Talk of the Nintendo Switch Pro goes up again with several rumors and leaks suggesting that a new model of the home console / hybrid handset is to be released this year.
This of course has gotten a lot of gamers almost expecting it, and the same is true of Tom’s Guide towers. We’ve even put together a number of features that we want to include in an updated Nintendo Switch.
However, while I was wondering if I should start my Switch Pro save pool now or wait until the summer, I realized something: I don’t play my regular Switch very often.
This isn’t because I don’t think the Nintendo Switch is a good piece of hardware. It certainly is, and in 2019 when I was traveling regularly for long periods he was a rescuer on long train journeys. However, the Switch has one fatal flaw: there is very little robust software to play on.
False first impression
Probably the reason Nintendo’s release schedule looks so lacking year after year is because the console came out of the turning gate.
The console was launched in March 2017 along with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which for my money remains the best Switch game currently available. In the next nine months we got heavy titles like Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and Mario Odyssey.
The Nintendo Switch also has some good second-party exceptions like Mario + Rabbits: Kingdom Battle and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. We also got ARMS, which is probably better left without permission.
In the next three years, Nintendo hasn’t put out a year line even near that quality level. Yes, there have been big titles like Super Smash Bros.: Ultimate in 2018 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020 but since 2017 the move has been one big title of the year at best.
The Switch was a special addition with smaller high school titles in established franchises such as Mario Tennis, Kirby, Luigi Platform and Mario Party. These have gone from a waste of fun time to a half-cooked disappointment, but at best mid-range titles are not the heavy-duty Switch player players.
While Nintendo has always offered a new offering for the Switch every three or three months, the iconic titles that took real control of the game talk and became system vendors in their own right can be counted with one hand.
The most obvious problem last month was when Nintendo hosted its first Direct online event for 18 months. The most showcased titles were another Mario sports title (this time Mario Golf) and a port of a ten – year – old Zelda game that received mixed reviews for the first time around. There is almost an unauthorized line for 2021.
Such an infertile release schedule has become the norm rather than the exception for the Nintendo Switch, and 2021 is looking very much for the continuation of the trend.
The problem with Switch ports
Nintendo has tried to fill the gaps in its special lineup with ports of games that first released on the Wii U. with a lot of weakness.
While it’s clear that this strategy doesn’t cater to the people who bought that console, considering the Wii U sold 13.5 million consoles compared to Nintendo Switch’s 74 million units to date, for most Switch owners these ports are for every purpose. new games.
However, the problem is that these ports of titles are between 5 and 9 years old. A few have gracefully aged, such as Mario Kart 8, but several have surpassed their predecessors that are native to the Switch.
Take Super Mario 3D World, which was released on the Wii U back in 2013 and was brought to the Switch earlier this year. All the improvements that Mario Odyssey made in 2017 to Mario ‘s formula, such as the removal of the life system a long time ago, have been back because you are actually playing a game that has been released. -mach ro Odyssey.
The same will be true of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, which is a Switch port of a game released on the original Wii. Players from Breath of the Wild may technically have a new Zelda game to play in July, but none of the enhancements offered in Link ‘s latest adventure. It is a step backwards.
Supplementary console
Of course, this is not all about the bans. The Switch after all has seen much stronger third-party support than before.
But, again, there are problems here. Due to technical limitations the Switch only receives a very small selection of standard AAA releases, and even when the console receives new notifications as in the case of Eternal Doom or Immortals: Feynix Rising the Switch port is always significantly lower than PlayStation / Xbox / PC Version.
This has led to much of the Switch’s third-party support made up of ports of older games from the PS3 / 360 era or indie titles, many of which are good in balance – there are games like Hades, Cuphead, and Dead Cells feel tailored- made for the Switch. But would Switch Pro improve those games? Controversial.
This must follow that the Switch is becoming a developmental consul for me. Great for raising for a few weeks on occasionally a special flag is released and then back to its case it goes for months at a time.
Considering this, justifying an investment in a Nintendo Switch Pro that costs well over $ 300 is not the most attractive recommendation. As I want the Switch Pro to have a longer battery, better display, and better designed Joy-Cons, before I can consider buying Nintendo has to introduce the big guns in terms of games first .
In fact, if Nintendo just released the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Switch Pro, I’ll throw down whatever money Nintendo wants non-stop.
I believe that’s ultimately why Nintendo knows it can rest on its laurels. When your main suckers are so good, you only need to release a generation or two to court like suckers.