After more than a year on the market, Nintendo’s newest video game console, the Switch, has proven to be one of the best selling game consoles of 2017. Long gone are the terrible, under-power hardware Wii U, and in its place, the innovate, stylish, but not-so-powerful hardware of the Nintendo Switch.

The Switch has received many positive reviews. IGN gave it a 7/10 and Digital Trends gave it a 4.5/5. The Switch, according to Ben Kuchera from Polygon, sold about 10 million units in its first year and became the fastest selling console in US history. However, while it is great to see a console have great reviews and sales, what account for the fact that even though it is overpriced and lacks power, in its sales and popularity are still high?

The Nintendo Switch hit stores on March 3, 2017, and it had 26 release titles, one of which, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, won the Game Critics Award, the Japan Grand Game Award, the Golden Joystick Award for best audio, Critics Choice Award, and Nintendo Game of the Year. Leading the way, other strong games including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Arms, Splatoon 2, and Super Mario Odyssey soon followed. Now, in 2018, the Nintendo Switch has more than one thousand games and it is still releasing games for the next year like Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3.

So how does the Nintendo Switch pair up with the XBox 1 and PlayStation 4? Of course, the Switch totally underperforms compared to the XBox 1 and the PlayStation 4. The Switch can put out 1082p in TV mode and 720p in handheld mode while the Xbox and the PS4 both can put out 1082p and their upgraded versions, the XBox1X, and the PS4 pro can put out 4K graphics. The Switch also is overpriced. The basic model costs about $299.99 without any games and a 32GB storage space, while the Xbox 1 costs about $299.99 for a 1T model with a game bundle and the PlayStation 4 costs about $349.99 for a 500GB model with a game.  

What the Switch lacks in hardware, it makes it up with portability. You can bring this console anywhere without any problems. This console combines a home device and a handheld, and this console provides 2 players local play anytime. The joy-con controllers can be played sideways or two at the same time. You can also buy the Nintendo Switch pro control that received an 8.8/10 from IGN for excellent design, comfort, and battery life. Lastly, the console has a lot of accessories for carrying around, decorating, and creating a better gaming experience.

Therefore, the Nintendo Switch is a one-of-a-kind system that is built for people who like playing games on the go, and with their friends and family. Sure the console isn’t that powerful a console compared to the Xbox1 and the PlayStation 4, and it has a pretty high price of $299 that makes it look kind of underpowered, but its huge library of quality games and portability makes this console very fun to play for hours on end.