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And well deserved, too! I was pretty much done with console gaming after the Wii. That was the most excited I ever was for a console (since I was 13), but after

And well deserved, too! I was pretty much done with console gaming after the Wii. That was the most excited I ever was for a console (since I was 13), but after the launch, I never played it nearly as much as my GameCube. I played about 5 games on my Wii U, and didn't even plan on getting a Switch, but my oh my could I have not been more wrong! I think the portability and the power to run pretty much any modern game (albeit with worse graphics) was a true winning combo. Also, I was just thinking today how it's crazy that Nintendo has been the dominant portable console maker basically since the Gameboy in 1989. There were some competitors, but nothing ever took the throne, just 33 years of being the King. Really impressive!

theshrike79 5y ago
I literally didn't even notice the WiiU release :) I heard the rumours and forgot about it. The next time I saw anything WiiU related it had already been in stores for a while. I don't know a single person who got one even near the release. _Everyone_ had a Wii though.
bane 5y ago
Same boat. After the Wii I was done. If I wanted to put money into gaming it was going to be on PC. The Switch isn't the most powerful, or has the best library (Nintendo first party games notwithstanding), or the most portable, but it's "good enough" at everything in the way VHS and MP3s were/are. It also helps that it's relatively inexpensive to get into, and has a huge indie game scene. So while you may not get the best version of "Soldiers on a Battlefield 2022" or whatever, there are hundreds of semi-exclusives. Getting a console and a portable in one unit was also brilliant and something that neither Sony or Microsoft can do with their "most powerful hardware first". Nintendo cares about things that affect the gameplay experience, and Microsoft and Sony care more about how cool the software is. Orthogonal purposes but it lets Nintendo, a relatively small company, compete globally and effectively against two 9 million pound mega giants.
- lelandfe 5y ago
  Without detracting anything from your other statements (the comparison to MP3 is excellent), "notwithstanding" is doing a lot of work in the line, "Nintendo first party games notwithstanding." Nintendo's games are the reason folks buy a Switch.[1] It's pretty unbelievable the record they (and especially EPD) have: 1. Breath of the Wild was game of the year for most publications, is considered by some the greatest game of all time[2], and single-handedly sold the console for many people I know 2. Super Mario Odyssey is generally heralded as one of the best Mario games ever made and shipped 22 million copies 2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the best selling fighting game of all time 3. Mario Kart 8 is the best selling racing game of all time, and the 7th highest selling video game of all time 4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the 13th highest selling video game of all time (2nd highest in Japan) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_Switch_video_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_... (and apropos of nothing, compare to PS4's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PlayStation_4_video_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PlayStati... - Switch's top 6 best sellers all moved more than PS4's #1) [2] https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-100-video-games-of-all-time https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-100-video-games-of-all...
  - bane 5y ago
    That's a really good point. In fact I did buy the Switch to play both BotW and SMO. I keep forgetting that Nintendo first party titles are so dominant in sales vs. other large franchises. I keep thinking they're just large on the one platform.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - cableshaft 5y ago
      Yeah I own like 100 games on the Switch at this point (most first party, several good third party, and some cheaper retro or indie games), and those two games are still the best games to me on the Switch, by far. I kind of doubt they're going to be topped, even by their sequels. BOTW, SMO, Baba is You, Persona 5 Royal, Outer Wilds, Subnautica, The Witness, God of War (2018 version), Nier Automata, Slay the Spire are all masterpieces of design in the past 5 years, for my tastes.
- jayd16 5y ago
  >Getting a console and a portable in one unit was also brilliant and something that neither Sony or Microsoft can do Actually the PSP had video out. Really just a marketing thing.
  - djrogers 5y ago
    Did it have a dock and come with removable controllers like it was always intended to be used with a big screen? Nope, it did not. It’s not ‘just a marketing thing’ when a product is designed in a completely different way, with different goals.
    - jayd16 5y ago
      I mean, it was the controller in an era of wired controllers.
      - reissbaker 5y ago
        The (affordable) technology of the time didn't allow for easy dock/undock experience like the Switch does. That doesn't mean it was "just a marketing difference," the product experience was worse and wasn't designed to easily be used as both a portable console and a dedicated living room device.
      - philistine 5y ago
        What if you needed to recharge your PSP battery while playing? It had video out, but it was never designed for a couch experience. It was the typical Sony let's do all the things at once mentality. No one bought it for that reason alone, but it, and all the other weird features of the PSP, probably helped it become the only viable portable competitor to Nintendo in 30 years.
