I'm buying one, which isn't something I've been able to say about a Nintendo console in 20 years. Largely, because I think Nintendo has got its target audience and product positioning spot-on, which isn't the marketing gobbledegook it sounds. Sure, I'll play Switch myself but it's unashamedly a family machine and I can already see it 'solving' a genuine (low level) problem that I have: how to entertain my kids when we're out-and-about, and – in a scenario many parents will associate with – how I'm going to keep a 3 year-old and an 8 year-old quiet while my wife and I attempt to have a cup of coffee, or dare to talk to some friends (Don't @ me! My kids do loads of real world stuff, it's just… well, if you're used to looking after children, you'll *know*).
No compromise. If they're playing
Super Mario Odyssey, I won't have to pause the home console, turn off the TV and quell a mini-tantrum ("We'll put it back on later… if you're a good boy… yes, we'll take the Kindle"), but just stick the console in our bag and - hey presto - they're up-and-running again. So, Switch (potentially) works as a family lifestyle solution and, more importantly, as a panacea to one of the biggest problems we all face, in every sphere of our life: complexity.
Is it a home console? Is it a portable? It's both. In theory, you just whack it in the slot, and you're playing the same game, but at home, or on-the-move. I'm not messing around with cloud saves, playing over the internet like PS4's / PS Vita's convoluted remote play, or tolerating compromised versions of better games I already own (add your own Skyrim joke here). As for cartridges? Who knew! If you're old enough to remember the 16-bit days where games took *no seconds* to load, it's enough to make you weep, in comparison to the current paradigm, where every AAA game comes with a 10-15 minute install, no doubt followed by a three-hour online patch.
Most of all, Nintendo is just bloody magical, isn't it? Watching that Super Mario Odyssey trailer, I felt a genuine pang of awe and wonder as Mario bobbed in the water – amplified by nostalgia, of course, connecting me to similar feelings of watching Super Mario 64 for the first time or Super Mario World on SNES. The Metal Gear Solid series might obsess about genetics, legacy and what we pass between generations, but Nintendo is its embodiment… the same games are reborn again and again, passed between generations; united by quality and their joyful innocence. I can't wait to share that feeling with my kids. The only bummer is the price. It might not be Nintendo's fault, but the analysts had duped me into believing a sub £200 console might be a reality… and £279 isn't quite the same impulse buy. But, like so many purchases where kids are involved, rationality takes a passenger seat.
Source:
http://www.gamesradar.com/the-big-question-what-do-you-think-of-nintendo-switch/
