page_title: Nintendo Switch
section_title: Marketing
hierarchical_section_title: Nintendo Switch / Marketing
caption_attribution_description: English: Wii U Console and Gamepad transparent background Français&#160;: La console de jeu vidéo Wii U de Nintendo et sa manette le Wii U GamePad. Português: Console de videogame e seu respectivo Gamepad.
context_page_description: The Nintendo Switch is a video game console developed by Nintendo, released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. It is a hybrid console that can be used as a home console and portable device. Its wireless Joy-Con controllers, with standard buttons and directional analog sticks for user input, motion sensing, and tactile feedback, can attach to both sides of the console to support handheld-style play. They can also connect to a grip accessory to provide a traditional home console gamepad form, or be used individually in the hand like the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, supporting local multiplayer modes. The Nintendo Switch's software supports online gaming through Internet connectivity, as well as local wireless ad hoc connectivity with other consoles. Nintendo Switch games and software are available on both physical flash-based ROM cartridges and digital distribution via Nintendo eShop; the system has no region lockout. A handheld-focused revision of the system, called the Nintendo Switch Lite, was released on September 20, 2019.
  The Nintendo Switch was unveiled on October 20, 2016.
context_section_description: A key part of marketing the Switch was to be "crystal clear in our communication of what the product was and what the product could do", according to Fils-Aimé, so as to avoid similar issues with how they presented the Wii U. While the Wii U was designed as a home console unit, Nintendo's lack of clarity on this point led to a general assumption that the unit, principally the Wii U GamePad, was more like a tablet, overshadowing the Wii U's other features (such as dual-screen play modes). Nintendo also believed that some consumers had mistaken the Wii U GamePad as being an accessory for the existing Wii console, rather than being the flagship feature of an entirely new platform. Instead, for the Switch, Fils-Aimé said the company was "very aggressive and clearly communicating the proposition that it's a home console you can take on the go wherever and whenever you want".
  For example, the October 2016 trailer (considered significantly unlike Nintendo's past marketing efforts, according to Bloomberg) was designed to show the various ways that the Switch can be used so that viewers would recognize that "each of its forms offer different play experiences for people to enjoy". Kimishima said that the intent of the trailer was to show that the device was aimed across all player demographics, showcasing features that core gamers would recognize and appreciate to carry this intent. A large amount of Nintendo's launch marketing for the console focused heavily on the launch title Breath of the Wild; Nintendo of America marketing executive, Nick Chavez, stated that the decision to showcase the new Zelda game was meant to promote it to both older viewers, who may have grown up with the franchise's earliest games and are accustomed to modern open world games, and to a new generation of players.
  Nintendo aired its first-ever Super Bowl ad during the United States broadcast of Super Bowl LI. Set to the Imagine Dragons song "Believer", the ad showcased the various play modes with the Switch and its launch titles, particularly Breath of the Wild, and upcoming releases; while an ad to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pokémon was broadcast the previous year during Super Bowl 50, this ad was paid for by The Pokémon Company and not by Nintendo. Chavez said of the ad, "There's no bigger stage in the U.S. on which to showcase the platform. I think it speaks to our confidence in the system."
  Additional television commercials followed the Super Bowl spot, which were to demonstrate Switch's use cases among different demographics, as well as "casual" and "core" gaming audiences. Such ad venues included the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, the 2017 Kids' Choice Awards, and on programming blocks for Nickelodeon, Adult Swim, and Comedy Central. Chavez emphasized that Nintendo's overall marketing for Switch was not be "just a six to eight week launch campaign", but "really a 15 month campaign for us, to say nothing of our plans for 2018".
  In addition to advertising, Nintendo had planned several ways for players to try the system before its release through various "sampling events". Kimishima felt that it was important, particularly for "career gamers", for Nintendo to get the Switch into players' hands, so that players could understand how the system differs from Nintendo's previous offerings. Kimishima also said that the company was "running a guerrilla marketing program where we're just dashing around and trying to have as many events as possible and get it in the hands of players so they can experience the difference."
  The North American and European press had special events on January 13, 2017, following the Tokyo presentation. Various Switch demonstration events were run in North America, Europe, and Japan during January and February 2017. Nintendo offered demonstrations of the Switch at gaming conferences including PAX South, South by Southwest, and RTX. Nintendo also promoted the Switch through an "Unexpected Places" campaign in February 2017, temporarily setting up living-room style spaces in three United States locations and 
caption: Nintendo sought to avoid the struggles it had with communicating the capabilities of the Switch's predecessor, the Wii U, whose GamePad (left) some mistook as an accessory for the Wii rather than a controller for the Wii U.
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