Commitment Issues to Nintendo

I’ve been fighting this blog post for a few days now, at least partially because I had been looking forward to this thing and that our U and Wii have seen better days and have gotten to the point where being replaced wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. We use our U to watch Netflix, occasionally surf the web, and to keep the kids out of trouble for stretches of time when we’re doing minor things like trying to clean the house or make dinner. Our game console gets a lot of wear and tear.

But there was something about this reveal that just let me down in a vague, unidentifiable way.  The price was a minor let down, especially for a system that is still clearly a step slower than its rivals. It hasn’t showcased much actual third party support yet. And it doesn’t have a lot of first party titles immediately out to make it a must buy. On top of that Nintendo is changing course and is going to start charging for online play. Which is essentially a Splatoon tax, considering how much their games have utilized online play.

I think what really hurts is that this is a company I grew up with. Yeah, my first system was an old Atari 2600, but I then had an NES and an SNES (and a Genesis, but we won’t tell anyone). They were worn out from my playing them. I loved them. I still remember games from them, and playing with the neighbor kid. Games like Gun.Smoke, DoubleDragon, Tecmo Bowl, Punch Out, and Mario Bros. are touchstones of my youth.

I am really unsure I’ll be getting the Switch, though. Part of it is cost, clearly. Part of it is that the ability to take the thing on the go, or to the john, just doesn’t sell itself for me. If I leave the house, I’m driving and I’m keeping an eye on a  two year old. I’m not playing video games.

At the same time, I have a two year old. Video games are something she is just a bit young for. My 13 yr old is an avid gamer, but he spends more time on his tablet lately than on a console. And if/when we can afford a new cell phone,he’ll probably be glued to that. So, there probably won’t be this hard push from the young ones for this system, either.

I hope the Switch does well. I like Nintendo, and I don’t mind the idea of it being around when my Little Girl is old enough to be interested in Mario Bros. and Kirby. But the longer I go w/o buying a system, the harder I think it will be to get me back in the loop.

Tags: gaming, kids, music, nintendo, nintendo switch, nostalgia, super mario, super mario bros, super nintendo, switch, video games, young kids