Nintendo’s newest console, Switch, was released on March 3rd. At the price of $300, the console has been a smash hit at stores. The console has two variants, a grey version and a neon blue and red version, and both are selling out at numerous GameStop stores. People are already being forced onto waiting lists for restocking, within only days of its initial release. Those who were lucky enough to snag one at the midnight releases or had them pre-ordered, continue to rave about the console.

This console is different than Nintendo’s previous large releases like the Wii and the Wii U because this system is both wireless and can be hooked up to a tv. Similar to the likes of their previous, smaller transportable systems, the Nintendo Switch has the capability of stationary systems but can be moved from place to place. Players can hook the Nintendo Switch up to the tv to play a few levels of a game, and then continue that game while sitting outside without having it hooked up to anything.

It comes with a lot of stuff. When players buy the console, it comes with several components to allow it to function properly. It comes with the console itself; a docking station for the console when players are using it at home on a television. It also comes with two Joy-Con controllers, one for the left hand side and one for the right; two wrist straps for the controllers; an accessory that allows you to grip the controls like a modern controller. Finally, the console comes with an AC adapter, to charge the console’s battery, and with a HDMI cable that is used to hook it up to televisions.

A new spin that Nintendo has taken on the new console has left the gaming community in a media frenzy. Almost every video game based media platform is talking about the game cartridges for the console. In an effort to try to reduce the number of pets and small children who choke or try to eat game cartridges, they coated the cartridges in a non-toxic chemical compound, Denatonium Benzoate,  to make them taste horrible.

This chemical compound is more commonly used to stop the habit of nail biting.. Ironically enough, in Nintendo’s attempt to lessen the chance of children ingesting the cartridges, they have increased the amount of adults trying them to see how bad it really tastes. There’s everything from articles to video challenges of people licking their game cartridges to discover how bitter the taste is. Don’t try this; it actually tastes horrible.

Regardless to this new idea on the prevention of children choking, many people are associating the console’s success to its main release, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While it was released on both Nintendo Switch and the Wii U, due to the flop of the Wii U, hardly anyone has a Wii U so the release was attributed by fans to the Switch instead. The game was also more commonly associated with the Nintendo Switch because both the game and the console came out on the same day.

The game’s success not only won its award of Most Anticipated Game in the 2016 Game Awards, but it has also gotten it hardly any negative reviews. Receiving near perfect scores from the Metacritic website with a score of 98%, and having perfect scores on both the IGN website, the Trusted Reviews website, and the Game Radar website. The game was also the best-selling launch title of a console that wasn’t included in the console’s bundle, out of any Nintendo console ever.

In the Americas and in Europe, the Nintendo Switch broke sales records within the first 2 days of its initial release. While in Japan, within the first three days of the console being out it had sold 330,637 units. Both the Switch and the new Zelda Breath of the Wild game are the most successful launches Nintendo has ever had since their start. For Nintendo, this big success was highly needed by them as a company. With critics and reviewers constantly bashing Nintendo for simply re-hashing the same old formulas, and the financial flop of the Wii U, the company needed a fresh way to show they are still relevant in the video game industry.

“The Switch is so much fun, it’s so nice to be able to play at home and on the go. I’m excited to play the new games Nintendo comes out with and to watch the community grow in in the future,” says sophomore Jillian Kolesar who attended the midnight release of the Switch on March 3rd.

With Nintendo having been following the basic formula from their games and not really branching out to try something new, as a fan it is good to see them starting to make a comeback. With a Zelda game that actually accomplishes the goal of feeling like the original Legend of Zelda, Nintendo is on the road to success. If Nintendo keeps following this trend, not only do I think fan numbers will increase but that the enjoyment current fans have will increase as well. I look forward to Nintendo’s future as a company and as an entertainment providers.