Nintendo has finally released some real information about the online services for the Switch.
This paid service lets Nintendo Switch owners enjoy online multiplayer gaming as well as a dedicated smartphone app that connects to your Nintendo Switch system and helps you connect with friends for online play sessions.
Free until 2018
Online Play on Nintendo Switch
You’ll be able to play compatible co-op and competitive games online by signing in with your Nintendo Account. Online play will be free for Nintendo Account holders until our paid online service launches in 2018.
After the free-trial period, most games will require a paid online service subscription from Nintendo in order to play online.
Online lobby and voice chat
Our new dedicated smart device app will connect to Nintendo Switch and let you invite friends to play online, set play appointments, and chat with friends during online matches in compatible games─all from your smart device.
A free, limited version of this app will be available for download in summer 2017.
Classic Game Selection
Subscribers will get to download a compilation of classic titles with added online play, such as Super Mario Bros. 3, Balloon Fight and Dr. Mario.
Nintendo eShop deals
Special offers for subscribers may include discounts on select digital games and content.
Pricing:
1 month
3 months
12 months
$3.99
$7.99
$19.99
Enjoy online services for free until the paid service’s official launch in 2018.
If anyone is interested I made a Google Calendar with some of the upcoming Switch game release dates, and I also just updated it with all the E3 presentation schedules, just PM me your email or hit me up on Steam/IRC.
Hailed by both critics and audiences as one of the most ambitious video games Nintendo has ever produced, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game has earned universal acclaim. The massive open-air adventure will soon receive even more engaging content with the Expansion Pass, composed of two planned DLC packs for both the Nintendo Switch and Wii U versions. The first pack, called The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The Master Trials, launches this summer, while the second DLC pack launches in holiday 2017. The two packs are only available as a bundle for a price of $19.99. The first pack of downloadable content will add the Trial of the Sword and a challenging new Hard Mode to the game, as well as other fun and useful features. “Whether you have already completed the adventure or are just getting ready to paraglide into Hyrule for the first time, this new downloadable Expansion Pass makes this massive game even bigger and more engrossing,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We are always looking for new ways to provide fun and exciting experiences for our fans.” Here is a breakdown of everything The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – The Master Trials has to offer: Trial of the Sword: By accessing this location, players can challenge the new Trial of the Sword (previously known as “Cave of Trials Challenge”), where enemies appear one after another. Link starts without any armor or weapons, and if he defeats all of the enemies in the room he can proceed to the next area. Trial of the Sword will include around 45 total rooms for players to complete. When Link clears all of the trials, the true power of the Master Sword will awaken and always be in its glowing powered-up state. Hard Mode: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is already considered one of the most thrilling games in The Legend of Zelda series, and fans looking for a challenge are in for a treat with the new Hard Mode. In Hard Mode, the “ranks” of enemies in the game are increased (i.e. Red Bokoblins change to Blue), and players might even encounter higher-ranking enemies they wouldn’t find through normal play. Enemies will also slowly recover health in battle, forcing you to defeat them more quickly. They will also more easily spot Link as he approaches them, making these enemies tougher to sneak up on. In addition, floating planks held aloft by balloons will be scattered around Hyrule. By successfully reaching these planks, players can battle enemies and collect treasure. Hero’s Path Mode: Exploring Hyrule is exciting, but with such a large world it’s sometimes hard for players to remember where they’ve been. To help with tracking progress, the new Hero’s Path Mode will document every step players take, and mark their path in green on the map. The route taken will be tracked for the player’s last 200 hours of play time, with an included slider to track footsteps on a timeline. This even works retroactively, so players that have already put many hours into the game will be able to see where they have traveled. This feature will help in identifying the locations they haven’t visited in this vast world, and may help players find those Shrines they haven’t encountered yet. Travel Medallion: There will be a new treasure chest somewhere in the game world which contains the Travel Medallion. With the Travel Medallion, players can create a temporary new travel point on the map where they are currently standing. Link can then transport himself to that point at any time. Only one travel point can be registered on the map at a time. Korok Mask: By finding the new Korok Mask, players will have a much easier time finding Korok locations in the game. When equipped, the mask will shake, indicating that a Korok is hidden somewhere nearby. New Equipment: Eight new pieces of equipment inspired by previous characters and games in the series will be added to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild after downloading the first DLC pack. Once discovered by the player, they will yield equipment themed after fan-favorite games and characters such as Midna, Tingle, Phantom and Majora’s Mask. More information about the second DLC pack will be revealed in the future. All DLC is available for both the Nintendo Switch and Wii U versions of the game. Starting today, players will be able to experience the game in one of nine audio languages [Japanese, English, French (France), French (Canada), German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Italian and Russian], with a different language used for on-screen text by downloading a free software update. To enable this feature in the Wii U version of the game, players will need to download a Voice Pack from Nintendo eShop.
How to spawn the three dragons: Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh.
Recommended gear:
Flamebreaker Armor Set**
Snowquill Armor Set**
Zora Armor Set**
Thunder Helm or Rubber Armor Set**
** indicates the armor has been upgraded twice by the Great Fairy to gain the set bonuses Fireproof, Unfreezable, Swim Dash Stamina, and Electric proof.
