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After months of waiting, the Nintendo Switch is finally out today and just about everyone is celebrating. Even Nintendo’s biggest competitors.
In a show of good corporate sportsmanship, Sony and Microsoft sent out congratulatory messages to Nintendo on the release of the Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Both companies congratulated Nintendo in a number of regions, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Xbox’s Phil Spencer also tweeted out his kind remarks, calling it “always great when Nintendo innovates in gaming.”
.@NintendoAmerica It's not every day you get to throw the #Switch on a new console. Congrats! #NintendoSwitch @Nintendo pic.twitter.com/d0JNCCM6Wd
— Xbox (@Xbox) March 3, 2017
@NintendoAmerica Congrats on your launch of another great @Nintendo console. Always great when Nintendo innovates in gaming.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) March 3, 2017
Today's a big day for @Nintendo! Congratulations on launch, we can't wait to play.
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 3, 2017
It’s a long way from the adversarial relationships video game companies had in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when rivals like Sega were happy to point out “what Nintendon’t.”
Other game companies, including Bethesda, Sega, Unity and Ubisoft, got in on the action, applauding Nintendo for the launch. A number of games coming to the Switch were developed on Unity’s platform, and Ubisoft’s Just Dance 17 is one of nine titles available to play as part of Nintendo’s launch day lineup. The other eight games include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fast RMX, 1-2-Switch, I am Setsuna, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, Super Bomberman R and Snipperclips — Cut it out, together!
One of the best tweets sent out to acknowledge Nintendo’s big day came from the official Monster Hunter account, which got right into the spirit of the exciting day.
The #NintendoSwitch is a hit at the office. Congrats to @NintendoAmerica on launch!! pic.twitter.com/qTlr3f52fc
— Bethesda Softworks (@bethesda) March 3, 2017
#Switch looks good on you, @NintendoAmerica! #nintendoswitch pic.twitter.com/PgWDWZp7Mk
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) March 3, 2017
Congrats @Nintendo on the launch of the #NintendoSwitch
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) March 3, 2017
Now it's time to #JustDance! pic.twitter.com/dU1NucZUaT
Congrats to #Nintendo on the launch of #NintendoSwitch! There's a lot of games #madewithunity coming. Any faves? https://t.co/Blktkf4vfv
— Unity (@unity3d) March 3, 2017
Congrats @Nintendo on the new Legend of Zelda! Thanks for letting us borrow these, btw. ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/BNOhdt1Hen
— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) March 3, 2017
It wasn’t just the gaming community or industry that wanted in on the celebration action, either. Arby’s, a company who has made a name for itself in the community for its intricate game-inspired artworks, tweeted out this homage to Link in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The idea was copied by another fast food company — Domino’s — who recreated the game’s box art with a pizza theme and with a new name: The Legend of Pizza: Breath of the Garlic.
Time to conquer the legend pic.twitter.com/FQJ9viuEDb
— Arby's (@Arbys) March 3, 2017
Tonight we Hyrule! ❤️❤️❤️ Mmm… Nosh-talgia-licious... #Zelda pic.twitter.com/ewBTOznMJD
— Domino's Pizza UK (@Dominos_UK) March 3, 2017
Brands and companies tweeting at each other has become sort of a thing online — with people on opposing sides about whether it’s charming or gross — but it’s nice to see competitors come together to wish Nintendo congratulations.
The Switch is currently available to purchase worldwide and costs $299 in the United States. If you’re still on the fence about buying the console, be sure to read our review.