#NintendoSwitch #Gaming #Nintendo #VideoGames
The Nintendo Switch has been on the market for a little over a month now. He is our refreshed thoughts on Nintendo’s flagship console.
Unless you have been living under a rock the last 8 months, you will probably already know that Nintendo's successor to the Nintendo Wii U called the Nintendo Switch. The Nintendo Switch is Nintendo’s 7th generation home console, that isn’t just a home console. The Switch is a hybrid console that has all the perks of a home console but that can be taken on the go.
What’s Hot
- It is still hard to believe that, we have reached the point that we can play modern AAA Zelda games on the go.
- Beautifully designed, unlike most of Nintendo’s previous consoles.
- When fully assembled, it feels natural in the hand.
What’s Not
- Insufficient blockbuster 1st party games. (as of now)
- Availability
- Pricing of extra controllers and Joy Cons
- Game Pricing
- Lack of a true Virtual Console
- Their Online Service is DOA
- Battery Life is meh…
- Still, no Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, YouTube, ETC…
That moment you realize…
- The term Joy-Cons is a Paradox…
- Arguably the best games on the switch can be played elsewhere cheaper. (Breath of the wild, Mario Kart, Street Fighter, I am Setsuna).
- Pokemon Go won’t come to the Switch due to Nintendo not adding a GPS antenna in the console…
- Nintendo hasn’t made any note of bringing the virtual console to the Nintendo Switch.
- Reports are placing the Nintendo Switch as being about as powerful as an overclocked Xbox 360. (isn’t necessarily a bad thing though.)
- Nintendo Switch are still hard to come by.
- Nintendo Switch are running around $400+ on eBay.
Design: 4.5
There is no denying it… The Nintendo Switch is one of the best looking consoles ever made. At least in my opinion. Not only does it look good but the design is all functional. In other words there is a rhyme and reason to why the Nintendo Switch was built the way it was. So, If the design is pretty much perfect why the points off? Well there are 2 reasons actually 1 being that the Nintendo Switch dock isn’t much of a looker. Nintendo could have done much more with it like make it transparent or put a LED somewhere. How about a button to power it on or off or something. I understand it is not big part of the console experience but it would be nice if it was more pleasing to the eyes. 2 The Inside of the dock is supposedly scratching the screen of the Nintendo Switch. Personally I haven’t had this issue but its has caused me to be careful when docking and undocking.
Games: 3.5
The 1st party support is there or at least is on its way, but it’s like trying to squeeze water out of a rock when it comes to 3rd party devs and games for Nintendo Flagship consoles. Don’t get me wrong the Nintendo Switch has a growing library of games, and many of them are from different developers, but most of the games are 2nd or 3 rate games. I have to give props to CAPCOM, Square Enix, and Sega for being quick to announce their heaving hitting IPs to come to The Nintendo Switch. We are still in the beginning months of the Nintendo Switch, so it is hard to judge its game library. It just sucks there is no blockbuster title yet that you need to have a Nintendo Switch for.
Features: 3
This is a tricky category when it comes to the Nintendo Switch. If you go off the stat sheet, the Nintendo Switch looks great.
- Controllers - Ships with 2
- Bluetooth - Yes
- Wifi - Yes
- Storage - 32GB onboard and expandable via Micro USB
- NFC - Yes
- CPU / GPU - Nviida based (modified X1 chip)
- Online Gaming / Voice Chat - Yes
- Local Lan - Yes up to 8 consoles
- USB Type C
- 4310mAh Lithium Ion Battery
- 7 inch multi touch 720p display
- Outputs to 1080p when docked
Honestly speaking theses specs are subjective. Here is what it is in reality.
- Controllers - 1 pair of Joy-Cons.
- Bluetooth - Yes but only used at the moment for connecting Joy-Cons and the Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers.
- Wifi - Yes
- Storage - 32GB onboard minus the space allocated for the system software. Wich brings it down to around 20 something GB. This leaves you with enough space to Install 1 maybe 2 full sized games.
- NFC - Yes but, only for Amiibos
- CPU / GPU - Modified Nvidia X1 (>=) Xbox 360 in terms of RAW Power.
- 4310mAh Battery - this equates to about 2.5 hours of gameplay depending on which game you are playing.
So what does all this mean? Well, nothing much to be honest. The Switch is feature rich but at the time of writing this article it feels feature poor. Most of the issues I have with the native features of Switch and it limitations can be fixed in a firmware update. Problem is, unlike Sony who seem to add features to their consoles every season or so, Nintendo likes to take their time and sometimes choose to not make consumer experiences more enjoyable. Also, what the hell Nintendo, why didn’t you add the Virtual Console to the Switch yet. Also, why are there no streaming services in the US or UK markets?
Value: 4.5
Regardless what my ranting and raving may sound like above the Nintendo Switch is still one of the best values on a console today. The problem is accessories and games are overpriced. I’m sorry but I am only willing to spend $60 on games I know that are gonna be good. Mario, Smash, Metroid, Splatoon, Starfox you all can take my money. Arms, 1 2 switch, etc. you all need to take a couple of seats. On a side note Lego City Undercover (while an okay game) was released in 2013, Why the hell would anyone spend $60 on the same game. WB Games you guys are crooks.
Around the Web: 4.3
The Nintendo Switch is currently holding a 4.3 on amazon.com
Final Thoughts
The Nintendo Switch is awesome console, and I highly recommend you to buy one if you can find one. Games like Breath of the Wild will have you wondering why other developers can’t make such masterpieces like this all the time. Games like Splatoon 2 and Street Fighter Il will have your competitive nature forefront, Upcoming games like Mario Odyssey and Pokken Tournament will have the Nintendo Switch out of stock for the rest of the year.
Score
19.8 / 25
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