GamesBeat weekly roundup: Nintendo shows off the Switch

Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! Nintendo revealed the launch date and price for its Switch console and showed off games like Super Mario Odyssey and Arms. Also, the PlayStation 4 beat the Xbox One in December, and King released a new puzzle game for mobile and Facebook.

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!

Pieces of flair and opinion

• The DeanBeat: Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers are full of surprises
• Nintendo Switch draws mixed reactions from analysts
• Nintendo’s Switch presentation explained in GIFs
• Nintendo Switch Presentation trailer roundup: Zelda, Mario Odyssey, and more
• GamesBeat’s Switch wishes: What we want to see from Nintendo’s livestreams
• The tantalizing promise of augmented reality games
• How game hardware inspires PC design at Dell
• Top 5 dormant Nintendo franchises that should return on Switch? GamesBeat Decides
• Dragon Ball gaming trivia: Learn Goku and Vegeta’s death battle and Majin Buu’s babies
• How Oasis Games is creating a console beachhead for Chinese game makers

Above: Switch uses media similar to the 3DS.

Image Credit: Nintendo

News

• Nintendo Switch peripherals are pretty expensive
• Here’s the available specs on the Nintendo Switch hardware
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will launch with the Nintendo Switch on March 3
• FIFA and EA are coming to Switch
• Nintendo partners with Suda 51, Bethesda, Square Enix, and more for third-party Switch games
• Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be on the Nintendo Switch
• New Shin Megami Tensei role-playing game is coming to Nintendo Switch
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is the first big Japanese role-playing game for the Nintendo Switch
• Super Mario Odyssey is coming to the Switch this holiday
• Nintendo Switch gets an offbeat boxing game: Arms
• Splatoon 2 is coming to Nintendo Switch
• Nintendo Switch has high-tech Joy-Con controllers with motion detection camera
• Nintendo Switch battery life: 2.5 hours to 6 hours
• Nintendo will charge for a premium online service that you control from your phone
• Nintendo Switch releases on March 3 for $300
• PlayStation 4 was the top-selling home console in December in the United States
• Blizzard bans 10,000 Overwatch ‘nuking’ cheaters in South Korea
• Game developers are optimistic about Nintendo Switch sales
• WWE 2K17 slams its way to the PC on February 7
• Microsoft and 343 Industries vet joins Twitch
• New York’s Nintendo Store will begin taking preorders for its upcoming Switch system on Friday
• How Restream.io is freeing live video content from YouTube and Twitch
• Rocket League cements itself as an indie sensation with 25 million registered players
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day fulfills “I’ll be back” promise … with casino games
• Xbox One gets new backward compatible games: Dragon Age, Battlefield, and more
• Hearthstone hears you: Designers will answer fan questions in January 13 stream
• Gears of War 4 gets 2 classic maps from the franchise’s past
• Ubisoft will test For Honor in closed beta on January 26
• Triseum starts pilot test for Variant: Limits calculus game
• TwitchCon 2017 is slated for October 20 in Long Beach
• Lionsgate and Michael Milken invest in esports team The Immortals
• Roblox launches toys based on its user-generated games
• Azubu acquires Europe’s Hitbox to expand global esports broadcasts
• Why Deep Silver brought Killing Floor 2 to PlayStation 4 exclusively at GameStop
• Razer confirms 2 prototype laptops stolen from CES
• Microsoft confirms Platinum Games’ Scalebound is canceled
• Hearthstone’s Winter Championship will fly south to the Bahamas — with a $250,000 prize purse

Above: Bubble Witch Saga 2 isn’t enough for King.

Image Credit: King

Mobile and social

• Star Wars: Force Arena’s — Netmarble’s Clash Royale-like — is available now on iOS and Android
• North Americans are far more likely to spend in mobile games than Europeans and Asians
• Talking Tom creator Outfit7 launches My Talking Hank game
• Google launches Toontastic 3D cartoon-making app following Launchpad Toys acquisition
• Konami’s mobile push continues with Hearthstone competitor Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links coming West
• Bubble Witch 3 Saga launches for mobile and Facebook
• Dragon’s Watch remixes the mobile role-playing game style of Asia for the West
• Covet Fashion mobile game adopts diverse female body shapes for its models

Previews, reviews, and interviews

• Gravity Rush 2’s giant world of wonder makes it one of the PS4’s best exclusives
• Arms has Switch players fighting with their actual fists
• Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang dives deep into gaming, VR, autonomous cars, and Shield TV
• Razer’s Project Valerie gives you three 17-inch screens on a crazy gaming laptop
• Razer’s Ariana projects game images that cover your whole wall