Nintendo Switch: Thoughts, Hopes, and First Impressions

Hey nerds!

In case you've been living in a cave, Nintendo released their formal presentation for the Nintendo Switch last week. It was.....entertaining to say the least.

First of all, I was already on board with the Switch since it was first announced under the NX codename. I'm a huge Nintendo fangirl. I feel a lot of their video games are made to be played socially and that to me is the whole point of gaming. Don't get me wrong, I can spend a whole 9 hours gaming solo while Jonathan is at work and enjoy the hell out of it. However, I adore the social aspect of it. I like having our gaming group take on RPGs together and having party games like Smash or Mario Kart as a part of our weekend festivities with friends. This is something that I've noticed as being very consistent with Nintendo, since my days playing on the 64. 

This still seems to be a huge selling point for the Switch, with the ability to play with 8 simultaneous Switch consoles and the two Joy-Cons (the mini side controllers). It seems very co-op oriented which I'm pretty excited about. 


Here's what you need to know about the Switch. 

All photos are from the Nintendo website.


Gameplay

We got a first detailed look at the play modes for the Switch during the presentation. There are three modes: Handheld, TV, and Tabletop. TV mode is what we are all used to. Plug it in to the TV, and using the Pro Controller or the Joy-Con Grip and Joy-Cons, play on the TV. Handheld is similar to the WiiU controller, with the Switch screen in the center and both Joy-Cons attached to the sides for on-the-go gaming. Tabletop combines these two with a kickstand on the back of the Nintendo Switch and the two Joy-Cons for you and a friend to play.

Left: Joy-Cons in the Joy-Con Grip. Right: Joy-Cons attached to the Switch.

This is kind of....meh for me because I would like to have local multiplayer on our TV instead of just during tabletop play. I'm sure it will still be possible, but it would be nice to not have to buy a second controller for these purposes.

Console and Specs

The Nintendo Switch will be released March 3rd, at a price of $299.99. Comparitively speaking, the WiiU was released for $249.99. Their will also be a subscription service for online play. At launch, players will be able to use the online software for free, which will change in the fall of this year to a fee. Nintendo did not announce pricing at this time.

Red-Blue variant version

For $299.99, you get the console, the docking station (for TV gameplay and docking), both L-R Joy-Cons, two Joy-Con wrist straps, the Joy-Con Grip, an HDMi cable, and the Switch AC adapter. These packages come in two colors, gray and a red-blue combo.

Extra accessories will cost you a lot more with the Pro Controller running at $69.99, extra sets of Joy-Cons at $89.99, a charging grip for simultaneous charging while playing at $29.99, and an extra dock for any other TVs at $89.99.

The Switch has a 6.2-inch screen and 32 GB of storage, which fortunately allows for expandable storage through microSD cards. There is also an amiibo scanner available on the Joy-Con.

My Thoughts

Let's talk about what I liked. I loved the screenshot button on the controller. I am a huge screenshotter during games so that is very convenient for me. I also love the portability of the console. Jonathan and I go camping with our gaming group every year so this will definitely be something to look forward to. 

I didn't like the small controllers. I understand, it helps make the Switch easier to move and play on-the-go, however these things are so small! It's going to be hard to get into a game with a small controller. Also, Joy-Con is a weird name for it. Not feeling that at all.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the lack of games to be released at launch. Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is going to be available, however the game I am most excited for, Super Mario Odyssey will be coming later this Christmas. It seems most of the other games will also be coming after the launch, so it may be sitting on my shelf for a while until the rest of the games come out. 
 

Overall, it could use a few tweaks and I know there will more than likely be some extra features, more controllers, more colors, and different accessories released later, but I plan on pre-ordering mine as soon as they become available. I'm even shrinking my birthday festivities to save up for it. 

You can check out the entirety of the presentation on Nintendo's website.

Do you plan on ordering? Let's chat in the comments!

Always, Raineedayze