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Nintendo refuses to say whether Switch has a touchscreen

Meanwhile, Skyrim and NBA still aren't confirmed.

After yesterday's triumphant Nintendo Switch announcement, there's a bit of confusion around one of its core features - that big ol' shiny screen.

Is it a touchscreen? Nintendo won't say.

DS, 3DS and Wii U all featured touch-controlled screens, and while we don't expect Switch to feature backwards compatibility out of the box it would be a surprise to see Nintendo ditch the usual touchscreen feature.

"We have nothing to announce on this topic," a Nintendo of America spokesperson told us overnight. "We will make additional announcements about the Nintendo Switch hardware later, before the launch of the product."

The Nintendo Switch reveal trailer focused on a number of controller options - using the Switch undocked with the mini Joy-Con pads attached to it, using the Switch docked with the Joy-Con pads attached to their Joy-Con grip, or the option of a Switch Pro controller.

Perhaps a fourth option - and a feature only suitable for specific games - would have been too much?

Touchscreens are great on mobile phones but for the kind of games Nintendo wanted to feature in its first showreel, such as Skyrim, a touchscreen might have been a distraction.

There's also the issue of how you would use touchscreen games when the Nintendo Switch is docked, and housed within its unit.

In other slightly confusing news, Bethesda has said Skyrim has not been confirmed for Nintendo Switch, despite the game featuring prominently in the console's reveal trailer.

Speaking to our sister site GamesIndustry.biz, Bethesda stopped short of confirming the game we've all already seen running:

"We're happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate with Nintendo on the video," a Bethesda spokesperson said. "While we are not confirming any specific titles at this time, we are pleased to announce our partnership with Nintendo and support of the Switch. We look forward to revealing specific games and details in the future."

2K has issued the same statement with almost exactly the same wording for NBA 2K17, which was also shown in the Switch's reveal.

Both companies may be waiting for the green light from Nintendo to announce their games, perhaps after Nintendo firms up other details of Nintendo Switch itself.

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Tom Phillips

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Tom is Eurogamer's Editor-in-Chief. He writes lots of news, some of the puns and makes sure we put the accent on Pokémon. Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 following a stint running a Nintendo fansite, and still owns two GameCubes. He also still plays Pokémon Go every day.

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