The Nintendo Switch Is Fantastic

Let's just get this out of the way: Nintendo is a frustrating company. For every good move they make, it seems like they take a couple steps back. They don't understand the internet, they have a goldmine on their hands with the Virtual Console but they don't maximize their profits like they could. Then there was the Wii U, which died an excruciating death.

At one point they were such a large representative of the video game industry that non-gamers would refer to every console as a Nintendo. They are icons; a smart Nintendo is healthy for the industry. It's common knowledge that they have enough money to survive financial disasters like the Wii U, especially since they always do well with handhelds, but their future appeared to be in jeopardy. That is, until the Switch.

Of course, this is all speculative and they may Nintendo things again. Crashing and burning is not out of the realm of possibility. Remember when they announced both a new Animal Crossing and a Metroid, only to have them be these weird spin-offs that weren't the games people wanted? I remember, but their missteps are pronounced and this is a celebratory article.

We can't erase the mistakes they've made, and I'm sure they'll make plenty more, but it's exciting that the Switch has given fans a legitimate hope. They're repeating history in the sense that the hardware lacks the same kind of power that their competitors possess, but the portable nature of the home console (yes, it is console first) is game-changing to the point that it's hard to imagine them going back to a more routine console.

In what I assume is a prevalent sentiment, I often find myself commenting on how I just want to play every game on the Switch. Of course, that isn't possible, and it is likely that a fairly large portion of the big third-party games will never grace the system, but it's a desire that burns inside. Some won't see it as a selling point, but the idea that we can literally play something on a big TV and then take it out with us is incredibly appealing. The fact that the Switch basically comes equipped with multiplayer is a bonus.

Like anything, there is a group of people who want it to fail, or just don't like it. Some of their concerns are legitimate, some aren't interested in what Nintendo offers, and that's completely fine. I take no exception to someone who simply dislikes something, nor would I kick up a fuss about it. The debates happen when it goes beyond that, and one of the core issues that the Switch faces is this perceived lack of games.

Nintendo launched their newest system with Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which is so good that my brother and I have taken to referring to it not by its name, but as "the best game ever." It's not even my favourite game, but there's a solid argument there. Not every company can say they've done that.

Admittedly they didn't launch with many games, but I have consistently defended the launch line-up on a quality vs quantity grounds, because along with The Best Game Ever, it had Snipperclips and Super Bomberman R. The former is one of the underrated gems, an excellent and creative puzzler, while the latter is a nice return to form for Bomberman that is/was overpriced. The point is, while neither of them are classics, they help make up a solid library. On top of that, there was a solid F-Zero type racer called Fast RMX, more Shovel Knight and Just Dance (if that's your thing). If you missed it upon its initial release there was also I Am Setsuna, which had its flaws but was an otherwise decent JRPG. We won't speak of 1-2-Switch, because that should have come bundled with it.

I would say that launching a 10/10 alongside a bunch of good-to-great games is a good launch. They didn't overload us with the amount, but what we got was mostly entertaining and diverse.

Since then they've maintained a pretty regular schedule of good games. Puyo Puyo Tetris, Blaster Master Zero, Kamiko, Mr. Shifty, Graceful Explosion Machine and Tumbleseed have all scratched a variety of itches, while we got some re-releases of older games like Disgaea 5, Minecraft and Thumper, among others. There have been ports of Wii U titles as well; Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Lego City Undercover and Pokken Tournament DX in the near future.

They've done all this while avoiding the pitfalls that could have come with it. People complained originally that we were getting an old game like Disgaea 5, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't make me a little fearful as well, but it has something in common with the strategy to port Wii U games. Very few people had a Wii U so they missed out on some amazing exclusives, and a game like Disgaea was simply put on there for people who may not have played it. Due to it being a cult series there are a lot of people, myself included, who have never played one. I rectified that because I thought it would fit the Switch well.

This could have been a disaster but they've been padding questionable releases like that with other great games. It's hard to complain about a Wii U port when a) it's awesome and b) there are other games to play. If Nintendo got lazy and rested on their laurels then it would be a significantly different environment but they haven't.

It hasn't been perfect, by any means. There have been some weird pricing issues, accessories are too expensive, they still can't grasp the Internet and it's hard to even find the damn thing. They still follow their unfortunate formula in some ways, but when it comes to the games they've hit hard, and they aren't going to stop anytime soon.

Outside of announcing a mainline Pokémon and a new Metroid Prime, which are both incredibly far off but real, we have a 2017 schedule that could rival anything in history in terms of quality. Here are some of them: Splatoon 2, Arms, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battles, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Rocket League, Super Mario Odyssey, Fire Emblem Warriors. These all offer unique experiences, and with the exception of one, they are exclusive to the Switch.

The Switch can continue to be a huge success, but only if people temper their expectations. By that I don't mean go easy on them because it's inferior hardware; what I mean is that if you embrace it for what it is it's a pretty fantastic device. If all goes well, we will get a plethora of great Nintendo exclusives because they are still the best developer on the planet. To compliment the reason we still buy Nintendo consoles, to begin with, we have been treated to small indie games that are a perfect fit for the system. From the looks of what Ubisoft is doing, we may even get some unique third-party exclusives, but we shouldn't expect much in the way of the bigger ones. But that's not a problem if we can keep the other types of games coming.

People who are actively against the Switch won't be turned by this article, I realise that. This was only written to try to persuade those who make the claim that the Switch has no games. That's simply untrue, and for the first time in years, it's actually thrilling to be a Nintendo fan.

Now let me try to figure out this Splatoon headset thing.