Nintendo Switch - History of Nintendo Switch

History

Nintendo Company History

Before making the Nintendo Switch and video games, Nintendo originally produced traditional Japanese playing cards known as Hanafuda cards. Since its creation on September 23rd, 1889, Nintendo has grown to become a popular video game maker who are known especially for creating fun gaming experiences that are accessible to all age groups.

It would not be until the 70s that Nintendo would begin to develop video games with their focus being Arcade machines. Their most prominent ones were Donkey Kong in 1981 and later Mario Bros in 1983. The success they found in these arcade machines led them to eventually produce their first home video game consoles The Nintendo Entertainment System, which would release in 1983 in Japan. A few years later they would release their first handheld video game system, the Game Boy in 1989. These two systems were popular across the world and would become important pieces of hardware that Nintendo would continue to develop. They would have many successors to come after the Nintendo Entertainment System such as the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1990, the Nintendo 64 in 1996, the Gamecube in 2001, the Wii in 2006, and the console that came before the Switch, The Wii U in 2012.

Meanwhile, on the portable console side, after the Gameboy, they would release the Gameboy Color in 1998, the Gameboy Advance in 2001, The Nintendo DS in 2004, and the console that came before the Switch, The Nintendo 3DS in 2011.

Throughout these generations, Nintendo would have great franchises and characters that would generate a lot of mainstream popularity such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon. For some of these franchises, they would be incredibly successful to the point of controversy such as the Pokemon Craze in 1999 where parents were surprised by the fast growth of this game to the point that some worried Pokemon was making their kids obsessed. This was just one example of how much financial success Nintendo had found within the video game market.

One concerning trend that was also happening was in regard to its home console sales. Since the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System, every subsequent home console system would have a decrease in units sold. The only exception to this was the Nintendo Wii at 101.63 million consoles but the successor to it, The Wii U, would shortly start this trend again with low sales of 13.56 million units. Meanwhile, their portable consoles were doing very well with each portable console outselling their home console counterpart. With this trend and split across games, it would lead to Nintendo making a very big change in how they produced their next console.

Nintendo Switch History

The Nintendo Switch was created as a successor to the Wii U with a premise that would make it a successor to the Nintendo 3DS as well. The concept of the Nintendo Switch was to be a hybrid gaming console that a user could swap between being used as a home or portable gaming device. Up until now, Nintendo would always have separate systems for these two types of gaming experiences and this would be their first time combining the two as well as the franchises that would be exclusive to each.

The Nintendo Switch was released on March 2017 and became Nintendo's fastest-selling console with 3 million units sold within the first month, and later on, it would sell 10 million within its launch year. The popularity of this device in being able to offer a unique hybrid gaming experience would be what led to it selling over 12 million units during the Covid Pandemic as more people took to gaming as a means to connect and spend time with one another. This was even more appealing due to the Switch being able to provide a large library of games that would usually have to be split between its portable and home consoles. Overall their approach of combining both audiences and focusing on accessibility allowed Nintendo to reach great success with this console.

Nintendo Switch Description

The Nintendo Switch is a small touchscreen console. The base model is about 4 inches high and has a length of 9.4 inches with a width of 0.55 inches. It weighs about .66 pounds and .88 pounds when the Joy-Cons are attached. The Joy-Cons are two controllers that come with the Nintendo Switch they can attach to the sides or be removed. The Joy-Cons are capable of being used as motion controllers or individually to play games by putting them in the Joy-Con grip which can let the two joy-cons be used as a single controller more easily.

The System itself is capable of connecting to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Additionally, it has a built-in speaker and headphone jack to make its portable experience more enjoyable. It is also capable of being charged with a USB-C cable which can make it easier for individuals to use its charging cable for other devices that have the same port. Lastly, the Nintendo Switch has a cartridge slot at the top where games can go in. The individual switch games are small coming in a size of 31 mm x 21 mm x 3 mm. Fortunately, they are coated in a chemical called Denatonium Benzoate which is known as one of the worst-tasting compounds. This was done in order to lessen the chance of these tiny cartridges being a choking hazard by making them less appealing to be put in a child's mouth. This shows further Nintendo's commitment to making a gaming experience that is accessible to many.

Alongside the console also comes the dock. This is where you would slide the Switch in and have its image displayed on the TV. It has a simple design with the base model coming in black featuring the Nintendo Switch Logo on the front. Overall the entire console is best described as minimalist with a simple design that is meant to be seen as approachable to all audiences. When the Switch was first released it came in only black with two colors for the Joy-Cons either gray or blue and red.

On September 20, 2019, another Line of Nintendo Switch was released, the Switch Lite. The Switch Lite is a modified version of the Switch that doesn’t include the detachable Joy-Cons and the capability to connect it to a TV.

A revised higher-end version of the original Nintendo Switch, featuring an OLED screen, was released on October 8, 2021. It’s the best version of the Switch available.

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