2810

I hate to make this kind of post, but I was wondering if one of you fine folk might be willing to step up to the plate.

I haven’t owned a Nintendo console since the NES. I’m not much of a console gamer in general, and Nintendo even less so. However, the thought of a portable gaming device holds some appeal to me right now.

For those people that love their Switch, is there anything you can say to sell me on giving it a shot? What are the must-have games, and why? What are the best aspects of the Switch?

Like I said, I hate making a post like this, but I trust word of mouth here more than other places and since I’ve been out of the Nintendo ecosystem for so long, I’m really kind of clueless on what the Switch has to offer. I don’t want to drop another $300+ to another paperweight to sit beside my PS4. :)

2811

My situation

  • we only have 1 TV in the house really (excluding HDMI attachable monitors) The ease for me to play on my main TV or anywhere is HUGE

  • If I want to bring a gaming system with me on a bus/train or anywhere else I might have 20-30 minutes to kill it’s easy to bring it with me

  • The video output in undocked mode is great. I honestly don’t notice any difference in the look and great quality of the graphics in docked vs. undocked mode

  • I only have a handful of games.

    • Zelda (love it for the open world exploration, trial/error, quests/shrines)
    • Splatoon 2 (Love for the FPS - prefer to play docked on a full screen with pro-controller)
    • Super Mario Oddsey (Mario platform game!! Love it - awesome exploration, secrete finding, etc)

I do tend to play a little different in handheld mode,
Zelda: I’ll often do more exploration and maintenance like activities - cooking food, looking for ingredients, hunting for shrines. Less intense combat like situations (but this does work just fine)
Splatoon: I really like playing this on the Pro Controller - so if I’m away from my dock, I’d stand the console up and still use the Pro Controller-
Mario: Explore explore explore… there are so many little things to hunt for and find that don’t require intense finesse, there’s always something to do :)

There are a number of quick, 3rd party titles that I haven’t had time to delve in to - If I rode the train to/from work every day I’m sure I would have pulled down a few of these.

Fast RMX - was one downloaded title I picked up for quick short term game play when the library catalog was smaller. I doubt I would pick that one up as of today.

2812

Breath of the Wild is the best video game ever made. If it clicks with you you’ll easily get 200 hours out of it.

Mario Odyssey is really damn good. It might be the best Mario game.

You can play real video games on an airplane (like Zelda), not trash iphone games. I played Mario Kart on a flight to DC with a work buddy, we each had a joycon and played split screen for an hour and a half.

There’s a pretty deep indie library

Once Virtual Console hits, it will have the best game library of any platform.

The kids love it.

2813

I have a few buddies that aren’t into Nintendo stuff and still wanted a Switch. One bought one, and then about 3 months later (just this week) sold his. The other I talked out of, and I’ll talk you out of one too.

The problem is the Switch, while an amazing piece of hardware and very easy and fun to use (I’ll get into that in a bit) is still mostly about the 1st part games. And the reason for that is if you have a PC (and being “not a console gamer”, I am guessing like my two buddies you have a decent gaming PC) most of the games you would want anyway can be picked up on Steam for a lot cheaper than you’d be paying for on the Switch. And if games like Zelda, Mario + Rabbids, Spaltoon, Mario Odyssey, Xenoblade Chroniclses 2 and etc. don’t really do much for you just being able to play a game like Binding of Isaac on the go is unlikely to make you happy about dropping $299+ on the ability to do so.

Now, that said, I freaking love the Switch. I’m also not really nearly as much of a console gamer as I am a PC gamer, but this year I have fallen in love with Zelda, then Mario+Rabbids, and most recently Mario Odyssey. And Xenoblade Chronicles looks amazing as well. Being able to turn on the console (which turns on my TV) and then pick up my pro controller and play a game on it has been a delight, like when I was a kid and playing games on my (Nintendo) console. And not because they are Nintendo games, but just because the 1st party stuff looks so amazing, so bright and inviting, and play so well.

And being able to pick it up off the dock and go sit at my desk and play while I have Netflix going or to the couch while I am also watching TV is so good. But again, this is a secondary benefit to a game I’m already enjoying, not the reason I bought the system. I can just as easily play games on Steam with my second display giving me Netflix or Amazon video.

So if the 1st party stuff isn’t doing it for you, despite how much I love my Switch I can’t really say you’d get much out of it. Unless you travel a lot, I suppose - then you may well as there are LOTS of great PC games available on the system right now, and more coming all the time.

2814

I’ll add I typically travel for work once a month so the Switch has been great for me. The only problem is telling my kids I’m taking it with me.

2815

Reading other posts… just to echo.

I have 2 boys 10 and 8… they both love it.

