Reportedly, we won’t get any more details about the next-gen Nintendo Switch until next year. In other words, prepare yourselves for suspense.
Yesterday, Nintendo unveiled the Switch, its newest console with a release window of March 2017. We still have plenty of questions, even after analyzing the trailer and its accompanying press release.
Here’s what we do know: The console works both at home and away from a TV, with Nintendo’s now-almost-expected bevy of controller options available as well. In the trailer, you can also spot Game Cards being used, like the Nintendo DS family of handhelds.
Here’s what we don’t know: pretty much everything else. We suspect that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which also got some fresh trailers yesterday, will be a launch title, but other than that, we’ve got no word from the Big N.
Apparently, we won’t be getting any word for a while, either, according to this tweet from The Wall Street Journal reporter Takashi Mochizuki:
Nintendo: no more official announcement would come this year on 1) game titles 2) spec details, including region-lock status.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) October 21, 2016
Could Nintendo finally abandon region-locking?
We did see what looks to be a Splatoon remake of some sort, NBA 2K17, some Mario footage, and Breath of the Wild in the trailer. However, we didn’t hear anything about whether or not they would be launch titles (or even titles at all).
Well, okay, there’s actually one exception to all of this. Nintendo confirmed to Famitsu magazine that the Switch does not read 3DS Game Cards or Wii U discs. That means no backward compatibility. Mochizuki tweeted that out as well:
Also Nintendo confirms with Famitsu that Switch can't read 3DS game cards. No Wii U discs too. https://t.co/wOTdxY62ht
— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) October 21, 2016
However, with the Wii U, Nintendo really showed its willingness to sell older games on its eShop Virtual Console, beyond just the Wii’s version of the same service. In fact, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, originally for the Nintendo DS, just hit the Wii U eShop. In other words, the company may implement backward compatibility in a similar way for the Switch.
Next: Why the Nintendo Switch is actually a good idea
Aside from that, though, we’ll just have to wait and see what Nintendo brings us in the new year after baiting us with the Switch trailer.