PLEASE NOTE: No matter which of the dragons and armor sets you are wearing to get the immunity to the projectiles they spawn around them, if you glide into the dragon's body you will catch fire, freeze, or get zapped.
The dragons spawn shards that have various effects when mixed with elixirs and are used to upgrade several armor sets and can also be sold for high amounts of Rupees/Mon.
The item you get from the dragons depends on the area you shoot them with an arrow. You can only get ONE item per encounter so if you miss or need multiples you will need to start the cycle again.
Item
Body Part to Shoot
Shard of ( ) Scale
Body
Shard of ( ) Claw
Foot
Shard of ( ) Fang
Mouth
Shard of ( ) Horn
Horn/Crest (above the eyes at the top of the head)
After getting the item that Dinraal drops in the canyon immediately swap to your Snowquill armor set and warp to the Spring of Wisdom (Jitan Sa'mi Shrine) at the Top of Mt. Lanayru.
Run out of the door and to the left, climbing over a boulder or two to get to the trail that leads up the mountain.
Follow the trail up (noted by white line in screenshot) until you see the second cluster of ice spires on your right. 1st cluster:
2nd cluster:
Climb this and jump off to glide down the mountain. About 1/3 of the way down the mountain you will see a large ice spire sticking up as you descend (light green line).
Land on this and turn around to look at the top of the mountain.
The music will change and you should see the giant blue dragon flying up the left side of the screen to the top of the mountain.
Climb as far back up (following the dark green line) as you can, the dragon will circle the top of the mountain once before descending down the right (towards the Lanayru Road to the west) side, so you have a little time.
Then glide off the side of the mountain towards Naydra's flight path on the south side of the mountain.
This is the hardest dragon to farm as the shards fly very far away and you must glide to the location to gather them.
The good news is if you glide near the dragon you can drop and glide again to catch her updraft multiple times to fly further.
Once you catch up to the item that spawns from Naydra swap to the Zora armor set and warp to the Shai Utoh Shrine directly behind the Lakeside Stable in the Faron region.
The release of the Switch is fast approaching. Here is my final update before March 3rd (unless something very important comes up) with some information I think is good to know.
According to an article from ArsTechnica: after eight hours in "sleep," a fully charged battery had only drained to 98 percent. I'd say that's pretty damn good. If you were wondering just how long your Switch can stay in sleep mode when undocked, I think you have your answer.
JOY-CONS WILL CHARGE ON SWITCH EVEN WHEN THE SYSTEM ISN'T PLUGGED IN, AS LONG AS THE BATTERY IS FULL ENOUGH. So as long as you get in the habit of slotting the Joy-Cons back into the Switch when you're done playing, you shouldn't ever have to worry about Joy-Cons dying on you. If you take the Switch on the go a lot, make sure you plug it in when you get home!
SWITCH DOES SUPPORT USB BATTERY PACKS FOR CHARGING ON THE GO.
The DigitalFoundry gang has confirmed the use of USB battery packs to charge your Switch on the go. If you're really worried about the amount of time the battery gives you on the go, you can grab one of these USB C battery packs and worry a lot less!
As for the battery life itself a reviewer has provided some valuable information: - played Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for 2 hours and 39 minutes until a battery warning popped up - the battery was at 1% when the warning popped up - you could get another 9 minutes of playtime before the Switch entered sleep mode - the default brightness setting was used - the Switch needed four minutes of charging time before it could be turned on again - after one hour of charging, the system’s battery power was at 45% - it took 2 hours and 11 minutes to charge the battery to 90% - it took 3 hours and 4 minutes until the battery was at 100%
Here are a couple of size comparisons of the Switch and Joycons to a GBA SP:
Also please keep in mind that the Joycon controller grip that converts the individual Joycons to a more traditional style controller DOES NOT charge the Joycons.
If you're worried about accidentally snapping the kickstand off, here's something to calm your fears. The kickstand is made to snap off, so you should be able to pop it back in with no issues as shown in the video below:
Last but not least, many GameStop locations are doing a midnight release of the switch.
We can finally say with certainty that the 6.2 inch touchscreen of the tablet will offer 720p resolution while the video output when docked is 1920 x 1080 and 60 frames per second.
Good news for anyone lamenting the loss of the headphone jack in their new smartphone – Nintendo is keeping it going here. Like the latest smartphones, though, the console’s 4310 mAh battery can’t be removed and any replacements will have to go through Nintendo. With this battery Nintendo say you can expect to get more than 6 hours of play on the move. That said, this is dependent on software and usage conditions so if you’re playing a game that’s more demanding like the new Legend of Zelda title, Nintendo say you can expect to get around 3 hours out of a single charge. Fully re-charging from empty will apparently take around 3 hours when the console’s in sleep mode.
Joy-cons have a battery life of around 20 hours.
It supports Wireless AC, the current standard. (Which is very fast)
There’s also good news on the expanded memory front; the console will support micro SD and SDHC cards as well as the previously confirmed SDXC cards which gives plenty of options.