Tablet system docks to connect to HDTV, comes with detachable controllers.

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In a three-minute "Preview Trailer" released this morning (and teased last night), Nintendo gave the world the first glimpse of the mysterious "Project NX," over 19 months after the company first mentioned the "dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept." The system is called the Nintendo Switch.

As was widely rumored, that "new concept" involves a console/portable hybrid system with two detachable, one-handed controllers that sit alongside a tablet-style screen. Nintendo is referring to these publicly as "Joy-Con" controllers, which "can be employed by numerous people for a variety of gameplay options. They can easily click back into place or be slipped into a Joy-Con Grip accessory, mirroring a more traditional controller." The system will also support a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller with a more traditional dual-analog stick form factor, and support local multiplayer gaming on multiple Switch tablets at once, according to a press release.

"In addition to providing single and multiplayer thrills at home, the Nintendo Switch system also enables gamers to play the same title wherever, whenever and with whomever they choose," Nintendo said in a press release announcing the system. "The mobility of a handheld is now added to the power of a home gaming system to enable unprecedented new video game play styles."

The tablet slides into a small a dock to connect to the TV, as which point the controllers can be slid off and reattached to a central base separate from the tablet screen. On the go, the tablet appears to have a small built-in stand on the rear stand to let players prop it on a flat surface when playing from far away.

There's no indication in the short trailer whether or not the tablet includes a touchscreen, a la Nintendo's Wii U. The trailer does show a brief scene of a user inserting a small, SD-like flash memory card into the top of the system, seemingly confirming rumors that the system will not distribute physical games on discs.

The short teaser trailer briefly showed gameplay footage from The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Super Mario, and Splatoon series, as well as third-party titles in the Skyrim and NBA 2K franchises. A Nintendo-published list featuring a "sampling of Nintendo Switch partners" includes major publishers such as Square Enix, Sega, Konami, Activision, Bethesda, Capcom, Take-Two, Warner Bros., EA, Codemasters, and more.

Nvidia has confirmed that the Switch is powered by a custom Tegra processor that is "based on the same architecture as the world’s top-performing GeForce gaming graphics cards." No tech specs have yet been provided, but Nvidia promised a "revamped physics engine, new libraries, advanced game tools and libraries [and] new gaming APIs to fully harness this performance," as well as "hardware-accelerated video playback and custom software for audio effects and rendering."

In the trailer, Nintendo reconfirmed its intention to launch the Switch in March of 2017.

https://youtu.be/vvaQENG7lBI