Roy, our Gaming Product Manager, and I, responsible for Gaming Marketing, had the opportunity to spend a few hours with the Nintendo Switch in Munich on Tuesday. And the consoles set up and games presented in two exhibition halls made for an entertaining afternoon. But read for yourself...
Our impressions in the video
1-2-Switch
We will tell you more about "1-2-Switch" and the game content in a separate promotion in the next few days.
Arms
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
A little side note: The Limited Edition is unfortunately already on sale and the US-exclusive Master Edition is not officially coming to Europe. We may be able to offer it at some point, but as far as we know at the moment, it won't be available at release.
Super Bomberman R
Splatoon 2
This game was played at eight stations in two teams, each with two Switches in tablet mode and with two Pro controllers on the TV. After a few rounds on the test map, we're looking forward to the full version this summer!
Outlook
At at the end of April, good availability and high acceptance among Swiss gamers. Do you agree? Do you have any questions for us? Would you like to know more about our impressions? We'd love to discuss them with you in the comments!
Our other articles about the Nintendo Switch
Header image: In two event halls Nintendo presented novelties like "Arms" or "Splatoon 2".
I’m passionate about observing the development of the digital environment – particularly when it comes to the countless exciting and interesting challenges and changes it has in store for our society, our everyday lives and businesses. Apart from that, gaming has been a part of my life since I first started out at Digitec Galaxus as well as IT in general, travelling, sports, concerts and good food.
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The mini-games from 1-2-Switch were the perfect introduction to the gaming experience with the new console. First impression: Oh, the Joy-Con controllers look very high-quality, smaller than expected and actually provide very precise vibration feedback. We played the gunslingers (won by Roy), the samurai training (draw), the safecracker (narrow win by Roy), the milking bet (Roy) and the ball estimation (no winner). But don't worry, I got my revenge later. Our verdict: Ideal for getting to know the controllers, very varied games and you experience the safecracker, for example, in a completely different way if you look at each other instead of the TV and rely on your instincts instead of the screen.
Roy had won almost all the games in 1-2-Switch. It was obvious that I had to fight back, and I did - literally. Arms" suited me, I could feel that from the very first shot. The handling was easy for me (Roy sees it differently), and so...the 6 rounds all went to me. In addition to the clever sequence of blows with different tools that can be selected from round to round, the use of boosts and the skilful sequence of dodging and attacking manoeuvres is also exciting and decisive.
After playing "1-2-Switch" and "Arms" with the Joy-Con controllers, we were naturally excited about the handheld mode. And we were able to test this extensively in "Mario Kart 8 Deluxe" in two races of three laps each. What we quickly noticed: The resolution of the gaming pad is excellent, the colours are vibrant and the familiar gameplay is also fun to play in this mode. The gamepad screen may not be huge, but it's big enough for two of us to duel in split-screen mode. About the game itself: Top. We predict that the launch at the end of April will give the console another massive boost on the popularity scale. Roy narrowly came out on top in the company's internal rankings.
Of course, Nintendo had set up by far the most play stations for "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild". It needed them, but unfortunately the 20 allotted minutes of play (which always started again, i.e. we had no chance of getting any further) were quickly over. At the beginning we see an almost naked Link, who then, increasingly clothed, takes his first steps in the forests and huts of the game world. Even though some time has passed since the last "Zelda", we immediately felt right at home again. What we also think we have realised: Since Gamescom 2016, where we played the game on the Wii U for the first time, the graphics have made further progress (no doubt thanks in part to the new console generation). We liked the mixture of realistic yet playful environments and very comic-like characters. The game is currently at the top of our bestseller ranking, so our customers are looking forward to Zelda. We are too!
Third-party suppliers also had the opportunity to present their new products at the event, so we took a look at Konami's "Super Bomberman R", a new edition of an older game. The simple moves in this game can of course be controlled with a Joy-Con controller (analogue stick: control, right button: place bomb, left button: move bomb): Move bomb), which enables multiplayer battles for up to eight players with one console and just one Joy-Con per player. The game itself is quickly explained (plant a bomb, hide and don't let yourself be bombed away - even by other players), but unfortunately we didn't get to experience the campaign mode. However, there is apparently also one in this game, which is part of the launch line-up and will therefore be released on 3 March.
In the end, it all got too colourful for us. No, not the ambient noise, we were still playing Splatoon 2. I knew what to expect thanks to the first part, but it was a first for Roy. It was a lot of fun for both of us. Dipping the world in his colour, painting and repainting entire areas together in teams and checking the map again and again to see if your colour is ahead is simply very entertaining. Paint rollers, double spray guns or paint bombs are also available, which you can use not only to spray paint, but also to clear away enemies. They simply disappear in the "wrong" colour (and are back in the game seconds later at the base station).