        alpaca128 5y ago
        Too bad Sony then decided to get rid of the video output in the PS Vita even though it was possible (the dev kit had HDMI) and contrary to the PSP it actually made sense as at this point mobile hardware was so much better due to the smartphone industry. One of many small mistakes that made the Vita much less enjoyable overall.
- zitterbewegung 5y ago
  Nintendo figured out when the xBox came out that if you weren't Sony and or Microsoft you would have a really hard time competing in the space so they tried just to focus on making consoles that had some kind of gimmick and optimizing on having fun and they had a clear domination over the mobile space. I would say that the Switch is their response to Apple as being off balance on the mobile space and they were easily defeated by just focusing on a fun and portable console that also can be plugged into a TV. Really the Switch has a NVIDIA Tegra 1 and the rest of the console is Nintendo's design.
  - jmcgough 5y ago
    Way before xbox, this has been their strategy since before they were making video games. Gunpei Yokoi, who came up with the idea (and practically nintendo's entire electronics division), called it "lateral thinking with withered technology" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_with_Withered_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_...).
    - lelandfe 5y ago
      Classic example of this: Sega Game Gear: full-color screen, $150, 4hr battery life Nintendo Game Boy: monochromatic screen, $90, 30hr battery life
      - celticninja 5y ago
        Yup the game gear was technically better but the cost difference meant the Gameboy was more ubiquitous and so that's what sold. Also for the switch, a lot of kids who had Gameboy's when they came out are now working and can afford a souped up handheld alongside their main console.
        mcphage 5y ago
        Technically more powerful. Better… well, not with no battery life, it wasn’t.
- noobermin 5y ago
  To help the thread, this is the Nintendo way of "lateral thinking with withered technology.[0]" They for example choice lack of color for the Gameboy for the sake of battery life, that is, using cheap technology that can be replicated and mass produced well. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_with_Withered_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_... From the venerable Gunpei Yokoi, who helped develop the original Metroid and the Gameboy
- Aeolun 5y ago
  > If I wanted to put money into gaming it was going to be on PC. I think people that are otherwise PC gamers make for a great audience for Nintendo. They don’t need any power, they already have that on the PC. What they want is to be able to carry the thing around and play anywhere they want.
k__ 5y ago
This. But the Wii failed pretty hard in terms of games. After the 5th mini games collection it became pretty boring...
Alex3917 5y ago
I mostly lost interest in AAA games when I was 14 or so, but the Switch has been great for going back and playing some of the games that came out around then that I never got a chance to play. The idea of closing out of all my work stuff and rebooting into another operating system is just a complete non-starter, but the Switch is perfect just to grab whenever I'm backing up my hard drive, upgrading my OS, the Internet is down, etc.
- bluedino 5y ago
  I was around the same age. A bunch of things all factor into that, that 14-16 age
  - Alex3917 5y ago
    Yeah for me it was just the beginning of high school. It was pretty obvious that if I kept playing Ultima Online or whatever for 10 hours a day then it was going to destroy my life, so I gave it up before freshman year started. Every couple years I'll get into a game and spend a few weeks playing it, e.g. with Breath of the Wild a couple year ago, but I purposely don't let myself play games that just go on indefinitely like WoW. Whereas that's not an issue with indie games that only last five or ten hours. And similarly, it's been fun going back and playing Baldur's Gate, which I never got to play when it came out.
KennyBlanken 5y ago
> the power to run pretty much any modern game (albeit with worse graphics) To be specific: 720p and severely degraded effects, textures, models, anti-aliasing, etc - and you'll be lucky to get 60fps. The Switch has about as much horsepower as a ~6 year old mid-tier Android phone.
- styfle 5y ago
  The nice thing is that most games don’t _feel_ underpowered on Switch. Sure the graphics don’t look as good but it’s not laggy in the games I’ve tried. For example: Immortals Fenyx Rising is cross platform, but it feels smooth. I would rather play on Switch than other consoles so I can occasionally play while traveling. It’s really nice to have the same game, same save point, with same controller on the TV or on the go.
- msh 5y ago
  Nah. It got the power of a really high end 6 year old Android phone. And with the fan it can provide more power than the same soc in a phone form factor.
- hajile 5y ago
  Theoretical power and actual power in phones are quite different. Phones throttle their chips down to nothing very quickly.
- Agentlien 5y ago
  My job these last few years has mainly been focused on trying to get games running smoothly across all platforms and finding workarounds or optimizations for switch has been the biggest part of it. It's so incredibly weak in comparison to any other modern console. It's literally a mobile SoC from 2015. As a user, however, the switch is by far my favorite console. It might not look as flashy but I can play almost any game I want anywhere I want.
firecall 5y ago
> Also, I was just thinking today how it's crazy that Nintendo has been the dominant portable console maker basically since the Gameboy in 1989 Imagine how many they would have sold if the iPhone didnt exist!
smoe 5y ago
I bought the Switch in part because of portability, but almost never ended up using this way. I used to game a lot as a child and teenager but almost stopped entirely once my job involved sitting in front of a screen all day. But I still like playing some games I can pick up to kill half an hour here and there, completely casual. The game selection, is perfect for this. Or a couple rounds of couch co-op. I have zero interest to play hyper competitive games with random people over the internet. The Switch really brought back the fond memories I had when first being exposed to gaming, when I kept going to my neighbors home to play Super Nintendo games against each other
- dorchadas 5y ago
  I do love the portability of my Switch, but eve more I do love how casual it is. And how a lot of their games, while they can be played multiplayer, are focused on single player stuff. They've great single player titles, and that keeps me coming back to Nintendo regularly (especially their mobile stuff, I'm pretty sure I've owned at least one iteration of everything since the Gameboy Pocket).
celticninja 5y ago
Atari lynx was possibly the best handheld game system, followed by the game gear, but their cost meant it most out to the more affordable Gameboy. I think though, what won it was not the hardware but the software. The switch is a great handheld console and a good console in dock mode. But Breath of the Wild was worth the cost of the console alone. I liken it to GTA IV or GTA V, but for my kids. It is a beautiful open world that really knocks out of the park every aspect, music, graphics, gameplay, puzzles. It is a beautiful game and I believe it is a major reason the switch is so successful, or at least it's launch period was. I also think that the portability is a huge factor, I know many households where they have a PS5 or and XBOX and a switch. Few people will buy all consoles but the switch being portable means it has the extra edge when deciding on a second system.
- type_enthusiast 5y ago
  Absolutely agree on Breath of the Wild. I think every successful console has The Game that really differentiates it (speaking as someone who never had a console growing up, just Sierra games). Having got a Switch for my son - Breath of the Wild is that game for Switch, but is also possibly the best game made so far. If you haven't played it, don't argue - just play it.
  - rosege 5y ago
    I remember the glory days with a N64, GoldenEye and 3 mates. That was definitely a peak gaming fun time for me back in the day.
  - distantaidenn 5y ago
    My fiancé got me an OLED Switch and BOTW this past Christmas. When I first started BOTW, I was like...umm...what do I do in this game? Then I realized: ANYTHING I WANT. Already have over 150 hours in the game. You can literally just wander around and enjoy. Find new and clever ways to kill enemies -- or befriend them if that's your style. You can play the game the way you want and at your own pace. Yeah, the game has some flaws, but I'd say it's the most rewarding game experience I've had in my 30+ years of gaming. You know a game is good when you don't even want to finish it!
14 5y ago
I really enjoyed the PSP or PlayStation portable. It was the first thing I ever hacked and played games for free. Set me on a path. But I do love my switch greatly. It appeals to me with the kid friendly games. Watching my 5 year old develop his hand eye coordination makes my heart melt.
selfhifive 5y ago
I'm always impressed with how much risk they take from generation to generation. N64, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, and Switch. GB, GBA, DS, 3DS, and Switch. All of them feel like a generational leap instead of the incremental improvement model of other companies.
- laumars 5y ago
  Interestingly the Wii is more or less the same hardware as the GC but with upgraded specs. In fact the Wii even has GC ports on it (for GC controllers and memory cards) and plays GC discs. Additionally the Wiimote was originally designed to be an add on for the GC before Nintendo decided to release it as the primary controller for their next console.
dartharva 5y ago
> the power to run pretty much any modern game (albeit with worse graphics) Huh? Any modern game?? I'm pretty sure just a small fraction of modern AAA titles is available on the Switch.
- jquery 5y ago
  That used to be the case, but modern game engines like Unity make it easy to plop out an switch-capable version. The hardware is similar enough to a normal PC that it’s a matter of just turning the graphics down (way, way down). It certainly wasn’t a majority at the start but now more than half of new AAA releases have a Switch version. That said, buying a switch to play AAA games is not ideal. I find the graphics compromises too great, myself. Indie games (only certain genres like platforming), visual novels and Nintendo-first-party games are what I find the switch excels at.
andrepd 5y ago
I must be about your age and damn, I played so much Wii. I must have >200h on several games: both Mario Galaxy's (one of my favourite games), Wii Sports Resort, Smash, etc. On the contrary my Switch is almost exclusively a BotW machine x) bar a few indie games here and there. I must be getting old

