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987 ArchivesNintendo Switch will be released worldwide on March 3, with a North American price of $299.99.

Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima wasted no time in sharing the two most pressing Switch details -- release date and price -- on fan's minds. They were the first pieces of news to emerge from the company's Tokyo live stream.

Kimishima later confirmed that pre-orders will open in Japan on Jan. 21. There's no word as of yet on pre-order timing for any other region, including North America. A limited number of consoles will be available for pre-order at the Nintendo World Store in New York City on Friday, Jan. 13, however.

The Switch is a gaming console/mobile hybrid, with a TV-connected dock housing a detachable tablet-like device -- touchscreen and all. It's not just the convertible nature of the hardware that sets it apart, however; the controls bring a distinctive twist to Switch gaming as well.

The Joy-Con controllers resemble a cross between the Wii Remote and classic NES gamepads. Check them out:

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The Joy-Con controls enable a wide range of configurations for Switch. They can be held horizontally as standalone controllers or attach to either the tablet or a more modern gamepad-style based.

Here's a look at their various configurations and a more detailed look at the individual Joy-Con pads from all sides.

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The portability of the console's tablet configuration opens up a lot of opportunities for multiplayer gaming, and the Switch backs that up. As many as eight consoles can connect to each other via WiFi, which means as many as 16 Joy-Con pads can potentially be in the mix.

A single Switch box includes the tablet and dock, two Joy-Con controllers, the Joy-Con grip (for docking the two pads into a modern gamepad configuration), a pair of wrist straps, an HDMI cable, and a power adapter. There will be two versions: one with two gray Joy-Con controllers, and another with one red and one blue Joy-Con.

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