Author notes

Side Dishes 3-06

DoctorSharktopus

on March 4, 2017

I didn't really have a functional reason for why Jackie wears a glass helmet and jetpack and/or oxygen tank… it was just to add more retro sci-fi flare to this comic.

I managed to snag a Nintendo Switch on Friday… luckily Fry's had them in stock. So far I really like it as a system, and more than that, I like it's potential. In many ways I think it's kind of what we all wanted the WiiU to be… unfortunately no one really found a great use for multi-screen play on the WiiU, so with that out of the way the most interesting thing about the system was that you could play on the handheld screen in case you didn't have full access to your TV. But it had a pretty small wireless range, so unless you were in ideal conditions with no interference you couldn't take it to your room and play while someone else watches TV, or whatever.

For a handheld the Switch is still a little too big. It doesn't slide conveniently into your pocket like a 3DS or phone would, but it's not so big that you couldn't realistically take it with you when you go out. But it's really amazing to have a consumer-grade system that has home console-quality graphics and gameplay on a portable system.

Oddly I kind of compare it to Playstation VR, in the sense that the PSVR isn't the best version of VR on the market, but it's the easiest one to get into and is on the cheaper end of the spectrum for that product.

The Switch isn't the only handheld system available that offers console graphics and controls, but it has a relatively low cost and its easier to get right into. A lot of the other options involve buying multiple devices, bluetooh controllers, etc. It's a comparatively complicated, intimidating prospect versus a known quantity like Nintendo just saying, "Hey, pull this out of the dock, and you can continue your game while you take a shit".

I just hope that it gets the software support that something like this needs to survive. But I can tell you right now, I already have this feeling when I'm playing games where I think, "Man, I wish this was on the Switch", if only so I had the option to pick it up and go with it, even if odds are good I probably wouldn't.