Can The Nintendo Switch Contend with the Current Gen of Consoles?

January 26, 2017

On January 12, 2017, Nintendo streamed the debut of the Nintendo Switch, a powerful portable gaming system that can display games on televisions. It is a unique idea, and Nintendo has always lead the handheld market so it is a smart move to bring all of their games to a single console. Up until the Switch, half of Nintendo’s games would be on a handheld, and half would be on the home console, so it is refreshing for Nintendo fans that the division seems to be coming to an end. On the stream the controllers were went over in detail, they announced the price point, and they showed trailers for some of the Switch’s strongest titles. Nintendo also announced a March 3, 2017, release date.

Now for the million-dollar question, how does the Switch hold up? Can this console make Nintendo viable competition in the console war?

Honestly, it was somewhat disappointing and I do not believe Nintendo will win any console wars anytime soon. First and foremost, it’s a portable console with a mediocre battery life of 3-6 hours depending on the game. Sure, there are plenty of charging options to help alleviate the poor battery life, but it does not do the console any favors having a single digit life span. Secondly, the accessories and price point are pretty steep. To be considered competitive with its pricing, the Switch needed to be priced at $249.99 or less. The Switch is going to start at $299.99; its controllers (which are smaller Wii-motes with better motion control and analog sticks) range from $49.99 for just one of them (they come in and are used in sets of two) to $79.99 for a set of two. The Pro Controller (what other consoles would consider a standard controller) prices in at $69.99, $10 more than the average PlayStation 4 or Xbox One Controller. The Switch and its accessories are more expensive than its more powerful competition.

This leaves just one question: can the games make up for the price and weak battery? It is very possible that yes, the games can make up for these short comings. Nintendo has the advantage of having more exclusives than any other console by a large margin, and this adds a value to their games not a lot of other third party games or exclusives have. The Switch it the only console you can play Mario Odyssey (Holiday 2017), Splatoon 2 (Summer 2017), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (launch), 1-2-Switch (launch), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (April 2017), and many more. Third party games like Fifa, Skyrim, and more will also come to the Switch over the course of 2017. While its launch line up may not be the strongest, by Christmas season this year, the Switch could be considered a must buy with the games it will have available. Games that we can take on the go (even if its battery life is only 3-6 hours).

I cannot recommend the Switch while it is practically $300 at launch with its weak line up. I would wait on this one until this holiday season, when it has its full first year library of games available. Even then, if anyone were looking for a console to buy this year I would pick up an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 first. Maybe as a second console or a handheld I can recommend the Nintendo Switch, but not as the ideal gaming console or a first next gen console.