Nintendo Switch is a hybrid console that’s fantastic for home use and playing on the go – truly the best of both worlds.
The Nintendo Switch is the first attempt at bridging the gap between home and handheld consoles, meaning it’s a great addition to Nintendo’s family without sacrificing any of the charms previous releases have brought forward. It’s a great console with impressive capabilities, especially given its hybrid nature.
The design of the Nintendo Switch has helped Nintendo to continue its high reign in household consoles with something entirely unique, especially running off the back of the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo 3DS; even the experimental second screen of the Wii U was pretty revolutionary when it launched. So, even six years on, and with the competition of the Nintendo Switch OLED, there is a good reason the Nintendo Switch remains as popular as always.
What we have here is significantly different from what we’ve seen before, and the Nintendo Switch provides the best of both worlds. You can game on the go at your own behest or cutch down at home to make the most of the chill Nintendo Switch atmosphere. As the list of best Nintendo Switch games gets bigger with exclusive party games and top-tier third-party titles.
Whether you’ve already made your purchase or not, it’s hard to deny that the Nintendo Switch is a fine idea, mixing some of what made the Wii and Wii U appealing for gamers (even if developers had a more challenging time figuring out how to make the most of the latter device).
The Nintendo Switch brings with it a central idea that can benefit literally every game, not just the select few that can use motion control or a second screen. Who hasn’t at one time wanted to pack up their console and take it with them? Essentially, the Switch delivers on this hybrid idea. You’ll find it a solid, premium handheld that can flip into docked mode and work as you’d expect a home console.
At the same time, the Nintendo Switch certainly isn’t perfect: most of the issues it has are a consequence of the way that it dares to try and do everything at once, and it doesn’t always get the compromise right.
Those who aren’t sold on its hybridity and want that classic Nintendo handheld experience will no doubt be interesting in the compact, lighter alternative: the Nintendo Switch Lite, which offers a solely handheld Switch gaming experience. For those after something more premium, there’s also the Nintendo Switch OLED, which mainly improves the portable aspect of play.
The original Nintendo Switch launched over five years ago, arriving on March 3, 2017. While it previously cost $299.99 in the US, £259.99 in the UK, and $469.95 in Australia, Nintendo gave this a small price cut after the Switch OLED model arrived October 2021.
Nowadays, you’ll find it going a new RRP worldwide of €269.99 / £259.99 / $259.99 / AU$435. Thankfully, Nintendo has confirmed there won’t be a price hike just yet for the Nintendo Switch in the wake of rising global inflation, unlike the recent hikes for Oculus Quest 2 and PS5. So, if you’ve not yet picked up any of the Nintendo Switch family, there’s no need to rush.
In the box with your shiny new Nintendo Switch, you get the main console, two detachable controller sides (Joy-Cons), a grip which enables you to combine these controller portions into a more traditional gamepad, two straps which can make them into two individual controllers, and a dock for plugging the console into your television.
You also get a USB Type-C power cable (with a non-detachable power brick) and an HDMI cable for connecting the device to your TV. If you think that sounds like a lot of accessories, then you’d be right: we suspect many Nintendo Switch owners will have misplaced at least one or two of these within a few months.
We’ve wrapped our Joy-Con straps around our Joy-Con grip just to keep everything together, but we’d love some way of attaching them to the console, so they don’t end up getting misplaced. It’s a pretty novel (not to mention somewhat complicated) setup, so it’s worth delving into each of the different ways you can use the console.
