Nintendo Switch 2 is here — or will be here soon — and so my purchasing decisions for the year have gotten a major shakeup. I hoped that we might get a new Asus ROG Ally this year, but now that idea seems a little less exciting.
The new Ally will likely be great, but if I had to choose which to buy, it's the Nintendo Switch 2. Sorry not sorry. Granted, we know nothing of the Ally and barely anything about the Switch 2 apart from the way it looks.
That being said, there are more than a few advantages that the Nintendo Switch 2 offers over its handheld gaming PC competitors.
Why I’d rather buy a Nintendo Switch 2
Well, the most obvious answer is the games. You’re never going to see a brooding Link or bouncy Mario on your handheld gaming PC, at least not legally. A whole suite of Nintendo titles will be unavailable.
Nintendo Switch games will be compatible with the Nintendo Switch 2, so it’s starting with a hefty library. But if the Nintendo Switch 2 titles aren’t compatible with its predecessor, then you’ll need that upgrade. And ditching the Ally frees up more money for Switch exclusives. Most indie titles that end up on PC are also available on the Nintendo Switch. It was the indie gaming console way before handheld gaming PCs became a thing.
To that point, the Nintendo Switch paved the way for handheld gaming PCs like the Asus ROG Ally to walk. There have been some handheld gaming PCs, like the Asus ROG Ally X, that offer more enhanced ergonomics. Unfortunately, the reveal for the Nintendo Switch 2 didn’t look drastically different, but I am hoping it can meet or exceed the qualities of its competition.
And not many handheld gaming PCs have mastered the Joy-Cons. The Ally is a great example, as it doesn’t support detachable controllers. Meanwhile, it looks like the Joy-Cons got a glow-up. The overall ergonomics seem the same when attached, but as single controllers, the entire attachable side has changed. With the increase in overall size and the more defined buttons, playing on a singular Joy-Con seems more comfortable.
Another advantage that the Nintendo Switch 2 has over the rest is vision. Nintendo is focused on making a console, not a PC. The company knows what it wants and knows how to make it because it’s been making consoles for decades. That results in polished, quality hardware that other companies may not be able to compete with.
Nintendo is an innovator, and it’s more than likely the Nintendo Switch 2 will offer the features that’ll pave a new road for the handheld gaming scene. Why wait for others to follow when Nintendo is leading the way? This year is going to be a rough year for companies making handheld gaming PCs. It’s been eight years since the original Nintendo Switch, and many folks (like me) have been waiting for Nintendo’s next-gen console.
Another issue that handheld gaming PCs currently have is the lack of a proper “rest mode.” It’s the one feature that’s turned me off a lot of handheld gaming PCs. There’s nothing I hate more than having to quickly save and quit in order not to lose progress while getting off a train. It’s a weird experience for a device designed for mobility.
The final nail in a handheld gaming PC’s coffin would be the performance. We don’t know what the Nintendo Switch 2 is packing under the hood, but I am hoping it can outpace its competition. To be fair, Nintendo doesn’t need to do that, especially if it’s trying to keep prices low. However, if it’s trying to keep up with AAA titles without forcing developers to literally design a completely different game (like Mortal Kombat 1 and The Outer Worlds), then more power would be nice.
Nintendo Switch 2 outlook
Yes, we do not know a lot about the Nintendo Switch 2. But there simply isn’t a world where I do not throw my money at Nintendo. Maybe I’m a sucker, but I’ll be the sucker playing the new Zelda or Mario title. And I am okay with that.
I just hope that we don’t catch Nintendo slacking because the company knows we’ll cough up money regardless of what it produces. It takes one underwhelming console to ruin people’s faith in a brand (cough, Xbox, cough). Lock it in, Nintendo.
