Nintendo Switch Launches Worldwide on March 3 for $299 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 13 January 2017 / 11,511 Views
Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch launches in the US, Japan, major European countries, and other territories on March 3 for $299 / 29,980 yen.
The console will feature online features that allow people to invite each other to play games online together. The service will be free at launch, but will be a paid service starting in Fall 2017.
Battery life will vary by game from 2.5 hours to 6.5 hours.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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The Shield Tablet cost $199.99 btw.
Both the Shield Tablet and Shield TV (which has the same rumored Tegra chip as Switch) have been $149 and less throughout 2016, while also bundling several games and free controllers.
The shield ain't half as ambitious this though.
The Shield Tablet is everything the Switch is. It might as well been the direct predecessor of the Switch instead of being a 3DS/Wii U hybrid.
The difference is the dock, which the Shield didn't need since it had HDMI-out built in, instead of charging $90 for one. The Joy-Con controllers, but like the Switch it had it's own pro controller. And Nintendo's first party and Japanese 3rd party support.
The Switch is NVIDIA allowing their device to live on through a more mainstream brand name, the problem is the Shield got everything right except for developer support and NVIDIA not being a game developer.
The Switch has the hardware and games right, but everything else wrong.
Wow This is a pathetic price if it's not bundled with a game. You can get a PS4 right now for the same price with Uncharted 4........Yekis.
Why are you comparing the price of a 3 year old console to another console's launch price? Did PS4 cost $299 at launch? No? What's your point?
I would assume his point is that 3 year old console is a more powerful console, with a significantly larger library of games, with an amazing 2017 line-up that's actually on sale still for $250 bundled with Uncahrted 4 (GOTY 2016), with plenty of free games to download, and proven paid subscription service that offers 2 - 4 free games per month, that will be one of the main competitors to the Switch this 2017.
And here Nintendo is launching a $299 console first (their words), no game included, inferior hardware, that almost requires an additional $40 SD card for storage sake, a $70 charge for a more traditional controller, a inferior paid subscription service, and on top of that joining the $60 per game foray.
And no the PS4 launched at $399, and as mention above to get a similar experience on the Switch again with less power, you're spending $410 when you add a 128GB SD and $70 pro controller.
You're getting a similar experience? You can take the PS4 out of your house with you? And, don't even mention Vita, because then you are adding another $200. Nintendo Switch - $299. PS4 + Vita (for your "similar experience") = $499. Again, is there a point here?
Terribly overpriced. Let's pay $60 more than the competitors for last gen tech.
its not last gen tech as far as handhelds are considered. But some of the prices are outrageous, like the accessories
It's $100 too much.
The hardware would be shit if it wasn't.
Price is exactly what I predicted. Date is much earlier than I thought. That battery life range is really broad. Paid online is a bit of a disappointment. Also this puts a lot of these rumors in doubt.
Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think this is going to need a price drop like what the 3ds got.
Get used to selling at a loss, Nintendo.
$250 or even $200 would've been preferable if the ps4 and xbox one get a price cut this year i see the switch struggling especially during the holiday season
Definitely the upper limit. At least it's feature dense and seemingly capable of good legacy support (eventually).
Price needs to go down quick. $250 would have been better.
Has two controllers, a handheld and console
A bit salty but not terrible. I'm disappointed about the paid online service though. Hopefully it means Nintendo is going to put more effort into online services.
this price...wtf ! Currently no interest. Maybe 2018 - if a switch upgrade with stronger hardware and better battery appears.
Seems a bit too much for me
Ouch, a bit pricey. Hope it comes witha game.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!" - Nintendo
Eh, I still bought one. Worth it for Zelda alone for me.
A bit expensive. It could have been worse though.
This is right around the corner. January is half way done and it launches in 3 days into March. So its basically just february.
Eh, should have been 250 but due to all the tech that jam packed into it, I can see the costs.
As expected for the launch price. Looking forward to this. I really want Nintendo to win again!
Great price, day one for me.
It really depends on the Tegra chip they have inside. If it's Tegra X1 then it's highly overpriced. If it's Tegra X2 / P1, then it's a fair trade, although it still should be just $249. This is Nintendo once again making sure they get a Profit Day 1, rather than getting their hardware off to a great start. They are relying on Zelda to push people to buy it Day 1 at max asking price.
I wanted $99
