I haven’t had a proper game console since the PS3.
I would like to get one, mostly to play with my family (wife, 7yo kid). I had been waiting for the Switch 2 for a while now (I really resisted the urge to get a Switch OLED back when it was released…).
On the plus side:
- it’s really geared towards family/party gaming
- it’s Nintendo, so you get the whole usual games (Mario Kart, Zelda, etc.)
- like most consoles, it’s plug and play and can be enjoyed in the living room (I kind of gave up trying to set up a proper gaming experience with my Linux PCs, given that I don’t have the hardware for it)
On the minus side:
- the battery life is not great to say the least (2.5 hours takes me back of the Game Gear in early 90s!)
- the screen seems to be pretty bad too (at least it’s a step back from the OLED one of the Switch)
- the joycons are still not using a Hall effect sensor, meaning they might still be prone to drifting
- most of the games will not be sold as proper cartridges but as download codes
- the whole thing (console, additional gamepads, games) is quite pricey
- it’s Nintendo, famous for their anti-everything (anti-homebrew, anti-emulation, anti-piracy)
Should I still go with it, or is there a better option? (I hope the better option is not to wait 4 more years for Nintendo to release a newer Switch 2 that would fix the shitty hardware).
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
The screen thing is really overblown. Yes, there are technical analysis that point toward issues. However most people, including myself and several of my friends, don’t notice anything wrong in real life. Maybe if you’re an absolute snob about display tech you’ll notice something is off but that’s it.
If you are planning to play docked with family then the battery life isn’t really an issue.
If you are only going to use it for Switch 2 games then there’s no hurry to buy one now. There’s hardly any. But there’s a big catalog of fun Switch 1 games you can play on it that make it viable to buy now.