Forget VR. Forget upcoming PlayStation exclusives, the Playstation VR, and the PS Pro. Xbox has some great hardware coming out, but the Switch is the most exciting thing in gaming right now. The scary thing is that we don’t even know that much about the console, which will be revealed on January 12th in full.
VR is great technology, but right now it is merely a gimmick with regards to gaming. There are some amazing educational applications to it. They even use it to train astronaughts for space. The Switch is the most exciting thing in gaming right now though, even with the wonderful potential of VR. The real downfall of VR is, simply put, it disconnects you from those around you. You are in a completely new world. Yes, this is VERY cool. The thing is, social gaming with friends on a couch is a lot more enjoyable. VR cuts you off from the social aspect of gaming. Sure, playing games online is fun, but it is still so limiting. So many of people’s fondest memories are simply sitting at the couch playing Super Mario.
The PlayStation 4 has some interesting exclusives coming, especially Horizon Zero Dawn. There isn’t much else that is interesting there though. The PSVR is an affordable version of Virtual Reality, but it is not impressive. It uses last gen technology such as the PS camera and the Move controllers, and the tracking is poor. It’s cool that they are putting Resident Evil 7 in VR, but it’s also concerning as well. Scary games can be too overwhelming in VR. It may not work as well as gamers think.
The Switch is the most exciting thing in gaming not just because of the portability of the machine or the social aspects, but the game lineup. Mario will most likely be a launch lineup and looks incredible. Zelda: Breath of the Wild may have been pushed back a little bit (we don’t know for sure), but fans cannot wait for it. Splatoon is coming to the Switch. Some form of Mario Kart is coming to the system (whether or not it’s a port of 8 or a new title isn’t apparent.)
The launch lineup will be killer and may be the best launch lineup in the history of gaming. It brings gaming back to what it is supposed to be, and that is fun. Getting together with four friends on a living room couch and playing the Switch together? That possibility simply shows how the Switch is the most exciting thing in gaming.
VR is amazing technology. Sony and Microsoft are doing their own things which are exciting in their own right. Nintendo though is doing something wildly different. It is so exciting. The possibilities are endless, and with their killer lineup of games coming up and the social aspect of the system, it is radically different than any other system we’ve seen to date. Nintendo is finally moving away from the Wii brand, which is a good thing, despite how great the systems are.
Nintendo is back. And I cannot wait to see how the Switch changes gaming forever.