How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Switch - Part 4

The User Interface/OS

What I thought then - The interface is too simple and limited. I hate the lack of customization and theming options
What I think now - Same as above, but it hasn’t impacted me much.

Before we get into this, we need to go back in time a bit. Here are some photos of the OS on the Nintendo 3DS, which launched almost ten years ago:

*The default layout. A single row of icons for all your software*

*My personal favorite - the four icon layout. Notice the presence of a folder, in which I stuffed a bunch of apps I didn’t want to see.*

*We’re **still** going. Here is a five-row layout. The icons are getting hard to see, but hey, you have the option*

Look at all of these layout options. Not only can we adjust the amount of content on the screen, but we can further control the layout via folders. Just about everyone is going to figure out a way to use these tools to make the UI work the way they want.

But wait - there’s more:

*The UI with an alternate color. This is one of about five or six color options*

*The UI with a Mega Man theme. I kept this theme on for months*

*The UI decorated with characters from the Nintendo Badge Arcade app*

So not only can we control the layout of the UI, but we can tweak the color and theming. Remember that everything you see above (other than Badge Arcade) was developed by Nintendo back in 2011.

Now for the Switch. Here is the default layout:

*White coloring. Single row of icons. This is very similar to the 3DS’ default layout*

*When you have too many icons to fit into a single row, you can scroll to the end of the row to get access to this layout. There is no way to access it otherwise, or to make it the default*

… and that is all I have to show you. The Switch has only two colors, no theming, and no badges. You have zero control over the layout and size of the software icons. It is a step down from the 3DS UI in every respect save for pixel resolution.

I point this out mostly to help document the history of Nintendo UIs, not to complain about it. True, this kind of reversion of features drove 32-year old me up the wall, but 35-year old me is surprisingly nonchalant about it. Again, in principle, this is bullcrap. In practice, on any given day I am highly likely to find myself playing the same game I played yesterday, which means I rarely have to navigate through the UI. The fact that the look and feel is less than stellar doesn’t mean as much when I don’t spend a lot of time there.

Still, if Nintendo ever updates it with more features, I certainly won’t complain.

Non-Gaming Apps

What I thought then - I had no opinion about this before owning a Switch, because I never thought about it
What I think now - I use what’s there enough that I would like some more

The Switch lets you stream Hulu and Youtube, but nothing else. I find that a bit weird. If you want some sort video on in the background, but you are not near a TV or a computer, the Switch is the perfect solution. It is small (so you can fit it almost anywhere), but the screen is big enough to see. It has a kickstand, so you can prop it up and look at it. This is a better device to stream video on than a phone or a tablet. And yet you can only get to Hulu and Youtube. No Netflix. No Amazon Prime Video. No family-friendly Disney+.

The Switch technically has a web browser, but you can’t access it on demand. It only shows up in specific situations, and you can’t use it to go anywhere you please on the Information Superhighway. I don’t really care about this, but I do find it odd considering Nintendo has packed web browsers into their consoles since the DS and the Wii in 2006.

I just want to see more streaming apps. This is the perfect device for them, and contrary to what some people online like to claim, having more streaming apps would not cause me to spend less time playing (and thus paying for) games. If I am playing a video on the Switch, it is playing in the background while I do something other than play a game. Please Nintendo, just do it.

Switch Online

What I thought then - No comment
What I think now - Not much comment

I do not have any experience with the online stuff. All I really want to say is that I am sad that the old Virtual Console system for retro games was replaced with a subscription service featuring less games from fewer consoles. It feels like even more of an afterthought than the VC felt. I would gladly play a la carte prices for the privilege of playing NES, SNES, Gameboy, Game Boy Advance, DS, N64, Gamecube, Genesis, TG-16, Master System, Arcade, and Neo Geo games all in one place.

Game Library

What I thought then - Too many ports of old games, and Nintendo’s new stuff is kind of crap
What I think now - Same as above, but there are now enough new games and ports that I like

This section is going to piss people off, but it is true - outside of Smash Bros, Nintendo’s output is no longer up my alley. Their new, original games are geared toward a demographic that understands the word thicc without having to go to Urban Dictionary. Meanwhile their sequels in their marquee franchises are geared toward diehard Nintendo fanboys who honestly have no idea what they want from a Mario or Zelda game (I guess these games are also geared toward people who understand the word thicc).

As for their re-releases and ports, they pick the least interesting stuff (Donkey Kong Jungle Freeze anyone?) while leaving stone cold classics like Mario 3d World Hanging.

Over time, however, other publishers filled in the gaps. Now there are lots of games - both old and new - that I want to play.

What’s more, the console’s focus on re-releases of old games is helping me get away from the modern game industry’s increasing obsession with open world-style “live service” games.

Other Thoughts

This post might look like the most negative one so far in this series, but looks can be deceiving. For example, after several paragraphs bemoaning the lack of software features, I only mentioned in passing that there are lots of games I want to play. Yet if you pay attention to that third screenshot of the Switch UI, you can see just how many games I already have after a month and a half and multiple eshop sales. This is truly a case of a picture being worth a thousand words.