Is it time to Switch?
So the cat is out of the bag (finally), and Nintendo has dropped the bomb. Their Nintendo Switch will hit stores on March 3rd, 2016 for $299 (USD).
Header Image Credit: Nintendo
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Oh, wait… There’s more.
Nintendo certainly has presented an enticing package, showcasing some truly innovative ideas for a home/portable console, and proving that even when they seem like they’ve run out of ideas, they can still surprise. However, it’s not all sunshine and squids, as there are some rather puzzling things they’ve presented. Let’s jump in.
Switching Things Up
There were a few things that we already knew from the initial tease of the Switch; the most obvious of which is the portability of the console experience. Let’s let that sink in a bit. A portable console experience. One of the biggest beefs I have with handheld and mobile gaming is that the experiences that they provide are so trimmed down.
A shooter on my tablet plays like garbage because they need to make it entirely playable with a touch screen, and it has to work on such a wide range of architectures and specifications. An adventure game on a handheld suffers from the limitations of the hardware. I can’t tell you how bummed out I was that Lego City Undercover (don’t judge me) is such a cut-down experience on the 3DS compared to the WiiU. The Nintendo Switch doesn’t appear to have that same issue. The worst you’ll have to deal with is that instead of running at 1080p (docked), you’ll be playing at 720p when on the go.
You want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild on the go? Well you’re in luck because it will play the roughly same in tablet form as it will when it’s docked. Better yet, while it isn’t nearly as powerful as the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, Nintendo has still managed to squeeze every ounce of power out of the system. It’s something that they’re remarkably good at.
Image Credit: Legend Of Zelda Reddit
Speaking more about the games, Nintendo has shown that they still have what it takes to come up with interesting titles for their new system. Breath Of The Wild is an obvious choice for gamers picking up the system, but there are a number of other titles hitting the Switch as well: Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey, Bomberman R, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Minecraft, and more.
Nintendo will also be joining the rest of the consoles by allowing the native ability to capture screenshots, and eventually videos as well. Just like the other consoles too, the Switch will not be region-locked!
More good news comes in the form of being able to purchase additional docks to place strategically throughout your house. If you start playing Breath Of The Wild in your living room and need to give up the TV, you’d be able to pick up the tablet portion and plunk it down into the dock in your room to carry on smashing some poor villager’s pottery.
Some Concerns
First, the Switch will be releasing at $299 for the system alone here in the US, matching the price of the Xbox One and PS4. My worry is that despite the system having a suitable niche to fill and proving its worth, it might not sell well enough at this price point. The issue is that adoption rates need to be high enough to compel third-parties to continue releasing on the platform, and if sales are as stagnant as they were with the WiiU, we might see a repeat the events that unfolded with Nintendo’s soon-to-be obsolete console. A lower price might prove to be the best way to increase adoption rates, but given the package that Nintendo has on offer, I don’t think they could sell it much cheaper without taking a huge hit to profits.
Continuing in this vein of concern, the accessories for the Switch are pretty pricey. A single Joy-Con will run about $50, and the vastly more comfortable looking Pro controller is $70. With this in mind, to get the system, one game, and the controllers necessary to play with a friend (along with the Pro controller), you’ll be looking at a price tag of about $500. The least you could probably get away with spending is about $360 before taxes for the system and one game, which might be enough for some people.
Image Credit: Business Insider Nordic
But this is all assuming that you manage to find one. It’s up in the air whether or not you’ll actually be able to buy a Switch at launch since Nintendo’s name is generally synonymous with availability problems these days. The original Wii and New 3DS were extremely difficult to get a hold of close to launch, and the NES Classic is still almost impossible to find. The only reason the WiiU was purchasable at many locations was because the marketing for it was remarkably inadequate. As of right this moment, many retailers are already sold out on preorders, so hopefully larger allocations will be allowed by Nintendo.
Nintendo is also joining Sony and Microsoft by charging for their online service now, so anyone with multiple platforms (aside from PC) who wants to play each online will now have two to three separate membership subscriptions to deal with. Nintendo has the chance to make this new service worth it as long as the price isn’t too high, the service works well, and the bonuses they’re promising are substantial enough.
Of course, those bonuses might include downloadable games, which compounds another issue. The base system will have a pathetic 32GB of storage space. Now, I realize that storage is at a premium on a portable platform, but when many gamers are choosing to buy their games digitally, 32GB of storage just won’t cut it, making the purchase of additional storage almost necessary.
Also, with Nintendo allowing players to capture media straight from the device, they need to lighten the restrictions they’ve been placing on fair use. If they really want to have players make use of the capture function, they can’t be using copyright takedowns on every fan uploading videos of his or her exploits in Super Mario Odyssey or Splatoon 2.
But What Does This All Mean?
All things considered, even with the limitations I’ve noted, I’m still extremely interested in the Switch. It’s hard to not want to buy one, though you won’t catch me lining up on March 3rd. Instead I’ll be watching this one closely. I basically skipped the last two generations of Nintendo consoles, so I feel like I’ve been missing out. If my initial impressions of the Switch so far are any indication of things to come, I think Nintendo may have another hit system on their hands.
I’d buy a Switch on day one if they released a new Rogue Squadron game though. Or even made Rogue Squadron II playable on the Switch.
DO YOU HEAR ME NINTENDO? ROGUE SQUADRON. I WANT IT!
Falcon Game Reviews 
Oh, man. I’m interested in the new tech, but I got the feeling that Nintendo was trying a little to hard to play with the “big boys” of consoles. I don’t think Nintendo has the type of reputation to warrant a price/pay-for-online services comparable to a PS4 or Xbox One (rightly or wrongly), but they are putting such a strong marketing muscle behind the Switch they might somehow pull it off! And, of course, their unique innovations has garnered enough interest that fans might cough up the money.