I’m more of a PC gamer than a console gamer.
That being said, I now currently have a Xbox One, PS3, Wii U, and Switch all connected to my TV. the Switch has seen more activity than any other console I’ve owned since the original Wii - given the library I expect that the Switch will surpass the total game time played on my Wii quickly, if it hasn’t already! (including non-docked play time)

2816

I’ll quote myself from a while ago in this thread, if that’s not too gauche:

The console just has so much flexibility. It’s crazy – when I’m at home by myself, I can play Golf Story on the TV. When my wife comes home and wants to catch up on Hulu shows, we switch the TV over to the PS4, and I take the console out of the dock and resume playing on the couch, without missing a beat. Then I put it in a case and take it over to my mom’s house, where I set it up on a table and play co-op Lego games with my niece. It’s a video game system that lets me play it anytime I want but respects the multitude of circumstances I might be in when I want to play.

I think the library is great, even if you choose to believe that third-party support is still weak (I think that’s true for AAA titles, but there’s a great selection of indies). And for games that are also available on other systems, I sometimes still lean toward the Switch versions because of the flexibility of the system.

2817

@KevinC The Switch (right now) is a system that offers you games you won’t find anywhere else from Nintendo, alongside a lot of Independently Developed games from smaller game makers. It is a unique mix of software that isn’t represented on the other consoles or PC platform. It also allows you to play those games on the couch or on the go, or on the go on the couch! It’s powerful enough that it feels current while also allowing for a very reasonable amount of battery life on the go.

Nintendo’s games have changed since the NES in the sense that they are now often easier to start and finish but then expand into that realm of difficulty you might remember from the NES days after the main game is complete. The lineup includes a lot of action-oriented games, some of which harken back to more arcade-style designs. With each genre they tackle, there are often new and unique twists on something you might be familiar with already. Super Mario Odyssey is very much a platform game in the mold of Super Mario 64, but it adds Cappy for a very unique “shooting” mechanic that also expands the ability to tackle horizontal and vertical platform challenges. Splatoon takes the primary conceit of a shooter and turns it on its head by asking you to shoot the ground instead of the other players, although you can do that too. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of Wild gives you a box of tools and just says, “Go have fun!” with little direction, but then functions in ways that are usually internally consistent and seemingly right in line with the imaginary (and real) physics you’d expect of those tools.

That’s what Nintendo does, and it’s what makes them so appealing to me specifically. Their games are typically inventive and beautiful in ways that are altogether familiar on the surface and yet completely different in execution. If you dig it, you find yourself thinking, “Man, that’s just smart, and damn fun!” If you like colors, they also use all of them in their games, so you’re not only in dark places with blacks and browns, but also bright sunny ones with oranges and pinks and blues. They often inform on gameplay through environments too, in ways many games fail to do. They have cues that are subtle but also will telegraph the stuff you really need to know, and usually not through text!

One thing for sure is Nintendo will support the Switch with lots of games. Indies will also support it with lots of games. 3rd Parties will support it with some games, but not all of them. For sure though, all those Nintendo games will only be playable on Switch, so if you want to play them, you’ll just have to buy a console for yourself or bum one from a friend.

2818

I have a PS4 and tons of games on Steam and my iOS devices. These days, I exclusively play the Switch. It’s super easy to pick up and take along or to plop in the dock for playing on the TV. My kids absolutely love it and it’s great for me that I can play games with them on it, regardless of whether it is on the TV or in handheld mode.

Also… Stardew Valley. I bounced off of it 3-4 times on Steam but it’s really clicking now, in part because it’s such a good game to cart around or to relax with before bed, etc. The indie scene, in general, is great on the Switch. I think it’s only going to get better.

I think the Switch will be around for a long time and have a very healthy life.

2819

It’s the best portable gaming device available. It’s the only place you’re going to get Nintendo games for the forseeable future. It has the best launch year line-up of possibly any console ever. It is at least capable of running current gen games from other platforms, and third parties appear increasingly willing to support it. It is an indie gamer’s dream, pricing aside.

2820

I’m going to disagree with @Scotch_Lufkin a bit here. I don’t think you necessarily have to be a big fan of Nintendo franchises (thoughthat certainly doesn’t hurt). My favorite game on the system so far has been Steamworld Dig 2.

You mention a portable console is appealing to you. Can you expand on that? For me, I wanted something to bridge the gap between my PC and a tablet. There are games I wanted to play, but didn’t want to sit at my computer to play, and aren’t suited to touch controls.

I loved playing Steamworld Dig, jumping between portable mode and docked as I pleased. I know I probably wouldn’t have started paying, let alone finished if I’d bought it on Steam. If that’s what you want, it might work for you, provided you are willing to put up with limited (though rapidly growing) selection and paying a premium for those games over what they would cost on steam or mobile.

