The Nintendo Switch Experience

I swore to myself that I wouldn't fall into the Wii U trap and buy a system at launch ever again, but I have to admit that I really wanted to play Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch at launch. But I held fast in my resolution and did not camp out for this system nor did I make a effort to search for it. E3 wasn't the greatest, but it peaked my interest in the Nintendo Switch. Mario X Rabbids went from a laughable crossover to another strategy RPG I am dying to get my hands on. And just the tease of a new Metroid and a new Pokemon had me feeling like Nintendo was listening to their fans.

Lo and behold, due to a beautiful person in my life, I was able to get a Nintendo Switch just a few months ago. And while I am extremely excited to have one, I'm still waiting for more games to come out.

Since I already played Zelda on the Wii U, I saw no need to buy it again. A single-player experience doesn't necessarily need to be experienced again in slightly better quality. . It's a fine showcase to demonstrate the power of such a littler device. But if E3 is any indication, a lot more anticipated games are coming down the pipeline. I can give the console a fair appraisal then. But at this point, there isn't much I want to play on the Nintendo Switch that I can't play on the PC.

The Switch is a pretty slick device. It feels sturdy, and even the small joy-cons feel as sturdy as a regular controller (I just wish they weren't so damn small). The screen looks real clean and everything looks so smooth and clean when playing on the screen. I really love how the Switch's docking capability works exactly how it is advertised. It's really cool to see the game pop up on the big screen right where you left off on the small screen. I also like how the menu screen allows you to get into games quickly and easily.

However, there is a lot to be desired. In order to focus on games, Nintendo (in their ultimate wisdom) decided to forgo any other apps in their OS. There is no Netflix, Youtube, or Hulu. There isn't even a web browser either nor a messaging app to talk to friends. It's an odd choice, since even the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U has some streaming app to use. This wouldn't be as big of a problem if they just had some games on it.

Like I said, there were a sparse amount of games at launch. I still don't know what exclusives to buy. Eventually, I'll get Splatoon 2 but I don't really have anyone to play it with and I never played the first one. I also heard through the grapevine that the online is terrible. Nintendo decided to have your phone be the equivalent of a headset. This is also another mind boggling decision. I wonder just how bare-bones Nintendo's console really is if it can't handle a microphone.

Sparse but at least it's clean

Thankfully, there isn't really a third mind-boggling decision Nintendo made on this system, though there are some more grievances I have with the system (those straps for the joy-cons are terribly engineered). But now I want to move on to what I really want to talk about...

The Nintendo Switch Experience
I don't know if this is something that's been talked about before, but is definitely a semi-joke that I make with my friends. The Nintendo Switch Experience is a situation where you bust out the Switch in public and have strangers come by and play with you. You don't have to ask them to play with you, they should be interested and ask you about the system. I just want to be able to go out and get people to play the switch with me.

The idea stems from how the Switch is advertised. It's a couch co-op system on the go. It comes with two controllers and it has these indie games that showcase the couch co-op pretty well. It just requires me to go out of my comfort zone and take my Switch to public places. I wonder if the device itself will catch people's attention. Maybe next time I am at an airport or at a Starbucks, I'll bring it along. Always in search of the Switch Experience...

I just need to be more cool and eventually this'll happen!