Any Switch Way You Can

The Nintendo Switch wants to change the way you play. But is there room in the world for a different kind of console?

The stakes could not be higher for Nintendo’s Switch. After the Wii U tanked harder than Schwarzenegger in an ’80s blockbuster, there is the very real prospect that this could be the last console it makes. So could it be ‘game over’ for the maker of the SNES, Wii and Game Boy? For all the millions of marketing dollars that are spent on saying otherwise, the PS4 and Xbox One are basically the same thing: a big, powerful box that sits under your television for eternity. Compared to these static beasts, Nintendo’s Switch is very different.

You can play it at home while slouched on a couch, but pick it up out of its dock and that’s where the magic really happens: you simply carry on playing. This means a full-blown Mario adventure on your journey into work, a sojourn with Zelda on your lunch break, and an evening with Mario Kart at home when you need to show who’s king of your castle.

Sounds like the old Nintendo you know and love, right? New, inventive and – most of all – fun. Well, we’ve taken a long, exclusive look at the Switch to find out if it really is all that. Read on for everything you need to know.

1 IT ’S PORTABLE PERFECTION

Nokia tried its luck with the N-Gage, Nvidia’s Shield Tablet was a noble swing and miss, and some prat invented a PC backpack for portable VR. Alas, none of these efforts managed to crack the dream of an all-in-one console: one that’s as good on the road as it is hooked up to a TV.

Nintendo’s Switch is meant to change all of that. Pop this sleek machine out of its dock and you’ll begin to believe. In a matter of seconds you can flit from playing Zelda on your telly to continuing the game in your hands. It’s a pretty much instantaneous transition and one that’s free from obvious side-effects, like a jarring graphical downgrade or stuttering connection.