Nintendo Switch launches on March 3, will cost $299.99 in North America

Here's when you can get Nintendo's console/handheld hybrid from digital and brick-and-mortar retailers.

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After releasing a teaser in October stating that its Nintendo Switch system would launch in March of this year, Nintendo provided a firm release date at tonight's presentation. On March 3, the console/handheld hybrid will be available to purchase in stores worldwide.

The system will retail for $299.99 in the United States, 29,980 yen in Japan, and will vary from location to location in Europe.

Nintendo also gave an overview of the myriad ways you can use Switch, and the contents of its two SKUs: one contains gray Joy-Cons, the other splashes the controller peripherals in neon blue and red.

You can pre-order the title now at Best Buy.

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

From The Chatty
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    January 12, 2017 8:04 PM

    David Craddock posted a new article, Nintendo Switch launches on March 3, will cost $299.99 in North America

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      January 12, 2017 8:06 PM

      Ouch. Guess I'll reconsider.

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      January 12, 2017 8:06 PM

      Whaaaaaat. So that's like....$350+ in Canada?

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      January 12, 2017 8:52 PM

      Post title says March 3rd. Post content says March 17th.

      Guys...?

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      January 13, 2017 7:40 AM

      I think that $299 feels a bit over priced when you consider that the Nvidia Shield which shares similar hardware is $100 dollars cheaper. I can get over that because its Nintendo but come on its 2017 and your going to release a console with only 32GB base memory. You need at least 128 or 250GB if you want to see any kind of AAA ports on it. It will be a great sequel to the 3DS or 2DS but its going to be floating between the PS3/360 and XB1/PS4 like the Wii U currently is.

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        January 13, 2017 8:55 AM

        I'm betting it's the controllers. Those things seem like they are pretty expensive.

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          January 13, 2017 8:59 AM

          And 2x for the internals since they're split.

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            January 13, 2017 9:00 AM

            Yeah, I was kind of wondering why they were making a big deal about "two controllers," but now that I think about it, it's a total value proposition thing to justify the higher cost.

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          January 13, 2017 9:41 AM

          A piece of me wishes they didn't jam so much technology in the controllers so they'd be cheaper. But time will tell if they're gimmicks or if I'll appreciate them. The camera stuff is interesting.

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        January 13, 2017 8:58 AM

        It takes SD cards. Just buy a 128GB. Cheaper than letting Nintendo sell you a whole other SKU for 350+.

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          January 13, 2017 9:10 AM

          The 3ds lists the more expensive sd cards as compatible, but the cheaper ones work fine when formatted. For the 3ds, I think it's a licensing issue, and not a physical limitation.

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          January 13, 2017 9:13 AM

          True, but developers for digital games will have hard limits because of the base size. You can't make assumptions that the console owners will have an sd card or storage greater than 32g.

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        January 13, 2017 2:27 PM

        Agreed. That's why I was thinking a $200 to $250 range. Hell the Shield may actually still be a higher spec system too. Still waiting for solid hardware specs on this thing, but the $300 is a big turn off for me.

        IMO they should gamble and focus on moving hardware units even if at cost or a slight loss. Nintendo games are largely a guaranteed sell, but if the switch sales are low then third party won't give it the time of day, and we will have another Wii U situation.

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      January 13, 2017 8:57 AM

      It's like my other Nintendo systems. It's my "OTHER" gaming console.
      The presentation was complete ass.
      And I have some questions unanswered, such as "is their a unified account?:
      What happened to all those digital games I bought for the WiiU?

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        January 13, 2017 9:11 AM

        [deleted]

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        January 13, 2017 9:45 AM

        The Switch has not made any claims about backward compatibility that I've seen so if you want to play Wii-U games, you better hang onto the Wii-U for now.

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      January 13, 2017 8:57 AM

      Was that rumor/jpg true about how there will be game specific controllers you can pop in there? I haven't kept up with this thing at all.

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        January 13, 2017 8:59 AM

        They haven't shown anything like that yet. It still could be true down the line.

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      January 13, 2017 9:53 AM

      I was never expecting lower than $300. Hell, i'm surprised that it's $300. Was expecting around $400. It's just really hard to make a portable system like a tablet portable, have a decent resolution screen, good graphics, and decent battery life while making it cheap, once you consider stuff like cooling.

      That said, I have a preorder in, but I may cancel it if they don't announce more launch titles. Zelda is awesome, but I already have a Wii U that I could use to play that.

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        January 13, 2017 10:09 AM

        I bet the price for the actual tablet is $200. It seems they crammed enough stuff into the joy cons that those actually cost a good bit. The preorder for two more joy cons are currently $79.99

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        January 13, 2017 10:58 AM

        Apple's margins on iPads are around 45-60% depending on the time and model. And unlike previous efforts Nintendo appears to be using much more standardized internals than custom bits. $400 was never on the table.

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      January 13, 2017 10:56 AM

      hahah, lol, it's like the Atari Lynx 2.0.

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