They hope that the release will be a step up from the company’s last console.

Graduate of Palm Beach State College Garen Mazmanian (left) competes with another player in Super Smash Bros. inside the Student Union. Alexander Rodriguez | Contributing Photographer

Nintendo has had little variation on console gaming since the 2006 release of the Wii, but the company appears to be switching it up with its newest console: the Switch.

With the upcoming platform being released on March 3, Nintendo fans are hoping it will be a step up from its last console, the Wii U. From the gate, the company was losing money as the console had atrocious sales.

If it wasn’t for the release of a few select games like Super Smash Bros., Wii U and Mario Kart 8, the console would have been a complete bust. In comes Nintendo’s new darling, the Switch.

“Unlike the Wii U, the Switch has a ton of games announced for its launch already,” business freshman Anthony Riley said.

Riley is one of the many gamers who can be seen playing on the game consoles in the Student Union. He is also a member of FAU’s gaming club, which bought most of the consoles in the union, as well as the TVs that can be found there.

“Whenever someone has a TV they don’t use, they bring it in to use at the Student Union,” freshman multimedia studies major and member of the gaming club Darlington Igwenagu said.

Riley and other members are already much more excited for the Switch than the console’s predecessor, the Wii U, which was notorious for its general lack of quality content. With the Switch, the upcoming game “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” will be released, as well as “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.”

The concept of the Switch is simple enough: a screen with two detachable joysticks, which while attached, act as a sort of tablet controller hybrid.

While the controllers are detached, the Switch can be connected to a television and games can be controlled in that outlet.

“The Switch is Nintendo’s new hybrid console, you can play it by plugging it into the TV, or you can take it with you on the go,” Riley said. “They have [detachable] controllers called Joy-Cons.”

Even before its release, the new console is facing some negative reviews.

Critics are attacking the $279.99 price tag as the two other main consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One, are both cheaper. Many seem to believe that Nintendo is nickel and diming its customers.

The Wi-Fi connectability is reportedly spotty and Nintendo, for the first time ever, is charging for online services.

Memory capacity has always been a sore spot for Nintendo, with the Switch base model only coming with 32 gigabytes of memory. However, that can be expanded up to two terabytes.

The supposed issues with the Switch aren’t halting the hype train as students at FAU are salivating at the idea of getting to play one. The Student Union is booming with gamers who spend hours on the Wii, a trend that seems likely to continue with the Switch.

“I am for sure going to buy [the Switch] the day it comes out,” Riley said. “I hope I don’t have too much homework due for class, because all of my time is going to Zelda.”

And the multiplayer capability seems to only further the hype.

“We have a lot of gamers here in the Student Union every day. If we got the Switch, which can handle eight controllers, I could see a lot of people playing [Super Smash Bros.] easily,” Riley said.

Even old-school gamers are excited for what the new console has to offer.

“I heard they were coming out with a [Super Smash Bros.] Melee release [for the Switch],” Kyle Wehrs, president of the FAU gaming club said. “I’m excited for that.”

The Switch presents an opportunity for the company to return to the gaming masterwork it’s been known for in the past. On March 3, fans will know if Nintendo is truly switching it up.

Timothy Becker is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him at @tj_the_great_.