I really can’t express how much joy the Switch has given me and my family. I loved it when I first got it all those years ago, but in the last year I’ve been replaying lots of games with my 4yr old.
Mario Odyssey, Mario 3D world, Yoshi’s crafted world, New Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man competition edition and recently we blasted through Unpacking over a rainy Sunday. We’ve easily logged hundreds of hours together in the last 6 months alone.
Meanwhile the PS4 and Xbox have been sat gathering dust.
There’s a few reasons for this IMHO.
1. There’s no bullshit on the Switch. It switches on instantly, it sleeps instantly. It rarely wants updates for anything. It’s so easy to dock and undock for playing in the car on journeys. It’s totally unobtrusive under the TV. It just fits into our family life seamlessly with zero frustrations. Even the grandparents enjoy playing it when they come over.
2. Nintendo games are totally family friendly. We all sit around playing together, passing the joypad between us or playing coop together. I never have any worries about the games we are playing being unsuitable for a 4yr old in anyway. There are no loot boxes, unsavoury material, etc. it’s just pure fun and entertainment. I find my kid has a much greater understanding of cause, effect and 3d space than he would do if that time was spent tapping away on an iPad screen on some ad ridden, loot box infested shovelware. I’m actually amazed how quickly he has learnt using the camera stick, but it’s probably because Nintendo finesse their products to the nth degree.
3. Nintendo finally opened it up to adult games, so if I do want to blast through gore on Doom or Wolfenstein late at night on my own, I can. When I do, I just find myself reaching for the Switch over the PlayStation or Xbox, which I know will try and demand all sorts of updates and downloads before I can play.
Prior Nintendo consoles have some pretty adult stuff on them. MadWorld, No More Heroes, House of the Dead: Overkill, Manhunt 2, Bayonetta, etc. The Switch is just the first Nintendo console in a while that's had great third party support.
Mario Odyssey, Mario 3D world, Yoshi’s crafted world, New Super Mario Bros., Pac-Man competition edition and recently we blasted through Unpacking over a rainy Sunday. We’ve easily logged hundreds of hours together in the last 6 months alone.
Meanwhile the PS4 and Xbox have been sat gathering dust.
There’s a few reasons for this IMHO.
1. There’s no bullshit on the Switch. It switches on instantly, it sleeps instantly. It rarely wants updates for anything. It’s so easy to dock and undock for playing in the car on journeys. It’s totally unobtrusive under the TV. It just fits into our family life seamlessly with zero frustrations. Even the grandparents enjoy playing it when they come over.
2. Nintendo games are totally family friendly. We all sit around playing together, passing the joypad between us or playing coop together. I never have any worries about the games we are playing being unsuitable for a 4yr old in anyway. There are no loot boxes, unsavoury material, etc. it’s just pure fun and entertainment. I find my kid has a much greater understanding of cause, effect and 3d space than he would do if that time was spent tapping away on an iPad screen on some ad ridden, loot box infested shovelware. I’m actually amazed how quickly he has learnt using the camera stick, but it’s probably because Nintendo finesse their products to the nth degree.
3. Nintendo finally opened it up to adult games, so if I do want to blast through gore on Doom or Wolfenstein late at night on my own, I can. When I do, I just find myself reaching for the Switch over the PlayStation or Xbox, which I know will try and demand all sorts of updates and downloads before I can play.