I feel like the Switch has gone through a sudden, extremely radical renaissance in my household over the past year. For a full year or so after BotW, I think I maybe turned on my Switch once or twice (probably to show it to friends). In stark contrast, this year I have probably played my Switch more than either of my other two consoles.
Part of that is the growing games library, of course. But I think an even bigger part is that my two boys are approaching the ages where they can both watch and play more games. And in looking at games that are appropriate for their ages, in both content and mechanics, Nintendo just seems to have a massive advantage in its library.
Nintendo has, for a long long time, been the last-place console company in my house, behind the Playstations and Xboxes that brought the latest, cutting edge stuff. I’d always have a Wii or Wii U, but they mostly collected dust apart from the occasional exclusive I just had to play. But now that my focus is on family, the class of games Nintendo cultivates, once merely a nostalgic novelty, have finally started to find a seat at the head of the table.
I still love my next-gen options, obviously. But a lot of the games I play on those systems tend to be darker, and more violent, and thus only come out after the kids are in bed. Super Mario Bros U Deluxe? Marvel Ultimate Alliance? Pokemon Sword (my oldest is big into Pokemon) in the near future? Those are games I can fire up at any time of day, and they can watch or even join in.
At least the Switch seems to be getting a lot of games worth having even if you get all the multiplatform stuff on other consoles. The Wii-U got a handful of good games then got dropped for anything that wasn’t developed by Nintendo themselves. I just wish they hadn’t dropped the huge list of retro games they had for the Wii and Wii-U. That was a huge reason why I got a Wii-U in the first place was to play and replay those older games.
Technically, that’s still the reason why I own a wii-u *cough softmod*
If you forget to unplug the respective system for one of http://www.thegamer.com/scariest-video-games-dont-play-dark/ establish guidelines early on that things in the ‘Do Not Play’ box are there for a reason and should be heeded. Also the parental controls on the systems themselves are significantly better now and can exclude access based on level (10 being highest and AO 3 and lower being Everyone) and time.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Nintendo in my news feed
It’s been the same way here too. Now that my girls can actively play, it’s been mainly the switch all the time. Add in the nes and snes games available, I’ve been going through this major retro phase. And with the exception of maybe Death Stranding, there really aren’t a y games on dying to play on the other consoles. I’ve definitely become a switch guy.
I have played my switch more than I have played anything else lately. I still have not finished breath of the wild and just finished three houses. I’m primary a PC gamer(Master Race jk) but with titles like divinity 2 working so well with PC, it really has become the main console for me over my ps4.
BOtW alert: bird boss LIES! Don’t believe him when he says “you’re not anywhere close to being done.” There are only 5 official bosses in the game.
Since Sony/microsoft don’t even really have the mascot platformers coming out anymore (remakes of crash and spyro don’t count) it is a real gap in their libraries.
Family friendly games that have come out on them this year are what? dragon quest builders 2?
In my house,we always have a Nintendo system and an ‘other’ – something to play the third party games I’d miss.
Never quite got around to getting an ‘other’ this gen, mostly because I don’t really have time for couch gaming, but also because there was less and less I wanted on those systems.
Now, the few that interested me – Witcher, Divinity, Outer Worlds, etc- are either coming, or here.
If Stadia even does halfway decent, I may never buy a Sony or Microsoft console again.
And I just want to say, the funny thing is, in the past, the ‘other’ console got WAY more play than the Nintendo one. PS1 and PS2 got more love than N64 and GameCube; XBox 360 got more attention than the Wii. But life sped up, I didn’t have time, there’s suddenly munchkins watching me, and my tastes change. So yeah.
Been more or less the same here. Always had a Nintendo in the house starting with the original NES. There was an Other console in the PS and PS2 but after that things tended to migrate more to PC. The Nintendo was still the go to for console play but it tended to be the Other while the PC became the main and the Xbox/PS were not worth the money to get for how little they would get played.
Yeah, if I had the money back then to build and keep up with a quality gaming PC, it would totally have been PC.
Welcome to father gamer hood! To me it seems that Nintendo focus on family games where as the Microsoft and Sony focus on hard core gamers.
Glad to see you being somewhat responsible Tim. XD
I have some friends that play any video game they want in front of their kids and don’t really pay attention to what games they play either.
I remember playing Halo on the XBox and my superadorable 3 year old Brother would watch and shout “there, shoot, shoot, shoot!” all the time or be like “hide, hiiiiide” whenever Master Chief started to biep because he took much damage. It was adorable but also stressful because ofc my mom hated that. But whenever she was throwing my little brother out he was crying, so I started to play race games and other more harmless games over the day where he could take part as audience or even as player. Halo was only playable when the parents were gone… Read more »
I was thinking a Switch might be a good edition to the household this winter as my kids are 4 and 5 now. I’ve been sort of setting it aside but I really do want to get them started. Also, I want to get them started on something other then my Xbone, I don’t want to share my Xbone.
For years, Nintendo has dominated the family friendly and handheld market, while focusing on gameplay, gimmicks, and avoiding the graphics war like the plague. On top of that, they have been so wary of guns that their shooter titles, Metroid and star fox, have been limping along on life support. Tie in the nostalgia factor of family friendly game series from childhood persisting into adult years, and you have a solid business model. Family friendly plus handheld has always equaled quiet car rides, especially with popular time consuming titles (Pokémon) coming out in time for the holidays. Further, handheld screen… Read more »
Speaking of which, how is your family’s recovery going from the fire?
Well,, Nintendo has some great games now
I bought a switch last week for exactly that reason.
Wow that must be nice. I came home to find my four year old, after being left to watch cartoons, had popped in Skyrim and started playing an old save. Worse is that he was doing great and loved it. It seems Crash Bandicoot had somehow prepared him for killing dragons and looting.
