Nintendo Switch
Nintendo posted its first loss as a video game company in 2012, marking the beginning of a difficult period for the Japanese giant. The Wii U console, released that same year, failed to capture the market's attention and suffered from poor reception. By 2014, The New York Times reported that Nintendo had lowered financial forecasts due to weak hardware sales against mobile gaming. Then-president Satoru Iwata initially resisted entering the mobile market, fearing it would cause the company to cease being Nintendo. He believed that participating in mobile games might make them lose their identity. However, three years before the Switch announcement, Iwata, Tatsumi Kimishima, Genyo Takeda, and Shigeru Miyamoto crafted a strategy to revitalize the business model. This plan included approaching the mobile market, creating new hardware, and maximizing intellectual property. Iwata secured a business alliance with DeNA, a Japanese mobile provider, before his death in July 2015. Following Iwata's passing, Kimishima was named president while Miyamoto took on the title of Creative Fellow. The initial conception for the Switch started shortly after the release of the Wii U in 2012. Kimishima stated that when evaluating what new hardware they wanted to produce, they did not just want a successor to either the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U. Instead, they asked what kind of new experience could be created. The commercial failure of the Wii U pressured Nintendo towards developing the Switch as a make-or-break product.
The design of the Switch aimed to bridge the polarization of the gaming market at the time. It sought to create a device that could play leisurely video games along with those intended to be played deeply. Shinya Takahashi and Yoshiaki Koizumi, general manager and deputy general manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development Division respectively, explained this approach would apply to cultural lifestyle differences between Japanese and Western players. Japanese players tend to play on the go and with social groups, while Western players tend to play at home by themselves. Two key elements addressed this mixed market: the ability for the unit to play either on a television screen or as a portable, and the use of detachable controllers. The name Switch was selected not only to refer to the console's ability to switch from handheld to home console modes but also to present the idea of being a switch that will flip and change the way people experience entertainment in their daily lives. Part of the inspiration came from feedback players had given Nintendo on the Wii Remote. With the release of games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit, players asked if they could make the Wii Remote in a smaller form factor. This led to envisioning what a smaller form-factor controller could provide in both hardware and gameplay. Around five different prototypes were developed before Nintendo decided upon a finalized design. One choice made by the development team was to use an existing system-on-chip rather than creating its own. Koizumi said this break from tradition was done to gain more third-party support by using an SOC to which developers could easily port games. Miyamoto said that the Switch's development within Nintendo was headed by younger employees.
The Switch was officially released on the 3rd of March 2017, in Japan, most English-speaking and Western markets, and in the United Arab Emirates. It launched with an MSRP of $299 in the United States, ¥29,980 in Japan, £279 in the United Kingdom, and AU$469 in Australia. The set included a Switch console, a dock, left and right Joy-Con controllers, straps, a Joy-Con grip, an AC power adapter, and an HDMI cable. There were two bundles available at launch: one with grey Joy-Con and another with neon red and blue Joy-Con. Nintendo feared that a higher price would harm sales, so it did not include any additional hardware or games. The console continued to be officially released in particular markets over the next few years. Argentina received the Switch on the 15th of August 2017, while South Korea and Taiwan got it on December 1. In April 2018, CD Media announced that Nintendo's products would be distributed in Turkey later that year. Nintendo had abruptly withdrawn from the Turkish market back in June 2012 when Nortec Eurasia closed. CD Media released the Switch in Turkey in July 2018. Maxsoft, Nintendo's Singapore-based distributor, officially launched the Switch in the Philippines on the 30th of November 2018, in Thailand on the 29th of March 2019, and in Malaysia on the 17th of January 2020. In early-2019, Nintendo of Europe signed a partnership with TorGaming Ltd., making it the official distributor in Israel. The company launched its products in the market, including the Switch, on the 1st of March 2019. Active Gulf, Nintendo's Dubai-based distributor, officially launched the Switch in Oman on the 27th of September 2019.
The Nintendo Switch Lite launched on the 20th of September 2019, in three colors: yellow, grey, and turquoise. It was promoted alongside The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, a remake of the 1993 Game Boy game. A special Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield branded version of the Switch Lite, themed around Zacian and Zamazenta, launched on the 8th of November 2019. A coral color was released on the 20th of March 2020, in Japan, and on April 3 in the rest of the world. A blue color released on the 7th of May 2021, in Europe, and on May 21 in the rest of the world. A special Pokémon Dialga and Palkia limited edition was released on the 5th of November 2021. On the 26th of September 2024, a special gold-colored edition of the Switch Lite based on The Legend of Zelda was released to coincide with Echoes of Wisdom. These units came bundled with a 12-month membership to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Due to tariffs by the Trump administration in 2025, Nintendo increased the price of the Switch, the Switch Lite, and the Switch OLED in the United States by about $50 on the 3rd of August 2025. The Nintendo Switch , OLED Model was officially announced on the 6th of July 2021, and released on the 8th of October 2021, alongside Metroid Dread. It features a 720p OLED display, 64 GB of internal storage, enhanced audio functions, a magnesium alloy body, and a wider adjustable stand. The unit ships in two bundles: one with a black dock and red and blue Joy-Con, and another with a white dock and white Joy-Con. Ahead of the release, Nintendo reduced the base price of the original Switch model in Europe from £299 to £279 and in the UK from £279 to £269.
