Uncertainties with the Nintendo Switch

I’ve never really owned a handheld console before. The video game consoles I grew up with were all of the larger variety. My main consoles were the Playstation 2, which we bought on release, saving our pocket money. The Playstation 1 was played a lot as well. But we as a family didn’t get a new console until the Nintendo Wii came out. We only had a handful of games for the Wii, and the only one we played was Wii Sports.

These days, I’m part of the PC Master Race. Well, I’m not, I play on a mediocre laptop. But it turns out that mouse and keyboard are my preferred controllers, and I can do a lot more than just play games on said laptop.

That being said, both my siblings have recently bought themselves a Nintendo Switch. They opted for the cheaper Switch Lite version, which is solely a handheld device. They both thoroughly enjoy the Switch and spend a lot of time playing together while chatting over the phone or online. And because they’ve been enjoying themselves, they’ve been pestering me to get a Switch as well.

Unfortunately, I am not particularly certain whether I want to buy a Switch or not.

Animal Crossing looks like a lot of fun.

I’ve not played many Nintendo games before, but Animal Crossing is probably the first game I’d get. Especially since there’s a combo pack of a Switch and the game available, and Animal Crossing being the main game the siblings play. The idea of building my own little island with little villagers seems really nice and sweet. A not-at-all-stressful experience where I basically do what I want. It’s peaceful and cozy and the animals are adorable.

However, seeing how long it takes to flick through the various menus does put me off. I’m an impatient person as it is, I don’t want to be clicking through menus and conversations constantly.

Games are expensive

On the flip side, games for the Switch are EXPENSIVE. A lot of games, their prices go down over the years, or they’ll have a massive sale or something. There’s almost always a time that a game has been reduced by 50-75%. I feel like that doesn’t happen much on the Switch.

Games ported to the Switch don’t fare well either. The Binding of Isaac is on the Nintendo store with a high price tag, despite being an old game. That being said, I don’t really have a reason to buy games I already own on PC. After all, I can, well, just install whatever I want on my laptop.

Mobile gaming done well

There’s one particular selling point that both my siblings suggested. The Switch Light is a great handheld console. Being portable is a great thing in this day and age. According to the siblings, they both like the ability to play games whenever they want. Chilling on the sofa and wanting to play games? The Switch is there for you. Lying in bed? The Switch can help. Stuck in the bathroom with constipation? Again, the portability is great, even if your porta-potty makes your legs numb over time.

Although I should say, I’m mostly referring to the Switch Lite. If I were to get one, I would definitely get the lite version. Because it’s a lot cheaper. And I don’t really have any needs at all for playing on a big screen.

What other games would I even play?

Here is part of my problem though. Aside from Animal Crossing, what other games would I play? Remember, many Nintendo games are actually very expensive and rarely go on sale. So most of my gaming will probably be free to play stuff. In fact, off the top of my head, there’s only two games I’d actually play outside of Animal Crossing: Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee and, uh, Warframe. Most other games put me off because of the price. But at least I’d know exactly what I was getting into if I decided to get a Switch.

A pass for now

At the end of the day, I’m probably not going to buy a Switch. The amount of time I spend playing video games is plenty. I really don’t need to spend more time in front of a screen. And I kinda don’t really want to spend close to €300 on something else to play games on.