Nintendo is giving fans a major opportunity: a chance to go hands-on with the Nintendo Switch console before it hits retail.
From Jan. 13 through March 5, Nintendo will be on the road, bringing the console to several cities across North America. These include New York and San Francisco, as well as Toronto up north.
Here’s the full list of cities and dates for the Nintendo Switch preview tour:
- New York – Jan. 13-15
- Toronto – Jan. 27-29
- Washington, D.C. – Feb. 10-12
- Chicago – Feb. 17-19
- San Francisco – Feb. 24-26
- Los Angeles – March 3-5
The Switch will also be available off the trail at major gaming conventions taking place between those dates. Nintendo will have the console and games with it at PAX South in San Antonio (Jan. 27-29), PAX East in Boston (March 10-12) and SXSW in Austin, Texas. (March 16-18).
Certain people will get early access to the weekend preview events. While the third day of each stop on the tour will be open to (a very limited amount of) the public, the first two are invite-only, Nintendo announced.
Some My Nintendo members have already received a message from Nintendo inviting them to the event. Details are scant, but the company instructs anyone who did find the email in their inbox to look out for a follow-up from Eventbrite.
Nintendo intends to make the event engaging and interactive for gamers of all ages. The event is designed to show off the variety of ways the Nintendo Switch can be played and will give attendees the chance to play select games that will be available with the console come launch day.
Folks who don’t live in one of the big cities Nintendo’s stopping through on its tour will still get a chance to play the Switch before it’s March 2017 release. Nintendo promised that it will attend PAX South in San Antonio, PAX East in Boston and SXSW in Austin to give attendees a chance to try some of the console’s launch titles.
We’re still not sure when the Switch launches, but Nintendo will reveal more information on Jan. 12 during a global, live streamed presentation.