Should You Buy the Nintendo Switch?

Hi gamers and readers, Uncle Ben here! Can Uncle Ben be my nickname? No? Okay, moving on. Have you read our coverage of Nintendo's newest addition to the gaming console family? Pretty nifty looking, right? Wrong. It's very nifty looking. Just watch this release trailer for the Nintendo Switch?

Like I said - nifty. Now, you're probably wondering if this innovative bad boy is worth the purchase. It's a pertinent questions that is applied to nearly every product that comes out of the video game industry. "Should you buy this new game?", "should you wait for this expansion to be discounted?", or "should you buy this new gaming system on the first day?" Let's go over each and every known characteristic of the upcoming tech before we make a collective decision.

You may be feeling the pressure to address this question, seeing as the Switch's release date is March 3rd. This is especially true if you're a fan of Nintendo's previous work. Let's be honest, everyone loves at least some aspects of Nintendo's charming approach to fun an unique gaming. However, let's keep objectivity at the front of our mind while we evaluate if this is the system to buy. It is our hard-earned cash, after all.

Pros

The Switch is another unique installment of interactive controllability.

In layman's: it's got some cool controllers! The Switch features duel controllers that can be snapped on or off of the main console. As you probably gathered form the video, they can also be snapped together to become a single controller. This unique ability to switch from a fixed screen to a mobile one is pretty attractive, and it looks very fun.

Nintendo

A Score of New Nintendo Goodies

The Nintendo Switch will usher in a new generation of Nintendo games, as well as update previous titles. Popular racing game, Mario Kart will be rereleased for the Switch in 2017, and a new Splatoon game is slated for release this Summer. Most importantly, a new Super Mario installment is expected sometime in 2017. That's really big news, and is something gamers will really want to be onboard with, including yours truly.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

The elf in the room - a brand new chapter in the expansive Legend of Zelda series. Breath of the Wild returns Nintendo's other poster boy, Link, to the ruins of Hyrule. The title is expected to blow some serious minds, and we here at Game Chop are pretty excited to get our hands on it. The upcoming open world game has been in the spotlight for over a year now, and looks to be one hell of a Switch starter pack. You don't even need to download it - you just put it in and play!

Cons

Day One Issues

As we all know, plenty of day ones are disastrous. Now this may be a classic, go-to "con" for virtually every video game product, but this time the stakes are high. A brand new unique console could come with unique early issues. Online connectivity could easily be an issues, as it was with the Nintendo Wii. Bugs with Legend of Zelda, heaven forbid, could plague living rooms, even if just for the day or week one. This risk is omnipresent, so I thought I'd lead with it. You're welcome.

A Staggering Starting Price Tag

The Switch has a whopping $299.00 cost upon release on March 3rd. Sure it's a new system, but damn! three C-notes for this? I understand that it's innovative, dynamic, and fun-looking, but there are few products to go with it? The one game coming with it may look amazing, and may even occupy your time for a few weeks, but it's not worth a day-one purchase.

Nintendo

A General Lack of Games

Let's be honest, there are no games other than Breath of the Wild on this console as of day one. That's not a horrible thing, but it makes dropping the $300 on March 3rd sound like a not-so-good deal. While we mentioned there are three big titles likely to release in 2017, we know of no others. Plus, none of these are all that new. Only the chance of a new Super Mario gets us excited.

Conclusion

My professional recommendation must be to hold off. Being an early adopter is an awfully expensive practice, and it doesn't always have a silver lining. Sure, could February bring announcements of dozens of new games? Maybe. But as of release day, there is nothing compelling an immediate purchase other than that sweet, sweet Breath of the Wild.

Myself, and the other losers here at Game Chop highly suggest the patient high route. Give it a month or two and see what news there is of this new console. Even if you're a die-hard Nintendo fan, you don't need to drop $360 for a brand new console and one new game.