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Nintendo Switch Reportedly Launching Exclusive Third Version Of ‘Pokemon Sun’ And ‘Moon’

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 21:43 PST, Nov 18, 2016

Nintendo Switch is the official name of Nintendo’s new home gaming system. Even though Nintendo expressed its intention to venture into the mobile gaming domain, the Japanese video game company has been busy developing a new hardware platform so that videogames can be played in homes as well as when traveling.

Nintendo’s Switch is considered a vast improvement over Wii U, the company’s current game console, controller, and gamepad. Wii U was an innovative effort by Nintendo to make the gaming experience more enjoyable. Wii U was released in 2012 and came with a game controller with a touch screen that enabled the gamer to view the game on the handheld device’s screen, in addition to a television screen. However, Forbes reports that Wii U could never be a portable gaming console because the handheld device had a pathetic battery life.

So, a player could never use the Wii U as a fully-fledged portable gaming device. Additionally, Nintendo never produced games to be enjoyed on the gamepad screen. It was only after the launch of Splatoon that the real value of Wii U was recognized. It appears that Nintendo Switch has a distinct advantage over its predecessor because the tablet-like screen is located on Switch’s console unit, not on its controller. In fact, Tech Crunch reports that the Switch’s controller comes apart, and the two parts can be slipped into the left and right sides of the portable console.

Switch’s controller is called a Joy-Con, with one part comprising an analog stick while the other part has four face buttons. In this way, the console can be unplugged from the console box and used as a portable gaming unit. Nintendo Switch is set to be launched in March 2017, so the battery life of Switch’s console has not been tested when used in portable mode.

A long battery life will ensure that gamers can enjoy games on the portable console while using the hardware on long journeys or long-haul flights. Nintendo’s new game console will use a typical DS Game Card, and the hardware will be supported by 48 software firms.

The Verge reports that Nintendo Switch can be played in five popular configurations. Firstly, it can be used as a standard handheld plus mobile console to be carried from one place to another. Secondly, the console can be made to rest on a table by putting it on its kickstand, while a part of the controller can be used for game control. Two players can compete by using their individual consoles and game controllers.

It will also be possible for four players to compete when two Switch consoles and their detachable controllers are shared amongst four players. And for gamers who love to enjoy the game in a more traditional way, the console can be plugged into the console box, enabling the user to view the game on their television screen.

In addition to different configurations, Nintendo Switch also allows gamers to use their individual consoles in “e-sport” mode, making use of a Switch Pro Controller very similar to a Wii U Pro Controller. This facility will allow individual gamers to plug their console into a game stand and play an online game in real time. Wired reports that the teaser revealed Switch would be supporting Nintendo’s latest games, like the new Super Mario game.

And in exciting news for Pokemon fans, Eurogamer reports that Nintendo Switch will launch exclusive versions of the new Pokemon Sun and Moon games.

The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Splatoon, and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim will be other games to be enjoyed on Nintendo Switch.

[Featured Image by Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Images]

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