Nintendo’s David Young Spills on Why the Nintendo Switch Launch Is So Special

It's Friday, March 3, which means the Nintendo Switch officially launched today—and I got to attend a special preview event in Los Angeles to try out everything the new system has to offer.

The event showcased not just games that launched today, including the incredible The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but also upcoming titles like Splatoon 2, Arms and so many more. I also got the chance to speak with David Young, assistant manager of PR at Nintendo, to find out why launch day for the Switch is so exciting.

 

Sweety High: After all of the hype, how does it feel that the Nintendo Switch has finally launched?

David Young: It's been really exciting. For a long time we called it by the code name NX. During that time, a lot of us at Nintendo—myself included—didn't know a lot about the system.

As development progressed and we started planning on how to share the news with the world, a lot of us in the marketing area got our hands on the system and got to see what it really was. It was exciting because I saw the potential in this amazing system. All the versatility of the Joy-Con controllers and the fact that you have this is a home system you can take with you anywhere has been very exciting to see.

 

SH: What has it been like to finally get your hands on the system, especially to play some games that aren't yet released?

DY: It's always fun to get to try games that aren't going to be out for a little while, and that's one of the things that's great about the preview event. People can try out Arms and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Splatoon 2—some games you won't see until later on this year.

It's always fun to be able to show things like that and let people try it out. There will be other opportunities for that at different festivals and trade shows around the country, but I'm really excited for today's launch day because people can finally visit the world of Hyrule and play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That's what I'm most excited for. I've been a Zelda fan since I was little and this new game is just mind-blowing.

 

SH: What about Breath of the Wild excites you the most?

DY: The fact that it's a familiar character and franchise I've been playing for years, but it breaks conventions. You're really living in the wild. It's this open-air adventure and you can go anywhere. Anything you see in the game, you can visit.

There are different ways it's going to break the conventions of Zelda. For instance, you don't just cut down the grass to find hearts. You have to collect ingredients, maybe find an apple and bake it or collect mushrooms and meat and cook it together to make a special skewer that revitalizes your energy.

In some ways it hearkens back to the very first Legend of Zelda game because you're not given a lot of instruction. It doesn't hold your hand. You're put into the world and it's up to you to explore. You can go anywhere on the map, and immediately you can find yourself in places you have no business being because the enemies are so tough. It's a great game.

 

SH: What's your favorite aspect of the new console?

DY: The main thing that people notice is you can take your home console and can play it anywhere and everywhere—but the thing that really strikes me is the Joy-Con controllers. It feels like Nintendo's whole legacy. With every generation and every system we've learned new things, and all those lessons are packed into those little Joy-Con controllers.

 

SH: Any other games you're excited for? 

DY: There are other things here on launch day that are lots of fun. 1-2 Switch is a quirky kind of game that says Nintendo in a lot of ways. It has these interesting little experiences like milking cows and doing quick-draw gunfights and all kinds of different, fun things.

I'm a big Splatoon fan so I'm looking forward to Splatoon 2. The Switch lets you play it differently. You can get a group of friends that have Nintendo Switches and you can play anywhere you'd like to go. I love that game. I'm also really looking forward to this holiday. Just like you, the only thing I've seen of Super Mario Odyssey are the trailers and I'm picking up little hints from watching the trailer, but I can't wait to play that either.

 

Don't own the Switch yourself just yet? Click HERE to read about what happened in my 20-minute demo of Breath of the Wild.