Pending game lineup, I agree that the Switch has a lot of potential to be wildly successful, since it’s going to everything fans wanted the Wii U to be, and more.
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God I hope they pull this off, while actually deserving it. I’d hate to live to see the rise and fall of Nintendo, no matter how many boneheaded moves they’ve made.
It’s hard to deny that the hype is affecting me a little though. An Xbox fanboy getting sucked in by a Nintendo!
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Right? I think, above all else, Nintendo is a survivor. They got a little complacent after the Wii, but they seem to have gotten their act together.
No shame in appreciating Nintendo! I broke up with them during the GameCube stage to pursue a love affair with Sony, but you can’t deny they have a way of pulling people back in!
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Prediction – Switch will be out for about 6 months, will struggle at a $300 price point, and will be cut by $100 in the fall. You heard it here first folks!
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I could see it, but I think that this iteration of the Nintendo will actually perform. Assuming they don’t shoot themselves in the foot by not sending enough units to stores.
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They won’t. I need to preorder.
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I would keep an eye out for available units then. Most retailers are sold out I think.
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There will be a price drop around Christmas I would think which I suspect will lead to this being a big seller around that time of year. I’m interested and my wife is interested too which certainly helps when it comes to buying one. I’m going to hang back for a while and wait for price drops and more releases though.
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Just one? Just kidding – but for some odd reason my husband is interested in getting two. Normally I am the ‘Nintendo” player, so to see him want more has me wondering why… maybe our past experience with not enough memory when it comes to multiple people playing on one. And I want Zelda too much to wait for the price drop. XD
But you have a good plan. If I wasn’t so impatient/such a fangirl, I would do the same.
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Yeah, the memory capacity is a concern, especially when it comes to digital purchases. I’m happy to hang back for now, couldn’t afford one even at that price right now anyway :-p
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It’ll be compatible with Micro SD cards at least, for what it’s worth.
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True, though it is another additional cost. And seeing how the costs for this system seem to keep mounting, it puts me off a little.
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With a price point like that, it will be hard to compete for sure. Hopefully, Nintendo makes it through it. I’m excited about the games coming out for Switch, and I’d like to see it do at least better than the Wii U. Time will tell, but I’m certainly pleased about the console/handheld hybrid enough to preorder it!
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I want it to do well. All we can do is wait and see I suppose. Hopefully they get the message right this time!
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About to write a piece on this! I thought that the reveal was so funny, I couldn’t take it seriously until… the pricing. Jeez, that pricing is serious.
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Yeah, the $300 for the system alone with no games and ridiculously priced accessories…
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That’s like a very very bad joke that isn’t even funny.
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It seems as though Nintendo intentionally limits stock on launch in order to generate false ‘hype’ for their products and the price point for the Switch is a little high compared to the more reasonable £200 price tag rumoured in 2016. That said, the Switch boasts an interesting design that hasn’t been seen on the mainstream market before. The Switch’s design is not entirely original though. The GPD XD for example, has HDMI capability and is a gaming tablet/handheld modelled after the Nintendo 3DS XL. Definitely worth the modest price of £125 that I paid for it. The distinct difference between these two particular consoles is processing power. You’ll struggle playing anything over 32 bit on the GPD XD and THAT is why the Switch is an exciting innovation!
Like you, I’ll be waiting for the price to drop before sinking my bucks into this one. Great post! 🙂
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The Switch is definitely an exciting platform idea, but like the WiiU, I think it has a lot to prove. We’ll just have to wait and see I suppose.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
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I hope this does better than the Wii U! I still enjoyed the Wii U very much! I just hope Nintendo makes enough from it ^-^
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I think they’re on track for a good launch at least. The message is pretty clear about the Switch, which is far more than could be said for the WiiU.
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Oh my goodness… that last comment… I am dying. XD
But I have to say, even though I has hesitant about the Switch (and some factors I still am) I am stoked. A LARGE part of that may be because I am a huge Zelda Fangirl, but we are going to ignore that for now.
Some of the ‘upgrades’ to the games I am just all happy about. By that, I am mostly excited by the looks of Super Mario Odessy (or however you spell the darn thing). I was like “eh” at first until my husband had me watch the trailor. Usually I am the one pushing big for Nintendo in the household. He’s “eh” about it overall (I mean, he isn’t even a fan of ZELDA. WHAT DID I DO??) but to see him get excited, I approve.
Now, I am not all for that “It becomes a handheld!”… What? No. If I wanted an handheld, I’d get one darn it! But then I remembered the times on the Wii U when my daughter wanted to watch TV and I wanted to continue beating Wind Waker for the second time because I mean, it had a FASTER SAIL that I could mess with and discover the whole map even faster than I did LAST TIME –
I had a point. Hold on.
Ah yes.
It was nice to be able to continue my game by having it on the Wii U Pad while she watched TV. Life was good.
So, I am giving this a chance. I am going to be stoked about the games, and hope that it turns out well and that I have another console to enjoy. Please Nintendo?
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I’m excited for the Switch. The storage space issue and price do bother me a little, but not to the point that I’m put off.
Nintendo isn’t a perfect company, and I don’t always understand their decisions, but despite that I’ve never felt let down by them. Their games shine brilliantly every generation. As such, I’m willing to give them my money once again. Although, probably not on launch day. Even if I could find one, I don’t think I would be able to save that much in such a space of time…
Yes. Rogue Squadron. Yes, please. That could be a real game changer.
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You summarized my feelings about Sony and Microsoft actually. They don’t always make smart decisions, but it doesn’t make me not want to buy their products. Interesting that so many don’t give Nintendo the same leeway sometimes.
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