[Rumor] New Nintendo Switch Rumors Roundup

Published: December 30, 2016 11:20 PM /

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Nintendo Switch

Recently YouTuber OBE1plays was streaming Splatoon when journalist Laura Kate Dale entered the chat and starting talking to him. Eventually, he ended the stream to set up and broadcast a Skype call with Dale. The call was mostly the two answering questions viewers would pose in the YouTube chat and mostly had to do with the upcoming Nintendo Switch console. Again, before we dive into the information put forth by the two, these are rumors with only their word to go by, so make sure to have your grains of salt at the ready. Dale had also done a Reddit AMA on Dec. 26 answering a lot of the same questions and adding that the Switch would likely cost around $300, which would match previous rumors which have put it at $249 or $299 depending on version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11ICkaJmMO4

The Q&A session lasted around 30 minutes and led to quite a few new pieces of information being put forth, as well as adding more veracity to rumors already floating around. The rumors that were already out there, that were reconfirmed, were the USB-C port allowing for easy fast charging (which will be a must if Nintendo actually expects people to use the Switch in its portable mode), and that the IR pointer on the right Joy-Con that will allow for touch screen functions to be used while docked.

There will also quite a few new rumors, dealing with the system itself as well as games coming to the system. As for the functionality of the Switch itself, it will supposedly have a three-hour battery life when in portable mode with full clock speed. It was also stated that the left Joy-Con will have a record button for gameplay, which hopefully means Nintendo is finally realizing the internet is a thing and it can help them. As for peripherals, there will be no bundle that includes the Pro Controller, they will only be sold separately. The  Joy-Cons will be available separately at launch and Docks will be sold around six months after launch. Also at launch, the Switch will only come in one color, with a chance of colored Switches being sold after launch. The first bundle for the Switch will include 32GB of on board storage, with a Micro SD slot to expand 128GB.  A bit of a happy surprise is that it seems Nintendo will be ditching Friend Codes for the Switch, and also Dale seemed to hint at voice-chat news that OBE1 will be releasing a video on soon. Bluetooth will also be used with the Switch, but in what ways it is not currently known. On a related note, recent FCC filings revealed that the Switch would not include a removable battery, eliminating the possibility of upgrading it after launch.

As for games on the Switch, Dale stated there was basically no chance of Red Dead Redemption 2 coming to the system due to Nintendo and Rockstar's rocky relationship, dating back to Rockstar North's time as DMA Design. Overwatch was also brought up with Dale saying that it would not be there at launch and that it would need big changes to its Switch port because of the "always online" aspects of the game. Talking about Mass Effect: Andromeda, Dale said that due to Mass Effect 3 selling so poorly on the Wii U it was unlikely to come to the Switch. Lastly, Dale said to expect only around three GameCube games to be available on the Virtual Console at launch with more to come later, while confirming that her sources matched with what Eurogamer had said.

It was also said that you shouldn't expect a delay for the Switch, so the March release date is basically set in stone. These rumors all seem plausible and match up with what we've already heard about the Switch, but we have to wait until the event in January to officially confirm any of this information. This also lines up pretty well with what I previously wrote about how Nintendo can give the Switch its best chance at being a success, which is encouraging to see.

What do you think of these new rumors? Do these new rumors make you more or less likely to want a Switch when it finally launches? Let us know in the comments!

 

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Kyle Downey TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

Staff Writer looking to keep you both informed and entertained. Favorite games include: Pokemon, Overwatch, Golden Sun, Portal, and Elder Scrolls.