It’s almost here, Nintendo’s next big console release, the Switch, will be launching on March 3, 2017. Looking back at its development, there’s one key figure that was responsible for crafting the console into what it truly is today and that’s former late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
Famed Nintendo developer, Shigeru Miyamoto, recently spoke with the publication Time in which the former president was brought up in conversation. It can be easy to forget about the development process with consoles so it’s interesting to hear how the Nintendo Switch was crafted.
Before the Nintendo Switch had an official name the console went by the Nintendo NX and according to Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata was the head of development when it came to the Nintendo Switch. One of the biggest features that the former Nintendo president was responsible for was the ability to take the console and enjoy video games anywhere. Likewise, being that Iwata was tech-savvy, there was always discussions on how to make network capabilities and servers fun.
“I mentioned that Mr. Iwata, Mr. Takeda and myself provided feedback and made decisions, but ultimately Mr. Iwata was the head of development, so he put a lot of thought and time into Switch. I think that the idea of Nintendo Switch being a device you can take out and anywhere, and the idea of it being a system that really allows networking and communicating with people, I think that’s something Mr. Iwata put a lot of emphasis on.
Because Mr. Iwata was tech-savvy, a lot of our discussion involved trying to figure out how to make the technical things like network capabilities or servers or whatever fun. For example, think about when we added the ability to use a browser on the DS.
As time goes on, all of these services become more and more advanced, and so we need to think about “How do we incorporate mobile devices or new browser features that come up?” That’s something Mr. Iwata and I discussed a lot, really trying to decide what to do and what not to do in our hardware.”
One of the issues right out of the gate that gamers may have trouble with is actually the ability to enjoy video games anywhere. Without taking consideration of the battery issues this console may be faced, the console was announced to not include a web browser at launch. This ultimately means that certain public hotspots to connect online will be inaccessible due to the requirement of agreeing to terms and conditions via the device’s web browser.
