The Nintendo Switch is a fascinating new game console built around a novel and well-executed central idea. It also has plenty of problems that will doubtless be improved upon in a future version. Nintendo is yet again trying something new, and here we are to take the plunge alongside them.
Note: This review is largely based on a week spent using a Switch provided in advance by Nintendo. They also sent two games: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 1-2 Switch, though in the days since the Switch came out Iâve played several other launch games. Iâve updated this review a few times since publication, and have noted updates at the bottom.Â
This review originally appeared 3/1/17.
The Switch is Nintendoâs seventh home console, arriving four and a half years after the Wii U landed in late 2012. Each recent Nintendo console has been designed around some big new ideaâthe Wii had those funky motion controls, the 3DS had glasses-free 3D, the Wii U had a big touchscreen in the controller. The Switchâs big idea is that it isnât just a home console; itâs a portable console that can be plugged into a dock and converted into a living room console. It has a touchscreen much like any other tablet, along with two detachable âJoy-Conâ controllers that can be used separately for two-player games or combined, Voltron-style, into a fully featured standard video game controller.
That Swiss Army Knife versatility is the thing that sets the Switch apart from your iPad or your Wii U or your 3DS. In the future, Nintendoâs thinking goes, this one device can split into a two-player Mario Kart machine as easily as it can act as one playerâs dedicated portable Zelda device. Up to eight Switches can network with one another in the wild, potentially forming the locus of a mobile multiplayer hoedown.
It all sounds plenty interesting, if theoretical. A lot remains unknown about the Switch just days before it goes on sale. Many of its most appealing games, from Splatoon 2 to Super Mario Odyssey, wonât be available for a little while. Even a port of the Wii Uâs 2014 Mario Kart 8 wonât be out until late April. A lot of the Switchâs built-in software features went operational just a day before launch. Some promised features, like the Virtual Console and video capture, are coming at an unknown date in the future. And as with any new piece of hardware, it is impossible to say whether the Switch will become popular enough that Kart tournaments at the summer BBQ will really become a new tradition.
Some of those questions will be resolved over the coming weeks; others will remain unanswered for months or even years. What I can tell you, without need for guesswork, is that the Switch is a beguiling, flawed piece of hardware that isnât like any other gaming system Iâve owned. It executes its main idea well enough that its shortcomings are alternately forgivable and all the more frustrating. It feels destined to be improved upon in a hardware revision (Perhaps the âNew Nintendo Switchâ in 2019?), and this launch version will likely be remembered as a first generation console that wasnât quite what it could have been.
I predict the Switch will make a great many people happy, and a great many people angry. It is a Nintendo product, after all.
THE BASICS
The Switch comes out on March 3rd. Itâll run you $300 for the base console package, which includes the tablet, the controllers, the dock, and no games. This writeup from Nintendoâs recent Switch press conference is still a good resource if you want a full rundown of specs, features, and announced games.
The Switch plugs into your entertainment center via an HDMI output on the dock, which also has two standard USB ports and an input for the USB-C charger. You canât plug it into the TV without docking, because the handheld has no HDMI output. You can, however, charge the handheld with the charge cable directly if you only want to use it as a mobile device. Nintendo says the Switch can get 3-6 hours of gameplay on a battery charge depending on the game; Iâve been able to play around three hours of Zelda before I have to plug in.
Setup is fairly easy: You pop the back off of the dock and plug in the cables, then stand it up near your TV. Go through a couple of quick software setup steps in handheld mode, then drop the Switch into the dock and you should be off to the races.
It Gets Its Main Idea Very Right
Hereâs a feeling you probably know if you play video games: Youâve got a new game that youâre really excited about, but youâre about to go on a trip. Maybe a business trip, maybe a family getaway; doesnât matter. Thereâs a specific ennui that sets in, a reluctance to commit to something you know youâre just going to have to put on hold. Sure, you could marathon a couple of nights, but your looming travel break will be stuck in the back of your mind. You play through the tutorial, then grudgingly put the game away until youâre back.
This past weekend I found myself in that very situation. I had been unable to tear myself away from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the Switchâs phenomenal and seemingly endless marquee launch game. In a couple days Iâd be traveling to San Francisco to cover the Game Developers Conference. Repeatedly I found myself thinking, âAw man, better get in some Zelda time while I still can!â Then I would remind myself, wait, I donât have to rush. I can just take it with me.
