On what date was the Nintendo Switch first announced to the public?

Nintendo first announced the Nintendo Switch publicly on October 20, 2016.

The announcement came through a short preview video released by Nintendo. It revealed the console’s distinctive concept: a central screen that could be used with detachable controllers, placed in a dock, or carried as a portable system. The video also showed the name Nintendo Switch, replacing the development name Nintendo NX in public communication.

The announcement did not provide every launch detail. Nintendo later held a presentation in January 2017 to reveal the release date, pricing, online-service plans, and additional hardware information. The console ultimately launched worldwide on March 3, 2017.

A common mix-up is to use January 2017 as the announcement date, because that was when Nintendo presented many of the final details. October 20, 2016 is the date of the first public reveal, while March 2017 is the commercial launch.