The Nintendo Switch has finally been officially unveiled, and we now have a launch date and price. However the price will come as a bit of a surprise to many. We expected it to come in around the £200 mark, but Nintendo has put a £280 price tag on it in the UK, $300 in the US and 29,980 Yen ($260) in Japan.

• Nintendo Switch: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know

There will be two versions of the console, one with a set of grey Joy-Con controllers and a version with a neon blue and a neon red Joy-Con controllers, both will cost £280.

The main tablet, that is docked when playing at home on a TV, or carried around for on-the-go gaming, features a 6.2-inch screen. If you do take it with you for portable gaming, the battery is said to last up to six hours, but it wholly depends on how much you use it. Nintendo says The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, one of the launch titles, can only be played for around three hours on a single charge. You can keep it powered up by connecting the charger to the USB Type-C connector.

The Joy-Con controllers offer various ways of gaming, they can be attached to either side of the Joy-Con grip to use as a controller at home, used independently in each hand, attach to the sides of the main console for handheld mode, or be split between two people for multiplayer gaming.

Each left and right Joy-Con controller has its own set of buttons, accelerometer and motion sensor. The left controller has a built-in capture mode for taking instant screenshots to share online, while the right controller has an NFC touchpoint for connecting to Amiibo figures and an infrared camera for detecting distance, shape and motion of objects in certain games.

Both controllers also support what Nintendo is calling HD Rumble, which is said to deliver subtle vibrations that are "much more realistic than before".

Nintendo has built the Switch to be as much of a multiplayer gaming platform as it is single, as up to eight consoles can be connected together for wireless party play. You will need to subscribe to Nintendo's online service to do so, but a free trial will be supplied with each console. The full paid service will be available in the autumn.

• Nintendo Switch games: The games revealed so far and what we'd like to see

Nintendo has confirmed details of seven games for the Switch, which along with The Legend of Zelda, include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe which will launch on 28 April for £50, Super Mario Odyssey which launches in the "holiday season", and Splatoon 2 which will launch in the summer.