theshrike79 5y ago

I literally didn't even notice the WiiU release :) I heard the rumours and forgot about it. The next time I saw anything WiiU related it had already been in stores for a while. I don't know a single person who got one even near the release. _Everyone_ had a Wii though.

bane 5y ago

Same boat. After the Wii I was done. If I wanted to put money into gaming it was going to be on PC. The Switch isn't the most powerful, or has the best library (Nintendo first party games notwithstanding), or the most portable, but it's "good enough" at everything in the way VHS and MP3s were/are. It also helps that it's relatively inexpensive to get into, and has a huge indie game scene. So while you may not get the best version of "Soldiers on a Battlefield 2022" or whatever, there are hundreds of semi-exclusives. Getting a console and a portable in one unit was also brilliant and something that neither Sony or Microsoft can do with their "most powerful hardware first". Nintendo cares about things that affect the gameplay experience, and Microsoft and Sony care more about how cool the software is. Orthogonal purposes but it lets Nintendo, a relatively small company, compete globally and effectively against two 9 million pound mega giants.

lelandfe 5y ago
Without detracting anything from your other statements (the comparison to MP3 is excellent), "notwithstanding" is doing a lot of work in the line, "Nintendo first party games notwithstanding." Nintendo's games are the reason folks buy a Switch.[1] It's pretty unbelievable the record they (and especially EPD) have: 1. Breath of the Wild was game of the year for most publications, is considered by some the greatest game of all time[2], and single-handedly sold the console for many people I know 2. Super Mario Odyssey is generally heralded as one of the best Mario games ever made and shipped 22 million copies 2. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the best selling fighting game of all time 3. Mario Kart 8 is the best selling racing game of all time, and the 7th highest selling video game of all time 4. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the 13th highest selling video game of all time (2nd highest in Japan) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_Switch_video_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_Nintendo_... (and apropos of nothing, compare to PS4's: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PlayStation_4_video_games https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PlayStati... - Switch's top 6 best sellers all moved more than PS4's #1) [2] https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-100-video-games-of-all-time https://www.ign.com/articles/the-best-100-video-games-of-all...
- bane 5y ago
  That's a really good point. In fact I did buy the Switch to play both BotW and SMO. I keep forgetting that Nintendo first party titles are so dominant in sales vs. other large franchises. I keep thinking they're just large on the one platform.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - cableshaft 5y ago
    Yeah I own like 100 games on the Switch at this point (most first party, several good third party, and some cheaper retro or indie games), and those two games are still the best games to me on the Switch, by far. I kind of doubt they're going to be topped, even by their sequels. BOTW, SMO, Baba is You, Persona 5 Royal, Outer Wilds, Subnautica, The Witness, God of War (2018 version), Nier Automata, Slay the Spire are all masterpieces of design in the past 5 years, for my tastes.
jayd16 5y ago
>Getting a console and a portable in one unit was also brilliant and something that neither Sony or Microsoft can do Actually the PSP had video out. Really just a marketing thing.
- djrogers 5y ago
  Did it have a dock and come with removable controllers like it was always intended to be used with a big screen? Nope, it did not. It’s not ‘just a marketing thing’ when a product is designed in a completely different way, with different goals.
  - jayd16 5y ago
    I mean, it was the controller in an era of wired controllers.
    - reissbaker 5y ago
      The (affordable) technology of the time didn't allow for easy dock/undock experience like the Switch does. That doesn't mean it was "just a marketing difference," the product experience was worse and wasn't designed to easily be used as both a portable console and a dedicated living room device.
    - philistine 5y ago
      What if you needed to recharge your PSP battery while playing? It had video out, but it was never designed for a couch experience. It was the typical Sony let's do all the things at once mentality. No one bought it for that reason alone, but it, and all the other weird features of the PSP, probably helped it become the only viable portable competitor to Nintendo in 30 years.
      - alpaca128 5y ago
        Too bad Sony then decided to get rid of the video output in the PS Vita even though it was possible (the dev kit had HDMI) and contrary to the PSP it actually made sense as at this point mobile hardware was so much better due to the smartphone industry. One of many small mistakes that made the Vita much less enjoyable overall.
zitterbewegung 5y ago
Nintendo figured out when the xBox came out that if you weren't Sony and or Microsoft you would have a really hard time competing in the space so they tried just to focus on making consoles that had some kind of gimmick and optimizing on having fun and they had a clear domination over the mobile space. I would say that the Switch is their response to Apple as being off balance on the mobile space and they were easily defeated by just focusing on a fun and portable console that also can be plugged into a TV. Really the Switch has a NVIDIA Tegra 1 and the rest of the console is Nintendo's design.
- jmcgough 5y ago
  Way before xbox, this has been their strategy since before they were making video games. Gunpei Yokoi, who came up with the idea (and practically nintendo's entire electronics division), called it "lateral thinking with withered technology" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_with_Withered_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_...).
  - lelandfe 5y ago
    Classic example of this: Sega Game Gear: full-color screen, $150, 4hr battery life Nintendo Game Boy: monochromatic screen, $90, 30hr battery life
    - celticninja 5y ago
      Yup the game gear was technically better but the cost difference meant the Gameboy was more ubiquitous and so that's what sold. Also for the switch, a lot of kids who had Gameboy's when they came out are now working and can afford a souped up handheld alongside their main console.
      - mcphage 5y ago
        Technically more powerful. Better… well, not with no battery life, it wasn’t.
noobermin 5y ago
To help the thread, this is the Nintendo way of "lateral thinking with withered technology.[0]" They for example choice lack of color for the Gameboy for the sake of battery life, that is, using cheap technology that can be replicated and mass produced well. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_with_Withered_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpei_Yokoi#Lateral_Thinking_... From the venerable Gunpei Yokoi, who helped develop the original Metroid and the Gameboy
Aeolun 5y ago
> If I wanted to put money into gaming it was going to be on PC. I think people that are otherwise PC gamers make for a great audience for Nintendo. They don’t need any power, they already have that on the PC. What they want is to be able to carry the thing around and play anywhere they want.

