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Nintendo debuts hotly anticipated console

Nintendo is trying to Switch it up.

The Japanese video-game company has revealed details about its hotly anticipated Nintendo Switch, a video game console that also serves as a hand-held gaming device, during a global rollout on Friday.

The price in the US will be $US300 ($A399), a bit above the $US200 ($A266) to $US250 ($A333) that analysts were expecting.

It will debut March 3. The Switch is the first major hybrid console/hand-held gaming device.

"Nintendo Switch is a new way to play," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime at a packed event in New York, where several hundred reporters tried out games including the fantasy game Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the fighting game Arms on the device.

Nintendo needs the Switch to be a hit. Its previous game console, the Wii U, faded quickly, and its 3DS handheld was also a disappointment.

The one-time king of the video-game console has since been largely eclipsed by the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One.

The company has also been trying to catch up in mobile games, having largely missed a major shift to smartphones and tablets.

Pokemon Go, an augmented-reality smartphone game based on monster characters featured in Nintendo video games, was a surprise hit last summer - but Nintendo didn't create it.

Nintendo finally made a big push into mobile with Super Mario Run for the iPhone, which launched in December.

The app became the highest grossing game in 11 countries a few hours after its release, according to App Annie, making over $US4 million ($A5.3 million) worldwide in consumer spending on its first day.