Lucky-as-hell Jimmy Fallon got to play Super Mario Run with Reggie Fils-Aime giving him tips over his shoulder. There may be a few meme worthy statements by Fils-Aime during this bit on The Tonight Show, but it looked as if Fallon was having the time of his life playing this new mobile game regardless of Fils-Aime’s awkward stage voice. Things got even more exciting when Fils-Aime showed Fallon that none other than Shigeru Miyamoto was in the audience, with his signature warm smiles. After Fallon played Super Mario Run in perhaps the most pumped fashion anyone ever will, Fils-Aime revealed a special surprise, the Nintendo Switch with a copy of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! This is the first time the Nintendo Switch has been shown outside of the teaser video, a first as well for The Tonight Show in regards to revealing major video game hardware.
Even though we only got a brief glimpse at the system and the newest Zelda game, there are a few things we can infer about the event. For starters, Nintendo is sticking to the March 2017 release window, due to Fils-Aime shouting off the date at the end of the segment. Watching the video frame by frame, also reveals that the Switch appears to be using USB Type C as a charge cable or data transfer cable. We also got to barely see little buttons to release the Joy Con on either side of the tablet-like system.
For those wondering, the USB Type C is a revolutionary new type of input, famously used in the new Macbook. Basically, it’s reversible, so no more fumbling to get it to fit. The cable can also carry video both ways, taking away the need for a display port. Plus, transfer speeds are wicked fast at 10 Gbps. It’s nice to see Nintendo getting with the breakthroughs of technology in more than just gimmicks. This new port opens up a lot of possibilities for developers and hopefully average users as well.
Of course, the event on the Tonight Show didn’t speak of a price point, or the rumors suggesting that Breath of the Wild could be delayed on the Switch. More than likely, these finer details won’t be announced until January 12th, where Nintendo will be doing a few days of Switch reveals and demos in Tokyo with livestreams for global viewers.
Personally, I think this could be the console that changes how players think of portable gaming. If everything works as it seems to, we’ll be able to play much higher quality games on the go, no longer tied to portable consoles that are a few generations behind. Judging by the Tonight Show footage, Breath of the Wild seems to be running at a smooth framerate of probably 30fps at either 720p or maybe even 1080p. Granted I would still like to see Sony step up and continue their PSVita efforts, but at the moment Nintendo rules portable gaming, really only having to compete with the mobile gaming market that they now are starting to claim as well.
As long as pre-orders and shipment are handled properly I plan on being an early adopter to the Switch. Hopefully, I won’t have to go through much effort in order to get one on the first day, but when that storm starts brewing, you can bet I’ll be covering the news in some form. I also have a hunch that pre-orders will go up following the event in January; it just makes sense.
Super Mario Run releases on December 15th for Mobile devices, while the Nintendo Switch and Zelda: Breath of the Wilds is slated for March 2017.
