There's a lot going on in this image! Here's a breakdown:
Top, far left: This is the Nintendo Switch itself, in home console form. The tablet-like portable bit is dropped into the "Nintendo Switch Dock" like bread into a toaster. The dock connects to your TV, so you can play the same games on-the-go and at home. Nintendo says the Switch is a home console, "first and foremost."
Top, middle: As you see in the image here, a woman is playing an unannounced Super Mario game. She's holding a traditional gamepad, and playing the game on her television. With Nintendo Switch, the Japanese game company is making a push toward more traditional video game consoles.
Top, far right: That said, you can take Nintendo Switch with you anywhere. The portable game console you see in this image is just the tablet-like bit seen in the first image, but removed from the Nintendo Switch Dock. It's also got controllers snapped onto each side, making it into a portable handheld game console.
Bottom, far left: No game discs here! The Nintendo Switch uses cartridges, similar to those used with Nintendo's 3DS handheld. It's likely that Nintendo Switch also has an online service for buying and downloading games digitally, but Nintendo hasn't announced as much yet. It's also not clear how much internal storage is in the Nintendo Switch handheld (or if there is any in the Nintendo Switch Dock).
Bottom: middle: Nintendo envisions a future where you'll bring your Nintendo Switch with you, set it down on a table, and play multiplayer with friends. Given that the screen looks to be in the seven inch range, and that the controllers are incredibly small, we're betting this won't be a much-used feature. Still! It's pretty neat that you could set it up somewhere and challenge a friend to, say, a match in the latest Mario Kart.
Bottom, far right: These are the aforementioned small controllers. These snap onto the sides of the Switch screen, turning it into a portable console. They can also be used individually, or snapped onto a controller at home for a more traditional experience. Nintendo's calling them "Joy-Con" — like joystick and controller, all at once.
Here's a good look at the portable version of Nintendo Switch:
As you see above, the Joy-Con slide onto the sides of the screen, turning it into a portable handheld game console. Each controller has a thumbstick and four main buttons. They can be used with the screen, detached from the screen, or at home with the Nintendo Switch Dock.
Here's a good look at the Nintendo Switch Dock and the "Joy-Con Grip" gamepad:
We're betting that what you see above is exactly what'll come in the box when Nintendo Switch arrives in March 2017: the Nintendo Switch Dock, the tablet-like console, and a home gamepad with the detachable Joy-Con in-tow. Notably, the controller is actually called the "Joy-Con Grip" — since you can detach each side of the Joy-Con bits and attach them to the Switch tablet, the Grip acts as a means of turning the Joy-Con into a more traditional gamepad.
Here's a look at the Joy-Con Grip gamepad being used. It looks a bit unwieldy, but certainly workable.
The Joy-Con Grip gamepad has two offset analog sticks, and four buttons on each side. There are also shoulder buttons, and triggers on each side — the standard gamepad setup nowadays, more or less.
But perhaps you'd prefer something more traditional? Nintendo's also got a standard gamepad:
This is the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Nintendo's been making the Pro line of gamepads since the original Wii — a way for people to play Nintendo games with a relatively standard gamepad. The Nintendo Switch is no exception: this generation's iteration of the Pro controller looks an awful lot like an Xbox One gamepad. The thumbsticks are concave and offset, and there are four face buttons on the right side.
Don't expect this guy to ship with the Nintendo Switch next March — it's almost certainly going to be sold separately.
Another barrage of photos! There's a lot to glean from this one as well!
Top, far left: One example Nintendo gives of how the Switch can be used is in the car, on-the-go. In this instance, someone has purchased a Switch mount; then, the Joy-Cons are detached and used as two individual gamepads. If they look tiny, that's because they're hilariously tiny. While it looks like a lot of fun to play a new "Mario Kart" game in a car, we're betting most folks will either play alone or wait until they get home (where there are normal-sized gamepads).
Top, middle: Here's a closer look at the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. It's a pretty standard gamepad. It's not clear if you can use it without the Nintendo Switch Dock — could one of the "Mario Kart" contestants above be using one instead of the tiny gamepads in the example? Perhaps, but who wants to carry a gamepad everywhere?
Top, far right: Nintendo smartly built a kickstand into the read of the Switch tablet. The company envisions this being used for multiplayer gaming and in-flight gameplay — we envision it as an easy way to watch a movie on the Switch. Nintendo hasn't confirmed Switch as a multimedia device, but we'd be shocked if it weren't capable of as much.
Bottom, far left: As seen here, the Joy-Con Grip comes together via slidable attachments. Each side of the Joy-Con gets attached to the Grip by sliding it on. We're anxious to see how this works in practice — the last thing anyone wants is a bunch of hardware rattling around in a bag.
Bottom: middle: Though Nintendo Switch assuredly has an online infrastructure for multiplayer gaming, you can play with friends locally, wirelessly. This kind of local multiplayer is a standard on Nintendo's handheld consoles, so it's a no-brainer to bring it to the Switch.
Bottom, far right: When you're done living life out loud, playing games outside, simply plop the Switch tablet into the Switch Dock and it becomes a home console instantly. You can even leave the Joy-Con attached to the tablet and use the Pro controller.
What about games? There are games!
Nintendo's only shown one video of the Switch in action. In it, people play a new 3D "Super Mario" game, a new "Mario Kart" game, an unnamed basketball game that looks suspiciously like the NBA 2K series, and Bethesda Game Studios' 2011 masterpiece "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" (a remastered version of "Skyrim" is launching this year on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One — this is very likely that version).
Here's that "Mario Kart" game we were talking about:
You can tell that it isn't "Mario Kart 8" for Wii U because Boo isn't in that game. Also, there's no item switching in "MK8." We're gonna take a wild guess right now that this game is called "Mario Kart Switch." $10! Right now! On the table!
Nintendo is introducing a new online service with the Switch, which will be free at first and become a paid service down the line.
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima briefly announced on Thursday evening that Nintendo is introducing a more fully-featured online service. The service will be free for a period after launch in March, but will become a paid service down the line.
Kimishima also said that more details are coming, but didn't say when. We'd guess that the service will be similar to the paid services offered on Sony and Microsoft platforms, like PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Those services offer stuff like cloud saves, free monthly games, and other perks for paying.
The "Joy-Con" controllers are also motion controllers. Oh, and they have a thing called "HD Rumble" built in, which is a hilarious way of saying "They vibrate."
The Joy-Con controllers are more capable than they look! They rumble. They act as motion controllers. They can be used as individual gamepads, or connected to a Switch tablet and used as one.
Surprisingly, a variety of motion games were demonstrated alongside the console in Thursday's event.
This is Nintendo's first portable console that can be used anywhere in the world, without any region-locking.
Previous Nintendo consoles sold in the US couldn't play games that were produced in Japan, and vice versa. The same situation applies to Europe. In the case of the Switch, that's changing. Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima announced as much during the Tokyo event on Thursday. It's a major departure for a company that's been slow to change in terms of international trends.