Nintendo's Next System Will Be Playable at Home or on the Go

Nintendo Co.'s next videogame platform is a console-handheld hybrid called "Switch," the company announced in a video clip Thursday morning.

Previously code-named "NX," Nintendo had kept fans and investors in the dark about the machine since first mentioning it was under development in March 2015.

"The mobility of a hand-held is now added to the power of a home gaming system to enable unprecedented new videogame play styles," Nintendo said in a brief description of the clip posted to its website and Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube.

The Kyoto-based company noted dozens of publishers and others supporting Switch, including industry heavyweights such as Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.

The new hardware will go on sale in March 2017, Nintendo has said. On Thursday it said a list of launch-window titles, game demonstrations and details—including the machine's price—will be revealed before then.

The company's success will hinge on how well it can communicate with consumers, as a poor rollout doomed its predecessor, the Wii U, in 2012. Consumers have bought only 13 million Wii U consoles as of June, while Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 4 has sold more than 43 million units despite having launched about a year later. Another flop would put pressure on Nintendo to focus on making games for rival platforms, analysts say.

In introducing a platform playable both at home and on the go, Nintendo is playing to its strength in the hand-held market. It has sold 154 million DS machines as of June, more than its top-selling system for the home, the Wii. Still, consumers last year spent just $3.3 billion on games for hand-held consoles such as Nintendo's 3DS, compared with $26 billion on mobile game apps, according to research firm IHS.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 20, 2016 11:45 ET (15:45 GMT)

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