New Nintendo Switch to launch in Japan alongside Astral Chain
Updated console will go on sale August 30
The updated Nintendo Switch model will go on sale in Japan on Friday August 30, the platform holder has confirmed.
The new Switch console, which most notably features improved battery life, will launch on the same day as Astral Chain, the Switch exclusive action title from Bayonetta studio PlatinumGames.
VGC’s Astral Chain review calls the title “a one of a kind combat experience and Platinum’s most well-rounded adventure to date.” See what other critics thought of the game in our Astral Chain review round-up.
Nintendo’s updated Switch model debuted in Hong Kong and Australia in late July, before going on sale in the US in mid-August. Online retailers in the UK began selling the console last week.
Nintendo’s official estimate for the new Switch’s battery life is between 4.5 and 9 hours, compared to the original model’s 2.5 to 6.5 hours, and 3 to 7 hours offered by the upcoming Switch Lite.
An early battery life test shows the new Switch lasting for five hours and 36 minutes whilst playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in portable mode.
The new Switch model also features a slightly improved display, with the screen both brighter and closer to true light balance in tone, tests have suggested.
Nintendo will launch new Joy-Con colours, in the form of a blue/neon yellow set and a neon purple/neon orange pair, on October 4, priced at $79.99/£69.99.
