With Switch, Nintendo blurs the line between console and mobile gaming

The best thing about Nintendo's new game console, Switch, that releases Friday (March 3) is that it delivers on the promise of being able to play games on your television one moment and on the bus the next.

This week, I lived the television commercial the company is running to promote Switch, priced at $399 in Canada. I was playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (more on that next week) in my office but had to get to the airport for a trip east.

I paused the game, slid the device out of its dock, and picked up again on the SkyTrain, then played some more on the airplane. The 6.2-inch screen, which supports multi-touch, is vibrant and responsive, and I used the Joy-Con controllers attached to the sides of the Switch itself. And although the Switch isn't delivering 4K HDR video to my television, it does give me a satisfying living-room gaming experience.

It's difficult to look at and use the Switch without considering the Wii-U, Nintendo's last console, which included a tablet controller but was not truly portable because it had to stay within range of the unit's main hardware.

The Switch feels like what Nintendo really wanted the Wii-U to be: a device that lets gamers really play when and where they want.

Up to eight systems can connect locally for multiplayer gaming, which enables some fun and interesting experiences. But much of the online multiplayer and online services that Nintendo promises are coming to the system are not yet active.

The Joy-Con controllers are equipped with motion-sensing, and each can be used independently as standalone controllers. They can also be used divided, with one in each hand, or together while attached to the Switch or to an included grip that turns them into a game controller.

But the Joy-Con, which require charging, cannot charge on their own, or even while attached to the grip. They can only charge while connected to the Switch unit, or if you choose to buy a Charging Grip for $40 that is exactly the same as the one that comes with the Switch except that it can also charge the Joy-Con.

If you want any other peripherals, they are pricey.

A Pro Controller, a true game controller, is $90, and additional Joy-Con controllers are $100 a pair (or $65 each when purchased alone).

Whether or not you need the Switch depends entirely on your connection to Nintendo and its history. If you really want to experience the new Zelda game in all its breathtaking glory, the Switch is the best way to do that (the game is also available for Wii-U).

Other Nintendo franchises are also coming to the Switch in the near future, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (a port of the Wii-U game coming in April), Splatoon 2 (this summer), and Mario (Super Mario Odyssey is scheduled for this Christmas).

But the ultimate success of the Switch will depend not on its portability or its peripherals. It will depend on the game experiences that the system supports. The Wii-U suffered because despite some interesting functionality, there only ended up being a couple of games to play on it. The Switch, too, will become a footnote as a device that once showed promise unless the amazing experiences that it enables actually come to fruition.