I learned quickly to hide my other games like the borderlands collection, but the pouting and cold shoulder for days not getting to play the zombie game (yeah, draugr are the zombies) my wife gave in and even helps him.
> darker, and more violent
This is why I play Nintendo, exclusively. I lack the financial freedom to buy all the consoles. So if I’m only going to get one, it’s the one with Zelda, Kirby, and Mario. Plus I just find the concept of Splatoon far more fun than most normal shooters.
it’s the same for me, now my ps4 will have eternally God of War Unfinished resting in its memory, my xbox is a piece of forniture and my pc has its Saturday nights…
Well, At least until more of the ports start coming in.
We do not have a switch yet, but once I saw that the new Animal Crossing title was coming for it, it was just a matter of time. My wife is a HUGE Animal Crossing fan. I was hoping to get one to play Breath of the Wild, but I doubt I will be able to pry it out of my wife’s fingers. With any luck though, she can play on the Switch leaving me to play on the PC.
Definitely with you there, Tim, though for different reasons. I don’t have children, or even a significant other, sadly. I just love that little console. The library has significantly picked up in the last year and a half, especially now with the SNES games available for subscribers, and I never get tired of Smash Bros. This has been a lousy financial year so I’m still short on a couple games for the console (Fire Emblem foremost among them) so I’ve got a lot of backlog and I can’t wait for future releases like the new Pokemon games. Also, question for… Read more »
So, you’re saying the console roles have Switched? Yeah, I know, that was bad. On a more on-topic note, I can’t wait for the stage you’re approaching/have reached. We’re still in the learning words and colors phase, so it’ll be awhile before the capacity, let alone interest for games is there. It’s also really odd to be on the outside of the Nintendo scene for once. I’ve owned every Nintendo console and handheld during its prime, except the SNES and the GBA (though I did get a SNES later, and DS played GBA games), but parenthood has left me alternately… Read more »
MHworld iceborne, borderlands 3, the indivisible, borderlands remastered, resident evil 2 remake, sekiro, devil may cry V and so on have made my ps4 the best console in my home. The switch is there for Astral chain and i even bought a pro controller but i only have like 5 games on the switch compare to the +50 games on ps4 and i also got river city girls on my ps4.
And therein lies the crux. How many of the games you listed are truly suitable for a 5-10 year old child? Nintendo has always had a strong family-friendly focus with games like pokemon, Mario, etc. Most of the games you listed are “restricted” games in countries like Australia and New Zealand, it is illegal to play them if you are under said age. I am going to be becoming a parent in the coming couple of years and when my kids are old enough to play games, Nintendo will be getting a lot more screen time than the more adult… Read more »
as long u teach your kids the difference between fiction and reality i dont care what they play, as long isnt fornite or fifa and they understand the context in fact my 9 years old niece understand this but she eventually outgrown games, she rather play with dolls or legos, which iam fne with it. BTW the laws of your country arent my concern, we dont have the same laws in pretty much any country so thats on you. I am sorry i know it sounds super rude but realistic i cant do anything about that, heck i cant even… Read more »
I’ve always personally said that there is no ‘best’ console (or ‘best’ PC for that matter): just a ‘best’ for certain conditions. The Xbox One/PS4 are more suitable for ‘adult time’: solo or online multiplayer games suitable for those who have time to spend away from kids. Not just the themes of the games, but the continuous time investment they require. The Nintendo is family / ‘social’ friendly: games you can play with your kids or pick up quickly for a brief distraction when you have guests over. And there is a specific ‘best’ audience for PCs as well: I… Read more »
I pretty much just used the Switch with the custom emulators on a hacked unit. From Atari to Ps1 really – I went from Zack Mckraken and Monkey Island to Super Mario Bros3 then to c64’s BC the Quest for fire lol
When I was young, I played to games like Simcity (7 or 8), Doom (8 or 9), Capitalism (10), Transport Tycoon (11) or Carmageddon (13 at best), and few brain-developing ones like The Incredible Machine (9 ?) (a remake was made called “Contraption Maker”, available on Steam/GOG) which I keep a good memory.
Time have changed I guess =)
And this is how it starts. You think you are just being a good parent by being nice and letting them play coop with you. Then one day, you realize that YOU are the liability and they are just being nice and letting you play along with them. After that, their friends get online and the real gaming begins .. but they’ll still let you watch.
I’m only bummed the Breath of the Wold sequel is probably going to be a Switch exclusive. I’ve really enjoyed our WiiU, and it played BotW (and our other Nintendo exclusives) quite well. I also dig that it was backwards compatible with all our Wii games.
But I guess it can co-habit with a Switch eventually.
(I’ve only ever owned Nintendo consoles. Otherwise, if it’s not available on the PC, I haven’t really played it. Which is a drag for some of them… but I really prefer PC interface for almost everything.)
Maybe Switches should play a role as recruiters in the Console Wars
Two words: Duck Game.
Three more words: Ultimate Chicken Horse
You’re welcome.
Playing games with my 8 year old was great, until I didn’t have to let him win anymore, and now he never lets me win.
That’s so true. I don’t own a Switch but it’s usually a phone or tablet until the kids get picked up (I’m an uncle with over a dozen nephews and nieces) or go to sleep before I can fire up the PC or a console.
Probably going to be insanely unpopular, but I never really censored anything from my son, other than sex, instead teaching him, starting at around 3, the difference between reality and fantasy, and appropriate times for various things.
Of course, I also appear to have been the only parent ever to have a rule of “don’t scream like you are dying if you aren’t hurt” as well.
Nintendo you devious bastard. Get them aroun age 9 and they’re hooked for life…