My answer to what the greatest video game console of all time is is as unwavering as it is controversial. Despite the headline here,I put forward the Nintendo Wii. It’s the console with the lowest barrier to entry by a significant margin, and brings the joy of gaming to everyone in the family. It’s not just a glorified toy box either, with games likeSuper Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl up there with the best of the best across gaming. But as the time nears to reflect on theNintendo Switch’slegacy, it has to be in the conversation for GOAT status.
The rumour mill told us the next Nintendo console (let’s go with Switch 2) was coming later this year, but has since changed its mind and is now forecasting early 2025 instead. With few Switch titles on the horizon, it does feel as though the sun is setting on Nintendo’s strange handheld-home console hybrid. That makes this the perfect time to reflect on its legacy.
Why The Switch Is The Greatest Console Of All Time
Consoles are only as good as the games they have, and since its launch in 2017 when it arrived with Breath of the Wild, the Switch has consistently been pumping out future classics. Many of Nintendo’s most reliable titles have had arguably their best ever releases on the Switch, withZelda,Mario,Animal Crossing,Fire Emblem, andMario Kartall offering potential career best entries over the past five years. Even withPokemon’smainline titles falling short of the series' standards,the weird and wonderful spin offs have had its back.
The Nintendo Switch Library Is One For The History Books
It has also become a haven for indie games. The ability to switch between handheld and docked (hey, I just got the name!) made it great for pick up and play titles, and with the indie game boom recently flooding the medium with a plethora of fresh and exciting ideas, there has always been something to play.Hollow Knight,Hades,Cult of the Lamb,Untitled Goose Game, and Sayonara Wild Hearts are as important to the Switch’s legacy asSuper Mario Odyssey.
The Wii U flopping also aided the Switch, as a lot of games meant for the Wii U (like Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, and even Breath of the Wild) are firmly associated with the Switch’s legacy.
It’s not just the games though. The Switch is an incredibly clever console, and the ease at which it snaps between being handheld and docked makes you forget how magical that is. It happens in an instant and means you can play each game exactly the way you want to - even if that way is sitting on the toilet.
It uses motion control to improve games that need it, but without making it a gimmick that defines the Switch, allowing it to have a much broader range of games. Nintendo has often been too loyal to the Big Picture idea, and the Switch highlights the benefits of being more relaxed. The fact it can go from a full handheld machine, to docked with a controller in your hand, to docked with a controller in your hand plus another in someone else’s, all without adding or taking away any parts, is an engineering marvel. Great games on an impressive and unique console with an iconic and welcoming design - case closed then? Maybe not.
Why The Switch Is Not The Greatest Console Of All Time
There are two main things to consider against the Switch - its own weaknesses, and its challengers. While less accessible, less iconic in its motion controls, and less revolutionary than the Wii, it also has a much stronger library of high calibre exclusives, so that’s going to come down to fine margins. The Switch also has sales figures in its favour, shipping 140 million to the Wii’s 100 million. However, there is another challenger to consider too. The PS2 is the only home console to outsell the Switch at 155 million units shipped, and with limited big releases left for theNintendoand an upgrade due soon, thePS2will likely continue to reign supreme when the dust finally settles.
The PS2 is a very different console to the Switch. Though both boast an array of popular exclusives, the Switch marked a recovery for the consistently successful Nintendo, with the PS2 built on the success of the PS1 and Sony proved itself as the new king on the block. The PS2 is best known for games likeGTA,Metal Gear Solid,Resident Evil, andBurnout, rather than your family friendly Marios, Zeldas, and Pikachus of the Switch. But both have strong identities, and again personal taste will come into it.
Some Of The PS2’s Best Offerings
So what about the Switch’s own shortcomings? It is graphically behind the Xbox Series X and the PS5, and not even at the level of the Xbox One or PS4. How much will this matter to history though, when we once thought the N64 was as good as it could get? But this lack of power has held it back. While the likes ofTears of the Kingdomhave worked magic with the Switch’s power, this is the age of exclusives and the Switch has nothing that can rivalGhost of Tsushima, for example. It can’t runRed Dead Redemption 2, it can’t runBaldur’s Gate 3, and even the games it does get, likeThe Witcher 3orSkyrim, it makes a bit of a mess of.
The Switch might have a wider library than the Wii, but they both suffer from Nintendo’s narrowness that comes with preserving a family-friendly brand and accepting being a step behind your competitors. We may well fondly remember all the Switch gave us, but the fact that it cannot and will never be able to run five of the last six Game of the Year winners (It Takes Two the lone exception) must count against it.
Then there are the smaller issues that have plagued it through its life - the Joy-Con drift, the online functionality, the lack of backwards compatibility, and the pre-owned prices that seemingly never drop. These alone do not make it a bad console, but they are important if you’re asking if it’s the best ever.
Some will say the Switch has taken this crown, others will say it belongs to the PS2. Some will say it’s the first console they played, or the one that houses their favourite game. Don’t ask me - I still think it’s the Wii.
Nintendo Switch
Launched in 2017, the Nintendo Switch allows you to switch between console and handheld gaming easily.
