Impetus: Nintendo reveals Switch, the gaming console that allows you to play games handheld as well as on television
The technology behind this is truly game breaking. I’m very much in awe at Nintendo’s ambitions and forward thinking when it comes to the gaming industry. Microsoft and Sony aren’t even remotely in the same stratosphere when it comes to competing with Nintendo visions, because they’re too busy fighting each other, churning out products that require a hundred updates a week with a video game occasionally playable.
I’d love to read or hear about the creative concepting behind Switch; and the moments when they realized that it wasn’t impossible to feasibly create something that could be played on televisions as well as through handheld capacity. On top of that, it’s designed to be a very social gaming system, that allows for lots of multiplayers, as long as controllers are available. It probably was something really inspirational to be a part of.
I think I would want a Switch, if it comes out and hopefully isn’t $1,000. I can’t say that I’m much of a console gamer at all these days, but not just as a console, it would be a great gadget to be able to get my hands on. And hopefully it doesn’t have a lame duck library upon release, because that alone can derail any console launch.
But the video Nintendo used to unveil the console? I kind of hate it. It basically confirms my concerns that by having a system that can be plucked away from the television and continuously be played mobile means the chunks of society that happen to have Switches will further devolve into subhumans married to their gadgets, further losing the capability to read a book, watch where they’re walking, or go to a social gathering without needing to resort to video games.
Like, the guy who takes an evident Zelda game from the television, plays it in his likely Uber ride, and then sets it up on his plane ride; sure, the game might be engrossing and fun, but me personally, I don’t want to be glued to a video game and have that much accessibility at all times.
Evidently, Nintendo tried to show gaming as a last-in-line activity with guys ending their basketball scrimmages or skateboarding sessions with some Switch time, but what about stuff like, conversation?
I think what set me off the most was the girl who was playing Switch in her apartment, who looks out the window and sees friends waving her over to a pretty awesome and chill-looking rooftop party. Instead of going to the party, having some good conversation, maybe a drink or some barbecue, she plucks her Switch from the dock, goes to the party, and in seconds, all the people are crowded around a picnic table watching two people playing Mario.
I’ve never been to a rooftop party before. I would love to go to a rooftop party, and drink beer and eat barbecue, and revel in the company of friends and acquaintances. It would be a great opportunity to enjoy a cityscape, swap stories, catch up, and simply relax and enjoy the environment. The last thing I’d want is to crowd around a 6” screen and think about how Super Mario Bros. 3 was the pinnacle of the series.
While the Switch is a true technological marvel and I’m definitely blown away by the idea of it, it’s unfortunately advancing technology like this that I fear further keeps people connected to electronic devices, and further distance themselves with simply disconnecting and seeing what the actual world around them has to offer.
I am old.
