I love theNintendo Switch. I think it’s in with a shout of being one of the best games consoles ever made, and the library of games it’s amassed over its seven-year lifespan is nothing short of stellar. It’s got thebest Mario Kart ever made(sorry, Double Dash), thefirst open world Pokemon title, everyone’s pandemic obsession inAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, an excellentthird-person shooter, and not one, buttwoof the most innovative Zelda games to hit our screens. And that’s just the exclusives.
you’re able to play everything fromHollow KnighttoStardew Valleyon Nintendo’s portable machine, and while I wouldn’t advise jumping into The Witcher 3 orApex Legendson an underpowered handheld, they’re available should you so wish. So why, after all this time, have I basically stopped using the console other than to disappoint myself with a new annual instalment of anincreasingly middling Pokemon series?
I’m going to buySuper Mario Bros. Wonder, don’t worry, but I’ve had to wipe the dust from my Switch’s screen and put it on charge to do so. This great console deserves better, and I’m puzzled as to what went wrong. To figure out the answer, I need to look at what I played on the console back when it got daily use.
Alongside the obvious Zeldas and Pokemons, I see a good lineup of indies. Celeste, Dead Cells, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Untitled Goose Game, Gris. They’re, for the most part, perfect Switch games. You don’t need 4K textures to appreciate Gris’ watercolour palette, nor 120fps to time those double jumps in Celeste. These kinds of games are still releasing, but I’m not buying them on Switch. Why not?
Note: No matter how bad the Pokemon games get,I keep going back for more
I bought Dave the Diver, another game I’d categorise as ‘perfect for Switch’ on Steam. The same goes for Dredge. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, WrestleQuest, the list goes on. And the reason for me buying them on Steam is twofold.
Firstly, Steam has sales. I bought Dave the Diver well after release, and I’m pretty sure it was on sale. Even third-party Switch games rarely go on sale, and when they do, it doesn’t tend to be as big of a reduction as on other platforms.
The second reason, however, is direct competition. I can play Steam games on my desktop PCandmy Steam Deck. In work terms, this means I can nip into a game to grab a screenshot and have it perfectly synced with last night’s progress I made on the handheld. It’s a bit of a faff to get screenshots off the Switch. But also, it gives me versatility in how and when I play. In short, it does the Switch better than the Switch. Nintendo’s handheld is a victim of its own success.
I’m in a privileged position where I own both a desktop and a Steam Deck, but the pair together are far more useful for gaming than the Switch. Add in the fact Nintendo’s usually stellar exclusives haven’t hit for me this year – or last – and the console gathers dust. Yes, I’m that guy who loved Breath of the Wild but fell off Tears of the Kingdom. Pokemon is terrible now. Mario Wonder could well be the blast of nostalgia I need to go fully Switch Frenzied again, but I’ll likely jump back to my PC to play more Dave the Diver.
Other companies are catching up with the Switch. Nintendo has always relied on its first-party games to sell millions, but it also had the great roster of ‘Switch perfect’ third-party titles to back it up. Now that players have more options to play those same titles, and can play them on the go away from Nintendo’s ecosystem, Shuntaro Furukawa and co. need to think of an answer fast. I don’t know if that answer is more sales, more exclusives, or just a wild Switch 2 idea that pulls us all right back in, but the Switch deserves better than gathering dust.
