Is it best to wait? (Nintendo)
A reader explains why he won’t be buying a Nintendo Switch 2 at launch and why he’s always wary of buying games and consoles on day one.
There’s a lot of very positive excitement for the Switch 2 at the moment and I am all for it. The reveal trailer didn’t reveal much but it did all look new and interesting and even though the console looks the same as the old one it still felt different and I kind of like the fact that they’re holding things back, like what the mystery button does.
It means there’s still a lot to look forward to and the Nintendo Direct in April is going to get a huge audience, because we’re all going to have a lot of pent up excitement, and questions, by that point.
I will definitely get a Nintendo Switch 2. I’ve never regretted buying a Nintendo console before and I can’t imagine I suddenly will now, but what I won’t do is buy one at launch. I have that same policy for all consoles but with Nintendo in particular you just know that the situation is going to be very different a couple of years later.
My reasons are two-fold: waiting until problems are identified and fixed and waiting until Nintendo announce new models. I have a similar policy with games (ironically not Nintendo games, because they’re never broken) and never buy them at launch, until I know they’re in working order and they’ve had at least one price cut.
With the original Switch there were significant problems with Joy-Con drift, which Nintendo did not handle well, at least in the UK, and meant that a lot of people were left with faulty controllers that were not repaired, or not repaired well, for a good year or more. The fault wasn’t particularly Nintendo’s fault – the problem exists in most modern controllers – but their refusal to offer no quibble replacements was.
The original Joy-Cons did have issues (YouTube)
This issue has apparently been fixed with the Switch 2, which will not use the same technology, but there is every chance that something else will go wrong. Maybe it’ll be the connector for the Joy-Cons or more probably it’ll be something we have no idea about at the moment.
The other reason is that we all know Nintendo releases multiple models of their consoles and often quite soon after the first one comes out. I don’t want a Switch 2 Lite but I’m sure it’ll arrive within a year or so. What I want to know is when the OLED Model will be available, if rumours suggest it’ll be only a year or so I’ll just wait till then.
You may think I’m a killjoy (I can assure you I am fun at parties) but I haven’t got a lot of money to waste on expensive video consoles and I don’t like to spend all that money only to find out I regret it a year or two down the line. I’ve learnt that lesson over time and I don’t intend to repeat it for the Nintendo Switch 2 or any other console.
And yes, I am a total hypocrite, so if there is something absolutely amazing unveiled in April maybe my resolve will break, but I hope not. With a bit of luck I’ll not only avoid the console’s teething problems, I’ll also get a chance to pick a neat limited edition design, which never come out until a bit later.
By reader Tiamat