k__ 5y ago

This. But the Wii failed pretty hard in terms of games. After the 5th mini games collection it became pretty boring...

Alex3917 5y ago

I mostly lost interest in AAA games when I was 14 or so, but the Switch has been great for going back and playing some of the games that came out around then that I never got a chance to play. The idea of closing out of all my work stuff and rebooting into another operating system is just a complete non-starter, but the Switch is perfect just to grab whenever I'm backing up my hard drive, upgrading my OS, the Internet is down, etc.

bluedino 5y ago
I was around the same age. A bunch of things all factor into that, that 14-16 age
- Alex3917 5y ago
  Yeah for me it was just the beginning of high school. It was pretty obvious that if I kept playing Ultima Online or whatever for 10 hours a day then it was going to destroy my life, so I gave it up before freshman year started. Every couple years I'll get into a game and spend a few weeks playing it, e.g. with Breath of the Wild a couple year ago, but I purposely don't let myself play games that just go on indefinitely like WoW. Whereas that's not an issue with indie games that only last five or ten hours. And similarly, it's been fun going back and playing Baldur's Gate, which I never got to play when it came out.

KennyBlanken 5y ago

> the power to run pretty much any modern game (albeit with worse graphics) To be specific: 720p and severely degraded effects, textures, models, anti-aliasing, etc - and you'll be lucky to get 60fps. The Switch has about as much horsepower as a ~6 year old mid-tier Android phone.

styfle 5y ago
The nice thing is that most games don’t _feel_ underpowered on Switch. Sure the graphics don’t look as good but it’s not laggy in the games I’ve tried. For example: Immortals Fenyx Rising is cross platform, but it feels smooth. I would rather play on Switch than other consoles so I can occasionally play while traveling. It’s really nice to have the same game, same save point, with same controller on the TV or on the go.
msh 5y ago
Nah. It got the power of a really high end 6 year old Android phone. And with the fan it can provide more power than the same soc in a phone form factor.
hajile 5y ago
Theoretical power and actual power in phones are quite different. Phones throttle their chips down to nothing very quickly.
Agentlien 5y ago
My job these last few years has mainly been focused on trying to get games running smoothly across all platforms and finding workarounds or optimizations for switch has been the biggest part of it. It's so incredibly weak in comparison to any other modern console. It's literally a mobile SoC from 2015. As a user, however, the switch is by far my favorite console. It might not look as flashy but I can play almost any game I want anywhere I want.

