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Switch turns 3 today!


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I remember like it was yesterday watching that direct to see what it would eventually be.  Put in my PO at BBY right as the presentation ended (went with the gray version), Pro Controller, BotW, BotW Amiibo set, and Super Bomberman R.  I also ended up signing up for BBY's Gamers Club Unlocked as I broke even with adding it and at that point, I knew the discounts would pay me back over the course of the next two years.

 

I remember going to the midnight release at BBY right after seeing a movie ( my brother did his with Gamestop) and then coming home to play a little bit of BotW, but I had to be to work at 7am Friday--my brother got to spend the whole weekend with it as he had taken vacation.  I think it's concept is probably one of the most solid ideas of any Nintendo console, to be a powerful enough for home tv play but being portable enough to take it with you.

 

**********************

 

Biggest positives:

 

Play anywhere with any game.

Instant multiplayer at at worst 2 people.

Screen large enough to not feel cheated in portable play with screen real estate.

LARGE SD CARD support.

HD rumble is legit.

 

Biggest negatives:

JC/ProCC drift --I don't think I have personally had issues but in a lot of cases I can't tell if its lag or the controller making strange things happen in games like Smash and Mario Kart where constantly working the controls can lead to such things.

Lack of color variants, choices of colors offered.  I was surprised they only offered the gray or the red/blue to start.  I'm surprised they've only really done neon colors so far.  Surprised certain colors haven't come out yet.

Durability, I agree that the construction on this thing is not as good as prior Nintendo consoles.  I somehow got a mini scratch on the screen night one of owing it--but unless you know its there you would never see it and I have a crack in the plastic shell on the back.

Heat warping, my Left JC can slide off real easy even if the click is in place to hold it there.

Complete lack of themes, screen colors, and organizational options.  If the 3DS and WiiU could work these simple things out then why not the Switch?

Paid online service, while overall not a bad deal for the return in investment, it still feels like if you pay for it at all, the connections should be smoother.

Took way to long to release a Virtual Console replacement, and even long to release games on it at a decent clip.

 

My top games:

Breath of the Wild

Mario Kart 8 DLX

Smash Bros Ultimate

Octopath Traveller.

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Wow, time flies. I guess that means I've been at my current Job three years since I started there right before getting my Switch.

I actually just got my Joy Cons back from Nintendo yesterday, since they finally issued a recalled for drifting. The risks of buying a launch console.

Me and my friend rented a hotel in Manhattan and we stood in line at Nintendo World for like 13 hours. But I really wanted the Breath of the Wild Deluxe Edition, and that was the only way I was gonna get one at retail price without a per-order. But I knew they'd have plenty, plus big launches at Nintendo World are always an event.

 

I love the console, of course. Frriggin' adore BotW, can't wait for the sequel, and Smash Ultimate. But I gotta say, I am a bit surprised we haven't gotten any themes yet, and probably won't at this point.

God, the Switch's interface is so band, especially for Nintendo. And they've had a completely unused "Digital goods" section on My Nintendo since day one. Very strange.

 

Edited by Marxforever
Typos.
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Alas, personally my Switch is not 3 yrs old until this Black Friday. Then again I traded my V1 Switch for the V2 one back in August of last year so is less than a year now, d'oh?

 

Anyways, love the Switch. I take it out whenever I can with my case that can carry 20 games at a time, with my 500GB mirco and the loads of games on there. The fun does not stop no matter where I am. I have a lot of memories with the system to list down here that some may or may not mentioned.

 

But I'll do this today, play BotW for 3 hours and each hour will represent a year for the Switch. So I'm gonna make it a challenge to do something I have not done in the game for every hour up to 3hrs. I honestly don't what I haven't done in this game already so I'll have to be creative and probably put a spin on something I done and add something else to it?

 

Should be fun!

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22 minutes ago, DLurkster said:

But I'll do this today, play BotW for 3 hours and each hour will represent a year for the Switch. So I'm gonna make it a challenge to do something I have not done in the game for every hour up to 3hrs. I honestly don't what I haven't done in this game already so I'll have to be creative and probably put a spin on something I done and add something else to it?

 

 

 

 

Heh,  I got the DLC pass for Christmas, but after doing all the shrines on my first playthrough, I'd have no idea where to go do the extra ones and the added divine beast.

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59 minutes ago, purple_beard said:

 

 

Heh,  I got the DLC pass for Christmas, but after doing all the shrines on my first playthrough, I'd have no idea where to go do the extra ones and the added divine beast.

Funny you mention that I have not completed the Sword trial because I'm playing in master mode so it I can't get the the check point, I think I'm like 8 levels away to make it there and I haven't played the champion's ballad yet either. I sort wanted to beat the first part of the DLC before tackling the last one but I don't see myself going back to those trials anytime soon. So I made the decision to do the ballad once we hear more about the BotW sequel. That will be mine sign to finish what I can with the game.

 

So I still gotta do 3 new things in 3 hours, still don't besides the above.

 

Also, to do the ballad PB you have to go back to the Shrine of resurrection, where you started the game to do the ballad parts.

 

 

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I wouldn't have recommended the Switch until a year ago. The first two years was mostly ports from WiiU and games from the prior decade. There's finally some original games worth playing. I think a problem that still exists is the system's lack of identity. The Switch lacks the personality of previous Nintendo consoles from it's design to it's UI.

I said this from the day the Switch was revealed: the Switch is both a handheld and a console, but a master of none. And this remains the case. As a console, it's vastly underpowered. As a handheld, it's battery is insufficient and you're carrying something the size of a WiiU gamepad. Despite this, I think the Switch is the best move Nintendo could have pulled in their circumstances several years ago. It was obvious that Nintendo's WiiU was a failure, but their 3DS was selling great. But Nintendo couldn't bet on a successor to the 3DS as the market was shifting to mobile. I think the Switch manages to serve home console and portable users fine enough, even it wasn't done gracefully (Offering you enhanced ports of games you bought a few years ago at full price). I think a successor to the Switch will help it become a better hybrid console as processors become more powerful and energy efficient.

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I had a weird experience at the Switch's launch because I was vacillating so much on whether or not I wanted to buy one at launch after feeling kind of burned by buying the Wii U at launch that I didn't get a pre-order for the system itself. I did, however, manage to get a pre-order for the Switch special edition of Breath of the Wild, so I went to the midnight launch at Best Buy to pick that up and hopefully get a non-pre-ordered Switch. Waited in line for a few hours and finally at like 11:30pm or so the BB employees went through the line handing out numbered tickets for the 50 Switches available to purchase. I was number 43 or something like that—really close to the end, almost making the whole wait pointless—but I brought my Switch home in the end. Woman at the counter was pretty confused on why I had a Breath of the Wild pre-order but not a Switch pre-order though.

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I actually didn't have my own Switch at launch, my bro is the one that got it and I just piggy backed, lol.  But was for sure anticipating its launch if only for Zelda more than anything.  Breath of the Wild, especially after the release date trailer, was a non negotiable game needed to be had and played.  I still had my eye on the horizon for other games eventually such as ARMS and Xenoblade 2.

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Personally, I think the Switch has been steadily getting worse since its big 2017 debut. I have thought recently about whether or not the Switch is actually better than the Wii U, despite the superior hardware and better design concept. The Switch is greatly lacking one of the most attractive aspects of all Nintendo systems: personality. Of Nintendo's systems that have had menus, I find the Switch to be the blandest partly due to being the successor of the personality-filled 3DS and Wii U. At times, I feel like I'm playing Nintendo games on a third party system. 

 

I would have likely put the Switch up there with the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii as one of my favorite systems had it continued 2017's momentum and added in personality to the system's menus. Software-wise, the 2017 line-up was so heavy hitting and diverse for Nintendo that I think they set the bar too high for themselves in 2018 and 2019. 2017 felt like a step up to a better direction for Nintendo, 2018 and 2019 have felt like a slip back into the Wii U era. Why is Super Mario Maker 2 being sold without a stylus? Were November and December the only months in 2018? The online service? I really hope all Nintendo needed was time to get back to a year on par with 2017. 2020 and 2021 could both hit like that first year personally speaking, and a Direct would certainly help paint the picture. 

 

The Switch is the first time in a while where my favorite game isn't also my most played game currently. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu is my most played Switch game at around 300 hours; however, it's not even in my Top 5 for the system. My favorite game on the Switch is ARMS. ARMS to me has been the most creative game from Nintendo on the system and it has been filling my desire for Wii era experiences on current hardware. I felt like ARMS's world was just as large as the likes of Breath of the Wild's Hyrule with its lore, diverse roster, diverse ARMS, diverse settings and fighter fandoms. In many ways, it has felt like the Switch's Metroid Prime Hunters. ARMS is very focused on the gameplay it offers while still offering narratives for the player to explore, be inspired by or create with the roster. I often picked Twintelle's blonde alternate with the Sparky, Parabola and Thunderbird to turn the film star into an electrifying goddess in the arena. The game's customization can create a variety of perceptions for any of the roster's 15 characters. 

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29 minutes ago, IU said:

Personally, I think the Switch has been steadily getting worse since its big 2017 debut. I have thought recently about whether or not the Switch is actually better than the Wii U, despite the superior hardware and better design concept. The Switch is greatly lacking one of the most attractive aspects of all Nintendo systems: personality. Of Nintendo's systems that have had menus, I find the Switch to be the blandest partly due to being the successor of the personality-filled 3DS and Wii U. At times, I feel like I'm playing Nintendo games on a third party system.

This is the second time this was brought up here and I don't deny this system lacks identity compared to consoles of the past. It can't be helped that we compare what is essential Nintendo over the years. I'm not asking those who view this to put that aside but simple look at this as sort of evolution of Nintendo. That is strange to call it that when prior systems had messaging, themes and what-not but evolution of their game philosophy when it comes taking long running series in a new direction. Some have seen more success than other but I would like to think the focus of the games development and not all the bells and whistles is what produce the games that made ppl buy the console.

 

Software is king when it comes to the console, without it would be as dead as console without identity. Wouldn't prefer to have console with great games you can play than one can surf the net or watch netflix on?

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Is there a reason you can’t have both? Still love my Switch, but the lack of quality of life updates/features three years later is a bit concerning to say the least.

 

Despite the lack of personality part that I agree with (which can kinda be attributed to current Nintendo as a whole and not just the Switch UI), Nintendo's current gen is still the happiest I've been with them in years. The failure of the Wii U and how it was handled left me jaded with them for awhile, and though there were a few good games on it, none of them I really enjoyed long term like I have the few titles I got on the Switch so far, so the Wii U's only saving grace for me is being the last of its kind for the virtual console selection of games.

 

I'm glad we're mostly past the porting Wii U games phase now, and I'm even more glad that Nintendo's been not only successful again, but have had (for the most part) consistent 3rd party support that they hadn't had in ages, and that's helped push the sales that they would not have otherwise with the Switch... That said, they can't kept relying on 3rd party support forever, when their 1st party output has been severely slow as of late. 2018 was a bust in that department outside of Smash's release, and '19 wasn't much an improvement there either.

 

With the competitors waiting to hype up their next new gaming hardware around the corner, Nintendo has every reason to start trying to gain back some of that momentum with the Switch again soon, and big guns or not, reveal more of what games they've been working on. I'm not too bothered with the lack of directs lately like other people when I still have a backlog of other things to do and play (am quite used to it by now either way), but I want them to continue succeeding and for that, they need to get the direct and Switch update balls rolling again soon.

Edited by Ridley Prime
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To anyone expecting PS5/XBXX/PS4/XBX1 on what is essentially a gaming tablet then you are looking down the wrong street.  Also, I think Nintendo will have to, in its "Switch 2" have to upgrade the innards to make it even more competitive to keep getting those 3rd party ports.

 

I also can't see Nintendo going back to separate handheld and console gaming devices any  time soon--especially with them basically considering the mobile phone market as "portable" and the Switch market being its own thing.

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11 hours ago, Ridley Prime said:

Is there a reason you can’t have both?

This was sort of answered by Youngster Joey: "the Switch is both a handheld and a console, but a master of none." Anyone or anything that does handful of good things will suffer in the long run because there's no real focus. Just fulfilling everybody wants of today of convenience, as we know Nintendo does not necessarily do that. They put what we think we didn't know and hope for the best. That's why we got systems like the Wii, DS and the 3DS. All of those system did more than play games and they had some success, I think  to hedge their success with the Switch they want to primarily stick the games and I think it is working with the evidence of the install base so far.

 

As much some worry about the quality more so than the output of games from Nintendo, I think they have a clue what they doing with, 'just the games' approach. This is the first modern gaming system where there's no abundant stream services, messaging, no surfing the net and themes for the system. Despite what ppl say they want from the Switch the install base and the games released so far says to Nintendo that this is working.

 

Hopefully down the road with their next system they can reintegrate these features back to the system once they learn to manage this success with the Switch till the end of its cycle.  

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Fair enough.

 

Other than that, it's kinda got to the point now where some have gotten concerned that Nintendo has maybe gotten too comfy/complacent with the Switch's success like they were with the Wii's success after awhile. The Wii starting losing its momentum after 2010, but with the Switch it started losing it even sooner. With it being 2020 now, the system should be hitting its initial strides, though I suppose to be fair, outside factors have played a part in delaying that. The droughts don't bother me like they used to as aforementioned, but come on Nintendo...

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The Switch is losing momentum in 2020?!? This seems to be in contradictory that the droughts to you don't bother you because you have a backlog. For all we know and I'm not saying this in vain or hope that Nintendo have lot share with its consumers in 2020. I think we know despite this being uncharted water with the focus of games for Nintendo this gen, when Nintendo gives up on the their current gen system. The only 2 systems where it took a while was the DS and 3DS. It was so clear with the Wii and Wii U.

 

It only appears that the Switch has hit the climax because of what games came out from them and we know this pattern to extent where they release their heavy hitters in the first 2 year of the system life, it was just overabundant this time. The situation in the world does not help matters with what was exhaust before, appearing that the Nintendo Switch is all down hill from here.

 

New gen consoles be damned to Nintendo as much as they say they are not competing with them for the last 3 gen they are when it comes to entertainment. Nintendo usually finds a way to garner the audience they with surprise we sometimes least expect.

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55 minutes ago, DLurkster said:

The Switch is losing momentum in 2020?!?

 

No, it lost it in 2018 as mentioned by some earlier, Smash notwithstanding.

 

Though I'm not going as far as to say the Switch is going downhill. It's still doing well and I'm still happy with what I can do and play on it, but at the same time, Nintendo has been kinda holding out lately.

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I don't think it helps that the Switch had pretty jam-packed first year of outstanding games, especially considering how many of those titles were first-party developed. When you have games like Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey coming out within roughly nine months of each other it kind of skews the perception of the Switch's software output. Since then the system has definitely been leaning on port support (both first- and third-party), but not to a particularly excessive or problematic extent in my opinion, especially since the Switch has also had such an indie/digital game boom to keep me busy.

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@Ridley Prime: There definitely some truth to that because the sort of parallels what happened on the Wii U. Released on 2012, two years later Smash for 3DS & Wii U. Two years later from that all the games that were announced in 2013 start to release thereafter with very little fanfare like Tokyo Mirage Session #FE.

 

The only difference between the Wii U and the Switch where it is now in its life span is that Nintendo is successful with the Switch so despite appearances now, like the 3DS they will continue to make games till they deny they are not like the 3DS when the Switch came out. That is why I believe Nintendo is in better position to pounce then the Wii U or any system they released around this time in its lifespan.

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On 3/4/2020 at 12:42 AM, DLurkster said:

This is the second time this was brought up here and I don't deny this system lacks identity compared to consoles of the past. It can't be helped that we compare what is essential Nintendo over the years. I'm not asking those who view this to put that aside but simple look at this as sort of evolution of Nintendo. That is strange to call it that when prior systems had messaging, themes and what-not but evolution of their game philosophy when it comes taking long running series in a new direction. Some have seen more success than other but I would like to think the focus of the games development and not all the bells and whistles is what produce the games that made ppl buy the console.

 

Software is king when it comes to the console, without it would be as dead as console without identity. Wouldn't prefer to have console with great games you can play than one can surf the net or watch netflix on?

I'm actually glad that the Switch doesn't have applications that nearly every other device has. What I would like is more theme options within the system settings, even as simple as just having more colors to select after 3 years than Basic White and Black. Nintendo pulled a reversal with the Switch for sure. Before plenty of options were available for system customization; however, the games were more restrictive in nature. Now their best games on the Switch all have a ton of customization and freedom where as the system itself is lacking. It's weird that there are quite a few options to select for a user's profile icon, but only two colors available for the backdrop of the Switch's menus. Adding more colors shouldn't have a negative impact on their direction for their IPs on the Switch. If it would, that's another issue entirely. 

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