Switching screens

Japan – Nintendo has announced its latest games console, which can change from a portable gaming device to a traditional plugged-in console.

• Nintendo aims to bridge the gap between entertainment at home and on the go with its Nintendo Switch console
• The device can be used by single and multiple players while out of the house

Nintendo has never focused on the dedicated gamer community, but has targeted a larger demographic of casual gamers. It has been a decade since Nintendo introduced the Wii, with its introduction of the Wii remote control unit, which changed how many families played video games.

Now the Nintendo Switch is designed to do the same thing with on-the-go gaming. While portable gamers are a separate category, as the name implies, the Switch enables users to seamlessly switch from a television environment to an outside environment. The device has two controllers that can be detached from the miniature screen. This means it not only gives single gamers more control options than traditional portable devices, but it also enables multiple players to play each other without a television.

‘Nintendo Switch gives gamers the freedom to play however they like,’ said Reggie Fils-Aimé, the president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, in a statement. ‘It gives game developers new abilities to bring their creative visions to life by opening up the concept of gaming without boundaries.’