The major players in the video game industry have just wrapped up their press conferences at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, and watching all the trailers, gameplay and buzzword abuse for several days gave me a single, dominant feeling above all else.
Thank God I bought a Nintendo Switch.
Microsoft and Sony are clearly running out of big ticket games to release as the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 near the ends of their product lifecycles, but Nintendo’s impeccable momentum is showing no signs of stopping.
I’m hardly a console fanboy, but as a college student, I’ve been finding that the Nintendo Switch is a perfect fit for my lifestyle. Here are a few reasons why the Switch is perfect for students:
1. Games for everyone
Do you want to play “Fortnite” on a Saturday with the boys? Does “Puzzle Puppers” sound too cute to put down? Is a dedicated Mario Kart machine all you really need? The Switch does it all and more.
From puzzlers to shooters, adventures to racers and with plenty of jumping on Goombas in between, the Switch’s library of games is sure to satisfy any college student with time to kill between classes.
And judging by Nintendo’s E3 presentation, the Switch’s games are only going to get better from here. “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” anyone?
2. You can play it in the bathroom
Yes, really. And not just your bathroom — any bathroom.
Nintendo has described the Switch as a “hybrid console.” Is it a handheld device that you can plug into your TV, or is it a home console with a built-in screen that you can take with you? That’s up to the individual, but it’s undeniably the Switch’s best feature.
If you’ve ever wanted to ride a skeleton horse down a mountain while Taco Bell takes its sticky revenge on your colon, the Switch is a must-buy for its portability. It even conveniently fits into any book bag!
3. It’s surprisingly cheap
The Switch’s suggested price of $300 is admittedly steep for a lot of American college students, but with the latest iterations of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One being over $400 each, I think it’s a fair price to pay for portability and those juicy Nintendo-exclusive games.
I respect Microsoft’s efforts with the Xbox One, and I even own a PlayStation 4 myself (thanks to a pricing error), but the Switch is the only console on the market that has allowed me to ride valiantly into battle with nothing but my underpants and a wooden mop in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” while I was waiting at the DMV. There’s nothing else like it, and it’s made being a college student so much more bearable.
Kyle Hampel is the opinion editor for the Collegian and a senior in English. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Collegian. Please send comments to opinion@kstatecollegian.com.