firecall 5y ago

> Also, I was just thinking today how it's crazy that Nintendo has been the dominant portable console maker basically since the Gameboy in 1989 Imagine how many they would have sold if the iPhone didnt exist!

smoe 5y ago

I bought the Switch in part because of portability, but almost never ended up using this way. I used to game a lot as a child and teenager but almost stopped entirely once my job involved sitting in front of a screen all day. But I still like playing some games I can pick up to kill half an hour here and there, completely casual. The game selection, is perfect for this. Or a couple rounds of couch co-op. I have zero interest to play hyper competitive games with random people over the internet. The Switch really brought back the fond memories I had when first being exposed to gaming, when I kept going to my neighbors home to play Super Nintendo games against each other

dorchadas 5y ago
I do love the portability of my Switch, but eve more I do love how casual it is. And how a lot of their games, while they can be played multiplayer, are focused on single player stuff. They've great single player titles, and that keeps me coming back to Nintendo regularly (especially their mobile stuff, I'm pretty sure I've owned at least one iteration of everything since the Gameboy Pocket).

celticninja 5y ago

Atari lynx was possibly the best handheld game system, followed by the game gear, but their cost meant it most out to the more affordable Gameboy. I think though, what won it was not the hardware but the software. The switch is a great handheld console and a good console in dock mode. But Breath of the Wild was worth the cost of the console alone. I liken it to GTA IV or GTA V, but for my kids. It is a beautiful open world that really knocks out of the park every aspect, music, graphics, gameplay, puzzles. It is a beautiful game and I believe it is a major reason the switch is so successful, or at least it's launch period was. I also think that the portability is a huge factor, I know many households where they have a PS5 or and XBOX and a switch. Few people will buy all consoles but the switch being portable means it has the extra edge when deciding on a second system.

type_enthusiast 5y ago
Absolutely agree on Breath of the Wild. I think every successful console has The Game that really differentiates it (speaking as someone who never had a console growing up, just Sierra games). Having got a Switch for my son - Breath of the Wild is that game for Switch, but is also possibly the best game made so far. If you haven't played it, don't argue - just play it.
- rosege 5y ago
  I remember the glory days with a N64, GoldenEye and 3 mates. That was definitely a peak gaming fun time for me back in the day.
- distantaidenn 5y ago
  My fiancé got me an OLED Switch and BOTW this past Christmas. When I first started BOTW, I was like...umm...what do I do in this game? Then I realized: ANYTHING I WANT. Already have over 150 hours in the game. You can literally just wander around and enjoy. Find new and clever ways to kill enemies -- or befriend them if that's your style. You can play the game the way you want and at your own pace. Yeah, the game has some flaws, but I'd say it's the most rewarding game experience I've had in my 30+ years of gaming. You know a game is good when you don't even want to finish it!

14 5y ago

I really enjoyed the PSP or PlayStation portable. It was the first thing I ever hacked and played games for free. Set me on a path. But I do love my switch greatly. It appeals to me with the kid friendly games. Watching my 5 year old develop his hand eye coordination makes my heart melt.

selfhifive 5y ago

I'm always impressed with how much risk they take from generation to generation. N64, Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, and Switch. GB, GBA, DS, 3DS, and Switch. All of them feel like a generational leap instead of the incremental improvement model of other companies.

laumars 5y ago
Interestingly the Wii is more or less the same hardware as the GC but with upgraded specs. In fact the Wii even has GC ports on it (for GC controllers and memory cards) and plays GC discs. Additionally the Wiimote was originally designed to be an add on for the GC before Nintendo decided to release it as the primary controller for their next console.

dartharva 5y ago

> the power to run pretty much any modern game (albeit with worse graphics) Huh? Any modern game?? I'm pretty sure just a small fraction of modern AAA titles is available on the Switch.

jquery 5y ago
That used to be the case, but modern game engines like Unity make it easy to plop out an switch-capable version. The hardware is similar enough to a normal PC that it’s a matter of just turning the graphics down (way, way down). It certainly wasn’t a majority at the start but now more than half of new AAA releases have a Switch version. That said, buying a switch to play AAA games is not ideal. I find the graphics compromises too great, myself. Indie games (only certain genres like platforming), visual novels and Nintendo-first-party games are what I find the switch excels at.

andrepd 5y ago

I must be about your age and damn, I played so much Wii. I must have >200h on several games: both Mario Galaxy's (one of my favourite games), Wii Sports Resort, Smash, etc. On the contrary my Switch is almost exclusively a BotW machine x) bar a few indie games here and there. I must be getting old