More Like Switch Boo!

Let me preface this with: I'm poor. I'm not buying the damn thing anyway. But this isn't just me being bitter because I'm not getting the New Cool Thing. I'm just not satisfied with how big gaming industries are going lately. Though I am aware that I'm far from the first person to say this.

The Switch 2 hasn't sat right with me since announcement. Something about the higher price, plus the weird approach to cartriges set me off. The Switch was already a fairly expensive console for me, but at least I could settle for the Switch Lite; which was just as well given the TV gaming part isn't suited for my lifestyle. So it works out. I got it along with Pokemon Shield at the start of the year after it released.

My Switch Lite has held up wonderfully ever since! Zero drift, decent graphics, etc. The only complaint I really have about it is the battery life, but that's probably because I like playing hours at a time. Even so, that's not really a problem because I stay at home when I game anyway. I don't move away from the charger all that much, either. Having to buy a separate SD card to have decent storage kinda sucked though, but I managed to go without for years because of my homebody lifestyle. As long as I had wi-fi connection, I could offload & download to my hearts content.

That leads me to another general complaint about the Switch: Additional purchases. Yes, you can live without an SD card or the extra joy-cons or a myriad of other bits & bobs for the switch. But a huge gripe of mine has always been Nintendo Online. I'm sorry, but if I (or another family member) am already paying for wi-fi, why on earth do I need to pay Nintendo for a service they've been providing for free for decades? Sure it's only ~$10 a year, but you can't be serious! They try to sweeten the deal with all that virtual console shit, but that just draws in folks that are nostalgic for that era of gaming. As for me, who only really grew up with the DS, that shit ain't worth it. I'm lucky I have friends with a family plan they can hook me up with. (Thanks again if you're reading this!)

Speaking of the Nintendo DS, I may sound hypocritical bitching about the Switch 2 when I started with a DS Lite, and currently own both a DSi & 3DS. After all, the way features were added over these consoles seem similar. The microphone on the Switch 2 seems a lot like the camera on the DSi. The Switch 2's improved graphics & load times sound a lot like the innovations that came with the 3DS. Both have exclusive games, after all. But there are key differences here:

One difference is that due to how new the Switch 2 is, we can't see the longevity of the device. My DS Lite may have gone kaput, but that's because I had it at a young age. My DS1 & 3DS are still going strong, even after the latter got left in a hot car. With some skillful battery replacement by yours truly, this thing has lasted the ages. Plus, we have no idea what other Switches will release in the future.

Another difference is I was a kid at that time, & therefore gifted those consoles upon request. Yeah folks argue that Nintendo is for kids, but it's for everyone. Inflation aside, the price tags just seem too ridiculous for some gamers. Gaming in general has been getting more and more expensive, at least with big companies; but that's a rant for another blog post.

But yeah, that's my two cents on the Switch 2. As fun as Pokopia looks, and as long as I've had the mainline pokemon games, I don't think I'll be able to play them unless they somehow make a Switch 1 port; which I highly doubt given they didn't put New Leaf on the DSi or anything. Odd feeling, as Winds & Waves may be the first mainline pokemon games (that is, not a spin-off or remake) for me to totally skip over since my first one. But I'm not as hype for those as I used to be, so I suppose it's just as well.

Either way, I'm not too fussed. I have the consoles I have, and I've been playing mainly on PC nowadays anyway. Indie games on Steam have been huge for me. Dave the Diver, Wobbledogs, Dredge, Amber Isle, etc. I plan on making a whole page of me gushing about Terraria alone. Safe to say I'm content without the Switch 2.

I haven't updated the site in a month or so 'cause my hyperfixation waned, but I still love my webbed site! I haven't had much to say of late. Got in my own head a little. But hopefully, now that the sun is back, I should have more to yammer about on here. Perhaps I'll share more media opinions & theories? Episode 8 of The Amazing Digital Circus just came out. I could share some character analysis about that. Hell, I can write whatever the hell I so please! I keep forgetting that.

On my walk, I saw a turkey vulture sunning itself. I took a few pictures, but they were all blurry because I didn't want to disturb its basking time. The zoom function on my phone can only do so much. But I'm glad I saw such a beautiful creature!