How the Switch KILLED Handheld Gaming

The most baffling decision Nintendo made with the Switch was putting an OLED screen on the regular model. The main benefit of having an OLED screen is going to be the visual clarity, and that's completely wasted on a console that's going to sit in a dock half the time. Why would you not put the OLED screen on the Switch Lite instead? It's handheld only so people are gonna be staring at the screen the whole time.

The 3ds felt fun, they had so many cool whistles and bells with everything. The switch is just “convenient” if your joycons aren’t busted.

Point 1 that things are going badly with the Pokemon games is a much bigger problem with Pokemon as a franchise. Point 2, it is the last year of the switch, of course all games are smaller. And point 3 let's all be honest, Nintendo never had competition in the handheld market. If Sony or Microsoft ever decide to make a hybrid console, they will have to do something unique because Nintendo is almost impossible to beat in handhelds.

while the main series pokemon games have always been handheld exclusives up to ultra sun and ultra moon, not all pokemon games in general were handheld exclusives prior to the switch. pokemon box ruby & sapphire, pokemon colosseum, and pokemon xd gale of darkness were home console spinoffs for the gamecube and pokemon stadium and its sequel were n64 exclusives

The Switch lacking any sort of social features kills it for me. It's so boring to use for me, now add game prices being so expensive, the EShop being so terrible to navigate, and the general portability being a bit annoying to deal with, I just don't have much of a reason to use mine if I'm not already playing a game on it. Compared to the 3DS, where even if I don't wanna play any particular game on it, I at least have things I WANT to do. Streetpass activities, Miiverse via Pretendo, drawing applications, I could go on. Heck, even comparing to my Steam Deck, the user interface is super customizable and works pretty well, I can add whatever games I want to it, it's honestly really comfortable to play on, and Steam Sales make it really easy to get new games on the cheap. Sure, it's less portable then even the Switch, but I'll take the trade off for having an entire PC in my hands. Just like a Laptop, a carrying case feels appropriate for it. If I had to pick something to bring on pretty much any sort of car trip, I'd probably choose bringing my 3DS or Steam Deck over the Switch, cause the former is super easy to carry around and easy to play casually, and the latter has my entire Steam library + emulators and anything else I wanna add to it. The Switch just lacks any excitement for me even when I try to use it, and buying games that are super expensive for a system I don't enjoy using makes it really hard to enjoy it in general.

The amount of stretching in this video I thought we were doing yoga half way through 😂😂😂 The switch is already phasing out why are we still whining about it??

OGDS: classic charming stuff. 3DS: just fancy presentation. SWITCH: has Capcom Fighting Collection.

I will never understand why people want streaming apps on the switch or any game console, like im not buying a switch or a ps5 to watch netflix? Why would any one need it on a game console if you want to watch netflix on your switch on the tv? If you have a seitch you have a smart tv in this day and age and those have streaming apps, you want to watch netflix in bed? Just watch it on your sour phone or and ipad or anything but why on a switch? I dont know about people who want streaming apps but i im buying a gaming console to just play games i dont even want discord on my switch i want to play a game i dont want to be spammed by notifications when im playing

Handheld gaming is in the best place it has ever been in my opinion. Very happy to have handhelds finally that have full controls, video out and enough power to play whatever. I just played a bunch of halo campaigns on steam deck. Couldn't even imagine doing that a few years ago. The Switch definitely proved handhelds are a viable market and that it's ok for them to be bulkier and more powerful

I think you said it best. The switch isn’t giving us the best of both worlds cause it’s not the best home console or handheld it could be. Also I REMEMBER FACE RAIDERS

The reason that nintendo makes their games so expensive (even if they feel like handheld games) is because they can. If the switch was just a handheld, people would be pretty outraged (deservedly) at such prices, Nintendo gets plausible deniability with this. Remember, companies exist to make profit.

I really hope the Steam Deck and the next PlayStation handheld really pushes Nintendo. The Vita was amazing - OLED screen, hall effect sticks, etc. It's biggest issue was the proprietary SD cards. If Sony makes another Vita without those limitations, I think it'll push Nintendo out of their comfort zone.