The fact that I can lift my Switch out of its dock and immediately be playing a handheld version of the same game I was playing on my TV is one of the most remarkable things about this device. Equally remarkable is how the Switch functions as a portable split-screen gaming console with its own attached controllers. Place it on your airplane tray table and youâve got a portable gaming system for your next flight. Set it up in the backseat and your kids can play together while you focus on the road. Hell, bring it on a camping trip and embrace the irony of ignoring the great outdoors in favor of Zeldaâs rivers and forests. There are plenty of small things the Switch should do better, and Iâll get into those below. But it does this one fundamental thing very well.
The Joy-Con Are Neat But Have Some Issues
On the Switchâs sides are two smaller controllers called Joy-Con, which slide off the tablet screen and can be held separately or combined with an included grip and used like a standard Xbox or PlayStation controller.
Hereâs what the Joy-Con look like:
Placed on its side, a Joy-Con becomes a simple controller with a single joystick, four face buttons, a + or â button, and two shoulder buttons up top. The Switch comes with two slide-on caps for the Joy-Con that make them a touch larger and make the shoulder buttons easier to press. You can see a cap on the left-hand Joy-Con in the photo above.
The Joy-Con are a nifty idea, though they donât always work as well as I wouldâve hoped. For starters, I simply havenât found them very comfortable. I find that the buttons are oddly placed and the thumbsticks feel small and overly flippy. The shoulder buttons are easy to accidentally press, and I almost always hit them while sliding the Joy-Con back onto the tablet. The + and â buttons are placed high on the controller, out of easy reach of your thumb. Accessing the map in Zelda with the â button requires me to reach my left thumb up with an awkwardness that I wasnât expecting after seeing photos of the controller.
I spent several days playing Zelda with the Joy-Con combined onto the controller grip and while it was serviceable, I never got fully comfortable. The shoulder buttons were too easy to hit and the triggers a little too small, the thumbsticks were a little too light, the buttons placed a little too awkwardly. Late in the week Nintendo sent along a Switch Pro Controller, a more standard game controller that can be purchased separately. While it provided an immensely better experience, it also underlined the comparative shortcomings of the Joy-Con. Theyâre fine when theyâre attached to the tablet in handheld mode. Theyâre useful for multiplayer games on the go (more on that in a sec). But, for games youâd play on your TV, theyâre a lackluster substitute for a full-sized, standard game controller.
Iâve also run into a frustrating issue where the left Joy-Con momentarily loses tracking and stops responding to my inputs. Iâll be playing Zelda with the two Joy-Con combined on the grip, and the left thumbstick momentarily detaches from the game. It might leave Link running forward for another 10 feet before stopping, or occasionally have him stand still even though I was pressing the stick to make him move.
It appears to be an issue with a body part or other object blocking the Joy-Conâs view of the docked console, and I was able to make it go away by moving the Switch closer to where I was sitting. But the issue has come up for both me and my colleague Jason in the course of normal play, and Iâve seen it reported by several other reviewers over the last week. GameXplain made a video isolating the problem using the Switch controller calibration tool, and their findings reinforce that itâs an issue with body parts blocking the Joy-Con from the consoleâs view. Others are reporting the issue now that the console has launched, and Nintendo has acknowledged it while advising users to avoid placing the dock near certain things like cell phones, bundles of wires, and aquariums. (Bummer for you if you own a lot of aquariums.) This should not be an issue for a game controller in 2017, and itâs pretty annoying.
1-2 Switch will likely be the Switchâs less talked-about launch game, though it actually makes a more compelling case for the Joy-Con than Zelda. Itâs a collection of silly minigames mostly designed for two people, and itâs meant to be played without looking at the screen. You prop up the Switch screen between both of you and, as the game will repeatedly instruct, you both look away from the screen and into each otherâs eyes. You then engage in safe-cracking speed tests, quickdraw shootouts, dance competitions, yoga showdowns (!), and cow-milking competitions (!!) guided entirely by audio and your controllerâs vibration.
That vibration is a crucial part of the experience, and the Joy-Con provide enough detailed vibratory feedback to make the games in 1-2 Switch much more fun. Thanks to carefully controlled vibration, your Joy-Con goes from being a cup full of dice to a ticking dial on a safe lock. While some minigames are more fun than others, they collectively paint a picture of how Nintendoâs designers could creatively use the Joy-Con in the future. Iâm skeptical this sort of game will actually catch on, but Nintendo has created the technology to allow it.
The Joy-Con will also work for more straightforward multiplayer games like Street Fighter, Mario Kart and Bomberman, with each player holding one controller while sharing a view of the systemâs screen. The Joy-Con are small but theyâll likely work nicely as simplified portable controllers. I could also easily see myself having a great time linking up with a second Switch to play against a couple of friends in a four-player game, and suspect itâll be nice to be able to do so around the dining room table rather than clustered around the TV. Iâve been unable to test much of how the Switchâs local co-op will work, but given what Iâve used of the console I can easily see it being a selling point.
There Are Small Annoyances Aplenty
The Switch handles the big stuff well, but the hardware has noteworthy shortcomings.
The kickstand on the back of the Switch is flimsy and seems destined to snap off. It props up the screen at a steep angle unsuited to a lot of situations and generally feels unsteady. It also doubles as a cover for the MicroSD card slot, so if it does break, your memory card will be exposed.
Both the Joy-Con grip and the Pro Controller lack a headphone output, putting the Switch behind the PS4, Xbox One and even the Wii U in terms of allowing you to easily listen to game audio on headphones from your couch when youâre using the console to play a game on the TV.
The charging port is on the bottom of the Switch, which is fine when youâre holding it but means you canât prop up the screen on a table while charging it, because the plug gets in the way.
The release buttons you use to detach the Joy-Con are small and hard to press without accidentally pressing other buttons as well.
The caps that slide over the Joy-Con when youâre using them separately are oddly tricky to get on and off.
Thereâs no HDMI output on the tablet, so if you want to plug the console into a TV at a hotel or your relativesâ house, youâll need to bring the dock with you.
Thereâs no support for bluetooth headsets, which feels like an omission in a high-tech tablet device in 2017.
You canât transfer your saved games to a new console or a MicroSD card, which means thereâs currently no way to back up your saves.
If you want to use the included AC adapter to charge the console on the go, you have to open up the dock and remove it before taking it with you.
The included HDMI cable is a hair under 5â long, a foot shorter than the 6â that Iâve come to think of as standard and too short to use in my entertainment center. Apparently Nintendo likes shipping things with cables that are too short
The included Joy-Con grip doesnât charge the controllers, so if you use the Switch for TV gaming and want to charge the Joy-Con every night youâll have to disassemble the grip controller and re-attach the Joy-Con to the handheld in the dock. Itâs an awkward process, and your only alternative is to buy a Pro Controller or shell out $30 for a nearly identical âcharge gripâ with a USB input.
The console apparently drains some of its battery even when dockedâIâll put it in the dock at 100% charge, play for a while, and when I take it out, itâll say itâs at 88% charge. My colleague Jason and some others Iâve talked to have reported the same thing. It never goes below 88%, and I donât believe the battery can run out in the dock. Still odd and a little annoying. (Update: It appears this is no longer an issue. After the day-one software update, the Switch now shows a 100% charge after several hours of docked play.)
Each of those things isnât really a big deal on its own, though theyâll be a bigger deal for some people than for others. Even when taken together, they donât undermine how much I like the Switch for what it does well. But theyâre all noteworthy shortcomings, and I canât shake the feeling that many of them will be addressed when Nintendo launches a new Switch model in a couple of years. This is how it always goes with new, ambitious technology. These sorts of shortcomings are perhaps an inevitable tax on early adopters, but they are a tax nonetheless.
I Really Like How It Does Screenshots?
I realize I just listed a lot of gripes, so hereâs one thing I really like: The screenshot button. Nintendo has followed Sonyâs lead and added a dedicated screenshot button to the Switch. Itâs responsive and easy to reach on the left Joy-Con; the onscreen notification pops up much faster than the PS4, even.
It makes a nice sound effect, and itâs easy to browse through your stored screenshots. You can upload your screenshots to Twitter or Facebook straight from the console and in the future itâll apparently even be possible to capture videos. For now, itâs just nice that the feature is built-in. I love being able to take screenshots while Iâm playing, and Iâm glad Nintendo included it.
The Hidden Costs
Three hundred dollars will get you a box with a Switch in it, but if you want to have the best experience, youâre going to have to cough up quite a bit more. Letâs tally the hidden costs.
First and foremost, youâre going to need to get some games, since the Switch comes with no bundled software. Zelda will be a natural choice for many, and that goes for $60. Letâs assume thatâs the only game you get.
The Switch comes with 32GB of onboard storage space, which is going to fill up extremely quickly. Physical games on carts thankfully donât install to the hard drive, but if you want to download more than a couple games from the eshop youâre going to need a microSD card. (In fact, thereâs already at least one game so big that it wonât even fiton the Switchâs built-in storage.) 256GB cards go for more than $100, so letâs say you get a 128GB card for $40.
I also highly recommend getting a Switch Pro Controller, which costs $70. Not only does it not suffer from the Joy-Con tracking issues I ran into, itâs more comfortable and easier to use than the Joy-Con mounted on the grip. The Pro Controller also makes it much easier to use the Switch to âswitchâ seamlessly. You pop the console into its dock, pick up the controller, and play. If you want to take it on the go, pop it out and youâre ready to rock. Without a Pro Controller, you have to disassemble and reattach the controllers each time you go from TV to mobile, as well as anytime you want to charge the Joy-Con. It significantly slows down an otherwise pleasingly snappy process.
Youâll also need a carrying case if youâre going to take the Switch anywhere. You could go for my colleague Stephenâs wool sock method, but that wonât keep the Switch all that safe, and the system definitely feels pretty fragile. There are already a ton of third party options, but letâs stay first party and go with Nintendoâs carrying case, which doubles as a stand and comes with a screen protector. That costs $20.
Lastly thereâs the issue of power. Iâve mentioned how much of a pain it is to unplug the AC adapter in order to take it with you when you travel, so most people are going to want to buy a separate USB-C wall adapter to charge the handheld on the go. I found a Motorola 5V 3.4A charger that does the trick. Be mindful that you wonât be able to charge and play at the same time if you only use a USB-A to USB-C cable plugged into, say, an iPhone wall adapter. Thatâll charge the Switch slowly when itâs turned off, but in my experience it doesnât provide enough juice to charge while youâre playing. Youâll need a dedicated adapter capable of putting out a lot of power if you want to charge and play at the same time. The adapter I got ran me $15.
There are other accessories you could buy, but letâs cap it there for now. Thatâs around $200 worth of stuff, none of which I would call an extravagance, even the Pro Controller. That puts the true cost of the Switch at $500, and youâve only got one game. (One really good game, but still.)
Speaking of that gameâŠ
Itâs Got One Hell Of A Launch Game
Most new video game consoles arrive alongside a couple of big budget launch games. Rarely do those games make much of a lasting impression. (Anyone up for some Ryse: Son of Rome or some New Super Mario Bros. U? Wanna play a little Knack?) With the Switch, Nintendo is bucking that convention and harkening back to their Super Mario 64-driven Nintendo 64 launch by offering an unusually small launch lineup dominated by one spectacular game.
That game is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it is a stunner. Iâll leave the actual reviewing to my colleague Jason, who has finished the game. Suffice it to say that this latest Zelda is an astonishing demonstration of what Nintendoâs best creative minds are capable of. At times I have had to consciously separate my adoration for the game from my more complicated feelings about the system on which Iâm playing it.
Breath of the Wild, which is also out for the Wii U, doesnât take advantage of most of the Switchâs unique features. It doesnât have local multiplayer, nor does it require you to detach the Joy-Con. It has motion controls, but theyâre nothing special. However, my 30-ish hours with the game have still illuminated some things about the Switch.
For starters, it is a mild shock to the system to play a console game of this scope and depth on the go. I know that some tablets and portable PC gaming devices have offered similarly uncompromising portable gaming in recent years, but because the Switch actually is the same console I plug into my TV, it feels subtly different. Iâve played Breath of the Wild in the back of a cab, while waiting for the doctor, and on an airplane. Iâve also played while lying in bed or reclining on the couch.
Iâve always drawn a line between the games I play at home and the games I play on the go, and the Switch blurs that line in a welcome way. Because Breath of the Wild is so massive and engrossing, itâs helped reinforce how much I enjoy popping the Switch out of its dock and picking up immediately where I left off. I want to play this game on the go, and now I can.
Breath of the Wild looks and performs noticeably worse when plugged into the dock than it does in handheld mode, a potentially worrying indicator of how the Switchâs graphics processing hardware will hold up over time. When I play on the TV, I notice frequent dips below the gameâs 30fps frame rate, sometimes to the point that itâs genuinely distracting and makes it harder to play. Any time Iâm running in tree-shade on a sunny day in Hyrule, zooming in for a closer view, or moving quickly through the rain, it feels like things drop into at least the 20-25fps zone.
If I pop the console out of the dock and start playing in tablet mode, everything immediately runs more smoothly. The frame rate is solid in the same places (with a few exceptions), and the overall image is crisper. The disparity is likely because the Switch runs at 720p resolution in handheld mode and bumps up to a more demanding higher resolution (1080p in general, 900p in the case of Zelda) when plugged into the TV.
Breath of the Wild is a massive open-world adventure with numerous complicated simulations running on top of one another. Itâs the most technically ambitious Nintendo game Iâve ever played. I understand why it would be a challenge to get it running smoothly, but itâs still a shame that it suffers when played on a TV. Furthermore, itâs worrisome that Nintendoâs own developers have been unable to get their top-billed game running equally well on TV and in handheld mode. Hopefully itâll be less of an issue as the people making Switch games become more familiar with the hardware. Itâs not a reassuring start.
On the whole, though, playing Breath of the Wild on the Switch has been a treat. The game is also available on the Wii U, and while I havenât tried that version, my colleague whoâs played and the other more technical comparisons Iâve seen indicate that the Wii U version offers slightly lower fidelity than the Switch version but is basically fine. Something people should keep in mind when weighing it as a reason to take the Switch plunge.
⊠And Some Other Less Exciting Launch Games
Zelda will dominate the discourse surrounding the Switch, but new Switch owners will have a handful of other admittedly less exciting games to choose from as well. Several are games weâve already written about that you can already play on other systems, the lovely if slightly uninspired JRPG I Am Setsuna and the fantastic side-scrolling throwback Shovel Knight among them. Both games run well on Switch, particularly in handheld mode, though Shovel Knight suffers from the Joy-Conâs lack of a proper D-pad. Thereâs also a new Just Dance game as well as a new Bomberman, the latter of which seems grossly overpriced at $50 but should be a good showcase for mobile multiplayer. Thereâs also the enjoyable if overly familiar racing game Fast RMX, a Wipeout-esque hover-racer that allows for online or local split-screen multiplayer. Iâve yet to try the new Switch-only co-op game Snipperclips, though Iâve heard good things and look forward to playing it.
The other Nintendo-developed Switch launch game is 1-2 Switch, the oddball local multiplayer game that I detailed earlier. I like it enough to want to break it out when Iâm over at a friendâs house, though I sense the novelty will soon wear off. Itâs a great demonstration of some of the Switchâs more distinct features, but it really feels like it should have been bundled with the console rather than sold separately for $50.
The Switch has a few promising games on the horizon for 2017, which should keep people occupied while they wait for Nintendo to stop screwing around and announce a new Metroid. Aprilâs Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will likely be a required purchase for anyone looking to play games on the go, though it is galling as ever that Nintendo would ask us to re-purchase a game many of us bought just a few years ago. This summerâs Splatoon 2 will doubtless be a good time, and the winterâs Super Mario Odyssey looks like a blast. Thereâll also be a variety of ported indie and third-party games on Switch over the coming months, including Bethesdaâs 2011 role-playing game Skyrim in the fall and a healthy collection of good indie games like Stardew Valley, Thumper, Overcooked, Runner3 and The Binding of Isaac at various points throughout the year.
All that means 2017 wonât exactly be a barren wasteland for new Switch adopters, but the fact remains that exciting Switch-only games will be few and far between and will predominantly come from Nintendo. The majority of the Switchâs third-party software will consist of games thatâve been playable on other systems for years. As with any new hardware launch, expect a fallow period after the initial glow wears off. Even a game as tremendous as Breath of the Wild can only carry a new console so far without help.
The Software Is Less Fun, More Function
Nintendoâs console operating systems have always had a touch of quirk to themâthose bouncy eshop theme songs, or the way downloaded 3DS games arrived gift-wrapped on your dashboard, or the milling masses of Miis on your Wii U dashboard. The Switch is Nintendoâs least playful operating system by far, a functional collection of quiet menus thatâs downright austere compared with its predecessors.
With the small day one update installed, the Switch gains a touch more functionality than it had during our first week of reviewing it, but the software is still pretty stripped down. You can share screenshots to social media and copy them to a microSD card, and you can link to your Nintendo account and hit the eshop to download one of a handful of digital games. Somewhat shockingly, you canât copy your saved games off of the Switch or onto a MicroSD card. Nintendo has confirmed that thereâs currently no way to back up Switch saves. If you lose your console, your 100 hours of Zelda progress are forfeit.
You can add friends by browsing through a list of people youâve played with, through a local wireless connection, or by entering the 12-digit friend code assigned to each account (ugh). At least the friend code process only requires one player to enter a code, which sends a request to the other for approval. A Nintendo rep told Polygon theyâre going to be adding additional methods for adding friends in the future, including a suggested list based on your social media friends lists.
Nintendo Accounts will work much the same as they have on previous Nintendo systems. You can have one active console linked to your account at a time, and only that machine can access your digital purchases. You can deactivate the link and re-link to a new machine whenever you want. If you break or lose your Switch, youâll have to go through Nintendo and have them unlink it from your account before you can activate a new one.
The Switch interface is nice and snappy, and in that way itâs a significant improvement over the Wii U and the 3DS. But thereâs a certain charm missing that hopefully wasnât just a necessary sacrifice on the altar of usability. Thereâs no background music in any of the menus, nor even on the eshop. Itâs a departure for Nintendo and a bit of a bummer. Nintendoâs operating system music has long been a fascination of mine, and Iâm sad not to have a new collection of earworms to hum.
Thereâs A Lot We Still Donât Know
The Switch is out in a couple of days and my colleagues and I have been using it for a week, but thereâs still a lot we donât know about it. Here are some things we still donât know about the Nintendo Switch:
Much of anything about Nintendoâs new paid online service, network, and multiplayer. Nintendo has said that theyâll have a new paid online service, which we can assume will work similarly to the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Theyâve said that weâll have to use our phones for chat, so itâs fair to assume it will require some sort of smartphone app. Friend requests are currently rudimentary and we donât know much about any additional planned online functionalityâmaking groups, partying up, sending messages, or what if any sort of social network might replace the Miiverse.
Anything about Virtual Console. The Switch could be a killer device if Nintendo gets the Virtual Console right. Itâs easy to imagine a world where we can play a variety of old NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, and even Wii U games at home or on the go on a single system. Hell, maybe some Game Boy Advance ones, too. Unfortunately, Nintendo has made no announcements about how Virtual Console will work on the Switch, saying only that it wonât be available at launch. Weâre not even sure which of those machines it can emulate. Itâs possible Nintendo will completely botch the Switch Virtual Console, and possible theyâll knock it out of the park. Given their history, the former seems more likely. For now, we just donât know.
Anything about non-gaming apps. Itâs safe to assume that at some point, the Switch will get apps for popular video streaming services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. But those apps arenât going to be there at launch, and we donât know when theyâre coming. Nintendo recently told us support for video services is âbeing considered for a future update.â This is a gaming device only for now, and itâs not clear when thatâll change.
The usual stuff we donât know about a new console. There are also things we donât know about the Switch that are more run-of-the-mill. We donât know whether it will sell well enough to entice developers to make games for it. We donât know if it will become popular enough to catch on as a local social gaming phenomenon, or if weâll see Switches all over the place at gaming gatherings like PAX and E3. We donât know all the games coming out this year; there may well be a hidden gem or two waiting to surprise us. And of course, we donât know if the Switch games that have been announced will actually be any good.
IN CONCLUSION
The Nintendo Switch is an experimental game console from a company with a storied history of making experimental game consoles. Whether it will go down as one of Nintendoâs successes or failures remains to be seen.
Big picture: I fundamentally like using the Switch. It accomplishes its central goal admirably, and has already gotten me thinking about it differently than my other game consoles. It also has a number of irritating flaws and hidden costs, and there are still things about it that Nintendo hasnât explained.
Any new gaming hardware is defined by the games it can play, and here the Switch bucks convention. It has a single sensational launch game, albeit one that can also be played on the Wii U you might already own. The rest of its launch lineup is nowhere near as compelling, but the fact remains that playing this Zelda on the Switch has been one of the finest gaming experiences Iâve had in years. I suspect that, Wii U version or no, Breath of the Wild will entice a lot of people to buy a Switch. I couldnât fault them for doing so.
My recommendation is still to wait. Of course, if youâre excited as hell about the Switch and know that you want one, go for it. But if youâre on the fence, I say hold off. Wait and see if Nintendo addresses some of the hardware issues people have reported. Bide your time and let them release more games. In six months weâll know a lot more about how this unusual new console works, and thereâll be a lot more things to play on it. Nintendo has made another bold gamble, and only time will tell if itâll pay off.
Update 3/2/2017: Nintendo has released the day-one software update that lets us get online. We can now link a Switch with our Nintendo Accounts, access the eshop to download games and send out friend requests, among other things. Iâve added a section covering the finalized operating system and adjusted the âwhat we donât knowâ section accordingly.
Update 3/3/2017: Iâve added new information about linking your Nintendo Account to the Switch, managing your saved games, and transferring digital purchases, as well as Nintendoâs acknowledgement of the Joy-Con wireless issue.
Update 3/6/2017: Iâve fleshed out the section about launch games now that Iâve played a few of them and made minor edits throughout to more consistently reflect what we now know about the system.
