T he device can switch (geddit?) between playing on the move with the screen, and at home in a special dock connected to the TV. Since it runs on one piece of hardware, games are the same whether at home or on the go, although the Switch is rumoured to run at a higher clock speed when connected to the dock that allows it to display on a TV screen in high-definition.

While this means the Switch is not likely to live up to the power of the PS4 or Xbox One, that's never really been Nintendo's aim.

How much will it cost and when will it be released?

March 2017 is Nintendo's official release date, but we're likely to get more details at Friday's announcement.

Nintendo hasn't said how much it will cost, but Japanese reports suggest a retail price of around 25,000 yen. That equates to around ￡180, although various taxes and other costs may mean a price closer to ￡200. Extra controllers or a version with more storage will bump up the price.

How do the controllers work?

The Joy-Cons on the end of the Switch are detachable, so when using it as a portable device?you can play with them attached, or prop the screen up on its pop-out stand and use the controllers wirelessly like so:

T he controllers each have an analogue stick and four buttons arranged in a diamond - A,B,Y,X on one and directional on the other, as well as two?shoulder buttons each and what look like two menu buttons.?This means that their arrangement matches the basic designs of the PlayStation and Xbox controllers.

However, they can also be separated, held horizontally, and used by two different people?to play individually. When held like this they also appear to have separate?shoulder buttons.

What about playing at home?

W hen playing on a TV at home, the Switch slots into?a dock connected to the TV via USB-C (which also presumably charges the battery).

A s seen above, to use?the Joy-Cons more like a conventional controller they are held together using the "Joy-Con Grip". An image of this appears to show that the Grip can also charge the Joy-Cons.

Players can also use a wireless "Pro Controller" which is more akin to a conventional control pad. Nintendo describes this as optional, so you'll have to pay extra for it.

Can you play with more than two players?

Absolutely - without four-player Mario Kart sessions, this wouldn't be much of a Nintendo console. The demo showed four players, using two Switches between them, to play an NBA game on the go.

The two consoles link together wirelessly and two players use each screen, and an individual Joy-Con each.

N intendo's video also showed four players, each with a Switch and a Pro Controller, playing multiplayer, as well as an eight-player game. Presumably, there'll also be a four-player mode on one console at home if you have enough controllers, but this hasn't been?shown.

What games will it have?

The promotional video showed six games in total. We knew about most of them - NBA 2K17 will be cross-platform, Splatoon is already on the Wii U, Skyrim is five years old and Zelda: Breath of the Wild will also be released on the Wii U.

However, we also saw a new Mario open-world platformer and what looked like a?new Mario Kart title, although it did bear a striking similarity to Mario Kart 8.

W e already know that there'll be Just Dance, Dragon Quest and Sonic games for the Switch. Nintendo also announced dozens of developers who would support it.

The games themselves will run on Game cards, similar to the DS and 3DS, rather than discs. Nintendo also has a huge back catalogue of games it should make available with its virtual console.

What about specs?

At this stage we don't have any details about battery life, power and so on, and Nintendo isn't a big one for competing on power.?We do know that it uses an Nvidia processor??but it is likely that it won't match the performance of Sony and Microsoft's consoles.

A glimpse of the top of the Switch?shows an air vent for excess heat and a headphone jack. It's possible that it will receive a slight power boost from the Wii U, but don't expect too much.