After waiting, waiting and more waiting, we were finally presented the illustrious Nintendo Switch! Come March 3, 2017, all those dreams of playing on a portable hybrid system will be coming true for the simple price of $299.99
No more watching videos on Youtube of trying to turn your Xbox One S into a laptop.
No more trying to share the TV with your Wii U and with your kid brother because he wants to watch Paw Patrol and you are on that last level of Bayonetta 2 and certain….details just aren’t the same on that tiny gamepad.
We have hardware specs. We have launch titles. We have, technically, everything I would need to sate my need for answers, pull out my wallet, and siphon my funds directly to Nintendo for the next foreseeable future.
But, I am actually not doing that and hear me out on this one.
Don’t get me wrong. I am getting the system…when I can.. I made the mistake of waiting until the next day to try and get pre-orders because why would I expect that Nintendo would have enough supply to meet the demand.
Silly bucking me…
But I am a professional, not some snot nosed brat on the internet without the funds to even get the system in first place. I will explain what I considered the Highs and the Lows of the Switch Presentation.
Ninten-Highs
ARMS
Looking at the presentation, I thought to myself. “Self, you are looking fabulous and also, doesn’t that just look like Wii Boxing. Well, sort of but only in the sense that you would use the Joy-Con controllers in the same fashion as the Wiimote and Nunchuck on the Wii and Wii U. Once you get past that the game looks fantastic.
To be able to jump around in the arena and actually dodge punches as they are coming at you, unlike in Wii Boxing where the closest thing you got to a dodge was moving your head. This is on a whole other level. From what we were shown, different “arms” have different functions and work together combo hits onto your enemy to stun them or even break their “arms” temporality.
While I don’t see myself playing this on the bus or at my desk this is going to be a very fun “docked” game. I can sit back and relax in my chair to punch someone’s lights out. Priceless.
Splatoon 2
I squeed a bit when I saw this game presented and my fears faded. I thought that they would just be rebooting the game onto the switch, but we get a brand new game.
We get new weapons and new modes with this one. I couldn’t glean much from the eight minutes of playthrough I saw but considering how much I love the first Splatoon, I have no doubt that I will love this game. This is going to be played a lot on my commute. I can feel it.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Squid Kids racing. That is all. #imnotbiased
But seriously, the Squidlings from Splatoon have joined in the fun along with most of the DLC maps from Mario Kart 8.
Plus, you can hold two items again! I missed that so much! It’s not Double Dash but that’ll do Switch. That’ll do.
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Meh.
There were just so many other interesting things about the presentation and with all the leaks and rumors coming out of the woodwork, there wasn’t anything that I didn’t already know about the game. I knew that it was going to be a launch title for the Switch. That was good enough for me.
Hardware facts
With the USB-C type cable, I have few worries about trying to charge the system. The battery pack I have now supports that and holds a charge and a half on my iPhone so I am going to assume that it will give me enough playtime to get from work to house. I can have a charger in my bag, the dock at home, and charging pack in my bag just in case.
Should I really need all of these charging locations for my portable hybrid system? The answer is no. I don’t want to have to worry about my battery life but considering the fact that the cords to charge the system are going to be easy to come by, I’ll live with it. And with the range of 2.5 to 6.5 hours of battery life on the system, you had better have something more than the dock at home if you plan on moving anywhere with it.
Also, one of the biggest pieces of info released is that the system will have expandable memory and that memory can go as far as 2TB. There aren’t 2TB cards on the market but to know that I can download most, if not, all of the Switch games and not have to worry about storage space makes me a very happy gamer. Obviously, this is dependent upon just how large the games are. I mean, with an internal storage of 32 GB and the launch title LOZ: Breath of the Wild taking 13.4 GB, just about half of the internal memory, you had better be ready to do something.
Ninten-Lows
I actually wanted to start the article with these but my doctor said I need to change my outlook on life and not be such a cynic but now we can get to my reservations on why I am not on the Switch Hype Train Express.
Hardware problems
Given how popular digital downloads are, you want to make sure that you have enough internal space on your device to support the games, at least 3 or 4 of them. Plus, anything to keep greedy Gamestop from buying the physical game from you only to sell it back for two to three times the price is fine by me.
The consumer is going to have to follow in the same footsteps as Nintendo and future proof their Switch. If the Switch has the expandable capacity of a card that doesn’t exist yet then you had better be getting the biggest card on the market and wait for the larger one. I don’t see myself keeping a case of the Switch cartridges like I would with my 3DS. I have most of the games I play downloaded on the system so I can just change on the fly.
So why would I set this expensive system down for a moment to change games? Exactly, I wouldn’t. Not if I don’t have to. The less time that this system is out of my hands when I am on the go, the better.
“But Mr. Gamer, you should just protect yourself and your system. If you want to bring the system out of the dock and on the bus, you should be careful.”
Billy, shut your mouth.
I can protect myself if I have to because some people are terrible for no other reason than they want to be terrible but I don’t have to like the fact that my system has such a small capacity for internal memory that it’s either buy all the cartridges or pay about $200 dollars for a 1TB Micro Sd Card.
Again we come back to the battery life. I am not too thrilled with the range of how long my battery can last. I also don’t know how long it will last in suspend mode or traveling from one location to another when I am not playing. I don’t get a Low Power Mode or anything. I would be fine if I had that as there would be some way to stretch the battery life. I am well aware that a hybrid console can’t be perfect but that whomps.
The last thing, which I knew they weren’t going to change when I first saw the system was the size of the Joy-Cons. I am sure you’ve seen my article about my in-depth look at the Switch, if not Click here. Doing any sort of two-player game on one system is going to be awkward for those with large hands such as myself. I can see quite a few mis-presses in my future. ***Maybe your wife will finally be able to beat you at games!***
Software Issue
This is only a tiny gripe. I mean, a very small one but it was pointed out to me by one of my viewers. Take a look at this.
In Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, there is 4 player local multiplayer. This is great until you see that you are sharing screen with the other players, that have their own system.
Why do I have to share my 6.2 inch screen with the other players? Why do they need to see my screen while I am racing? I can just be a blip on their minimap instead of taking up prime real estate on the not very large screen.
These were the only things that I didn’t like about the Switch now that we know basically everything we can know. If I missed something, it was because just didn’t catch my eye. As previously mentioned, I will be getting this system but it isn’t perfect and not everything Nintendo showed had me hopping out of my seat.
We will see what this Switchmas will be bringing us. Will it be a coal-ridden flop like the Wii U or a star brighter than the Grandmaster Galaxy?