The Nintendo Switch runs a proprietary operating system named Horizon, built on a microkernel architecture. Its user interface features tile-based access to games stored within the unit's storage devices or present in the game card slot. Quick access buttons provide a News feed from Nintendo, eShop access, and a photo album for screenshots captured during gameplay. A single Switch console supports up to eight user profiles, each tied to a Nintendo Account user ID. At launch, profiles could be represented by either a pre-made avatar from an internal gallery or by using a Mii. On the 28th of February 2022, Nintendo launched a Missions and Rewards system for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. This allowed them to complete missions set by the application to earn Platinum Points which can be spent on various icon parts from different Nintendo games and franchises. In September 2018, Nintendo introduced NES Controller style Joy-Con controllers alongside its classic games service. Wireless SNES Controllers were released in September 2019 when SNES games were added to the service. Wireless Nintendo 64 Controllers and Sega Genesis Control Pads were released in September 2021 as part of the Expansion Pack subscription tier. The Nintendo Switch Online mobile app allows access to voice chat for subscribers, though voice chat is not supported via the console itself. A separate app provides access to parental controls for the console. The Switch did not launch with any multimedia-oriented features such as a web browser or support for video streaming services. Niconico, a popular Japanese video service, launched for the Switch in Japan on the 13th of July 2017. Hulu was the first video streaming application released for the Switch in the United States on the 9th of November 2017.
One of the generally perceived failures of the Wii U was a lack of support from third-party developers, leading to a weak library of games. Nintendo was more aggressive in trying to bring on third-party developers early in the Switch's development. Takahashi and Koizumi reached out to many third-parties directly to help gain their support. Electronic Arts' executive Patrick Söderlund said that Nintendo had taken a different track with attracting third-party developers to the Switch. They engaged Electronic Arts and other major developers throughout the development of the Switch, listening to their input. Nintendo also began gaining support of independent video game developers in the middle of 2016. This effort was led by Nintendo's head of partner management Damon Baker. They tried to draw in indie developers near the end of the Wii U's lifetime but provided indie game demos highlighted during E3 2015. By this point, the Wii U had already been considered a failure. Nintendo saw games such as Snipperclips as a model of their target for indie games. Some developers like Yacht Club Games noted that some of the major innovations in the Switch were not revealed until just prior to the January 2017 announcement. Nintendo of America reached out to many independent developers including Chucklefish, Team17, and Devolver Digital. The company offers the Switch's dev kit at 50,000 yen, or about $450, far under the cost of comparable kits for other consoles. Nintendo anticipated having at least sixty indie games released through 2017 but ended up with over 320 games by the end of 2017.
The Switch became a major commercial success, shipping over 150 million units worldwide. It is the third-best selling console of all time behind the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS. It is also Nintendo's most successful home console to date, surpassing the Wii's 101.6 million units. In June 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nintendo was starting to move some production outside of China into Southeast Asia to limit the impact of new United States tariffs on electronics made in China. Bloomberg reported in November 2020 that Nintendo asked its assembly partners to boost production of the Switch by 20%. They raised their target goal of Switch sales for the 2020 fiscal year from 25 million units sold to 30 million units. These boosts were attributed to more demand mainly due to the success of Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 6th of July 2021, Nintendo officially announced the Nintendo Switch , OLED Model. A direct successor, the Nintendo Switch 2, which is backward compatible with most Switch games, was released on the 5th of June 2025. By February 2021, about four years from the console's release, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that the Switch is in the middle of its life cycle. In July 2024, the Switch became Nintendo's longest-running console without a replacement system, surpassing the seven-year period for the NES.
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Common questions
When was the Nintendo Switch officially released?
The Nintendo Switch was officially released on the 3rd of March 2017, in Japan, most English-speaking and Western markets, and in the United Arab Emirates. It launched with an MSRP of $299 in the United States, ¥29,980 in Japan, £279 in the United Kingdom, and AU$469 in Australia.
Who designed the Nintendo Switch console?
Shinya Takahashi and Yoshiaki Koizumi served as general manager and deputy general manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development Division respectively to explain the design approach for the Switch. The development within Nintendo was headed by younger employees under the leadership of these managers.
What is the operating system used by the Nintendo Switch?
The Nintendo Switch runs a proprietary operating system named Horizon built on a microkernel architecture. Its user interface features tile-based access to games stored within the unit's storage devices or present in the game card slot.
How many units of the Nintendo Switch have been sold worldwide?
The Switch became a major commercial success shipping over 150 million units worldwide. It is the third-best selling console of all time behind the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS and is also Nintendo's most successful home console to date surpassing the Wii's 101.6 million units.
When did the Nintendo Switch Lite launch?
The Nintendo Switch Lite launched on the 20th of September 2019, in three colors: yellow, grey, and turquoise. A special Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield branded version of the Switch Lite themed around Zacian and Zamazenta launched on the 8th of November 2019.