What makes the Nintendo switch special

 

Nintendo has been a special company it's entire lifetime bringing innovation and new ideas with most of their consoles. So many legendary consoles such as the NES, SNES, N64, Wii, and the Switch. Some may have seen it in the background of some videos, but I actually own a first-generation Nintendo switch, and for so many reasons it is just as legendary as the Wii from my childhood, the NES that kickstarted the entire lineage of Nintendo products, the SNES that brought some of the best games of the era, and the N64 that finally brought 3D games to the mainstream.

 The switch is a console the is being brought out in an age of gaming laptops, gaming pc's, Xbox One X, PS5, with more power in each category than ever before. However, the switch is probably slower than the latest flagship silicon from the likes of Qualcomm and Apple, so what is the secret of the switch? What makes this device so beloved, so dynamic, so popular, and so profitable for Nintendo? Join me as we unravel the Nintendo switch, the most special gaming device of 2020, and maybe 2021. 

When design finally beat specs

When you buy a switch, you are not paying for an AMD processor or an RTX GPU, you're buying the convenience and design of the switch, meaning the tablet-docked nature of the console. In fact, the switch is running a modified version of the 16nm (the original switch processor was 20nm!) Nvidia Tegra X1 processor along with a modified GPU that combine to output 1 Teraflop of power. It's capable of 1080p at 30FPS and 720p at 30FPS when in handheld mode. It has up to 32GB of internal storage and 4GB of RAM, although you can expand the storage with a MicroSD card. As you can see when you pay $300 you are not buying specs in a box, a case of silicon, or a RGB inflated shelf.  

 

Image Credit: Nintendo 

 

In a world where we're constantly fighting over the Xbox, PlayStation, and Gaming PC's the Switch just serves a different role. It was never made to go 4K 60FPS on the latest titles, it was made for playing Mario Kart with friends on the couch (when you could do that anyways), cleaning your island in animal crossing on a road trip, or just reliving some of the best NES games on the go, the versatility and experience of the switch is what you are paying for when you buy it.  

 

 

Image Credit: Gizmodo 

The specs and power-per-dollar just wouldn't work out any other way, and that's by design, Nintendo knew that the switch wasn't going to be the most powerful console rather it was its capability in both docked and handheld modes were going to be key to being able to compete with PlayStation and Xbox. I'd say that bet payed off, just look at the numbers; at near 80 million units sold and up to 720 million dollars in sales the switch is a full-time console competing with the Xbox and PlayStation.

  In full honesty I almost never use my switch docked, its usually sitting in a case waiting to be picked up, but it still serves as a conservative and casual gaming device. When I want to unwind via gaming I'm not heading over to my Xbox, I'm heading to the Switch, and that's the difference and divide in the fundamentals of the switch, it was made to be that device. The device floating around your home to be quickly (or not so quickly) used, the device you take with you on a road trip, the device that's mobile enough to come anywhere. That is what it was made to do, and that is what it will hopefully continue to do.  

 

Exclusives are key

They key to switch are its exclusive games, not just launch titles, but titles that come year after year. With characters, stories, and gameplay that bring out the best of the Switch experience. I'm talking about Mario odyssey, Mario Kart 8, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and a fistful of just absolute masterpieces from Nintendo. Those are the reasons the Switch got so popular, the exclusivity of these titles makes the switch the only and best experience for these games.  

 

 

A clear example was Animal Crossing, in early 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic Animal Crossing new horizons was released. It was the newest in the series of Animal Crossing titles with City folk being the earlier game, in all cases it was going to sell well because of the large fanbase and overall texture that comes with each Animal Crossing title. However, 2020 was different and with so many people stuck indoors and in need of a feel-good game Animal crossing absolutely drove the sale of the Switch in 2020.

 I bought and reviewed Animal Crossing: New Horizons and it was a nice game, it's the kind of game that makes you grateful that you bought the device when you did, and it's the kind of game that just wouldn't work on an Xbox or PlayStation. As a player I wouldn't want to either, I like my Xbox for games like Star Wars: Squadrons or Madden, but that's not the Switch, and Nintendo acknowledged that and carved out its own space and exclusives.  

 

Image Credit: Digital Trends 

 

It's a classic Nintendo strategy that has worked on consoles throughout their history with Mario 64 for N64, Wii sports + sports resort for the Wii (legendary games), just to name the ones that come to mind as I'm writing this. The quality and nature of the exclusives make it different from a PS or Xbox exclusive, it's kind of the thing that only Nintendo would be able to pull off, and they did with the Switch.   

 

The role of the Switch 

The Switch is not and honestly should not be a console for serious gamers and I've never really thought of it as one. I'm not a serious gamer and that might be the reason that in my family I usually have the Switch to myself, I seldom game and when I do I grab the Switch 80% of the time. It's my secondary console with the Xbox bringing the power when I need it and the Switch allowing me to chill on Animal Crossing, play a few rounds of Rocket League, and work on my progress in the SNES Mario World. It's not your normal console, it's a console you take with you, it's a console you relax with, and it's a console you just have fun with.  

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