I could see the Switch being a stepping stone to something greater, but with Nintendo always trying new ideas, any concept that doesn't continue the hybrid situation feels like a step back. Nintendo is also known for taking steps back even when the community tries to warn them. I could see a day where Nintendo puts out a Switch model with enough specs to run 8K docked at higher framerates, while keeping handheld mode at 720p with 60fps to save battery. Improving on the controls, adding a clamshell design as well as a stylus for the touch screen, and then putting out updates to be more user-friendly (various console themes, a pay-once virtual console that ties your bought games to an account they can future-proof for later consoles, having free online peer-to-peer service since there are no servers, etc.) is the ideal situation that I just feel is a lost concept to Nintendo. They're not making fun things people can enjoy and pay for. They're focusing too hard on the money and letting their products suffer because of it... and people have noticed.

Exactly. While everything else is facts but what is totally beyond Fact is the Switch isn't becoming something very specific that no one can lean on it specially for what said use. It explains why Big games that have no business being on Switch at all but it is good due to its handheld counterparts that makes it acceptable as playing on a big screen wouldn't be a must at all due it's graphical sacrifices. The Rebooted Doom games are a clear example. And also the Switch isn't as simple to do the same purpose the DS/PSP Bloodline of making it simple to put their entirety in pocket and easily between quick minute play sessions, without removing the controllers and Tablet to one Pocket and the other. Thankfully the Switch Lite does solve that purpose abit but wish they added a clam shell to protect the face and sticks. Lol....

I can’t use the handheld mode because it doesn’t register the joycons being connected to the screen.

Hey! I remember Face Raiders!

Out of everything in this video, two points really resonated with me, the game pricing and the lack of social/"time waster" features. Literally everything is $60, like you said, even stuff that feels like $30-$40 3ds titles. And there is very little reason to take your Switch anywhere because there's no streetpass-style features, no local chatrooms, nothing that incentivizes gaming on the go aside from the console... being able to undock. It would have been such a uniquely Nintendo thing to reward you for going outside (see streetpass, pokemon go, etc). Imagine walking around outside or passing other Switch owners rewarding you coins to unlock themes, or fighting people you pass in Ultimate! Part of the reason they didn't do this is likely that it's not really pocketable. The only reason to have a Switch is basically just that the games are good.

Part of the fun, when it comes to handheld games, was the grind of finding a good game that worked super well on the handheld and was tons of fun. Ever since if got my PSP slim, I was out there looking for a game that was more than just an unsatisfying scaled down version of whatever was on the PS2 or about to get released on the PS3. Like that one assasins creed game for the PSP but than were gems like monster hunter freedom unite 2. Gosh I did my first lan events with that game and friends sitting together in a room trying to get the next gear.

4:27 The joycon controllers are far from "fine" for playing in handheld mode. There's basically no ergonomics to the back side for supporting my unused fingers and the way I have to cock my hands to move between the face buttons and joysticks literally causes cramps. As an adult man the Nintendo Switch is basically useless in handheld mode except for very brief periods of something like Mario Kart 8. They need to take a page out of Valve's book and just have real, proper controllers attached to the console and let people buy pro controllers or aftermarket guest controllers if they need to do multiplayer. Hell we even 3D printed gips for our joycons because they were so uncomfortable to hold when trying to use them for docked couch multiplayer.

personally, i've actually never undocked my switch. why? it's too big to fit in a pocket. i can easily bring a gameboy or even a 3ds xl around in a pocket. but not the switch. on top of that, it has thumb sticks that jut out and stab your leg or get damaged from all the torsion pressing around on them. you gotta carry around an even bigger case to protect it. it should've had a flip closed cover built in that folds all the way against the back when in use, and covers the front with pockets for the sticks and buttons to hug snuggly when not in use. fitting in a pocket would still be hard, but doable then. i think there's still a market to bring out a smaller dedicated handheld