Another week, another Nintendo Switch hardware issue. This time it’s reports of Nintendo Switch units getting warped from being in the dock too long. A report from VG247 cites redditor u/_NSR, who posted pics online of a slightly bowed Nintendo Switch. u/_NSR posits this is due to the heat from unit as he/she claims the Switch has spent most of its time in the dock.
Apparently it’s happening to a handful of other users too, although plenty of owners have come forward to boast 100+ hour playtimes and no warping whatsoever. Like many of the other Nintendo Switch hardware issues (faulty joy-cons, wi-fi issues, screen scratching caused by the dock, etc) this doesn’t seem to be something that affects most users, but adding up all these isolated cases results in one huge sigh of relief for me, and for anyone else who said “I’ll wait.”
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Let’s be real. If it wasn’t for the virtually flawless release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , the Nintendo Switch would be about as welcome as a turd in the proverbial punch bowl. Beyond BotW there aren’t any titles you’d classify as a system seller. Sure, things like Snake Pass and Snipperclips are pleasant surprises, but the masses won’t buy a $300 console based solely on indie buzz. The brilliance of a polished Zelda game has outshined what is otherwise a tarnished launch, and makes us forget there’s no new Mario game yet.
Mistakes are bound to be a part of any console launch, so I don’t want to imply Nintendo is somehow extraneously incompetent (red ring of death, anyone?). But the latest hardware hiccup serves as a reminder that good consoles come to those who wait. BotW is, after all, readily available on the Wii U, which is itself a console many of us bought because we wanted to play a new Zelda game, myself included. So if the best thing about the Switch isn’t exclusive to the Switch, I can’t find a good reason to get one now and a lot of good reasons why waiting still makes sense.
Chief among these concerns is online play. Unless you’re coming out of a coma Walking Dead -style, then you know how important online multiplayer is to the gaming landscape. Nintendo, somehow, has released a major console without a well-defined online strategy. The trial period for online multiplayer is going well so far, provided you don’t want to do any voice chat. Nintendo has that slated for release sometime this fall (about the same time the service stops being free) and the service isn’t native to the console itself. Nintendo is touting a “new dedicated smart device app” that essentially means you’ll be chatting through your phone. It’s a, um, new approach to online voice chat but feels a little backwards. There wasn’t an official voice chat system on the Wii U, which Nintendo often downplayed as a decision to combat toxicity online. A new console that is comparably priced against the competition but lacks key features is not something I want to rush out and buy.
And price, ultimately, is the reason why so many of us are waiting, and why I think it’s proving to be the right decision. The Nintendo Switch has a little much cash-grabbing going on for me to ignore. A report by Polygon concluded that the optimum Switch experience would require nearly $200 in additional accessories. And that doesn’t include the $60 you need to shell out for a game, or $50 if you think the shovelware that is 1-2-Switch is somehow worth the equivalent joy you could get from 200 McNuggets.
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Take all this under consideration; the hardware hiccups, the vague and dated online multiplayer strategy, the near total silence on Virtual Console and the release of Super Mario Odyssey in the fall and I think you’ll end up with one conclusion: bundles are coming. I don’t see anything on the Nintendo Switch calendar that is going to reignite the interest of casual, budget-conscious fans once the BotW hype cools off. The Switch will be old news by the time the 2017 holiday season rolls around, and there’s lots of time in-between for Nintendo to get good press or bad press.
Looking at what we know so far, bad press seems more likely. The holiday hype will kick up again, naturally, and Nintendo would be wise to cash-in with some bundles that facilitate a better multiplayer experience by including additional joy cons and a trial subscription to their wonky online service, or a stronger value by giving us a damn game with the thing, too. Good things come to those who wait, they say, but those who wait can avoid some bad things too. Let’s hope in the long run the Switch won’t be one of them.
