Nintendo pulls back curtain on “Switch”

Nintendo Switch, the all new console from the legendary Japanese company, is a hybrid device designed to operate as both a home console and a handheld device. With a strange twist, the Switch console is a tablet-like screen with two detachable Joy-Con controllers that slide into place at its sides.

The device combines the best elements of handheld and home gaming into an experience that can be played anywhere in the world, so long as the battery holds out. This means you’ll easily be able to continue your gaming when you leave the house, and it should also make it much easier to play multiplayer games in person with friends.

So if you wanted to play a game using your TV, the Switch’s portable tablet component would stay connected to its dock, which in turn would remain hooked up to your entertainment center. Outputting the picture to the screen is dependent on the tablet being docked. The Joy-Con controllers can then be used wirelessly to play games from your couch; or they can be attached to a grip accessory to provide a more traditional controller experience. A Switch Pro controller will also be available to use, but will probably be sold separately.

Where things get interesting is when you remove the tablet from the dock, making the Switch function as its own unit. The long and short of it, you can eject Switch from its docking station and take it with you to play on the go. The Joy-Con controllers are attached directly to the sides of the screen, making it resemble a Wii U gamepad that can function on its own.

The Switch‘s debut trailer revealed that the console will launch in March 2017, probably on Friday March 17, which also coincides with Nintendo’s history of releasing consoles on Friday in the territory. A more exact date is expected on January 12 when Nintendo will live-stream a presentation about the new console.

According to recent reports the Nintendo Switch price will be £199.99, with a premium model with more memory and a game will sell around £249.99.

Super Mario Bros – the game that saved video games

Mario, the fictional Italian plumber, is one of the most recognisable characters in the whole world. He appeared in more than 100 games, and it’s hard to imagine Nintendo without the moustached man in blue overalls and a red hat. But where did Mario come from?

The story begins in the early 1980s when Nintendo, a struggling card and toy company, was trying to break into the arcade games market to eventually become one of the most important figures in today’s video game industry, being the world’s largest video game company by revenue.

Desperateto try something new, Hiroshi Yamauchi, president of Nintendo, approached an artist, Shigeru Miyamoto to design a game for cabinets. Until then he worked on art for Nintendo’s games. As Miyamoto was not a programmer, he first wanted to create a story before starting to work on the gameplay. The result was Donkey Kong, telling the story of a love triangle between a man, his pet gorilla and his girlfriend.

This game defined the platform genre with the main character Jump Man, who could move left and right, climb ladders and jump over obstacles from one platform to the next. It was very different from major video games of that time. It was so unusual, that when the game arrived at Nintendo’s American headquarters, the team didn’t really like it and thought it would never catch on. While working on distributing the game and finding a new name to Jump Man, the owner of the warehouse, where the headquarters were located, showed up demanding the rent, which was late. You’ll never guess what his name was. Yes, Mario. Mario Segale. He’s a wealthy real estate developer in Tukwila, Washington.

The first game in the Super Mario series, Super Mario Bros, was released on September 13, 1985 and the rest is history. The team behind the project was wrong, the game became a huge success.

By the time that game came out, the American home video game market had crashed, but Mario’s infectious, upbeat personality helped Nintendo revive it. The colourful graphics, iconic music, and easy-to-understand play of Super Mario Bros. appealed to players of all ages, as they guided Mario through the mythical Mushroom Kingdom in his attempt to save Princess Peach from his arch-enemy, the turtle Bowser.