One year ago I was excited to purchase my Animal Crossing edition Nintendo Switch. As happy as I was with my Xbox and PS4, I couldn't wait to be able to play my games laying on my hammock or sitting on a park bench.
Much to my disappointment, both activities are completely impossible until night time. The Switch screen was atrocious for 2020. Low brightness and terrible with screen reflections, playing outside during the day means seeing my face more than the game itself even when in darker places like a forest. What's worse, even at home, as long as I'm on a well lit room, and by that I mean a room with a couple of windows, I can see my face reflected on the screen on any game that has dark colors. The other day I was playing Doom 3 in a room with only one window, blinds closed, and reached the conclusion the game wouldn't be enjoyable until night time. 10 years ago, a smartphone at half brightness would work orders of magnitude better in a somewhat bright room than this modern console.
This means that, for the most part, the Switch, in practical terms, does not evolve from the WiiU; I can still only play at home.
Sure, you can still play on a plane and the likes. But here comes problem 2. While the battery capacity of the new version is acceptable, the charging time takes FOREVER. I recently had to travel for 35 hours, and realized this console takes more than 5 hours to recharge when you don't use the dock. Of course, no fast charge mode.
Now, problem number 3: How is it acceptable this thing doesn't have Bluetooth in this day and age? So many headphones nowadays have no wired option. If I want to take my Switch anywhere, I need to pack a different pair of headphones on top of the ones I normally use. For people who can't use in ear, that's super annoying, adds a lot of bulk to any backpack.
So here I am, reading everyone excited to get a more powerful console while I think that the power is more than enough; sure, better graphics are always welcome but the priority should be allowing you to use this portable console on portable mode as much as possible. The fact that I can't use it on my balcony even under the shade of the entire building (balcony faces north), is extremely disappointing. I use this console less than half of what I'd like to due to this issue.
So, in my opinion, when Nintendo designs a new console and wonders "what improvements can we add without going over this price tag?", I think these should be the priorities:
1. Screen that works in somewhat bright conditions.
2. Bluetooth.
3. Fast charge.
4. Waterproof so that I can play it in the bathtub (a man can dream).
5. Better graphics.
(All of this assuming they fix the joycon drift bullshit, that'll always be the real #1).
What do you say, ERA?
Much to my disappointment, both activities are completely impossible until night time. The Switch screen was atrocious for 2020. Low brightness and terrible with screen reflections, playing outside during the day means seeing my face more than the game itself even when in darker places like a forest. What's worse, even at home, as long as I'm on a well lit room, and by that I mean a room with a couple of windows, I can see my face reflected on the screen on any game that has dark colors. The other day I was playing Doom 3 in a room with only one window, blinds closed, and reached the conclusion the game wouldn't be enjoyable until night time. 10 years ago, a smartphone at half brightness would work orders of magnitude better in a somewhat bright room than this modern console.
This means that, for the most part, the Switch, in practical terms, does not evolve from the WiiU; I can still only play at home.
Sure, you can still play on a plane and the likes. But here comes problem 2. While the battery capacity of the new version is acceptable, the charging time takes FOREVER. I recently had to travel for 35 hours, and realized this console takes more than 5 hours to recharge when you don't use the dock. Of course, no fast charge mode.
Now, problem number 3: How is it acceptable this thing doesn't have Bluetooth in this day and age? So many headphones nowadays have no wired option. If I want to take my Switch anywhere, I need to pack a different pair of headphones on top of the ones I normally use. For people who can't use in ear, that's super annoying, adds a lot of bulk to any backpack.
So here I am, reading everyone excited to get a more powerful console while I think that the power is more than enough; sure, better graphics are always welcome but the priority should be allowing you to use this portable console on portable mode as much as possible. The fact that I can't use it on my balcony even under the shade of the entire building (balcony faces north), is extremely disappointing. I use this console less than half of what I'd like to due to this issue.
So, in my opinion, when Nintendo designs a new console and wonders "what improvements can we add without going over this price tag?", I think these should be the priorities:
1. Screen that works in somewhat bright conditions.
2. Bluetooth.
3. Fast charge.
4. Waterproof so that I can play it in the bathtub (a man can dream).
5. Better graphics.
(All of this assuming they fix the joycon drift bullshit, that'll always be the real #1).
What do you say, ERA?
