Nintendo Switch Rumour Roundup, Miyamoto plays with the Roots

Nintendo’s next official Switch event isn’t until January 13th, but we’ve got a few more rumors to get us through the Winter wait.

Most importantly, the battery life of the Switch should clock around 5-8 hours, depending on brightness, Wi-Fi, etc. We previously heard a disappointing three hour life-span, but that was most likely on older Dev Kits.

Speaking of Dev Kits, Nintendo has sent out the final versions to developers. Rumour has it they aren’t too different from earlier iterations, which makes sense as launch is just a few months away.

Gamecube games coming to Virtual Console

Nintendo has been working on getting Gamecube games ready for the launch of the Switch’s Virtual Console. This would be the first time Gamecube games were playable on a Nintendo console other than the Gamecube itself. Expect to see Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Smash Bros. Melee.

The team responsible for the impressive NES Mini emulation is working on the Gamecube-to-Switch project.

If you’re worried about losing your existing VC library in the ‘switch’, Nintendo should have you covered, for a price. Gamers will most likely be able to bring their VC purchases forward (for a small fee, similar to the Wii-to-Wii U transition). It’s a bit irritating to pay yet again for the same classic Nintendo games, but if they keep the cost minimal, I’m fine with it.

For Nintendo moments we can actually see, Reggie, Miyamoto, Mario Run, and Zelda: Breath of the Wild appeared on Jimmy Fallon.

Fallon is a big Nintendo fan and previously played Mario Kart 8 with professional race car drivers.

An excited (as usual) Fallon played Super Mario Run but admitted to being nervous as Miyamoto himself was in the crowd watching. Fallon gave it a positive review to say the least. The mobile game releases on iOS Dec 15th, but you can try it out earlier at Apple Stores.

Reggie then lifted a question box to reveal the Switch and show off some Zelda gameplay. Reggie used a pro controller but handed Fallon the Switch itself, removing it from the dock.

For what it’s worth, the crowd responded positively to the new console and seemed to understand that removing it from the dock was a useful feature. This is very important as the Wii U struggled to get noticed by the mainstream audience.

To end on a high ‘note’, I’ll leave you with a video of Miyamoto and The Roots playing the Super Mario Bros theme. Mario’s creator held his own on the acoustic, fingerpicking  and quickly switching chords on his Gibson acoustic.