! I'm more excited about finding out if we can play the same games with family and friends in Asia!

The Nintendo Switch has removed the second screen feature we really enjoyed using when playing games on the Nintendo Wii U. I'm a bit disappointed about it because I thought it was a great feature that has a lot of potential. But then I guess it won't really affect a lot because the games we tried at the premiere didn't use it and the idea of "how I wish it has a second screen feature" never came up either.

You can buy additional Joy-Cons controllers for additional players, but it seems quite expensive (RRP £69.99). However, if you think about it, the price will cover 2 controllers, so if you play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for example, that will be another 2 players sorted. The spare Joy-Cons can also act as part of a Joy-Con rotation, so that when 2 ran out of batteries, you still have another 2 to play with. So I'm a bit 2-minded here about the price.

I wonder if you can charge a pair of Joy-Con while playing with the other at the same time? There is also another option - buying the Joy-Con Charging Grip (RRP £24.99) so you can keep all 4 Joy-Cons charged at the same time. But do we really need it? We will have to find out.

At the moment, it's free to play online, but there will be a subscription fee for online play later this year. It's not something that is affecting us at the moment as we don't play online. But when a great online game comes along, we will look further into this.

Price wise, I think Nintendo Switch deserves the upgrade because it's the first hybrid console out there, allowing gamers to switch from TV to handheld and continue playing the game on the go. The extra sensitive controllers and motion camera means that it can sense your motions and movements even better than using a sensor bar on top of the TV (you can "probably" play Just Dance in a plane!). They've improved the size of the console, took away our AA batteries struggle, and the graphics is great (on the console screen as well).
Games:

Finally, the games! I had so much fun at Nintendo Switch UK premiere! We played a few games, had some yummy warm food, and then played some more. It's definitely a great opportunity to try a bit of everything while understanding the Nintendo Switch a bit more.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild queue!

I regretted not queuing up for Legend of Zelda: breath of the Wild. After all it's been the game I was really looking forward to, and trying it out on Nintendo Switch would be another awesome experience. From what I saw though, the graphics look absolutely stunning and smooth! The world is massive! I seriously can't wait for it to come out and try it out myself. It will be released on the same day as the Nintendo Switch.

Super Mario Odyssey

Another game me and the kids are looking forward to is Super Mario Odyssey. Mario will be leaving his Mushroom Kingdom and go on an adventure in an exciting world! And he'll be removing his cap for the first time! The game is still under development so wasn't available for trial, but the trailer looks amazing! It will be released later in the year.

Snipperclips

A game that we almost overlooked was Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! and I was so glad that we gave the game a go. It's the perfect game to train your kids to work together while having fun, and I'm determined to get it for my kids. It'll also provide quality time spent together as a family while we try to solve the puzzles together!

Basically, players are to cut each other's character into different shapes to solve each puzzle. It's one of the more relaxed game where you get plenty of discussion (and perhaps arguing) moments while trying them out. This will be released in March as well in Nintendo eShop.

Arms

I'm also glad to have given Arms a go, although my arms felt like they were going to fall off after haha. In simple terms, it's a colourful, 3D fighting sport game (using elements of boxing and shooting games), where players can extend their character's arms by throwing your own arms forward (each hand holding a Joy-Con controller), and your punching movements will all be logged accurately too.

What I didn't realise until I watched the Nintendo Switch presentation is that, when your own arms swing and circle around (like when you are really giving someone a punch from the side), your character's arm will do exactly that too! So in some way, you can see this as a boxercise game! I'll definitely want to try this game out again, and it'll be hilarious with the kids (just don't face each other!)

The game will be available in Spring 2017.

Splatoon 2 and Mario Karty 8 Deluxe

Apart from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe both had queues at the Nintendo Switch UK Premiere. They are the most anticipated Nintendo games that are available to trial so no surprise there really.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is basically Mario Kart 8, plus new characters , revamped Battle mode with new courses. There are also new skills. It'll be released on 28th April for RRP £49.99.

Splatoon 2 will come with new stages, fashions and weapons, can use gyro controls to aim their ink, and it supports voice chat using the new Nintendo Switch smart device app (available in Summer). Splatoon 2 will also be released this Summer.

1-2-Switch

1-2-Switch reminds me of Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Wii U's mini games pack, which are more sport based (tennis, golf, etc). 1-2-Switch however encourage players to look at each other rather than the screen, so there are more interactions between players in real life.

We tried Copy Dance, where players take turn to copy each other's moves and see who does it best (the HD Rumble in the Joy-Cons made them sensitive enough to know). Milk was funny yet a bit weird too! You sit opposite of each other and try to milk more than the other person! Quick Draw is the funniest I think, where players are to look at each other and whoever draw their gun first wins.

1-2-Switch will be released together with Nintendo Switch on 3rd March.


Third Party Developed Games:

3rd party developed games Not in the picture: Just Dance

Third-Party Publishers that'll be releasing games on Nintendo Switch:

Including:
Activision Publishing Inc
Electronic Arts
Take-Two Interactive
Ubisoft
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Major Japanese Publishers

Some publishers such as Bethesda Softworks will be joining Nintendo for the first time

Major franchises will be appearing on Nintendo Switch including:
EA Sports FIFA
The Elder Scrolls
NBA 2K
Minecraft
etc

Just Dance:
I didn't take a picture of this but I think it's worth mentioning. The Nintendo Switch has its motion camera embedded inside the Joy-Con (R) controller, so there are no sensor bar required like for the Nintendo Wii U, and you can play games like Just Dance without bothering yourself about your distance to the TV or console. You can just dance away and it takes on a much more accurate movement than the sensor bar did. And that's from what I saw at the Nintendo Switch UK Premiere.


So far me and the kids are really impressed with the Nintendo Switch, and we are excited about some of the games that will be released with it. We can't wait for it to come out!