History Platform / NintendoSwitch

Oddly enough, while the popularity of the Switch would [[FollowTheLeader inspire similar products]], it didn't come in the form of their competitors in the console space, who have since settled into their own comfortable niches. Instead, the Switch (as well as Creator/{{Valve}}'s Steam Deck and [=ASUS's ROG=] Ally) resulted in the resurgence of the handheld [=PC=] market and its restructure into offering devices that act as alternatives to gaming laptops.

Oddly enough, while the popularity of the Switch would [[FollowTheLeader inspire similar products]], it didn't come in the form of their competitors in the console space, who have since settled into their own comfortable niches. Instead, the Switch (as well as Creator/{{Valve}}'s Steam Deck) resulted in the resurgence of the handheld [=PC=] market and its restructure into offering devices that act as alternatives to gaming laptops.

Regardless of these struggles, the Switch became an overnight success, selling 2.74 million units by the end of its first month [[HesBack (making it the best launch for any Nintendo system to-date)]]. The console would outsell the Wii U's entire lifetime in less than a year, followed by the [=GameCube=] and Nintendo 64 the following year, the SNES in its third year, and the NES in its fourth. Nintendo themselves predicted before the system's launch that the Switch could sell as much as the Wii by the end of its life cycle, and the Switch did just that in its fifth year. As of March 2023, the Switch has sold 141.32 million units, making it the third highest selling console of all time behind the Platform/NintendoDS and Platform/PlayStation2. This overwhelming success carried over to their software, with nearly every Nintendo franchise that made an appearance on the system undergoing a giant NewbieBoom as they broke franchise records; ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', and ''VideoGame/MarioKart8 Deluxe'' in particular would not only surpass the sales of past entries to become the best-selling games of their respective franchises by ridiculous margins, but also become among the Top 20 best-selling games of all-time, while games like ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' and ''[[VideoGame/Splatoon3 3]]'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3 3]]'', and ''VideoGame/Pikmin4'' all became the best-selling entries in their respective franchises.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wildfrost}}''

* ''{{VideoGame/Beeny}}''

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsThroughDaybreak II -CRIMSON [=SiN=]-''

* ''Anime/PrettyCure''

* ''VideoGame/{{Shelter|2013}}'' Generations''

* ''VideoGame/SilverFalls:''

** ''VideoGame/SonicXShadowGenerations''

Regardless of these struggles, the Switch became an overnight success, selling 2.74 million units by the end of its first month [[HesBack (making it the best launch for any Nintendo system to-date)]]. The console would outsell the Wii U's entire lifetime in less than a year, followed by the [=GameCube=] and Nintendo 64 the following year, the SNES in its third year, and the NES in its fourth. Nintendo themselves predicted before the system's launch that the Switch could sell as much as the Wii by the end of its life cycle, and the Switch did just that in its fifth year. As of December 2023, the Switch has sold 139 million units, making it the third highest selling console of all time behind the Platform/NintendoDS and Platform/PlayStation2. This overwhelming success carried over to their software, with nearly every Nintendo franchise that made an appearance on the system undergoing a giant NewbieBoom as they broke franchise records; ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', and ''VideoGame/MarioKart8 Deluxe'' in particular would not only surpass the sales of past entries to become the best-selling games of their respective franchises by ridiculous margins, but also become among the Top 20 best-selling games of all-time, while games like ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' and ''[[VideoGame/Splatoon3 3]]'', ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' and ''[[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3 3]]'', and ''VideoGame/Pikmin4'' all became the best-selling entries in their respective franchises.

One year after release Nintendo, would try to increase that success by innovating the system even further with ''VideoGame/NintendoLabo'', a series of DIY development kits for the Switch that consists of gaming software and cardboard cutouts that can be assembled into accessories called Toy-Cons. Releasing on April 20, 2018, the first sets were released: the "Variety Kit" and the "Robot Kit". The "Vehicle Kit" would be released in September and Labo "VR Kit" the following April.

Oddly enough, while the Switch would [[FollowTheLeader inspire similar products]], it didn't come in the form of their competitors in the console space, who have since settled into their own comfortable niches. Instead, the Switch's general form factor would arguably aid in the resurgence of the handheld [=PC=] market, with it and Creator/{{Valve}}'s Steam Deck leading to the creation of similar devices that act as alternatives to gaming laptops.

Oddly enough, while the Switch would [[FollowTheLeader inspire similar products]], it didn't come in the form of their competitors in the console space, who have since settled into their own comfortable niches. Instead, the Switch would cause a boom in the PC gaming market of all places, with the growth of the handheld gaming [=PCs=] that are intended to create the same "home gaming to-go" experience. Platform/{{Steam}} is the most notable competitor, with their Steam Deck supporting the platform's impressive lineup of games, but other PC hardware companies -- such as Lenovo with their Legion or ASUS with the ROG Ally -- aren't too far behind.

Like the DS and [=3DS=], the Switch stores physical copies of games on Game Cards, a proprietary type of ROM cartridge based on the SD Card (flash memory) format; continuing a tradition for handhelds, but breaking the three-generation streak of Nintendo's home consoles storing games on optical discs. As a result, the Switch is technically the first cartridge-based home console since the Platform/Nintendo64 twenty-one years prior. It is also the first Nintendo home console system to be [[UsefulNotes/RegionCoding region-free]], something Nintendo themselves noted during the Switch's launch presentation.

The Switch has another first in the form of introducing Nintendo's first paid online infrastructure. After online play being free for the first year-and-a-half of the console's life, Nintendo Switch Online was introduced in September 2018. For only US$20 a year (or US$35 for up to eight users via family membership), you can gain access to online play, cloud saves, exclusive games and avatars, and a downloadable library of NES and SNES titles playable via UsefulNotes/{{emulation}}. A higher paid tier known as the "Expansion Pack" was released in October 2021 where, for $50 a year ($80 for a family plan), users get additional access to Platform/Nintendo64 and Platform/SegaGenesis games, as well as the paid DLC of select games such as ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'' and ''VideoGame/MarioKart8Deluxe'' for no extra charge. Finally, subscribing to NSO also gives access to exclusive items on Nintendo's online store, mainly wireless Bluetooth controllers for the individual retro systems granted by the service. In February 2023, Platform/GameBoy and Platform/GameBoyColor titles were made available to all subscribers while Platform/GameBoyAdvance titles were made exclusive to the "Expansion Pack" tier.

** '''[[UsefulNotes/GraphicsProcessingUnit GPU]]''': Second-generation NVIDIA Maxwell with some ISA/CG backported from Pascal [[note]]mostly via customized firmware, possible because Pascal itself at a silicon level is but a die-shrink of Maxwell with a HBM memory controller instead of a GDDR one, it's the new firmware that makes Pascal more efficient[[/note]], 256 CUDA cores, runs at 768MHz in console mode or 307.2MHz in handheld and tabletop modes. Can reclock its speed on the fly as the device switches between console and handheld/tabletop modes. Games can also force the GPU run at 768MHz.

* The Switch retains the UsefulNotes/{{Mii}}s introduced all the way back on the Wii and introduces new customization features. However they seem to be heavily DemotedToExtra - rather than being available forefront in the main menu, their tab is tucked in the back in the Settings menu, and there's no connectivity with Miis from the Wii U or the 3DS. The only way to transfer an old Mii is by having one stored on an amiibo figure.

** ''Move It!''

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel''