I am a pretty big gamer. Whether it's online crushing some Destiny strikes, or in the dorm lobby playing Super Smash Bros, I like to game. I’ve played games from handheld to retro consoles, to everything on home consoles. As much as I enjoy the games on my Xbox or on my roommate’s PS4, I’ve always been a huge fan of Nintendo. The Nintendo 64 is what introduced me to video games, and the GameCube was my first console. Super Mario Sunshine was the first game I ever beat on my own, and the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker will always be my favorite game. My love for Nintendo is so great, I actually spent my own money to buy the Wii U (as opposed to having my parents buy it for me for Christmas).
I have always thought that the Wii U would come out on top. Its colorful and cartoonish graphics as well as its wide variety of multiplayer games, made me believe that it would end up being a great console. And until this week I thought that it was a great console. So what happened this week that changed my mind? Nintendo finally revealed their secretive NX (code name). So, here’s why i am, (and you should be) excited for the Nintendo Switch.
- Its 100% mobile
When the Wii U was revealed, Nintendo hailed it for its “mobility”. You could choose whether to play on your tv, or the Gamepad. However, you had to be in close proximity to the console so playing it wasn’t really mobile. Well Nintendo fixed this with the Switch. You can go from playing on the tv to playing outside, in your car, even on a friggen airplane! Its so friggen cool. I for one usually have a 4 hour trip from Aberdeen to Philadelphia whenever I fly home. I would love to play the Nintendo switch while im on the plane. Especially because of reason 2:
2.It has support from great game developers
The Wii U had a lot of great games. However, all those great games were produced by Nintendo. Meanwhile, Sony and Microsoft had the support from major developers to release widely successful games like Forza, Fallout, Assassin’s Creed, Doom, etc. Now, Nintendo has over 42 developers signed up to release games on the Nintendo Switch. One of the biggest is Bethesda. That means Skyrim and Fallout! Nintendo already promoted playing Skyrim on the Switch as one of the games you can play. I don’t know about you but I was like a diamond in an ice storm when I saw that you can play Skyrim on an airplane. That’s the dopest thing ever. Granted, I’m sure people with gaming laptops can do that since 2011, but whatever, I don’t have a gaming laptop so get off my back jerks. below is a list of a few developers on board.
3. It Looks Super Bad Ass
Probably the biggest issue with the Wii U was its design. When it was first releveled In 2013, people just thought it was a second Nintendo Wii. And people got tired of the Wii u a year after that was released so why make the new console look like a direct successor? The design can probably contribute the most to the Wii u’s low sales. Nintendo has completely made up for its mistake and made the Switch look absolutely nothing like the Wii U. In fact, it doesn’t look like a Nintendo console at all! It looks like something Microsoft would put out. Its slick and looks like Nintendo is starting fresh.
4. Those Hella Controllers
The game pad, as much fun as it was, kind of sucked. It was bulky and you couldn’t take it anywhere. If it broke, you’d have to buy an entirely new Wii U. However, it did give Nintendo inspiration to make the tablet for the Switch. It’s not even the controller. The controller actually comes apart, and you can attach it to the mobile screen and play it on that. But that’s not all. The screen has a kickstand, so you can detach the controller and play anywhere. But that’s not all. You can detach the controller and give each half to two players and play multiplayer games like Mario Kart. Are you flipping kidding me?! That is incredible badass! The regular controller is actually two controllers its super bad ass.
5. Everything else?
I’m not sure what more I can say. How about the fact that Nintendo is bringing back game cartridges. Now, it looks like they won’t be big bulky, N64, or Super Nintendo Cartridges. Rather they would be as small as Nintendo Ds cartridges and why not? We have thumb drives that carry terabytes of data, why can’t we have a game cartridge the size of a quarter to run a couple Gigabytes?
Nintendo is digging back to its roots and being innovative and fun again. I’m ready to ditch my Wii U for this new system. I’m hoping that Nintendo is going to make the right moves to make this console able to run against Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles. We are just going to have to wait and see. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited.