Nintendo’s Switch already gets right what the Wii U got wrong
Nintendo’s Switch already gets right what the Wii U got wrong
There are still a lot of questions about Nintendo’s Switch, and the Kyoto gaming giant has everything to prove. But after spending a few hours in the hybrid console’s company this afternoon in Tokyo, I think Nintendo might be onto something. At the very least, there’s evidence that the Switch is a more credible effort than its predecessor, the Wii U, which was Nintendo’s biggest home console failure to date.
I say that because of product decisions that cut to the core of how each system is used. With the Wii U and its tablet-style GamePad controller, developers essentially had two options — beam the same image from the TV to the portable screen, or display different content on each. Few found much use for the latter scenario, so the vast majority of games ended up
employing the former, relegating the GamePad to a clunky, low-res portable that couldn’t even be taken outside of the house. Most of the Wii U’s best games ended up being perfectly playable without the GamePad at all.
employing the former, relegating the GamePad to a clunky, low-res portable that couldn’t even be taken outside of the house. Most of the Wii U’s best games ended up being perfectly playable without the GamePad at all.
The Switch is different — in fact, it’s the precise opposite.
Its processing guts are in the tablet device itself, rather than in the box under your TV, making it a true portable that can be taken on the go. When docked with the TV, you can use a regular controller or an adapter to turn its portable attachments into something more traditional. And the Switch’s most unusual configuration is for portable local multiplayer, with each player essentially taking half a controller and gathering around the screen.
Its processing guts are in the tablet device itself, rather than in the box under your TV, making it a true portable that can be taken on the go. When docked with the TV, you can use a regular controller or an adapter to turn its portable attachments into something more traditional. And the Switch’s most unusual configuration is for portable local multiplayer, with each player essentially taking half a controller and gathering around the screen.
There are compromises inherent to all three of these configurations. If you use it mostly docked as a home console, the screen is going to waste and the mobile hardware makes the system underpowered relative to competitors. If you use it mostly as a portable, the battery life will suffer and the games may not be ideally designed for handheld play. If you use it as a multiplayer rig on the go — well, there aren’t really any competitors in this space, but I can at least confirm that Mario Kart 8 doesn’t play as well with half a Joy-Con as it does with a full controller.
But these compromises don’t feel as profound as those inherent to the Wii U, a system built around a single idea at great expense without the software ideas to back it up. The Switch offers countless ways to play, and almost all of the games demoed today work with several of them.
So there’s the deranged 1-2-Switch, which makes use of the JoyCon’s capabilities so extensively that the TV or tablet’s screen is almost unneeded. There’s the brilliant Snipperclips, a cooperative 2D puzzle game that encourages you to huddle around the screen with your tiny controllers and talk to each other to figure out the solution.
There’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, of course, which can basically be played in any permutation of controller and screen you like. (Also they fixed battle mode.)
There’s Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, of course, which can basically be played in any permutation of controller and screen you like. (Also they fixed battle mode.)
Keyword: Nintendo Switch, super mario odyssey, nintendo switch neon, mario kart 8 deluxe, fire emblem warriors, breath of the wild master edition, mario odyssey, nintendo switch arms,
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