Nintendo Switch Presentation Thoughts.

By Sam Coles:

Nintendo had their presentation showing off their latest console, the Nintendo Switch. I want to talk about how I felt about the presentation such as the hardware, software and other aspects whether they’re negative or positive.

Let’s start off with the hardware itself, as you all know the Switch is a portable and home console hybrid where a 6 inch table sits in a docking station and if you want to take it on the go all you have to do is attach the joy con attachments and pull the table out and you’re now playing on the go. However the glaring issue with the table is that it only has between 2.5 to 6 hours of battery life depending on what game you’re playing so basically there is no point trying to play Zelda on the go.

The joy cons are the main controllers for the system and they can function as traditional controllers where you use both on a controller attachment or use them freely. You can split them up as two controllers which is a neat idea but these are tiny and people with large hands are going to have issues and this almost the opposite problem with the original Xbox. They do have motion control and HD rumble.

The tablet itself has a 6 inch screen and will run at a resolution of 720p and a lot of people are sighing at this and I don’t understand why, yes it is a low resolution but to be honest you’re not going to notice it on a small screen like that it will be fine. The big issue I have with the hardware is that the internal storage is 32gb, Nintendo it is 2017 you need to have at least 500gb storage in your console games are huge these days. How did they screw this aspect up by including the same storage as the premium version of the Wii U it’s absolutely baffling.

They showed off some games as well with mixed feelings from me. Super Mario Odyssey looks amazing as it stems off from the usual Mario formula as you don’t appear to be roaming around the Mushroom Kingdom as it looks like it takes place in real world locations and it runs at 60 fps which is fantastic! Of course they showed off The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild which keeps getting better and better every time they show it and it appears they have voice acting in the game minus Link of course.

Splatoon 2 was announced which looks more of the same with new features and a port of Mario Kart 8 called the deluxe version which hopefully will bring in more players as the Wii U did not sell well. Bethesda are Bringing Skyrim to the system and Bethesda please stop re-releasing the game it’s not a surprise that the Switch can run a 6 year old game yes it was a good game in 2011 but it looks archaic these days. 1,2 Switch is their Wii sports game for the system a throw away party game that you will play twice before letting it collect dust where it has some mini games like duelling with guns and swords etc.

Nintendo are joining Sony and Microsoft by charging you to play online, I’ll say this again paying to play online is stupid. It is completely anti-consumer as you have already payed for it as you have paid for the game, locking a feature behind a pay wall is shady. People always say it’s to cover server costs you’re already doing that by paying for hardware, software or using the digital stores whether it be PSN, XBL or Steam. I’m very disappointed in Nintendo for going this route.

The price of the Switch will be $299 or £279 if you’re in the UK and a lot of people are saying that it is overpriced however I disagree it is a game console that is also a tablet and honestly that is not bad for a launch price compared to the £350-£400 price of the Xbox One and PS4 when they launched.

Am I excited for the Switch? Kind of, don’t get me wrong it has some cool aspects but the launch line up looks a tad anaemic with very little to offer I’m not going to buy a console at launch for one game, I’m going to wait 6 months to a year before considering. What are your thoughts? Are you going to pick up a Switch? Let me know.