Nintendo Switch: Pros and Cons

​Introduction: Switching up the way Games are played

Last Thursday night (1-12) I sat outside in the local Taco Bell parking lot at 10 pm bumming Wi-Fi to watch the Nintendo Switch Live Presentation from Tokyo. Initially I fanboyed harder than I think I ever have before and was super pumped for March 3rd. Now that I’ve had the time to calm myself and assess everything we were shown (And that was a lot) at the presentation that night. So without further delay here are my Pros and Cons of The Nintendo Switch Presentation.

Pros: Oh God, Where do I begin?

The Nintendo Switch will be released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the freshly announced 1, 2, Swtich on March 3rd Worldwide. The Portable Console will be sold at $299.99 USD suggested retail price, meaning it could go up or down a bit. The console will have online services much like the WiiU did. It will be free at first but will begin to cost later this year, and that’s not a bad thing. Paying for an online service means said service will be able to pay for more, and better servers, meaning better connectivity, and better matchmaking. You have to understand that nothing comes for free, and you get what you pay for. That was the problem with the WiiU’s online Service, and the Switch looks to rectify that and MANY more problems it’s predecessor had over its development.

A lot was talked about in terms of Hardware. First The system showed how the console works in it’s three different modes. Tv Mode; for when you want to play on your Tv. All you have to do is Dock the System into the Switch Dock and the game will go from the Tablet like screen to the Tv. Table-top Mode; When you want to play off the Tv. While the Switch is undocked, use the kickstand to use it as the screen.and play with the JoyCon Controller to play, or the Pro Controller. And finally Handheld mode; when you want to play on the go. Slide the JoyCon controllers into the sides of the Nintendo Switch and the Console becomes a portable device you take with you on the go. The Joy Cons themselves also have a new HD Rumble feature built in them to help determine exactly where a feeling is coming from. The best news though comes from one little thing they mentioned; The Nintendo Switch will not be region locked. Meaning that buying a system if you travel outside the country you bought the system in, you can still buy games while you're gone. The good news there is if a game comes out exclusively in Japan; you can still buy it and be able to pay it on your American bought Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo Announced a ton of new titles; the before mentioned 1, 2, Switch; a party game where you don’t look into the TV to play. And ARMS; a brand ​

new fighting game that uses Gyro Controls to punch extendable arms in a Boxing-like kind of fight. Splatoon 2 was also announced for launch in Summer, New Weapons including Dual Wielding, and a New Dash Mechanic. It’s good to see that the only reason to have a WiiU has a sequel coming out on the Switch. Another Long awaited Sequel approaches in Xenoblade 2! We don’t know much about it but it looks good, and I'm very happy with the new graphical look. Also Team Ninja is working with Nintendo yet again to create Fire Emblem Warriors: a new game featuring Fire Emblem characters in a dynasty warriors type of game, much like Hyrule Warriors released on the WiiU. Super Mario is also getting a new title coming in the Holiday season this year. Where he will travel to new worlds, including ours in Super Mario Odyssey. From what little we’ve seen I can’t wait to get my hands on the first real 3D Mario since Galaxy 2. He has a new hat companion in this title that he can throw to use as a projectile or a platform. It looks like it’ll be fun to speed run. And last but certainly not least. The most anticipated game for the last few years; the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. We got a new trailer at this presentation and an official launch release date! In this trailer, we saw many new things such as Ganon’s Tower, Shadow of the Colossus style boss fights, and even more of this beautiful landscape

The third party support Nintendo has needed is finally coming back and I could not be more excited! We’ve seen the picture of all the companies working to make software for the upcoming console, but I’m only going to highlight the ones who made an appearance during the press conference. Square Enix Announced both a ton of Dragon Quest though I’ve never been a big fan of the franchise, but they also announced Octopath Traveler. It looks to be a somewhat mix of Classic Final Fantasy and the Bravely Series. I’ve always been a fan of the classic JRPG System Mechanics, and will always support a new title that keeps that genre alive. We also got a new trailer from Atlus for Shin Magami Tensei V.As of late everything Atlus touches is Gold, and I hope this means we can see Persona 5 coming to the portable system. Bethesda Confirmed Skyrim is coming to the Switch witch means I may finally give the most well received western RPG a chance, and after finally playing Fallout 3 for the first time and enjoyed my experience; it’s given me nothing but reason to try out the title. The biggest name drop of all, was EA; who came to simply say that the world's best selling sports franchise of all time, FIFA, would ​​be coming to the switch! Maybe not the biggest news to the most hardcore of fans, but with a huge Triple A dev behind Nintendo means more casual fans of gaming could be more interested in the product. And more Triple A Devs could add their titles to The Next Generation. After all the games they showed another trailer to show us even more, Like Sonic Mania, Ultra Street Fighter 2: the Final Chapters, and a Logo of NBA 2K18,

and now...

The Cons: This Won’t Take Long

There’s not a lot I feel the need to complain about. First things first. I don’t understand why the new hardware has a charging cable that’s not a Micro USB. The Switch Uses the USB-C Port for it’s charging, and other than the simple truth that Nintendo has to do something out of left field; I don’t see why. Maybe Japan uses the USB-C charging cables more than we do in the US. But it just feels like a dumb move in my opinion. At least I can buy an adaptor at Wal-Mart for 10$. There was a bare minimal talk of Amiibos in the presentation. We know they are coming, and that the Joy Con Home Button Has a NFC Reader in it, But I would have loved to have seen Amiibos in ANY of the games they announced.. In terms of the actual presentation I like the fact that everything was done in Japanese it made it feel much more real, and that we didn’t have to hear everything from Reggie Fils-Aime makes me feel more connected to Nintendo as a company.

I know you’re thinking “That should be a Pro right?” Well it should if it wasn’t for some of the translators doing poor jobs and completely derailed the hype for me at certain times. Lastly I don’t see why Nintendo wasted our time with with both SEGA and Grasshopper Games to tell us that they are working on games.. Like SEGA didn’t even mention Sonic Mania, one of my most anticipated games this year, and it’s been announced to come out on the Switch, yet all SEGA said that they were excited to make games for the platform. Like wtf? Grasshopper was even worse. They Cock-Teased us with a new “No More Heroes” Title but wouldn’t give us a title on the “New game Starring Travis Touchdown.” Ya bitches.

Conclusion: Have you decided to Switch?

All in all, I’m very excited for the release of the Nintendo Switch. Will I be buying one at launch? No. Mostly because I’m too poor to afford a new $300 Console, and a $60 Game, But it’s also due to the fact that I don’t like to buy the first run of a new console. I’ll give it a few months and see what people have to say about it. I firmly think this is the best step Nintendo can take; They already own the mobile market of games in the US, and they are looking to overtake the Vita in Japan, which was the second best selling console this last generation over there (Second to the PS4). Nintendo may have created the best gaming hardware since the Gameboy with the switch, and I hope that statement is one I won't have to eat later. I’m gonna “Switch” it over to you. (See what I did there) Will you guys be buying the Switch? Tell me why or Why not in the comments below! But Until then, I hope you read the next one!

#Nintendo #Switch #Pros #Cons #Reviews #Presentation #Hype