2821

This in particular. The first-party games are top grade stuff, but yet another opportunity to buy Oceanhorn, Neon Chrome, Stardew Valley, Metal Slug X, Axiom Verge, or Shovel Knight isn’t a huge plus for a gamer who has been using other platforms.

2822

And this was my cousin’s point - he has a gaming laptop, so he could buy Steamworld Dig 2 and play on that and if he waited a bit it would certainly be 25-70% off at some point even. On Switch, it will most assuredly NOT ever be on sale, and in fact many games (maybe not Steamworld Dig, I’m switching gears a bit here) are often a little more expensive on Switch than other places.

I love my Switch, it’s probably my favorite gaming experience of the entire year, but as soon as someone tells me “I want a Switch but I don’t really want Zelda or Mario or other Nintendo stuff” I always tell them, “Then don’t get a Switch.”

What I don’t get is WHY people I know and grew up loving the same stuff as me can not want to play new Mario and Zelda. My cousin told me watching a gameplay trailer for Odyssey made him cringe. But that’s probably another topic for another day.

2823

Hey! My two cents is that I thought I would like the Switch but coming from PC and iOS I was kind of shocked at the paucity of games. I know people will chime in and complain this is the best launch ever for Nintendo, and that may well be true, but I’m judging compared to all other game platforms. And I think the historic perspective belies the real gap. If you don’t like Mario or Zelda you may well not like the Switch. The success of indie games on the Switch - games like The Flame and the Flood which were good games but were swamped by the overwhelming number of games on Steam - shows that the demand for games is exceeding the number of games available.

Games like Stardew Valley, Tacoma or Necropolis I can play with a PC hooked up to the TV. The iOS has tons of neat games like Old Mans Tale, Love You to Bits, and now even The Witness that I’d rather play than most Switch games, not to mention Kami, Oxenfree, etc. And on a device with a much better screen in both size and quality. And then I have a PS4 Pro for even more gaming than I can handle. And a gaming laptop that can play Total War games, etc. Far too many gaming devices to fit a Switch into. And in some way the maturity or kind of game I’m more into.

So as much as I’d like the Switch in different circumstances I’m so “tanked up” there’s just no need for it. I found Zelda just wasn’t worth $360 to me, and I can play Wonder Boy the Dragon’s Trap on the TV without a Switch. I should also point out I was a Sega guy as a kid and so I just don’t have the connection with a lot of this Nintendo stuff others do - but remakes like the Dragon’s Trap of games I did play back then, I do still have a fondness for. I never played Zelda except for a couple days on a rental, for ex.

2824

It is if you value portability. The ability to quickly swap between handheld and TV is worth the extra cost for me for certain games. I’ll be much more likely to play it that way instead of sitting at my desk on my computer. I have my TV set up to play Steam games also, but it’s not nearly the seamless experience I get with the Switch.

2825

This seems a bit weird to me. The PC has been around for decades, and iOS has been around for exactly a decade. The Switch is less than a year old. Of course there are going to be more games on those platforms. The point is, many of the great new indie games are on Switch, and many of the best recent ones have been or are being ported. If you want to play new indie games on a handheld, the Switch is where you’ll do it.

I’m not going to argue that you’re better off, value-wise and breadth of library-wise, playing on PC. But the fact remains the Switch has an astonishingly good library of both AAA and indie games for a console so early in its life. And I say this as someone who was deeply skeptical about the line-up before launch.

2826

Thanks, all, for your opinions! I should be getting a bonus from work, and I think I might be interested in taking the plunge and giving it a go.

How likely do you think it is that there are sales, discounts, bundles, etc on Black Friday? Do you think it’s work waiting a few weeks, or is the Switch new enough that a discount is unlikely?

2827

I mean that’s fine, but I literally I have dozens of unplayed games right now on Steam or PS4 Plus. Aside from maybe FIFA what is portable Zelda worth for me? If I had an hour long metro commute every day, it would be awesome. But I don’t, so I really don’t need it.

Anyway it to thread crap! Just a perspective of someone who already had more games and gaming platforms than is healthy. If I sold all my PCs and consoles and left myself with just a Switch I’m sure I would be more than satisfied. But… those are sunk costs already.

2828

Well sure. I don’t really understand the people who view this as a console first and a handheld second, unless they’re really into Nintendo first party stuff. Unless you are, it’s totally not worth getting as a console. But as someone who does have a commute and hates long journeys, it’s amazing.

2829

Until very recently you were lucky to find a store with the Switch in stock, so I’m gonna put a Black Friday sale at roughly 0% (plus a few of the Black Friday ads have leaked and have Switch at full retail). There are a couple bundles but they don’t offer a discount; instead it’s an exclusive themed JoyCon color based on whatever the bundled game is.