Enigmatic_Oddity wrote:
I don't understand the appeal. It's apparently a portable system but it's huge. I'm annoyed that Nintendo's strategy seems to be to support it alone rather than continuing their several decades history of supporting a home console and a portable one. I have not got one and continue to use my Nintendo 3DS, which is far better designed as a portable system.
It's not surprising though.
The Wii U didnt sell very well at all. The various handhelds though... not just the DS/3DS... have always sold VERY well. The way Nintendo looks at it, why not just combine the two? When docked, the thing performs *exactly* like a normal console... there's no weirdness to it or anything. You can use a perfectly normal controller. When in handheld mode, it's, well... the usual sort of handheld. This double functionality gives them something that the competition utterly lacks. Of the three consoles, they are the only one that genuinely stands out. The other two are pretty much identical to each other. This absolutely has a major effect on sales. A major effect that Nintendo *needed*. The Wii U was doing THAT badly. Nintendo, even as traditional as they are, knew that couldnt continue... they had to make a change.
Not to mention that the device has WAY more power than the 3DS, AND a bigger screen. This means that anything that can be played in console mode can also be played in portable mode. The ability to take things like Zelda or Skyrim and get the EXACT same experience when in handheld mode is a HUGE advantage. With the 3DS, they'd have needed to make bizarre dumbed-down versions of games like those. Spin-offs instead of the "real thing" (and that is indeed what they usually do in cases like that). Now though? No need. Wanna play Skyrim on the go, you get the ENTIRE experience, even the full graphics. Even a laptop cant truly say that (even a small laptop is a huge bulky mass that requires space on a flat surface to even use, making it non-viable in many situations. Also laptops are screwy).
But then there's the third bit: Support for the 3DS is likely to end relatively soon. Series such as Pokemon, normally on the DS line, will end up being Switch exclusives probably sooner rather than later (in fact, looking it up just now, that is indeed happening. Pokemon: Let's Go was recently announced, but Nintendo has also said that the next "core" game will be in 2019, and will be on the Switch. That's yet another thing that'll pull players away from the 3DS). More power, more memory, more content, bigger screen.... better experience and quality. Not to mention that the console has been extremely popular, and is something recent/modern/new, which cant be said about the 3DS anymore.
Also to be honest the thing's overall design is MUCH better. It's way more comfortable to hold even despite it being larger (it's not like you're trying to grip the entire bloody thing). And the analog sticks... I'll just say this: The analog stick on the 3DS is the single worst controller part I've ever had the extreme displeasure of using. It is TERRIBLE. To the point where I quickly started refusing to play any game that required it. It's THAT bad. It's uncomfortable, flat and weird, in a bad position, and inaccurate when compared to a proper analog stick. The sticks on the Switch are fine, though I do prefer using an actual controller in docked mode.
Now that all being said, to answer the OP, I have a Switch, but it gets almost no use. Not for technical reasons: it's because there just isnt much on it that I actually care about. Particularly compared to my PC (same reason why I have a PS4 but almost never use that either). If it had Mario Maker on it, I'd use it frequently. But it doesnt. Doesnt help that I didnt like Zelda one bit (I call it Zelda: Ubisoft Edition, as that's basically what it is. It even has the freaking towers. I've never liked Ubisoft's crap, so I naturally dont like the new Zelda either).
I will however start using it a heck of alot once Smash comes out. That game is the true reason I bought one. I would also play Mario Party, but those usually arent very good at singleplayer.