Nintendo president, Tatsumi Kimishima, seems to be getting impatient waiting for January 12th. He is already getting the hype train on the Nintendo Switch rolling, teasing add-ons and accessories for the console. And I might add, successfully making all of us just as impatient to learn more about this secret weapon of theirs.
During an interview with Bloomberg, Kimishima mentioned that while fans were only seeing the core Nintendo Switch product in the premiere trailer, it doesn’t even come close while representing all of the products that will be at the ready for their upcoming console. The Switch will apparently have additional devices, called both “add-on hardware” and “accessories” by Kimishima, though no more details on what this hardware is or will entail have been made available as of now.
Although, some previously drafted Nintendo patents for the console may actually offer hints as to what the Switch accessories could be. There’s a decent possibility that Nintendo will be selling multiple versions of the ‘Joy-Con’ controllers, for example, those that can be specially designed for specific titles. Going by this, developers wouldn’t be bound by how Nintendo decided to design the Switch’s controllers and could choose to come up with a controller scheme all their own that could make their games easier to play on the Switch.
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More possibilities for Switch add-on hardware can be located in the booming market of virtual reality. Nintendo has showcased an interest in virtual reality in the past, and Kimishima also subtly hinted at the fact that Nintendo has a VR future in the same interview. Kimishima stated that the “opportunity is available” for Nintendo to actually pursue VR titles.
He continued, “It may be that we will build VR software titles.” Now whether or not that necessarily means the company has its own VR headset in the works or if the Nintendo Switch will be compatible with existing virtual reality hardware remains to be seen. Though, to be noted, in the patents, a head-mounted display unit that would use the Switch in “portable mode” (i.e. tablet form) as a VR platform is also shown.
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Whatever the case, end of the day, all of these claims can simply be shoved aside as mere speculations. The real deal awaits us next month, not too far away now.
