Nintendo Switch – Super Bowl commercial all about showing off the hardware

There are some some products and companies during Super Bowl LI today that are really going to try to use their time in order to hand over a few laughs. However, Nintendo Switch is seemingly looking to go in a different direction prior to the big game today. Specifically, they’re going to be making their ad today really all about their upcoming system coming out next March.

This is one of the longer commercials that you’re going to see during the game (potentially — we’re reviewing an extended cut). While we don’t think that there is anything game-changing that is going to be found in this ad, at the same time there’s a lot to like in terms of its ability to showcase what it is that they are trying to sell.

What worked – You’ve gotta give it to the folks at Nintendo: They at least know how to demonstrate their products really well. This ad captures some of the “anyone can play” personality that encapsulated their previous consoles in the Wii and Wii U, while at the same time also highlighting some of the console’s more-hardcore features. They make it clear that this is something that you can take with you anywhere, and that it has some of the features of the Wii / Wii U while bringing many new things to the table, as well.

What didn’t – If you’re not already a gamer, odds are that this will not do a whole lot for you. Also, we’re not sure if the specific video games they’re choosing to highlight (other than Zelda) are the ones that are going to appeal the most to the demographic of people who are watching NFL games. We would personally opt to go more with something that caters more to this group.

Overall – This is a good ad for Nintendo that serves its purpose — showing off the Switch. It’s probably worth the money that it is spending to put it in the game, but we don’t foresee that this is going to get them anywhere near the top of the pile in terms of the best advertisements of Super Bowl Sunday. Grade: B.